I woke up in a hospital bed with my head throbbing.  I couldn't
remember who I was or how I got there, although I had a dim memory of
being hit in the head.  Which wasn't much use, as I already had pain to
remind me of that.

      Other than that, I seemed to be okay.  I sat up and looked down at
myself.  I was a woman, dressed in a hospital gown.  I had long red hair
in a braid.  My body was well muscled, and except for my aching head, I
felt reasonably fit and healthy.  

      The nurse walked in.  "Feeling better, Miss Tendo?"

      I nodded.  "I need some painkillers for my head...what happened to
me?"  Tendo.  My name was Tendo.  Was that a first name or a last name?
Probably last.  Maybe.  

      She brought me some pills.  "This should help you feel better.  Your
sister brought you in, said you'd been mugged."  She paused.  "How much do
you remember?"

      "Less than nothing. Not even my own name." Not even that I was
female, until I looked.  It didn't seem quite right.  "What's my sister's
name?"  I took the pills.

      "Kay.  Kay Tendo.  Tall with long black hair, dresses nicely, rather
pretty.  She must be pretty strong though,"  the nurse said, checking my
chart. "And your name is Ranko.  Ranko Tendo."

      I nodded.  A vague memory of getting mail with that name on it
popped into my head.  "What city am I in?"

      "Austin, Texas.  According to your records, you live at 8697
Rolling Brook Drive."  She thought a moment.  "Shall I bring you your
sister's number?"

      "Yeah, she'll be worried about me."  I thought hard, and a fuzzy
memory came to mind.  A tall girl, much taller than me, in a very nice
blue dress with a green ribbon in her hair.  Soft, brown, twinkling eyes.
A very nice figure.  I blushed that I thought about my own sister in those
terms.

      The nurse brought me the phone number, and I reached for the phone.

      I never made it to the phone because six ugly men in black kabuki
outfits walked into the room.  The nurse didn't notice them, walking right
through them as if they didn't exist, but I noticed them.  Especially the
9mm pistols they were carrying, and the way they were levelling them at
me.  I think they didn't expect me to see them.

      Their mistake.  I rolled off the bed and let their gunfire riddle
the wall, then instinctively hefted the bed and threw it at them.  They
fell down and I leaped out the window.

      Bad move.  Sadly, I had not realized I was on the 20th story.
Luckily, I had just taken some strong painkillers.  I was going to need
them.

*********************

Nine Princes in Anime
An Anime/Amber fusion.

Chapter 1:  Out of the Frying Pan...

By

John Biles

*********************

 
      I crashed through the top of an eighteen wheeler delivering soda to
the hospital.  Landing on cans is NOT fun.  Neither is being sprayed down
by every Coke product known to man while wearing a hospital gown.  I
staggered out of the back of the truck with a sprained ankle and lots of
new pain to go with my aching head.  Only my painkillers were enabling me
to keep going.  Well, sort of going.  I've never liked painkillers; they
slow you down too much, and usually I need speed; it's all I have at
times.  I had the vague feeling I ought to be dead, but dismissed the
thought since I wasn't lying around still.  

      I staggered across the parking lot.  Dammit, I need a quarter so I
can call the police, I thought.  Duh...I can go into the lobby and just
tell them what happened.  Limping into the lobby, I got some funny looks,
and a middle-aged man held his nose as I passed.  Some people don't
appreciate the use of Diet Coke as a perfume, I suppose.  

      The woman behind the lobby desk stared at me in surprise.  "Um...can
I help you?"

      "I got attacked in my room and had to jump out the window."

      The elevator doors dinged.  Instinctively, I dropped and rolled to
one side as bullets ripped into the desk and receptionist from the
elevators.  I wish most elevators were as fast as this hospital's
elevators must be.  The six men were there, all bruised, but still coming.
In the better lobby lighting, there was something visibly wrong about
their skin.  It looked like old newspaper, a kinda dingy grey/tan.  As I
rolled along the floor, I spotted a cluster of chairs.  They made great
projectiles, when I knocked the men back into the elevator just as the
door began to close.  I also found three quarters under them, which I
grabbed.  

