Ranma 1/2:
                          The Letters
                         by Erin Mills
                 based on the creations of Rumiko Takahashi


Prologue:

    She was dying. That much was evident. What wasn't evident was
*why* she was dying. It happened all of a sudden. One minute she was
fine and dandy, the next she was bedridden and could barely move.
    She was constantly besieged by little aches and pains that seemed
to grow in intensity every hour. The mere thought of food made her
sick and want to rush for the toilet. This was definitely not just
another illness.
    There was so much to do before she left. So many things to
resolve. She reached for the notepad and pen next to her futon and,
with a sigh, began to write...

I.
    Things were quiet at the Nekohanten. At least, as quiet as they
ever got.
    "HIYA!!" *KRUNK*
    Mousse, a tall Chinese boy with long black hair, white robes and
inch thick glasses plowed into the wall, the plaster breaking off in
an outline of his body. Behind him, a Chinese girl with long purple
hair lowered her fist.
    "Stupid Mousse. Shampoo ought make chestnut duck out of you."
    "M-my darling Shampoo," Mousse replied, half-dazed, as he fell to
the floor. Shampoo was about to strike him again when the sliding
door to the cafe opened.
    "Welcome to-" Shampoo began, becoming the perfect hostess. The
person who had come in was dressed in a delivery uniform.
    "Letter for Shampoo and Mousse,"
    Shampoo trampled over Mousse in her rush to the door.
    "A letter for Shampoo? Maybe it from Ranma!"
    "I need a signature from both of you," the delivery person said.
Shampoo hauled Mousse up and smacked him until he signed, after which
she dropped him and took the letter. The delivery person bowed and
left. The letter was in a plain white envelope. Written on the front
were the words:

                "SHAMPOO & MOUSSE"

    Shampoo opened the envelope and read the message inside. Mousse
stood up and read the letter over her shoulder. The two of them
looked at each other, then back at the letter's surprising text. Then
they bolted for the door of the Nekohanten.

II.
    Ryoga Hibiki wandered the streets of Nerima, sweat dampening his
yellow shirt and bandanna. He'd been looking for the Tendo dojo for
days now, but with no success. Not that this was a surprise. Being
lost was a way of life with Ryoga.
    As he turned the corner for the fifth time, he saw the delivery
person. Ryoga was preparing to get out of her way when she stopped in
front of him.
    "Ryoga Hibiki?" she asked. Ryoga nodded. The delivery person
pulled a letter and a clipboard from her satchel and held the m out
in front of him.
    "Sign on line six please," Ryoga did and the delivery person
began to leave. As she was walking away:
    "Hey!" Ryoga came running up.
    "Would you happen to know where this is?"

III.

    The delivery person knocked on the front door of the Kurendai
household.
    "Who is it?" asked a voice.
    "Delivery for Tsubasa Kurendai," the delivery person said.
    She jumped when the welcome mat sprouted a pair of arms, took the
letter, signed for it and vanished into the house. The delivery
person shook her head and went to her van.

IV.
    "RANMA NO BAKA!!!!"
    The delivery person looked up just in time to see a black haired
boy with a pigtail come sailing over the front gates of the Tendo
dojo and land face first on the street in front of her.
    The gates flew open and a girl with short hair wielding a
gigantic mallet rushed out, preparing to smack the boy with it.
    "Excuse me?" the delivery person said. The girl and boy looked up
at her.
    "Ranma Saotome?" The boy nodded.
    "Akane Tendo?" The girl nodded.
    "Sign here please," the delivery person held out the clipboard.
The two teenagers signed and recieved the letter. Ranma opened it as
the delivery person walked away. Akane noticed the expression of
shock and perplexment on Ranma's face.
    "What's it say?' she asked. Ranma handed the letter over and
Akane read:
        "Ran-chan and Akane-chan,
             Please come immediately to Ucchan's. I have several
             things I need to discuss with you and the others.
             Specifically, the distribution of my business after I
             die, which I believe will be sometime in the next few
             days. Please hurry.
                                              Yours forever,
                                                   --Ukyou."
    "What does she mean `after I die'?" Akane said, looking up. "What
do you think Ran-"
    But Ranma was already halfway down the street. Akane sighed and
took off after him.

V.
    As fate would have it, each of the people Ukyou had sent a letter
to arrived at Ucchan's at about the same time.
    Ranma and Akane were the first to arrive, followed by Mousse and
Shampoo with Ryoga in tow. All five of them jumped when a Turn Left
sign on the corner walked over and sprouted the head of what was,
apparently, a girl of about seventeen.
    "TUSBASA!" all five of them yelled.
    "Sorry," said Tsubasa.
    "What are you guys doing here?" Ranma asked.
    "We recieved a letter from Ukyou asking us to come here
immediately," Mousse began. "I assume everyone else did as well. I
know Ryoga did."
    "How come?"
    "We find him wandering outside Nekohanten," said Shampoo.
    "It's a restaurant. At least he's getting locations generally
right."
    "I don't have to stand here and take this abuse, Ranma," Ryoga
said, grabbing his umbrella from behind him. Ranma went into a
fighting stance and for a moment, it looked as though a brawl was
going to break out if Akane hadn't stepped in.
    "Let's hold off the ego bruising, all right?" she said,
separating Ranma and Ryoga. "Ukyou asked us here for a reason, and
I'd like to know what it is," The two boys glared at each other but
backed off.
    On the front door of Ucchan's was a sign that said, "Closed for
Private Party. Admission by invitation only." and a smaller one that
read "Letter holders please come in."
    The six of them enetered the restaurant.

    "Ucchan?" Ranma called. He was leading the group through the
living quarters behind the restaurant.
    "Back here," came a weak female voice.
    Ranma and the others entered Ukyou's bedroom. It was a
comfortable room. Posters lined the walls. A few pictures here and
there: A few group shots of all of them, some of Ranma and Ukyou,
Ukyou and Akane in some drop dead gorgeous dresses from a night out
on the town, Ukyou posing like a cover girl on the beach.
    A stereo was set up in one corner of the room, while a safe stood
in another. A rack with varying sizes of spatulas took up most of the
south wall. In a third corner, Ukyou's trademark four foot combat
spatula was leaning against the wall. The fourth corner held her
futon.
    As Ranma and the others got closer, it became apparent that Ukyou
was in bad shape. Her skin was unhealthily pale. Her large brown eyes
had sunk into her head. Her hair, normally shiny and full of bounce,
hung limply from her head like old ramen noodles. She was thin,
almost gaunt. Akane swore, from the way her skin was pulled over her
face, that she could make out Ukyou's skull underneath.
    Ukyou was propped up on a pile of pillows. She smiled faintly as
the group appraoached.
    "Sit down, please," she said as her friends stood there silently.
Each person sat on the cushions that were on the floor. Ryoga quickly
stood up again when his cushion let out a yelp. He tossed Tsubasa
aside and sat back down.
    "As you can tell," Ukyou began when they were all seated. "i'm
not in the best condition right now. I've called you all here so I
can say goodbye,"
    "Goodbye?!" Ranma and Akane spouted.
    "Yes, I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that this is
something I'm going to get over. I'm going to die and I wanted to get
everything squared away with each of you before I go."
    "There must be something we can do," Akane said. "Can't we call a
hospital or Dr. Tofu or something?" Ukyou shook her head.
    "Dr. Tofu's already seen me, and, as far as he can tell, there's
nothing physically wrong with me. Whatever it is, it isn't like any
illness he's seen,"
    "So, you're resigned to die," Ryoga said. It wasn't a question
and everyone could hear the hard tone in his voice.
    "I don't see any other option, Ryoga," said Ukyou.
    "How did it happen?" Mousse asked.
    "I'm not quite sure. I only started feeling like this three days
ago,"
    "Three *days*?" Akane asked, incredulously.
    Ukyou nodded. "At first, it started like the flu. Upset stomach,
aches, pains. Then it got progressively worse. I stopped eating,
every movement was sheer agony. I felt this gnawing emptiness inside
me. It wasn't hunger. More like a feeling of being...eaten..."
    "Eaten?!" Ranma repeated, standing up.
    "Don't ask me any more. Just leave it at the fact that I'mn dying
of some unknown disease. Please, Ran-chan, every time I try to figure
it out, it gets worse." Ranma sat down, annoyed, but not wanting to
see his friend in anymore pain.
    Ukyou took a deep breath. "I have so much to say to you but I
don't think I've got the time to say it all, so I'll be brief. Ranma,
I--" Ranma held up a hand.
    "Don't, Ucchan,"
    "But I've got so much to say,"
    "No! I refuse to let you give up. The Ucchan I grew up with kept
trying even if she failed. I find it hard to believe that I'm looking
at the same person! In fact, I don't think thatr person exists
anymore, so I have no reason to be here!" Ranma stood up and stormed
out of the restaurant. Akane looked back at Ukyou.
    "He didn't really mean that,"
    "Yes, he did. And he's right," Ukyou replied. "But what he
doesn't know is that I *am* fighting against this. I'm fighting even
now to stay conscious ans talk to you. I don't blame him for acting
like that. I don't want to die, and I'm probably fighting a losing
battle, but I am *not* going to give up. However, in case I don't
make it, I want to be sure everything will be taken care of, so I'm
leaving equal partnership in Ucchan's to all six of you."
    "Are you serious?" Mousse asked.
    "I'm sure you'll do fine. Now if you'll excuse me..."
    Ukyou closed her eyes and soon fell into unconsciousness.
*******
 VI.
        Later, the newly made restaurant owners were drinking tea at the
Nekohanten. Ranma still hadn't returned from wherever he'd run off to.
        "She can't be serious," Ryoga was saying.
        "She seemed that way to me," said Akane. "I mean, if Dr. Tofu
doesn't know what's wrong with her, we may have to accept the possibility
that Ukyou won't be around much longer,"
        The door to the restaurant slid open and Ranma walked in.
        "Ranma?" Akane asked. He sat down.
        "I can't believe she's just going to lie there and let whatever it
is eat away at her from the inside out," he said.
        "She isn't," stated Akane. "She was fighting just to talk to us,
that's how sick she is,"
        "What kind of disease incapacitates you three days after the
symptoms set in?"
        "One that cannot be cured by any medical doctor, future
son-in-law," a new voice replied. The six of them turned to see Cologne
standing there, staff in hand.
        "What would you know about it, old ghoul?" Ranma asked
        "Some years ago, a friend of mine contracted the very same disease.
It is not so much an ailment of the body as it is of the soul. The only
known cure is the mystic spring water of Hanakatasha,"
        "Where is this Hanakatasha spring?" Ryoga queried.
        "Somewhere in the mountains of Japan. I had to journey there to
help my friend."
        Ranma snorted. The way the old ghoul treated everybody, it was a
wonder she *had* any friends.
        "Don't you know where exactly, Great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked.
        "It is not that simple, child. The Hanakatasha spring changes it's
location constantly. This scroll is the only known set of directions to
it," The old woman handed over a scroll of great age. Mousse took it, only
to have it snatched away by Ranma, who unrolled it and began reading.
        "What the-?!" Ranma stared at the scroll. "Hey, old ghoul! These
are all in Chinese!"
        "Of course. And they are all riddles. At each location the riddles
answers give there is a Guardian that must be defeated," Cologne replied.
"And you'd best hurry,"
        "Why?"
        Cologne's face became serious. "The final stage of the disease
takes six days to run it's course. According to the symptoms you've
described, Ukyou entered that stage three days ago which means-"
        "We have two days and change to find the spring," Tsubasa finished,
speaking from a potted plant in the corner.
        "Damn," Ranma cursed, "If we had three days, we might be able to
find it if all six of us looked, but only two--"
        "There are treatments I can administer," said Cologne, "but,
they'll only extend Ukyou's life by two days at *most.*"
        "Then what are we waiting for?" Tsubasa the table lamp said. "Every
minute we waste, another minute of Ukyou-sama's life is lost!"
        "Right! In 30 minutes, we meet at Ucchan's and go!" Ranma
proclaimed, rushing out of the restaurant with Akane in tow. Ryoga and
Tsubasa followed, after Ryoga shook the cross-dresser out of his umbrella.
        "Let's go, Shampoo," said Mousse, hauling a potted plant out of the
room. Shampoo rolled her eyes and followed. Behind them, Cologne smiled
thinly.
        "Getting the cure is easy, son-in-law," she thought. "It is getting
it to Ukyou that will be difficult."