       The elevator doors soon started to reopen, so I ran, grabbed the
phonebook off the receptionist's desk, and sprinted out of the lobby.
More bullets.  Luckily, I'm a quick runner, and I sprinted out the front
door of the hospital and headed out into the parking lot to hide.  A
number popped into my head.  911.  Emergency number.  If I could find a
phone, I could call the police.

       I spotted a phone. Right by the entrance that three of them came
running out through.  They split up to search the parking lot.  I crept
from car to car.  If I can pick one of them off and get their gun, I might
have a chance, I thought.  Why are these whackos after me, anyway?

       It was hard to stay hidden and watch them at the same time, but I
could hear one of them getting closer.  Finally, he came around the corner
and spotted me. I lashed out with a kick and sent his gun flying, then
leaped, flipped over his head, and kicked him from behind, sending him
sprawling.  I could hear the others coming, so I grabbed the gun.  "Get
back or I'll shoot!"

       He kept coming, so I shot.  The slug flattened itself against his
trenchcoat.  Just my luck, I thought.  He did clearly feel it, though.
Silently, he kept coming, so I unleashed every kick and punch I could
think of.  I can think of a LOT of punches and kicks.  He collapsed, and I
grabbed his trenchcoat, putting it on just as the other two opened fire on
me, and the remaining three came out of the building.  

       I ran, faster and faster.  A car was heading out of the parking
lot. I jumped up on top of the parked cars, leaping car to car.  I nearly
fell three times when bullets hit the coat and flattened against it,
because I still felt the impact.  It just couldn't put a hole in me too.

      With a little luck, I managed to leap onto the car as it turned out
into traffic, and clung to the roof.  By the time the men got to their
car, I was gone.

*****************

      I still had the phonebook, for what it was worth.  I found Kay Tendo
in the phonebook as I rode along on top of the car, which pulled into a
gas station.  Hidden Valley Condos, on Guadalupe.  Right.  Not too far
from here...I think.  Only the vaguest idea of the city's geography stuck
in my mind.  

      The car's driver got out.  "Who the hell are you?"  He was a bit
taller than me, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. Nicely dressed
in a suit, fairly slender, with a gruff voice.

      I hopped off the car.  "Sorry about that.  I gotta call the police.
Some maniacs were trying to kill me.  Oh, my name is Ranko Tendo."  I
looked for a phone book.

      After he actually got a chance to really look at me, he did a double
take.   "Ranko? You look funky in that outfit.  They said you weren't
checked into the hospital."

      "Umm...should I know you?"

      "We're married."

      A combination of shock and the painkillers clonked me out and I
fainted.

********************

      I heard the voices before I could open my eyes or think clearly.  My
whole body was aching.  Probably the painkillers wearing off.  Maybe they
weren't so bad for me after all.  Fast with pain isn't too fun, either.

      "What the hell happened to Ranchan?" the guy asked.  "She said
someone was trying to kill her."

      "We went shopping and got mugged.  She took a bad headblow, so I
took her to the hospital."  The other voice was very feminine and soft.  I
recognized it, but couldn't put a name to it.  "I have no idea why anyone
in a trenchcoat would be trying to kill her.  Anyway, I brought her some
much nicer clothing than that tacky hospital gown."

      I could feel hands stripping me and changing my clothing. I tried to
stop them, but it hurt too much to move.  I managed to mutter, "Do
it...myself..."

      "Don't worry, Ranchan.  It's just me, Ukyou, your husband, and
Kay, your sister.  You're safe."

      Ukyou.  I remembered the name.  We'd taken an oath of some kind.
Some dim memory of a dress or something.  Flowers.  Rice.  Someone had
been throwing rice at me.  How could they waste food like that?

      I had more sisters, I suddenly remembered.  Wasn't sure how many.
Some brothers too.  Maybe.  I muttered, "Husband?"