VII.
        A half hour later, Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Ryoga, Mousse, and
Colognewere waiting outside Ucchan's, Cologne was speaking to the group.
        "I've examined Ukyou," she said, "And the treatments are not going
to be 100% effective. In short you have," The old woman looked at the clock
on the bank across the street. "Three days and thirty minutes before it's
too late. You must hurry. Even thirty seconds delay will be fatal."
        "Then, why are we standing here?" Ryoga demanded.
        "Where's Tsubasa?" Mousse asked, "I'd have thought he'd want in on
this,"
        "I'm over here," said a shrub. Tsubasa crawled out and walked over
to the group.
        "I brought a van," he gestured to a gray Nissan parked at the curb.
        "A VAN?!" cried the other five.
        "I'm sorry if that offends your delicate martial artist
sensibilities, but time is of the essence! Now, do we want to save
Ukyou-sama or not?!"
        "He has a point," Akane said.
        Ranma grumbled. "All right, everybody into the van. Tsubasa, you
drive and *please* keep the disguises under wraps!"
        Cologne handed Shampoo the scroll.
        "Guard it well, child."
        "No worry, Great-grandmother. Shampoo take good care of it,"
Cologne nodded and turned to the group.
        "You have until 6:00PM Friday night. If you do not get the
Hanakatasha water by then, Ukyou will die. Go with speed,"
        The old woman turned and hopped away on her staff. Tsubasa started
the van and the rescue party made its way out of Nerima.
        The time was 5:45PM on Tuesday.

        "All right, let's get that first riddle solved," said Ranma. "Shampoo?"
        "It say:
                    `I am home of heat
                     Dominate the sky
                     I look safe outside
                     What am I?'"
        "What kind of a riddle is that?"
        "A surprisingly easy one, Saotome," Mousse answered.
        "Okay, four-eyes, what is it then?"
        "A volcano."
        Ranma rolled his eyes. "Sure, there only about 5,000 volcanoes in
Japan alone,"
        "But only one that is currently dormant and known world wide,"
        "Not-"
        Mousse nodded. "Mount Fuji,"

        "What a climb," Ryoga remarked.
        This was true. The cliff the six characters were standing on was
about 1000 feet from the ground. Ranma looked around, annoyed.
        "So where's this Guradian at, then?"
        "Closer than you'd think,"
        The six of them turned to find a diminuitive little man dressed in
a monk's robe sitting on a rock, watching the moon.
        "I take it you're looking for the Hanakatasha spring," he said.
        "Yeah," Ranma snapped, "now, where is it?"
        The monk shook his head. "Now, now, it isn't that easy. You still
have to defeat me,"
        "The six of us against you?" Ryoga asked. The monk smiled.
        "I think I can hold my own,"
        "Fine," said Ranma, "Let's do it."
        "LAVAFLOW!" yelled the old monk. Streams of molten rock burst forth
from the mountain, engulfing the monk. The lava twisted and turned until it
formed and 8-foot giant of molten rock.
        Needless to say, our heroes were surprised.
        Mousse went at the giant first, a volly of bladed weapons shooting
out the sleeves of his robes. They all passed through the beast with no
effect. It retaliated by picking up a boulder, melting it, and hurling the
residue back at them.
        "SHISHI-HOUKOUDEN!" Ryoga cried, sending out a ki-blast that
deflected the deadly stream.
        "LAVABALL!" The giant yelled.
        Several red-hot projectiles flew from the body of the beast. One
struck Mousse in the forehead, putting him out of action. Ranma saw this
and ran forward.
        "TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" Ranma's fists flew out in a barrage of
punches too fast for the eye to follow. All 328 of them opened holes in the
body of the giant.
        All of which, unfortunately, immediately closed.
        "Is that the best you can do?" the lava beast laughed, picking up
another boulder.
        "Boo," said the boulder, jumping out of it's hands. The huge rock
came down on top of the monster, sending lava flying everywhere. Shampoo
saw the old monk in the middle of the mess, ran forward, bonbori at the
ready, and clonked the guy into dreamland.
        "Nice going, you guys!" said Ranma, "How's Mousse?"
        "He's a little stunned, but he'll be okay," Akane answered.
        "No, the answer is six oranges and a *kumquat*..." Mousse mumbled.
        "Okay, he sounds normal," Ranma turned to where the monk should
have been lying. The monk was no longer there.
        "Damn," Ranma cursed. "Now what?"
        "What about the second riddle?" Akane asked.
        "First things first," said Ryoga. "Tsubasa, how much time do we have?"
        A nearby bush consulted it's wristwatch.
        "2 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes," it said.
        "Which takes us down to 1 day 18 hours and 14 minutes if we get
some sleep now," figured Ryoga. "And I for one say we should,"
        "Why?" Ranma asked, indignant.
        "If that thing was only the first Guardian, odds are the next two
are going to be even worse. We need to be at our best if we're going to
make it. You should know that better than anyone, Ranma,"
        Ranma grumbled. He knew what Ryoga was saying made sense, but Ukyou
was dying miles away. Didn't she deserve to have the Hanakatasha water as
soon as possible?
        "She's not going to get it at all if you end up dead," Ranma thought.
        "Fine, we make camp here. Tomorrow morning, we solve the next riddle,"

VIII.

        The next morning, the rescue party began working on the second riddle.
        "Scroll say:
                      `Children of Night
                       Sleep in me by day
                       You should know by now
                       Nothing more to say.'" read Shampoo