      Ukyou laughed.  "Well, that's what we let everyone think.  I know
you don't like boys like that, but it keeps people off our back, and I
think it's kinda funny."  He...she? laughed and squeezed my hand.  

      I finally sat up.  "OWWWWWWW!!!!!"  

      My eyes opened and I saw them.  Ukyou was sitting by the bed, while
another woman, who matched my memory of her, was tossing the clothing into
a basket.  She was dressed in a very nice green dress with a low cut
front, although a large bow and brooch covered up most of the cleavage
that would have been exposed.  "Kay?"  I asked.

      She turned and smiled.  "Yes?"

      "How many siblings do I have?"  I paused.  "Do we have?"

      She sat down and thought for a moment.   "I'm the youngest.  Then
there's you, and then the oldest one is Wanda.  She has red hair like
yours.  She's the oldest.  She teaches at MIT, and you're a fencing
instructor, and I run the family finances."

     Ukyou laughed.  "In other words, she's idle rich.  Sort of like me."
More laughter.  "Well, I also run a chain of restaurants.  Though it
mostly runs itself."

     I remembered Ukyou's restaurants now, but what Kay said didn't quite 
sound right.  I had this memory of having more siblings than you can shake
a stick at.  Still, my own sister wouldn't lie to me.

      "Your parents are both dead, Ranchan,"  Ukyou said.  "They were
wealthy shipping magnates."

      "I'm going to go wash this,"  Kay said.  "Then we can go out to
dinner."

      "Have you called the cops?"

      "Don't worry.  It's being taken care of,"  Kay said.  She paused in
the doorway.  "There's some cards in the desk if you want to play
something while I'm busy."

      Ukyou dug them out.  They were simply bound with a rubberband.  They
looked hand painted, though how someone had handpainted a unicorn on the
back of each card, I didn't know.  "These are weird cards."

      "Huh?"  I was still fighting pain and adjusting to the concept of
being married to a girl. It was like...right and not right at the same
time.  

      She showed them to me.  They weren't normal playing cards.  There
was a city on one of them, a beautiful city of crystal and gold and
silver, spun of lace and dreams.  Another had the unicorn on both sides.
A third showed a black pit in a dry cracked plain. It gave me shivers.
For a moment, I was falling, falling.  I slammed my eyes shut and it
stopped.

      When I opened them, Ukyou had turned to some pictures of people.
The first one was easy to recognize.  It was Kay done up in a beautiful
dress, woven of blue and green satin, covered with tiny gems and a
filagree of gold and silver.  "Wow," I said.  

      Ukyou nodded.  "I wonder where she hides that dress."

      The next card was a red haired woman with spikey red hair.  She was
one of the most obnoxious looking people I had ever seen, with a big grin
and an evil twinkle in her bright green eyes.  She looked to be around
thirteen years old, and was wearing a white labcoat over a blue vest,
green shirt and a long pleated black skirt down to mid-shin over blue
pumps.  "That's Wanda,"  Ukyou said.

       I boggled.  "But...she looks...oh, I guess this one was done when
she was younger."

       "She still looks like that.  Some kind of bone problem where they
don't grow to full length.  She teaches physics at MIT,"  Ukyou said.

       The next card was a rich man, nicely dressed in white with slicked
back black hair and huge eyebrows.  He was holding a katana in a scabbard 
and leaning against a huge green M-1 Tank.  There were trees in the
background, and he was frowning at me.  I disliked him instinctively.
"How about this?"

      Ukyou shook her head.  "A cousin, maybe?  Don't know him."

      The next was a blue haired woman sitting at a table.  Her hair was
very short and parted slightly in front, and she dressed in an odd white
outfit that appeared to be molded to her body and made of plastic.  She
was looking off to the right side of the card, and seemed to be trying to
ignore whoever drew this.  I got the feeling she wanted nothing to do with
the rest of our family...assuming these were all family.  "Ever seen her?"

      "She looks sorta like someone I went to school with, but no."