        "That's easy!" cried Akane. "The answer is a cave,"
        Ranma groaned. "How can you be so stupid?" he asked. "There's
probably more caves in Japan than volcanoes!"
        "How about caves *in* volcanoes?" asked Ryoga. The rest of the
party turned to see a large cave leading into the interior of the mountain.
        "Where did that come from?" an astonished Tsubasa asked.
        "Maybe these riddles are more powerful than we thought," said
Mousse, adjusting his glasses. Ranma stood up.
        "Let's go then,"
        "Wait a minute, Ranma," said Akane. "Anybody got a flashlight or
something?"
        "Just a second," Ryoga began rummaging around in his backpack,
finally unearthing a couple of flashlights.
        "I thought these would come in handy," he said, handing one to
Mousse and keeping the other for himself.
        "Fine," said Ranma. "Let's go,"
        The six teenagers made their way into the interior of the cave. The
rough stone floor bit into their shoes and low hanging stalactites tried to
hit them in the face as they passed.
        After a while, Ranma called for a rest.
        "Tsubasa, time." he said. Tsubasa checked his watch and looked up,
eyes wide.
        "When we went in, we had 1 day 17 hours and 44 minutes," he
reported. "Now, if my watch is correct, we have 1 day *8* hours and 15
minutes!" Everyone looked at him. Ranma walked over and hoisted Tsubasa up
by the throat.
        "Are you saying we've spent nearly ten hours in this cave and
didn't realize it?!"
        "Yes," said Tsubasa, choking on Ranma's fist.
        "That's impossible!" Mousse exclaimed.
        "For once, Shampoo agree with Mousse," said Shampoo.
        "How could we have lost nine hours that fast?" Akane asked.
        *Because I choose it to!*
        The six of them looked around for the speaker, Ranma dropping
Tsubasa in the process.
        "Who is that?" Ranma asked.
       *I am the second Guardian. And in these caves _I_ hold dominion!*
        "Show yourself!" Ryoga yelled. The voice began to laugh.
        *You humans are so amusing. _You_ have to find _me_. Those are the
Rules.*
        "Well, where are you then?" Ranma growled.
        *Closer than you'd think,*
        Suddenly, the caves were bathed in a soft white light. The
explorers saw two tunnels in front of them.
        *I am at the end of one of these tunnels. One ends in a three
hundred foot drop. The choice is yours.* The voice faded into the shadows,
as did the light. Ranma turned to the group.
        "The oracle has spoken. I say we go to the right,"
        "Left," Ryoga dissented, and started down the right tunnel.
        "What do you think?" Mousse asked Shampoo.
        "Shampoo go with Ranma," the purple-haired girl said.
        "Then I too say we go right," Mousse said firmly. "Akane?"
        "Right, I have an uneasy feeling about the left,"
        "Right it is then," said a nearby rock. Tsubasa began hopping down
the right tunnel after Ryoga. The others followed.
        After walking several hundred yards, the group began to notice an
odd smell. It seemed to be a mixture of pickles, methane, and gasoline. It
stung their nostrils and made their eyes water so badly that they didn't
notice that Ryoga's flashlights had gone out until it was almost too late.
        "WHHHHHOOOOAAAA!!!" Ryoga yelped. The others stopped dead in their
tracks.
        "Ryoga?" Akane called.
        "Ryoga!" Ranma joined in. "C'mon, where are you?"
        "Down here," came Ryoga's voice.
        "Mousse, get that flashlight working!" Ranma barked. "Ryoga! Are
you all right?"
        "I will be once you get off my hand!" Ryoga yelled in reply. Ranma
jumped back and put out a hand, feeling along the ground for Ryoga's.
Mousse finally got the flashlight working and, with Akane's help, Ranma
yanked Ryoga to safety.
        "Okay," said Ranma. "Maybe it should have been the left,"
        *No, it shouldn't.*
        The white illumination returned, showing the group a small tunnel
entrance set into the wall just before the cliff Ryoga had almost fallen
over.
        *Come in,* said the Guardian. Ranma led the way in, Akane and Ryoga
close on his heels.
        The cavern beyond the tunnel was *huge.* It must have been over one
hundred feet high. The white light seemed to emanate from the dark corners
of the cavern, then move to the walls. The entire place was made out of
either stone or crystal, Ranma couldn't tell which. The light seemed to
change one to the other and back again. The carvings along the walls showed
images of people fighting monsters. Then, when the light changed, the
images showed the monsters triumphing over the people.
        The center of the cavern was dominated by a large pedestal carved
in the same way as the walls. A throne on top of the pedestal was occupied
by an ancient old man in an ice blue robe.
        *Greetings,* The voice didn't seem to come from the old man, as it
did from the cavern itself.
        *As you know, you cannot proceed until you defeat me,*
        "Right, right," said Ranma. "So let's get on with it,"
        *Not so fast, my young friend. As you can see, I'm in no condition
to do battle with you,*
        "So...we can go then?" Ranma asked, confused.
        *No. The Rules demand that there be a duel. Therefore, you shall
fight Krystalis, my champion,*
        The six teens felt a rumbling in the ground. They each held on to
someone else to keep from falling.
        KRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
        They looked up as a section of the far wall collapsed, admitting a
man made, apparently, out of crystal. The humans stepped back.
        *Well?* the Guardian asked.
        Ranma ran forward, preparing to make some cheap jewelry.
        "TENSHIN AMAG-" was as far as he got before Krystalis backhanded
him aacross the face, sending him flying across the chamber and into the
opposite wall. Hard.
        "Ranma!" Akane and Shampoo yelled, rushing to him.
        Ryoga took a quick look at the situation. Ranma was out cold, Akane
and Shampoo were tending to him, Tsubasa was nowhere in sight. That left
only Mousse and himself. Ryoga noticed the Chinese boy trying to get his
attention and quickly moved over to him.
        "Have you found the breaking point on him yet?" Mousse asked.
        Ryoga looked. "Yes, not that it'll do much good. It doesn't have
any effect on organic beings,"
        "That thing isn't organic!" Mousse yelped. "Wait for my signal,
then let him have it!" Ryoga nodded. Mousse leaped into the air.
        "TAKA ZUMI GADIN!" Eagles' talons appeared on Mousse's feet. The
claws smashed into the crystal man with no discernable effect. Mousse
jumped away from the direction Ryoga was in, then stood and faced the
being.
        Krystalis stood there for a moment, perplexed, then began moving in
Mousse's direction. That was all the bespecticled one needed. Several
chains erupted from his sleeves. Each of the forged links wrapped around
the crystal monster, immobilizing it.
        "NOW!" Mousse yelled. Ryoga dashed across the cavern floor, his
mind focusing on the monster's breaking point. Ryoga's fist pulled back,
index finger extended.
        "BAKUSAITENKETSU!" he bellowed. The finger made contact and drilled
a hole between the monster's shoulder blades. Upon impact, the monster
stopped writing in Mousse's chains.
        It then exploded into a million pieces.
        The crystal shards rained down on the rescue party to the point
that they had to cover their faces to avoid being cut by the deadly shower.
        *Very good,* said the Guardian, *But don't celebrate yet. You still
have to find your way out, solve the third riddle and get to the spring.
And your time is running out...*
        The voice faded away, leaving the martial artists in the dark.

IX.
        "RANMA!!!" Ukyou cried, sitting bolt upright in bed. Her eyes were
squeezed shut. She was obviously in great pain. Cologne used her staff to
gently push her back down. She forced Ukyou's mouth open and poured a
viscous blue liquid down her throat.
        "Normally, I wouldn't be doing this," the three hundred year old
woman thought, "But it simply wouldn't do for my future son-in-law to
return before his time was up and find you dead. You should be grateful to
me for allowing you to live _this_ long."
        On the futon, Ukyou writhed in pain.

        "How long?" Ranma asked. Akane and Shampoo had managed to wake him
up and found he was a little dazed.
        "You've been out for a few hours," Akane answered.
        "No, I mean, how long have we got?"
        "23 hours, 45 minutes," said Tsubasa, his head poking out of a hole
in a nearby tree. Ranma found they were at the camp just outside the cave.
No, wait a minute. This camp was surrounded by trees. Shampoo saw his
confusion.
        "Is new camp on other side of mountain. Guardian provide tunnel to
get out,"
        "Taking payment in the form of time," Ryoga grumbled, sitting down
next to them.
        "What about the third riddle?" Ranma asked.
        "Already solved," said Akane, "That's why we found this forest.
With a little luck, we can get some sleep, find the water and get it back
to Ukyou with time to spare,"
        "Yeah, sure," said Ranma, getting up and walking out of camp. He
perched himself on a boulder and looked out over the trees that were fading
into the sunset. Akane looked at him, concern crossing her face, then
walked over to the boulder.
        "This must be getting to him," Ryoga remarked to Shampoo. "He
hasn't picked a fight with Akane all this time,"
        "Good," Shampoo replied. "Give Ranma more time to realize he love
Shampoo more than tomboy Akane," That comment sparked a thought in Ryoga's
mind.
        "Why are you here, Shampoo?" he asked. Shampoo turned to him, confused.
        "I mean, you and Ukyou have never been friends," Ryoga continued.
"Usually, you two ended up going at each others throats whenever Ranma was
in the immediate vicinity. I would think that you'd be *glad* if Ukyou
wasn't around anymore,"
        "Ryoga right," said Shampoo quietly, Shampoo not mind if Ukyou die.
Shampoo only come along to be with Ranma. But, as quest go on, Shampoo
realize she *like* Ukyou, despite being rival for Ranma's affection.
Shampoo also feel that good opponent deserve to live, continue combat with
Shampoo. If Ukyou die, Shampoo will miss her and feel loss. Ukyou just
different type of friend," She turned back to Ryoga. "Why you here?"
        Ryoga swallowed. He'd been expecting that question to crop up. "I-I
don't know why I'm here. I've been thinking about that ever since we left
Nerima. Ukyou's one of my closest friends, but I don't know why. Maybe
because she tries to be helpful to most of the people she knows, despite
their relationship to Ranma. I mean, she knows I want to destroy Ranma's
happiness eventually, but she's always welcomed me at Ucchan's and lets me
freeload off of her, like most of her other friends. I don't know. I have
so few friends anyway, getting lost the way I do, I guess I don't want to
lose any of the ones I have,"
        The Chinese girl and the vagabond stared out into the sunset, thinking.

        Akane sat beside Ranma. "You're really worried about her, aren't
you?" she asked.
        "Do you know what it's like, seeing a friend you've known since you
were six grow up and begin to die?"
        "No, but I do know that I don't want Ukyou to die. I like her,
though I fail to see what she sees in a baka like you," Akane half-teased,
trying to get a rise out of Ranma. It didn't work.
        "What I mean is, I don't think we'll get back in time. I'm just
waiting for the trick the old ghoul has up her sleeve this time." Ranma
said.
        "Ranma," Akane began, a disturbing thought crossing her mind. "Do
you--love Ukyou?"
        Ranma didn't respond.
        "Well, do you?"
        "Is this a question that'll get me clobbered?" Ranma asked bitterly.
        "No," said Akane, "I really want to know,"
        "I don't know. At least not in the sense you mean. I love her like
a close friend or a sister, but I'm not sure if I love her in the `I want
to spend the rest of my life with her' sense,"
        Akane could tell there was something else.
        "Go on," she urged.
        "And the thought of her lying ther, being eaten away by some
unidentifiable illness just makes me feel helpless!"
        "But you're *not* helpless," said Akane. "You're here, searching
for the cure that will save her life. Not sitting by her bedside not doing
anyone any good, especially her,"
        "Like I'm doing any good here," Ranma snorted. "Tsubasa took care
of that lava thing. Since I vaguely remember you and Shampoo over me, I'll
assume Mousse and Ryoga took care of the crystal guy. Shampoo's our
official translator and riddle reader and you've just become the resident
shrink. I feel useless,"
        "You've just had bad luck, that's all," Akane replied. "You'll get
your moment of glory."
        That was the wrong thing to say. Ranma glared at her with such
anger in his face that Akane was half tempted to hide behind the boulder.
        "You think I'm in this for *glory* ?"
        "I just-I mean..."
        "You just didn't *think*, that's what you just! I'm pouring my guts
out here and you think this is some sort of ego trip!"
        Ranma was so mad at this point that he failed to notice a distinct
blue aura forming around Akane.
        "I can't believe you, Akane! But then, I suppose this is what I get
for confiding in a tomboy like you!"
        That did it. Here she was, trying to be nice and listen to what was
troubling Ranma and he went and acted like she was an enemy. Well, if
that's the way the baka wanted it...
        "RANMA NO BA-" She stopped short when she realized Ranma was no
longer there.
        "He has a point,"
        Akane turned to see Mousse standing behind her.
        "What point?" she sulked. "He's just being the baka he usually is,"
        "Maybe. But these aren't usual circumstances," Mousse said, sitting
next to Akane, "Think about it. Has any of us ever been in a situation
where we could lose our lives?"
        "Sure, lots of times,"
        "From a disease?"
        Akane thought it over. "Well, no."
        "Exactly, we've had to do most of our fighting against human and
animal opponents. Now that we're up against something that can't be killed
using martial arts, we're all trying to find some way of coping with the
idea of Ukyou dying.
        "Ranma didn't mean any of the things he said, he's just looking for
some justification for Ukyou's illness,"
        "What about you, Mousse?" Akane asked, "Do you see any
justification? You're being so calm about all this," Mousse gave her a half
smile.
        "There is no justification. I've learned that, in this universe,
bad things will happen to good people and vice versa. But that doesn't stop
me from trying. Why do you think I let Shampoo get away with clobbering me
all the time?"
        Akane smirked. "I thought you were a masochist,"
        The two of them laughed.

        Ranma returned to the camp the next morning. He had spent the night
on another boulder on a higher cliff. He had dreamed about Ukyou, healthy
again, flipping okonomiyaki. It wasn't much of a dream, but he felt much
better when he awoke. He also remembered what he had said to Akane the
night before. He had to rectify the situation.
        Ranma walked up to Akane and swallowed.
        "Akane, I-" Akane held up a hand.
        "Don't worry," she said. "I know,"
        "All right then! Let's get going! Tsubasa, how long?"
        "14 hours even," said the campfire.
        "And it took us how long to get to Mt. Fuji?"
        "Four hours,"
        "Which gives us ten hours to find the third Guardian, beat him, get
the water and get back to the van. Let's move out!"
        The rescue party began climbing down the side of the mountain.

        Four hours later, they were still wandering through the forest. The
sun had begun to rise and was glistening off the dew on the trees and
plants in the forest. Akane couldn't help but think how beautiful it all
looked.
        Ranma, on the other hand, wasn't so thrilled.
        "Are you sure you read the right riddle?" he asked, irritably.
        "Shampoo sure," she said, unrolling the scroll. "Shampoo read all
three--" she trailed off. Where ther had once been three riddles, a fourth
had appeared on the scroll:\
                       "Your goal is almost near
                        Waiting in the dark
                        What you seek is clear
                        But is hidden by a park,"

        "That doesn't make any sense!" Akane exclaimed.
        "I am forced to agree," Mousse remarked.
        "Where we go from here?" asked Shampoo.
        "WAAAAAHHHH!! Ukyou-sama!" Tsubasa wailed. Ranma quietly clunked
him on the head, shutting him up.
        "I've already solved it," The others lookedat him expectantly.
Ranma pointed to a grove of tightly packed trees.
        "The spring is in the clearing of that grove," Ranma began walking
toward it, when Ryoga stopped him.
        "Just a minute, Ranma," he began. "How do you know that's where the
spring is?"
        "That grove appeared out of nowhere as soon as Shampoo finished
reading the riddle," Ranma replied. "Now, are you coming or aren't you?"

        Squeezing through the grove, the six teenagers were in for a
surprise. Beyond the densely packed ring of trees was a vast clearing that
the sun beat down upon, making the grass inside seem greener than the grass
outside the trees. Little yellow flowers, light and delicate, popped up her
and there through the clearing. But the most fantastic part was the spring.
        The spring took up nearly all the space of the clearing. It was a
perfect cirlce 20 yards across, leaving a five yard border of land between
it and the trees.
        They approached the spring with trepidation, each of them ready for
the Guardian to make it's appearance. Ranma heard something odd. He looked
out to the center of the spring, where he saw the water bubbling. He didn't
think it was because of heat or air under the water.
        "Heads up!" he yelled, grabbing Akane and springing backwards. The
others followed suit, getting out of the way as a huge wave of water burst
forth from the spring and landed on the ground. It didn't seep into the
ground, however. Instead it began to shift it's shape, taking on the
general appearance of a man.
        "Oh, great," Ranma thought, "Not only are we fighting a water
Guardian, it's also a reject from `the Abyss.'"
        Ranma was so caught up in figuring out how to hurt the thing, that
he almost didn't notice the Guardian had fired a wave of water at him and
Akane. Akane gave him a good smack upside the head to gain his attention.
        "Eyes front, idiot!" she yelled, rolling out of the way. Ranma hit
the dirt. Tsubasa, who was right behind them, wasn't so lucky. The bolt of
water hit him full force and planted him in a tree.
        Ryoga began to charge the water spirit, keeping his umbrella open
to protect himself against the onslaught of cold water. The Guardian
retaliated by firing two bolts of water, one to divest Ryoga of his shield,
the other to blast him. Ranma saw Ryoga get drenched and ran for Akane.
        "You owe me one, Ryoga," he thought as he tackled Akane to the
ground. He kept her face there until the wave of water had stopped.
        Sitting on the ground where Ryoga had been was a small black pig
wearing Ryoga's bandanna around it's neck. Ryoga's Jusenkyo curse had been
activated.
        Akane looked up, realized that Ranma was on top of her, and socked
him one that sent him flying into the spring.
        "PERVERT!" she yelled.
        Ranma reemerged from the spring, about half a foot shorter with
fire engine red hair and female. Ranma's own curse had been activated.

        Meanwhile, Shampoo and Mousse had thier hands full trying to fight
the water demon. Mousse's weapons just kept passing through it, even the
six piece dinette set he used for emergencies. Shampoo's kicks and punches
weren't doing any good either. The Guardian made a noise that sounded
vaguely like laughter and fired a huge stream of water at the two of them.

        "What'd you do that for?" the now female Ranma asked.
        "You should know, you letch!" Akane yelled back.
        "Never mind," Ranma said, standing up. She turned to see the
Guardian throughly saoking Shampoo and Mousse. They, being under Jusenkyo
curses, changed. Mousse became a duck and Shampoo, a cat.
        "Shit!" Ranma exclaimed. She turned to Akane. "looks like it's down
to you and me."
        Akane nodded. "What do you want me to--when did P-chan get here?"
        Ranma groaned. "He showed up a few minutes ago,"
        "And where's Ryoga?"
        "That thing blasted him into the trees. He's probably stumbling
around looking for us. Any more questions before we die?!"
        "Sorry!" yelled Akane. "What do you want me to do?"
        "I want you, Shampoo, Mousse and that pig of yours to distract that
thing. Think you can handle that?"
        "Yes," replied Akane, turning to fight the Guardian, "accidently"
hitting Ranma in the stomach as she left. Ranma doubled over in pain.
        "I hate it when she does that" she thought.

        Akane began throwing punches at the water demon. It helped by
imagining that every place she hit was Ranma's face. Shampoo-neko and
P-chan ran around the water demon's legs, while Mousse flew around and
occasionally, through the monster's head. The Guardian was so busy trying
to hit all of them that it didn't notice Ranma sneaking up behind it until
it was too late.
        "Hey, mop bait," Ranma called to the Guardian. It turned.
        "HIRYU SHOTZEN HA!" Ranma's special technique created it's
trademarked stationary tornado, lifting the water demon off it's "feet"
and sent it hurling into the sky, wrenching it into it's component droplets
as it did so.
        Soon the wind died down, and Akane joined Ranma.
        "You did it!"
        "Yeah," said Ranma, "I did it,"
        While Akane was talking to Ranma, Mousse happened to look upwards
and saw
something odd. The water droplets were reconverging on their way back down
to earth, becoming one large mass as they did so. He began quacking
urgently to warn Akane and Ranma.
        The two girls looked up to see a large ball of water coming towards
them...

X.

        Ranma and Akane awoke sometime later in the back of Tsubasa's van.
Ranma noticed he was male again and Ryoga, Mousse and Shampoo were all back
to human form. They must have found some hot water somewhere.
        "Oh, my achin' head"," said Ranma. Next to him, Akane was
expressing similar thoughts. Then he realized where they were.
        "How much time do we have?" he asked urgently.
        "We're cutting it close now! We've just entered Nerima, but we've
got about five minutes before it's too late!" Tsubasa called from the
drivers seat. Ryoga endeavored to explain.
        "We had to wait for Tsubasa to wake up, after which we heated up
some hot water and fixed you guys. I got lost in the trees, sorry." Ryoga
made a gesture which meant "thanks." Ranma made one in return that meant
"That's two you owe me, pal."
        "Anyway," Ryoga continued, "It took us longer than we thought to
get back to the van, and you guys slept the whole way here,"
        "What about the water," Akane asked. Mousse appeared with a small vial.
        "Right here," he said.
        "Then put the pedal down, Tsubasa!" Ranma commanded, "And damn any
cops we meet on the way!"

        Miraculously enough, the rescue party didn't meet any members of
the law enforcement community and got to Ucchan's with a minute thirty
left. Ranma tooke the vial from Mousse and they all burst into the
restaurant.

        Cologne heard them coming and looked down at the disturbingly still
Ukyou.
        "Oh no," she thought. Then, she got an idea. The old woman posted
herself next to Ukyou's bedroom doorway and thrust her staff across it at
ankle level.
        "The less rivals Shampoo has in the battle for my future
son-in-law's affections, the better."