      Ukyou pulled out the next card.  This was a grinning black haired
man with a huge pistol in his right hand.  He had it pointed directly at
the viewer, while he leaned up against a corner.  Unseen by him, a huge
mallet was about to descend on his head from around that corner.  I liked
him instinctively, although I also had the feeling I wouldn't want to
stand too close to him most of the time.  

      I glanced at Ukyou.  She frowned.  "I think I saw this guy at our
wedding.  Maybe."  She thought a moment.  "Yeah, he tried to get me into
bed with him AFTER the wedding.  How he could tell I was a girl...I don't
know.  Wanda dragged him to the wedding.  He looked like he was gonna bust
a gut the whole time.  Never saw him again."

      The next one looked old.  He was wearing a uniform and looked
somewhat like a policeman, with greying hair, and he sat behind a desk.
It bothered me, because I knew he shouldn't look old, that it was some
kind of trick.  I didn't trust him.  There was a window behind his desk,
and I could see some sort of suit of giant white armor through the window.
"Was this Dad?"

      She shook her head.  "I've seen photos of your parents.  This guy
might be an uncle or something."

      The next card was another old man.  He was sitting in a serene
garden in front of a temple with a large unicorn sigil.  The artist had
caught him in the middle of a sword kata, which he was performing with a
wooden sword.  He was dressed in simple white robes with a few orange and
tan stripes.  I felt a current of respect and knew that in him, I found
someone who had always bested me in battle.  "Another uncle?"

      "I would guess so.  He looks old enough to be your father's
brother."

      The next one was a young man with black hair.  He was dressed in a
yellow wrap around top and tan pants tied tight around his lower legs.  An
umbrella of bamboo stood next to a tree by him, and he was trying to read
a map.  I couldn't see his eyes, but I did see the bright yellow and black
bandana that kept the hair out of his eyes.  He hated me.  I knew that.
Why he hated me, I wasn't sure.  Something about...bread?  A trip maybe.
Yes.  We had been supposed to go on a trip to...no, that wasn't right.
"How about him?"

       "Not a clue."

       I smiled at the next one.  A woman, about my age, with long blonde
hair done up in two buns, one on each side of her head, each with a long
trailing pig-tail confronted the viewer in the middle of what looked like
some sort of dance.  She was wielding a large golden mace with a red
heart-shaped head, and there was a huge red heart for a background.  A
tiara sat upon her brow and she was wearing a white leotard with a short
blue skirt and a large blue bow with a broach in the middle.  It looked
somewhat like the broach Kay wore, except this one had four small red
gems, not a large purple one like Kay's.  I knew her, and I liked her, a
lot.  I knew I could trust her, and that was important.  "How about her?"

      She thought a moment.  "You have a picture of her.  I have no clue
who she is...ex-girlfriend, maybe?"

      I nodded.  "Next."

      The next one was very familiar, and yet not.  It was a boy, clad in
black and silver armor, a teenager with long black hair pulled back into a
pig-tail.  He had a silver rose clasp holding his long blue cloak in
place, and wore long silver gauntlets.  He could have been my twin, except
for the hair.  And not being female, of course.  I was in the picture too,
dressed in exactly the same outfit, right down to the rose.  We were both
smiling at the viewer.  Arrogantly smiling.  We both had a look of
supreme confidence, like nothing could ever defeat us or even slow us
down.  "I recognize me, but who's the guy?"

      "Kay once told me you had a twin brother, but he died."

      "Ahh.  What was his name?"

      "Ranma."  

      The name struck a chord of memory.  Dim memories of training, of a
voice, a man's voice, my father's voice calling me that. Sometimes proud,
sometimes disappointed.  I remembered him training me, training me to be
the best.  A name came to me.  Genma.  "Was my father named Genma?"

      "Yes.  And your mother was...Nodoka."

      Speak of the devil and he appears.  I knew the next card, a well
dressed balding man, clad to impersonate Henry VIII, complete with gut,
floppy hat, and rings on his fingers.  He also wore glasses, tied onto his
face, and smiled confidently.  He oozed power and pride.  I wasn't sure if
I liked him, but I knew he had been a strong man, but not a very honest
one.  "Father."