        Ranma dashed around the corner. "Ucchan! We got it! We got the-"
        Ranma's feet connected with Cologne's staff.
        He tripped and the vial of Hanakatasha water went flying. Time
seemed to slow down. Ranma saw the vial go flying across the room and
shatter on Ukyou's spatula rack. He saw the water flow down the wall,
useless. He saw the old ghoul, a smug expression on her face. Then he heard
himself scream "NOOOO!"

        Tsubasa's voice, teary and choked, came in clear as doom.
        "Th-thirty seconds,"
        Ranma crawled across the room and cradled Ukyou in his arms. Her
eyes opened part way. Ranma felt his own begin to tear over.
        "Ucchan, I-I'm so sorry," Ukyou smiled faintly.
        "Don't be. At least you tried," She looked behind him at Akane, who
was also beginning to cry. "Take care of him Akane-chan," Ukyou looked back
at Ranma.
        "Ran-chan, I want you to know something. I want you to know that,
no matter if we never meet again, I've always loved you and I always will,"
Ranma swallowed.
        "I--love you too, Ucchan," he said. She smiled. Ranma, in a sudden
burst of inspiration, bent down and kissed her.
        With that last act, the eyes closed, the muscles relaxed, the skin
went cold, and Ukyou Kuonji quietly passed from this world.

=====



                         RANMA 1/2:
                       THE SHADOWS
                      by Erin Mills
         based on characters created by Rumiko Takahashi


Excerpt from the "Tokyo Daily Herald", April 27

                "GRAVE ROBBER CAPTURED"
    Nerima district police apprehended one Ranma Saotome at the
Nerima Community Graveyard last night. Saotome, 17, was allegedly
breaking into the grave of a Ukyou Kuonji. According to sources,
Saotome was babbling that Kuonji was still alive and that he was
trying to prove it.
    Ukyou Kuonji, a local restauranteur, died three weeks ago. When
asked why he thought she was still alive, Saotome replied "Because
I've seen her..."

>From the Journal of Akane Tendo

April 27

    Ranma's been arrested! I know he's been acting strangely, but I
didn't think he'd go this far.
    Wait, calm down, you're getting ahead of yourself, begin at the
beginning...or rather, the end.
    Ukyou was dying of some weird disease. She asked me, Ranma,
Shampoo, Ryoga, Mousse and Tsubasa to come to Ucchan's so she could
say goodbye. She also made us heirs to Ucchan's. Later, Shampoo's
great-grandmother Cologne told us that the only cure for Ukyou's
illness was the water from a mytstic spring in the mountains. The six
of us went after the water, but Cologne double crossed us and tripped
Ranma, sending the vial of water crashing against a wall. Ukyou died
shortly afterwards in Ranma's arms.
    The funeral was held the following week. Ukyou's parents decided
that she should be buried here in Nerima, where all her friends were.
    Ranma was asked to give the eulogy. He spoke for half an hour on
Ukyou. He even admitted that he loved her. I felt a twinge of
jealousy but really couldn't blame him. Ukyou was a very nice person.
    Things changed in the days following the funeral. The six of us
began looking into running Ucchan's. Things became a little easier
when both Mousse AND Shampoo had a blazing fight with Cologne and
moved out of the Nekohanten altogether. They're currently living in
the rooms behind Ucchan's. Shampoo still clobbers Mousse on a regular
basis, but the experience seems to have drawn them closer together.
While we all help out at Ucchan's one way or another, the two of them
really run the place.
    Ryoga vanished after the funeral. My guess is he was going to
meet us at Ucchan's afterwards, like we planned, but ended up getting
lost again.
    Tsubasa took Ukyou's death very hard. He's stopped his
crossdressing, cut his hair, and doesn't disguise himself at all.
When he's not at school, he's waiting tables at Ucchan's. He doesn't
say much aside from taking orders and giving them to Shampoo. But
he's a hard worker.
    As for Ranma, he refused to talk to anyone for three days after
Ukyou died. When he wasn't sitting on the roof of the dojo, he was
training so hard that *everyone* including Mr. Saotome was worried
that he'd end up hurting himself.
    And me? I've been trying to get on with my life. Ukyou's gone,
but we're all still here. Life goes on, and we have to stop asking
why.
    Not that I don't have questions. Where's Ranma been the past few
nights? What's he been doing? Why was he breaking into Ukyou's grave?
Is he all right?...

Transcript of interrigation of Saotome, Ranma. 4/28  8:30 AM
Lt. Keibu Watanabe and Sgt. Reiko Tsereba, interrogating.

Watanabe: Okay, Saotome, let's take it from the top. You say you were
digging up this friend of yours...

Saotome: Ukyou.

Watanabe: Right. Ukyou. You were digging up Ukyou to prove she wasn't
there?

Saotome: Right.

Watanabe: Wait a minute. What makes you think she isn't in that
grave? Weren't you at the funeral?

Saotome: Yes, I was. But she isn't in that coffin.

Watanabe: What makes you so sure, Saotome?

Saotome: I've *seen* her. She isn't dead!

Watanabe: Excuse me? According to the reports, Ukyou Kuonji died in
*your* arms. Is that right?

Saotome: Yes.

Watanabe: Then how the hell can she be alive?

Saotome: I DON'T know!

Watanabe: You know what I think? I think you killed her.

Saotome: What?

Watanabe: Yeah. You killed her. The M.E.'s report said there was
nothing wrong with her. In fact, he said that he was surprised she
died at all. She was in excellent physical condition. So, when I hear
this, I think that something screwy's going on. I think, "This
Saotome guy is hiding something." I think that you did something,
poisoned her, maybe, then decided to do the grave robbing thing to
cop an insanity plea.

Saotome: WHAT?! I tried to save her!

Watanabe: Yeah, yeah, we heard the little cock 'n' bull story from
your friends. That's the kind of thing they write about in the
comics, Saotome. You and your friends must be either severely fucked
up in the head, or you think we're all stupid down here! Now what
really happened?!

Saotome: I've told you--

Watanabe: You've told us *jack*, Saotome! What was it that made you
kill her? Jealousy? She seeing another guy behind your back?

Saotome: What? NO! Ukyou and I weren't involved like that!

Watanabe: That's funny. According to all our information, you were
engeaged to her.

Saotome: That's nothing, I'm engaged to two other people as well!

Watanabe: Boy, you work fast don'tcha, Saotome?

Saotome: It isn't like that! None of my engagements were my idea!

Watanabe: Admit it, Saotome! You and Ukyou got into an arguement,
words were exchanged and you hatched this little plot to kill her!

Saotome: NO! I DID NOT KILL UKYOU! IF YOU WANT TO GET SOMEONE FOR
MURDER, GET COLOGNE! SHE KILLED UKYOU! SHE PREVENTED ME FROM GETTING
THE CURE TO HER!

Watanabe: You expect me to believe an old woman killed a healthy
young girl like Ukyou?

Saotome: I don't care what you think! Ukyou's NOT dead and I'm going
to prove it!

Watanabe: Not for a while, you're not! Get him outta here! (sounds of
Saotome being escorted out of the interrogation room.)

Tsereba: Don't you think that's a little rough?

Watanabe: No 17-year-old kid goes around digging up his friend's
grave to prove she isn't there!

Tsereba: You're sure he isn't telling the truth?

Watanabe: Look, I *know* he's from Nerima, but I don't buy half the
crap he was telling us.

Tsereba: So, you're going to keep on him?

Watanabe: Yes, until he tells us what he was doing in that graveyard!

Tsereba: You're impossible, Keibu.

Watanabe: Where're you going?

Tsereba: We *do* have other options, you know...

END TRANSCRIPT

----

>From the Journal of Akane Tendo  April 28

    Something interesting happened today. I was at Ucchan's helping
out, when the door slid open and this woman came in. My guess is that
she was around thirty. She had long black hair and a friendly, open
face. She walked up to me and flashhed a badge.
    "Reiko Tsereba, Tokyo police. I'm looking for an Akane Tendo."
    "You've found her. What can I do for you?"
    "I'd like to talk to you about Ranma Saotome,"
    I told Shampoo I was taking a break and led the police officer to
the back room. As we were going through the dining area, she stopped.
I noticed she was looking at the portrait of Ukyou hanging on the
wall. We all contributed to getting it done, we even got an "Our
Founder" plaque for it. Tsereba was examining it.
    "That's Ukyou," I volunteered.
    "She's pretty," she replied.
    I buried the knee-jerk feeling of jealousy and led Tsereba to the
back room.
    "We were going to talk about Ranma," I said, bringing the subject
back to what she came for. Tsereba sat down at the table that was in
the back room.
    "You're Ranma's fiancee, right?"
    "Yeah," God, was this woman subtle.
    "How long have you known Ranma?"
    "About a year or so,"
    "Do you know him well?"
    "Well...I...that is..." Oh, *real* intelligent Akane.
    "Skip it,"
    "Officer Tsereba..."
    "Sergeant, actually, but you can call me Reiko,"
    "Fine, Reiko, what do you want?"
    "I want to find out why Ranma Saotome was breaking into Ukyou
Kuonji's grave. There's something going on here, and I want to find
out what it is,"
    "Didn't Ranma explain what happened to Ukyou?"
    "Yes, he did. But it seems too farfetched, even for Nerima,"
    "What do you mean, `even for Nerima'?"
    "We've had so many reports of strange stuff happening out here,
most of his story seems normal. In fact, I believe everything about
the water and the disease, but I just can't believe Ukyou's returned
from the dead,"
    "Returned from the dead?!" I asked...

    Transcript of personal tape recording made by Sgt. Reiko Tsereba,
4/28, 2:30PM

    I talked to Akane Tendo, Ranma Saotome's fiancee, today hoping
that she would know why Saotome was digging up Ukyou Kuonji. She
didn't know. In fact, she doesn't even know where Saotome's been for
the past week.
    She also didn't know what he meant when he said he's seen Kuonji.
Normally, I'd think Saotome was nuts, but there's been so much
strange shit going on in Nerima the past couple of years that I'm
inclined to give Saotome the benefit of the doubt.
    I'm worried about Keibu. He seems hellbent on nailing Saotome for
murder. I don't know if he's been on the force too long, or if he has
something against Saotome personally, or what, but it's clouding his
judgement.
    I'm hoping to talk to Saotome sometime before he gets bailed out,
give him a chance to tell his story. Hopefully he'll open up and we
can figure out what's going on...

    Statement of Ranma Saotome, 4/28. 4:30 PM

    Okay, you want to know what I'm talking about? I'll tell you,
provided you wait until I'm finished. It's something I'm sure you
won't believe. But, you want to know, so--
    It happened just ofter the funeral. I was hurt, angry, and pissed
at myself for not being able to do anything to save Ukyou. I spent
most of my time training, looking for some sort of release.
    It was on one of those nights that it happened. I had spent the
day thinking on the dojo roof. I was thinking about how there were
some things that no one could prevent. After a while, it became too
depressing and I decided to go for a walk.
    I leaped off the dojo roof and began walking. I must havce gone
at least five miles before it happened.
    There was a sharp, whistling sound, then something whizzed past
me, taking part of my shirt sleeve with it.
    The object embedded itself in the brick wall behind me. I pulled
it out and was shocked to find that it was one of Ukyou's throwing
spatulas, only charred and burnt until it was black.
    As I was examining it, I heard the same whistling sound and
dodged. Good thing I did, too. Seven more spatulas arrived and
embedded themselves in the wall. Another came out of nowhere, clipped
my shin and I went down.
    I looked up and saw something I wasn't ready for. Standing on the
roof of the house opposite me was Ukyou. She was backlit by the moon,
but there was no mistaking her shape, or the shape of the giant
spatula on her back. I called her name but she ignored me.
    No, wait, check that. She didn't ignore me. In fact, she sent
another volley of spatulas in my direction. I rolled out of the way,
the spatulas shrieking by me and joining the others.
    I ignored the pain in my leg and leaped to the roof of the house.
I saw Ukyou dashing across the rooftops, I followed. I trailed her
for six blocks before my leg gave out.
    As I lay on the ground, in severe pain, another spatula landed in
the ground in front of me. There was a small note tied around the
handle. I unrolled the note and read it. It said "You will pay." It
wasn't signed.
    No, I don't have the note or the spatula. You won't believe me if
I tell you...All right, the spatula crumbled to dust and the note
burst into flame.
    I _said_ you wouldn't believe me.
    Normally, I would have shrugged something like that off. Enough
strange stuff has happened to me before, this just seemed like more
of the same. Unfortunately, I met her again the next night.
    I was walking toward Ucchan's, preparing to help out, when it
happened. I had cut through an alley, figuring I could hold my own if
any street punks were stupid enough to try to mug me.
    There were no punks, but she was there.
    Once again, I didn't see her face. It was too dark. But, I
did see her eyes.
    How could I see her eyes if I couldn't see her face? Her eyes
were glowing. Two white glowing slits where her eyes should've been.
Then she spoke.
    "Saotome," is what she said. It was Ukyou's voice, and yet there
was something else that I really can't describe. An echo of
something...I don't know.
    "Ucchan?" I asked. She responded by throwing more spatulas at me.
I managed to dodge them. When I finished, she was gone. Then her
voice echoed down the alley.
    "Prepare to lose everything you care about, Saotome..."

 ----------

Excerpt from the "Tokyo Daily Herald," April 29.

                "JAIL BREAK AT NERIMA PRECINCT"
    A jail break occured last night at precinct 17 in downtown
Nerima. Police managed to contain all prisoners but one. Ranma
Saotome, 17, was found to have been missing. Witnesses described a
young woman with red hair dressed in chinese clothes running from the
scene. Police would like to question this person in connection with
Saotome's escape.
    Ranma Saotome was arrested two nights ago on a charge of grave
robbing...

    Transcript of Emergency Call made on Apr. 29, 9:30 PM

    Operator: Emergency, how may I help you?

    Caller: Quick! Send someone to the Ucchan's restaurant in Nerima!
My girlfriend's been hurt!

    Operator: All right, calm down, sir. What exactly is wrong?

    Caller: I just came back from--er--running some errands. When I
got here the place was a wreck and I found Shampoo lying on the floor
with cuts all over her body.

    Operator: I'm sorry, sir? You say you found a bottle of shampoo
with cuts all over it?

    Caller: NO! Shampoo is my girlfriend's name! Now, are you going
to send an ambulance or what?!

    Operator: Yes, sir, I apologize. Now, where exactly are you?

    Caller: The Ucchan's in Nerima!

    Operator: And your name?

    Caller: My name is Mousse! Hurry!

    -END TRANSCRIPT-

    From the Journal of Akane Tendo, April 30

        Shampoo's in the hospital. She was admitted late last night
with some pretty bad cuts. She had to get stiches for most of them.
    When I arrived at the hospital today, Reiko and her partner, Lt.
Watanabe, were just leaving. Watanabe ignored me, but Reiko stopped
and told me that Ranma broke out of jail last night and he was wanted
for questioning in what happened to Shampoo.
    When I went in to see Shampoo, I was shocked. She had bandages
covering most of her limbs and torso. She had a couple of IV tubes
stuck into her arms. She looked pale, almost like Ukyou before she
died. Shampoo was asleep.
    Mousse was sitting by her bedside, hunched over. I thought he was
asleep, but he sat up as I sat down next to him. It was obvious he'd
been crying.
    "Akane?" he asked.
    "How is she?"
    "The doctor says she'll pull through,"
    "Any idea what happened to her?"
    "The police think Ranma did it,"
    "Do you?"
    He thought for a minute. "I don't know. Things haven't exactly
been the same around here since the funeral. It's possible, but I
doubt it,"
    "Why?"
    Mousse shifted around, fumbled in the sleeves of his robes and
handed me a small object.
    "I found this embedded in the wall,"
    It was one of Ukyou's throwing spatulas.

    Transcript of personal tape recording made by Sgt. Reiko Tsereba,
May 1, 6:00 PM

    Akane Tendo came to see me at the office today. She showed me an
object which she claimed was one of Ukyou Kuonji's throwing spatulas.
    This seems to be the case. It certainly looks like the ones in
all the photos of Ukyou I've seen. According to Akane, Mousse,
Shampoo's sometime's boyfriend, found the spatula in the wall of
Ucchan's after finding Shampoo beaten on the floor and calling the
ambulance.
    Watanabe remains convinced that Ranma Saotome has something to do
with this whole mess, maybe even is the cause of the whole thing.
    If only I could talk to Saotome, to judge for myself...
    (Knock on door.) Oh, hell... (footsteps, door opens) Saotome?!

    Saotome: Get in, quick! (door slams)

    Tsereba: Saotome, what the hell is going on?

    Saotome: I'm being followed!

    Tsereba: Probably one of Watanabe's men.

    Saotome: Not unless one of them specializes in okonomiyaki
martial arts.

    Tsereba: What?

    Saotome: Look,

    Tsereba: Oh, God, is that--?

    Saotome: Yep, one of Ukyou's throwing spatulas.

    Tsereba: There seems to be a lot of those things show up late--um-
-shouldn't we get that out of your arm?

    Saotome: What? Oh, yeah--HNNNGGGGHHH-OW! Thanks.

    Tsereba: Let me get some gauze, or--

    Saotome: Wait. First, look out your window.

    Tsereba: What?

    Saotome: Just DO it!

    Tsereba: What am I looking for?

    Saotome: Look on the roof across the way.

    Tsereba: I see her--Ukyou?

    Saotome: Bet your ass it's Ukyou.

    Tsereba: What's she doing?

    Saotome: Taunting me,

    Tsereba: What?

    Saotome: INCOMING!

    (Glass breaks and a scuffle ensues)

    -END TRANSCRIPT-

    The Nekohanten, May 1, 8:00PM

    Cologne wandered through the empty restaurant. The Nekohanten had
been closed since Shampoo and Mousse had moved out.
    No matter, they would return soon. The old woman had been to see
Shampoo at the hospital. Shampoo was still unconscious, but Cologne
had spoken to her anyway, telling her to return to the Nekohanten.
    "Ucchan's is not safe for you, Great-Granddaughter," she had
said, "It is like being in the lion's den,"
    Oh well, if Ranma was successful, this whole nasty business would
be over with soon enough...

    --CRACK!--

    Cologne turned. The sliding door of the restaurant had been
broken down and a female form with a huge spatula shaped object on her
back and oddly glowing eyes stepped into the main dining area.
    "Greetings, Cologne," she said, her voice oddly echoing.
    "You," the old woman replied.
    "Yes, me. I guess you thought you'd never see me again,"
    "I did. Feeling comfortable in your new form?"
    "Much. Ukyou had more of my life force than anyone thought she
had,"
    "Really?"
    "Oh, yes. In addition to the amounts she's shown to Shampoo and
Kodachi, there are little sections reserved for Akane, Ranma, Ryoga,
and many others. Even you,"
    "Me?" Cologne raised an eyebrow.
    "You sealed your fate when you tripped Ranma," said the Ukyou
impostor. "She saw you do it and that was enough to put you in the
running,"
    "What do you intend to do?" said the old woman calmly.
    "You should know,"
    "Humor me,"
    The impostor laughed. "No,"
    "Why not?"
    "Because then Ranma will be able to figure it out,"
    "What's Ranma to you?"
    The glowing eyes narrowed as Cologne's own widened.
    "You wouldn't," said the old woman.
    "I would and I will,"
    "You can't. You already have one person,"
    The Shadow-Ukyou laughed.
    "By the time I'm finished, she'll be dead in both body *and*
soul,"
    "Not if you can't get her body,"
    The glowing slits looked amused.
    "Who says I don't already?"
    "I grow bored with this," said Cologne, changing the subject. "I
assume you are here to kill me,"
    "No,"
    "No?" Cologne, for the first time in many years, was confused.
    "No," the Shadow-Ukyou said, "I've set things up so Ranma will be
forced to come see you. I want you to tell him everything,"
    "Why should I help you?"
    "If you don't I finish what I started with Shampoo,"
    Cologne hissed.
    "The choice is yours, old crone," said the Shadow-Ukyou. If it
was possible to see it's face, which it wasn't, the Shadow Ukyou
would have been smiling...