      "Yeah."

      The next one was creepy as all get out.  Against a starry
background, he stood next to a building, nailing a voodoo doll to it.  He
was wearing some kind of headgear with mounted candles, and he had the
biggest eyes I'd ever seen, with the tiniest pupils.  His skin was pale,
and his hair was dark black and short.  He dressed in simple black pants,
a white shirt, and a black buttoned up jacket with long sleeves and a high
collar.  He made me intensely uncomfortable.  "How about him?"

      "Cousin, I think.  He came to the wedding.  Name is...Gilligan?"

      It couldn't be Gilligan.  I was pretty sure that Gilligan had been
shipwrecked on an island for years...that memory was fuzzy too.

      I didn't like the next card either.  A man stood with a sword firmly
grasped in both hands, point towards the viewer with lightning striking
behind him.  His face was grim, and his hair was dark brown and curly,
jutting out in front.  The words 'blue thunder' came to mind.  Surely not
his name.  "This one?"

      "I think maybe he showed up once at a party.  Maybe.  Doesn't ring
any bells."

      The next card was more pleasant.  A blond man with short hair,
dressed in a colorful outfit leaned up against a wall, playing the
saxophone.  He wore modern garb, unlike many of the cards, and had a
confident grin.  He looked friendly, and I was certain he liked me.  An
ex-boyfriend, maybe, although I didn't have any boyfriends, I thought.
The thought of having a man as a lover repulsed me, and yet...so who was
this guy?  There was something odd about the card, too.  It felt just a
little cold.  "How about him?"

      "Nope.  Never seen him."

      I was about to move on to the next card, but something about the
card drew me in.  I felt like he was nearby.  And his name was hovering on
the doorstep into my mind.  I stared at the card.  I know you.  Saxophone
notes drifted through my mind.  Two saxaphone players.  Him and a woman
with long black hair, in a little cafe with an odd name.  ABCB. That was
it.  The only saxaphone duel I had ever seen.  Her name was Madoka, and
his name was...Yuu.  "Yuu.  His name is Yuu and he's my...half-brother."

      "He didn't come to your wedding, though."

      I tried to remember the wedding, but drew a complete blank except
for a kiss, and a lot of rice tossing, and me wearing a dress.  "Maybe we
forgot to send him an invitation."

      I stared at the card, trying to will it to let me remember more
about him.  He was enigmatic, shadowed, his true opinions usually hidden.
He loved music and architecture.  He liked to build things.  We'd once
played tennis for a day straight against each other.  He...

      I could see him.  Running.  Eight men in trenchcoats were after him.
I recognized them.  They were like the ones that had attacked me.  He
paused and fired at one with a .357, but it just grunted and kept running.
Suddenly, he noticed me.  "Ranko?"

      "Yuu...what the hell is going on?"  I almost lost my concentration.
Was this a memory?  A hallucination?

      "I heard you died."

      "I got better.  Who the hell are these people?"  He vaulted over the
railing of the second story of a mall.  I knew that mall.  It was Highland
Mall, only a few miles from here.  He landed well, but nearly got hit when
they reached the railing and opened fire on him again.  

      "I have NO clue, but they don't like me.  Pull me through, okay?"

      I reached out and grabbed him and yanked.

      Suddenly, a hundred and sixy pounds of blond male was lying on top
of me.  He was wearing a nice blue button shirt stained with blood and
tan slacks, and carrying a large pistol.  He was quite handsome in an
angular sort of way, and skinny.  He also was close to a foot taller than
me.  "Uh, hi."

      Ukyou stared in shock, dropping the rest of the cards.  "What
the..."

      Yuu looked at me, then at her.  "Your girlfriend?"

      "Wife,"  Ukyou said, pulling Yuu off me.  "And you are?"

      Yuu boggled.  "You got married?  And you didn't invite me?"  He
recovered swiftly, as if the boggling had never happened.  "Well, you
picked a good one, I have to say.  Nice to meet you.  I'm Yuu."  He
paused and glanced at me with a look that clearly indicated I was supposed
to hint something to him.  Sadly, I had no idea what.  "Yuu, son of
Chiyako."