------


>From the Final Police Report of Sgt. Reiko Tsereba

    ...I picked myself up from the floor of my apartment. Saotome did
likewise, brushing bits of glass from his clothes.
    "Was she always like that?" I asked.
    "Not always," Saotome replied.
    I assessed what I had seen. On the roof of the house just across
the street from my apartment, I had seen a shadowy female figure
witha large bladed weapon on her back. While this could have been any
one of a number of people, I had also seen the luminescent eyes
Saotome described in his statement. I was convinced that Saotome was
telling the truth. That somehow Ukyou Kuonji had returned from the
dead.
    Knowing that I was facing a serious aiding and abetting charge
when this was all over, I told Saotome I believed him and asked what
our next move should be.
    "We go see the one person in Nerima who always seems to know
what's going on."

    Saotome and I proceeded to the Nekohanten, a Chinese restaurant
in the Nerima district. A sign on the door read "closed" but Saotome
ignored it. I followed.
    Inside, I saw an ancient woman with a long staff stare at us when
we entered. I could see Saotome was practically bursting with anger,
and I began to get worried.
    "I want you to know that I am seriously resisting the urge to
kill you right here and now." he said through clenched teeth to the
old woman. From this statement, I assumed that the woman was the
"Cologne" Saotome had made reference to during his interrogation.
    From Saotome's description, I expected Cologne to counter with a
secretive smile and some enigmatic statement. Instead, she merely
nodded gravely. I read fear in the old woman's face.
    Saotome evidently noticed it too.
    "She's been here, hasn't she?" he asked.
    "Yes," said Cologne. "But make no mistake, that is NOT Ukyou,"
    Saotome and I stared at each other and back at the old woman.
    "Allow me to explain," she said. "The person you have seen on the
rooftops is not the person you know, but rather, it is the disease
that killed her."
    "What?" asked Saotome.
    "I said it was a disease more of the soul than of the body,"
Cologne continued. "The being that you have been dealing with is a Ki-
Spirit. More specifically, a negative Ki-Spirit."
    "Ki-Spirit?" I asked. Cologne looked at me sharply.
    "Every person posesses Ki," she said slowly. "Some in greater
amounts than others. A martial artist uses his Ki in battle to give
him an edge. Ki comes in both positive and negative forms, fueled by
the emotions. Positive Ki comes from the feelings of peace,
confidence, and tranquility. Negative Ki comes from anger, depression
and jealousy. Both are equally powerful and both can be used
effectively in combat."
    "How so?" I asked. Saotome told me to watch him. He stepped out
the door of the restaurant and faced the sidewalk menu. In seconds,
he was surrounded by a firecely glowing blue aura and with a cry of
"Shishi Houkodan," send out a ball of energy that vaporized the sign.
    "Jesus!" I cried, astounded by the spectacle.
    "Indeed," Cologne said. "The technique you just saw is one of the
ways negative Ki is used to power a martial artist's offensive
capabilities. It also acts as a "release valve", if you will, for
negative Ki. Others release negative Ki through expressions of anger,
hatred or violence, such as Akane Tendo."
    "So, where does this Ki-Spirit come in then?" I asked.
    "Due to the society we live in, it is considered socially
unacceptable to release negative Ki through expressions of anger or
violence. With the result that the negative Ki is allowed to grow and
fester. If it grows to a large amount, it can be fatal. Normally,
since most people do not live in volatile areas, the Ki can be kept
under control by the soul's natural dampening power of Ki.
    "However, on occasion, the soul becomes overworked. This can
happen due to a number of circumstances; stress, depression, or any
other type of recurring negative experience," Here Cologne looked at
Saotome. "If the soul becomes overworked, the dampening power
decreases and the person can become deathly ill. But as the person
dies from the influx of negative Ki, it is possible for that Ki to
become, for want of a better word, sentient. And like all sentient
beings, the Ki-Spirit, as it is called, has a strong sense of self
preservation. In order for it to live, it's host must die."
    "And that's what happened to Ukyou?" Saotome asked. "All her
negative Ki mutated into..."
    "The person you are currently pursuing." Cologne finished. "The
Hanakatasha water has an effect on the soul, calming it and
increasing the power of the dampening field. But, the Ki-Spirit knows
this, and it is my assumption that it found some way to manipulate my
thinking into preventing you from giving the water to Ukyou. Now that
she is dead, it can wander freely."
    "That still doesn't explain why it's doing all this," said
Saotome. "I assume it did whatever happened to Shampoo, right?"
    The old woman hung her head.
    "Yes," she said quietly. "There is more to the story, future Son-
in-Law. After the Ki-Spirit is released, it only has a limited
lifespan. That of the residual Ki that leaves the body of it's host.
If it wants to continue to live, the Ki-Spirit must find a new host
before it's supply runs out. It currently wants you, Son-in-law."
    We both looked at Saotome. He was looking at the ground.
    "I guessed that was it." he said quietly. "That's what it meant
when it told me to prepare to lose everything I care about. And then
it attacked Shampoo."
    "It is even worse than that, Son-in-law," Cologne said. "The
residual Ki I mentioned that it feeds on, is composed of Ukyou's very
soul. If the supply runs out, she will be lost to us, forever."
    A thought struck me. "Ukyou's not really dead, is she?"
    "Yes...and no," Cologne replied. "Even though she died, her soul
did not go on to it's final reward. Instead, it has been channeled
into the Ki-Spirit, diverted if you will. If the Ki-Spirit is
destroyed and her body found, it may be possible to bring her back."
    Saotome seemed to brighten at this news.
    "How?"
    "The current question is where, Son-in-law. I am telling you this
not only because you want the information. *It* wants you to know as
well."
    "What?!" Saotome shrieked. "You've been playing along with it?"
    "If I did not, Shampoo would have died. There has been too much
death already. But, you have the information, what you choose to do
with it is in your hands."
    "So," I said, "We need to find out where this thing is,"
    "We?" Saotome looked at me. I nodded.
    "We. I've come too far to not see this through. And if it means
the loss of my career and some hefty jailtime, so what? Fighting for
truth and justice is what I became a cop for."
    Saotome smiled. "You're not too bad for a cop."
    "Thanks, you're not too bad for a juvenile delinquent."
    "Time is wasting." Cologne said.
    "Okay," said Saotome. "How do we figure this out?"
    An idea occurred to me. "It told you to prepare to lose
everything you care about, right?"
    "Yeah, so?"
    "So, what do you care about?"
    Saotome frowned. "Martial arts, becoming a great martial artist,
my friends, my--" A look of horror crossed Saotome's face. He stood
up and dashed out of the restaurant. Cologne and I followed.
    "What?" I called to Saotome's retreating form.
    "It's going after Akane!" he yelled back...


 -----

 >From the Journal of Akane Tendo, May 1

    ...She stood before me, the blade of her combat spatula pressing
me to the wall. It wasn't Ukyou. It had her basic form, but the
glowing eyes and the solid blackness of it's body told me it wasn't
Ukyou. Behind her, my family and Mr. Saotome were lying on the floor
of the living room, unconscious. I tried my best not to move.
    "What do you want?" I asked hesitantly. The thing in front of me
just snarled.
    "You're her aren't you?' I asked, feeling a little bolder. "The
one Ranma's been seeing for the past few weeks. Who are you?"
    "Let's just say I'm a part of a former friend of yours," the
(ghost? who knows?) said. "If you don't shut up, you'll be joining
her."
    Outside, a dog barked. The thing in front of me turned. Just for a
moment, but it was enough. I grabbed the handle of the combat spatula
and, using my knee for leverage, lifted the Ukyou-impostor into the
air and into the wall behind me. The impostor crashed into the wall,
leaving an outline in the plaster. It stood up, it's odd eyes glowing
a frightening red.
    I began to run. I had no destination in mind, I just had to get
away. I ran through the kitchen, making for the back door of the
house. Suddenly, everything went black. I stumbled around blindly. My
hand reached out searching for any sort of guide. It found another
hand.
    My relief was short lived when I found that the hand was cold.
Ice cold. The next thing I remember is flying through the air, then I
hit something hard.
    When my vision returned, blurry though it was, I could make out
the form of the impostor standing over me. I felt the sharp blade of
the combat spatula near my throat.
    "Now," the impostor said, "I'm going to put you out of Ukyou's
misery." It raised the spatula upwards like a guillotine blade. Just
as the being was about to bring it down, there was a crash from the
front of the house.
    "WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BITCH?" Ranma's angered voice floated back.
The impostor removed the blade from above my neck and pulled me to my
feet. It marched me down the hall to the living room. Ranma was
crouching over the forms of his father and Kasumi. I could see the
aura of ki-energy forming around him. He turned his head in our
direction.
    "I left them alive." the impostor said. "For now."
    "Leave her out of this," Ranma said, pointing at me. "This is
between you and me."
    "Ah, the old crone told you, did she? I must have scared her more
than I thought." the impostor replied.
    "Let Akane go." Ranma said flatly.
    "No. I don't want to."
    Suddenly there was a shot. Some ceiling plaster fell. We turned
our attention to Reiko, who had appeared with Cologne. Reiko had her
pistol out and pointed at the impostor.
    "Let Akane go." she said coldly. Cologne stared at the livng
shadow holding me.
    "One person," she said. "That's all you are allowed to have at
any one time. You know you must do battle with Ranma to take him. He
is here and ready to fight, so Akane is useless to you."
    The shadow being looked at Cologne, then shoved me towards Reiko.
    "Put your pistol away, Sergeant," Cologne continued. "This is
between them." Reiko looked at the old woman, then complied.
    "What's going on?" I asked as they drew me away from Ranma and
the impostor.
    "A battle for Ranma's and Ukyou's souls." Cologne said quietly.
    The two stood facing each other. The shadow being's eyes glowing
red, Ranma being surrounded by a blue aura of Ki-energy. Neither move
for a moment.
    Ranma suddenly cut loose with a punch that the shadow ducked
easily, rolling across the floor and coming up with a volley of
throwing spatulas. Ranma dodged the projectiles, rolling across the
floor and out into the hall. The shadow creature follwed him. Ranma
led it down the hall and out of the house. Reiko, Cologne and I
followed.
    The shadow beign was clearly getting the upper hand. It managed
to block all of Ranma's puches and kicks. Even the Kachu Tenshin
Amaguriken had no effect on the being.
    "You're sloppy, Saotome." The creature said, amused. "What are
you thinking about? How easily I killed Ukyou? How I hurt Shampoo? Or
maybe just how I nearly killed the only one of your fiancees you
really do love?"
    I felt a jolt go through me. Ranma loved me? Really loved me? How
did that thing know? or was it just to get a rise out of Ranma?
    I looked at Ranma and saw tears forming in his eyes. Was it true
then? Did Ranma really love me? Whether he did or not, it was enough
of a distraction for the shadow to smack him a good hit across the
face. Ranma went flying into the pond in the backyard.
    "RANMA!" I cried. I started to run to him, but Cologne held me
back with her staff, shaking her head.
    Ranma, now in her girl form, crawled out. She lay panting on the
side of the pond. For some reason this fight was taking a lot out of
her. The shadow stood over her. I fought to get by the old woman, but
she held me in place with her staff.
    I could see Ranma was bleeding from a gash across her cheek. She
appeared to be in pain. But Ranma never reacted to a cut like that
before.
    "It has begun," Cologne said to Reiko. "the Ki-Spirit is
beginning to feed on Ranma's soul."
    Ranma was now fighting to stand up. She had barely gotten to her
feet when the Ki-Spirit spoke.
    "You're good, Saotome. But let's see how well you deal with
*this!* ENGULF!"
    Suddenly, the Ki-Spirit expanded in size and surrounded Ranma in
a vast black cloud. I shoved Cologne aside and began running towards
the cloud. But when I reached the edge of the cloud, a powerful force
drove me back.
    "What the-?"
    "You cannot do anything for him," said Cologne. "Ranma must now
confront his own personal demons if he is to succeed. We cannot
interfere."
    "How can you be so heartless? Don't you care about what happens
to him?" I shrieked. The old woman fixed me with cold eyes.
    "I care very much what happens to him. However, I care more about
what will happen if that thing is allowed to win. Do you think it
will stop at Ranma? No, it will find another victim and another until
it has fed on every man, woman and child on the planet. There will be
no stopping it!"
    I turned away, tears streaming down my face to look at the cloud.
    "Ranma..." I whispered...

Somewhere In The Shadows

    Ranma wandered through the darkness, stumbling blindly. She
couldn't see anything, but she had to keep going. She had to find a
way out of this blackness.
    She became aware of a light off to her left. She began walking in
that direction. Soon, she found herself inside the Tendo home. That
was odd, where was everyone? She walked down the hall into the living
room.
    She fought to keep from retching. The entire Tendo family and her
father were dead. Genma had been stuffed full of bamboo, to the point
that he had choked to death on it. The fact that he was in human form
served only to heighten the grisly scene.
    Soun had been completely eviscerated, his entrails spilling out
over the floor. Nabiki had been force fed the exact same camera she
used to take her blackmail shots. Her feet had been lopped off and
were lying in the corner, a large pool of blood collecting at her
ankles.
    Kasumi had been crucified on the wall, blood spattering her once
white apron. A pair of spatulas had been jammed through her hands
straight into the wall behind her. Ranma avoided looking at the pulpy
mass that had once been her face.
    Then came the blow that had sent her reeling.  Akane's body lay
on the floor, her neck a bloody stump oozing blood. Her head was on a
platter in the center of the small table in the center of the room,
like some kind of grotesque centerpiece. Ranma forced herself to take
a closer look. Akane's eyes were closed, much to her relief. But she
noticed that the head was resting on something other than the
platter.
    Ranma swallowed painfully and forced herself fo remove Akane's
head from the table. Underneath was a blood stained okonomiyaki with
a message scrawled on it: "YOUR FAULT."
    Ranma recoiled at the sight of the message. She continued backing
away until she hit the wall. She turned to leave the horrors behind...
    And found herself in a hospital room. There was a bed here, with
a sheet covered form on it. Next to the bed a figure in white robes
was crying.
    "Mousse?" Ranma asked, but the Chinese boy didn't seem to hear. A
few minutes later a nurse came in and escorted Mousse out of the
room. Ranma found herself drawn towards the bed. She already knew who
was there, but she was compelled to go anyway. She picked up the
chart at the foot of the bed.
    The word in the "Name" box read "Shampoo" and splashed across it,
in blood red letters, the words "YOUR FAULT" filled Ranma's vision.
    She screamed, the horror of the situation overtaking her. She
screamed until it felt like her lungs would collapse. She screamed
until her throat was dry and cracked. And when her voice gave out,
she screamed silently until she felt she had screamed her soul out.
    Then the sheet moved. Ranma jumped back at this unexpected
movement. She tried to force herself to move, to get away, but she
remained frozen in place.
    Suddenly, the form in the bed sat bolt upright, the sheet falling
away. The face of a deathly pale and emanciated Shampoo stared at
Ranma until she felt her blood run cold.
    "Raaaaannnnmmmaaaa," Shampoo wailed like a banshee. She got out
of bed and began advancing on Ranma, her arms outstretched, like she
wanted a hug. Ranma kept backing up, even though there was nowhere to
go.
    Shampoo began to rot. Flakes of skin peeled off her face and
arms. Maggots began to go to work on her. Her body gave off an evil
smell.
    "Raaaannnnmmmmmaaaaa," she moaned. Ranma broke out of her stupor
and dashed for the door. She threw it open.
    Akane was there, holding her head out in front of her.
    "Raaaaannnnnmmmmaaaaa," she echoed.
    "Get away from me!" Ranma cried. She began backing away from the
two dead girls. She tried to find another way out, bumping into the
wall behind her as she did so.
    Two pale arms burst through the wall and grabbed Ranma. Ranma,
more reflexively than anything else, jabbed an elbow into the crooks
of the arms. The arms let go and Ranma jumped over Shampoo and Akane,
onto the hospital bed.
    The wall she had been resting against gave way, and Ukyou
appeared, her arms also outstretched. She was also moaning his name
like some kind of mystical chant. But then all three girls began
chanting "Your fault, your fault," as they got closer to the bed.
Ranma backed herself as far as she could go. She couldn't hit them,
they were all friends, even if they were dead.
    And, Ranma realized with a chilling certainty, they were right.
It was his fault they were dead, all of them. It had stared with
Ukyou and went downhill from there. It was all his fault all of--
    "Snap out of it, Saotome!"
    There were three flashes of silver light and instantly, the three
zombie girls had crumbled to dust. Ranma looked around for the voice
that sounded like--no, it couldn't be...
    "Ucchan?" Ranma asked weakly.
    "It was NOT your fault. You did everything you could to save me.
Don't let this thing fool you! Akane is alive, Shampoo is alive, the
Tendos and your father are alive! This thing is trying to make you
give up, to do to you what it did to me! Fight it! Have confidence in
yourself! You've defeated worse things than this! You have yet to be
completely beaten in anything!"
    Ranma felt a flame spark and begin to burn in her soul.
    "You may have lost me, but we'll both be damned if you're going
to lose Akane, right?"
    The flame began to build.
    "Now, get out there and trounce this thing and save Akane.
Because if you don't, then everything you've seen will actually
happen. Now do you really want that on your conscience?"
    "No," Ranma said. The flame was now spread throughout her entire
body.
    "I love you, Ranma Saotome!"
    "MOUKO TAKABISHYA!!"

    Ranma's ki-blast dissolved the shadows around her. She found
herself back in the Tendo backyard. She looked around for the Ki-
Spirit.
    "Behind you, son-in-law!" Cologne cried. Ranma turned, to see the
Ki-Spirit descending upon him, combat spatula at the ready. Ranma
leaped into the air and intercepted the Ki-Spirit.
    "Not this time!" she cried. She tossed the spatula away, grabbed
the Ki-Spirit behind the neck and drove it face first into the ground.
    Reiko and Akane cheered. Ranma smiled and winked at them.
    The Ki-Spirit stood up, wavering slightly.
    "You're even better than I thought, Saotome." it said.
    "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" Ranma said. "MOUKO TAKABISHYA!"
    The ball of ki went sailing towards the spirit. It's glowing eyes
widened. Then it folded upon itself and vansished. The ki ball landed
in the pond, heating the water, and sending a generous amount of it
onto Ranma.
    "Where'd it go?!" The now-male Ranma demanded. He looked over at
the spectators. "Where is it, old ghoul?" he asked Cologne.
    Cologne was already lost in thought. "To the cemetary, quickly!"

    The four of them dashed into the Nerima Community Graveyard. The
Moon was a bloated orb as they dashed towards the spot where Ukyou was
buried.
    All they found when they arrived was a pile of dirt, a broken
headstone and a coffin.
    "Open it." Cologne ordered. Ranma and Akane pulled the lid of the
coffin upwards. The light of the moon overhead was more than enough
to see that the coffin was empty.
    "It is not over yet, son-in-law." Cologne stated. Ranma, Akane,
and Reiko looked at each other, each feeling in their gut that the
old woman was right.

---

    That's it, folks. "The Shadows" Part two of the "Death of Ukyou
Trilogy." Next, Ranma takes a journey to the Astral Plane to take
care of the Ki-Spirit once and for all, and quite possibly return
Ukyou to the land of the living. Be here for The Death of Ukyou Part
Three: "The Beyond!"

                                                ---Erin 2.5

   "This just goes to show you that brain damage can be fun!"

                        ---Shadoe Stevens, "Shadoevision"