      "A pleasure to meet you," Ukyou said, in tones that indicated it
wasn't.  "So you're Ranko's half-brother?"

      He nodded.  "So you've seen those trenchcoated whackos too?"

      "Yeah.  Are they after our whole family?"

      "I'd be impressed.  So why have you been hiding all these years?"

      Kay walked in.  "Okay, everything is being taken care of by
Carmella.  Now...Yuu?"  She looked surprised.

      "Hiya.  Got anything left from the last time I dropped in?  I did
abandon some clothing here, right?"

      She frowned.  "Yes.  I gave it to the Salvation Army, but they said
it was too low-class."

      "Well, I've got money.  I'm sure you can buy me something suitable.
Although I might wait on changing until those trenchcoated maniacs find us
again."

      Kay frowned.  "You led them here?"

      "Naah, Ranko Trumped me in.  But they found me no matter where I ran
in Shadow."

      In shadow?  He must mean he was hiding.  Weird phrase, I thought.
"We think they may be after the whole family."  Trumped..it sounded
familiar.  The cards were Trumps. They were...magical.

      Kay suddenly started, then stared at me and at the deck of cards.
"I thought I left those in my room."  She started picking them up.  
      
      I glanced over at Ukyou.  She looked confused and worried, and kept
rubbing her eyes.  I whispered to her, "This gets weirder and weirder,
eh?"

      Ukyou nodded.  

      There was a howling noise outside and the sounds of dogs attacking
people and being shot.  Kay said, "Oh my, I think they've found us."  She
had only picked up half the trumps.  She handed them absentmindedly to
Ukyou, then opened her purse and tossed me a 9mm Browning and two clips.
She said, "I had to get rid of the hunting rifles after that party."  She
turned to Yuu and frowned.  "So this is it, except for my hand grenade,
and the Uzi under my pillow.  Prepare yourselves while I go arm.  And try
to not get too much blood on the carpet, okay?"

      "..."

***************

      
     There were fourteen of them, and four of us.  Three and a half,
really...Kay spent most of her time egging on her dogs and trying to
figure out where she had actually left her uzi.  What was left of
them.  She had six huge wolfhounds, and three of them were dead by the
time we arrived.  Yuu and I had already worked out the plan.  I was much
better in hand to hand, so I gave Ukyou the gun and she and Yuu covered me
as I rather foolishly went after each of them in turn, stealing their
trenchcoats.

     Despite it making them easier to stop, I regretted it, as they
weren't wearing much else.  They looked like extras for a horror movie,
with greyish skin that turned scaly around their chests and upper legs,
and an extra mouth in their stomach.  Luckily, they weren't too fast, and
I was able to toss them around like ninepins.  

     Finally, Kay found the Uzi and mowed them down.  She sighed.  "This
is going to take FOREVER to clean up."  This was not something I would
have been worrying about.

     Ukyou stared at the corpses.  "What the hell are these things?"

     They were starting to bubble and dissolve.  It was incredibly
disgusting and smelled bad too. Kay was dancing about with a can of Lysol
in each hand, spraying like a madwoman.  Yuu said, "Conjurations,
probably.  You'd have to ask Wasyuu, I suppose."

     The feeling was growing in me that I had forgotten a LOT of important
stuff.

*************

     We went out to dinner at The Old San Francisco Steak House.  It's
right off of I-35, and the food is very, very nice.  It's quite expensive,
but apparently my family is loaded, since everyone knew Kay on sight
there.  And me.  

     We settled down to our meal, and I decided to try to figure out what
the hell was going on.  "So you have no idea why they're after you?"

     "I think Kunou's mad I won't support his bid for the throne now that
Pop finally bit the dust.  Assuming he didn't just get lost somewhere or
decide to go on a really long trip.  Which is what I plan to assume until
I see a body."

     I nodded.  I couldn't remember much, but...it just sounded right.
"Which means he'll try again."  Wait...throne?  

     Ukyou said, "Throne?"

     Yuu glanced at her, then at me.  I didn't know anything, but decided
to not admit that.  "Tell her.  She doesn't know."

     Kay glanced at me, then at Yuu, who glanced back at her, then at
Ukyou, who looked baffled.  Kay said, "So you do remember."

     "Of course I remember."  I was lying out my ass.  I had a mounting
feeling of being in way over my head.

     Kay sighed.  "You're not going to blow up my house again, are you?  I
just took this job so someone who didn't hate you would be watching over
you."  She sounded scared.

     "Well, now you can make up for it by explaining everything.  I've
still got some fuzzy spots, and it seems you were privy to a few things I
was not."  I frowned.  What kinda crazy stuff is my family up to?  

     "We still don't know how you ended up here.  The first hundred years
or so, you were simply missing.  Then Kunou found you, and asked me to
keep an eye on you.  I was rather surprised, given how much you hate each
other, but I did so.  I've been living in this world off and on for about
two hundred and fifty years now."  

      Ukyou boggled.  "WHAT? How could you possibly live so long?"

      "We are not mere mortals like yourself, Ukyou Kuonji.  All of us are
of the blood of King Genma of Anime, the eternal city."  She thought a
moment.  "Get out that deck of cards."

      I did so, paging through to the picture of the city.  "This city?"

      She nodded.  "It is the focus of all reality, and all else is but a
shadow of its glory, a reflection in some imperfect way.  Those of us of
the blood of its royalty have all lived hundreds of years and seen worlds
beyond your imagining.  To those who have walked the Pattern, all things
are open to them."

      Ukyou started working on some serious boggling.  I listened quietly.
It sounded completely whacko, and yet I knew it was true.  Every word
brought back a bit of memory.  "And Pop's gone missing?"

      Kay nodded.  "For decades now, and everyone's starting to eye the
throne hungrily.  Not me, of course.  I have other concerns.  But I think
Wasyuu, and Ryo and Kunou all have their eyes on it, and likely some of
the others as well."

      "So Kunou put me here to get me out of the way?"  I could believe
it.  I had only one real memory of Kunou...me kicking him in the head and
him looking hacked off about it as he toppled off the castle wall.
However, I was sure we didn't like each other.

      "Maybe,"  Yuu said.  "You went missing before Pop ran off.  Some of
us thought he might even be looking for you at first.  Kunou's likely to
have Mendo on his side by now, but I don't know about Ryouga or Goto or
Youshou.  Assuming Youshou's not off trying to refight the fifty years'
war with slingshots again."  He laughed.  "So are you going to make a bid
for the throne?"

      Maybe I would.  I couldn't let Kunou have it; that was for sure.  He
was a dimwit who would run the Eternal City into the ground.  And if he
was trying to kill me, I wouldn't sit still for it.  "Maybe I will."

      Ukyou started to say something, then fell silent and looked nervous.
I decided to cheer her up.  "How would you like to be Queen, Ucchan?"

      She laughed a little.  "Queen Ukyou.  Not bad.  So you're gonna be
the one to dress male now?"

      Yuu said, "Well, you've got my vote.  I wouldn't want Kunou to be
king.  Wasyuu is too crazy, and Ryo would try to make a law requiring all
women to sleep with him."  He turned to Kay.  "And what do you think,
Kasumi?"

      Kasumi.  That was her name.  Wanda was probably Wasyuu...which meant
she knew I was here...was this amnesia new?  Maybe I had been hiding here
deliberately for some reason for all I knew.  I must have had some
memories of something before the mugging.  If it was one.  What if I had
been starting to remember things, so she had arranged this little
accident?  She might be working for Kunou.  Or one of the others.  A
creeping sense of paranoia was coming over me, and I didn't like it.  

      Kasumi said, "I will serve whoever takes the throne.  I don't want
it, and I don't want to fight for it.  I will neither interfere nor aid
you."  She sighed.  "Other than getting you some decent clothing.  If you
do win in that outfit...It just wouldn't do."

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