The Wheel of Fire, #23: The Rivals 

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NOREPLYhotmail.com) 
  http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html 
  Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko 
Takahashi. And all that other good stuff. Proper licenses 
belong to respective properties and characters. The manga has 
precedence over material in the anime. 
  This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in 
its complete form and proper credit given. No part may be 
reproduced for monetary gain without permission from the author. 

  Fanart can be found at: 
    http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/fanart/index.html 

------------------------------------------------ 

  "Akane, you go on ahead." 
  Shaking her head silently, Akane maintained her pace as she 
walked out of the school yard, knowing all too well how 
futile it was to argue the point anymore. 
  Ranma watched her leave, heading for home, as usual, as he 
stood his ground at the front gate. Leaning with his back 
against the wall, his arms folded behind his head, the 
martial artist sincerely wished things did not have to be the 
way they were. 
  Ever since that day two weeks ago... the routines changed. 
  Since that day, both Ranma and Akane felt a sort of peace 
they never knew before, but, at the same time, they shared a 
puzzling feeling-- an enigma that could not be deciphered at 
the moment. If it ever could. 
  For the moment, things would stay as they were. 
  He looked over to the clock tower. Five minutes have passed 
since the final bell rang. 
  "Well, I guess it's time," he said aloud to himself. 
  Ranma ducked as the steel cards sailed over his head. 
  Right on time, he thought. 
  Shizuka Minazuki, predictably dressed in her priestess 
outfit, was reaching for more of her steel cards, without 
bothering with the usual battle pleasantries. 
  As usual. 
  Almost on instinct Ranma dodged the succeeding volleys of 
the priestess's attacks, edging his way ever so closer to 
Shizuka. 
  As usual. 
  He grabbed both of Shizuka's arms, and she squawked in 
surprise. 
  As usual. 
  "I'm not sure why you bother anymore," Ranma said. 
  Shizuka snarled. "I'll beat you!" 
  "You said that yesterday," he pointed out. "And the day 
before that. And the day before that...." 
  "Shut up!" 
  "I mean, you've tried to kill me every day, and you always 
fail." 
  "I won't lose!" 
  "Look," Ranma said, "I like you better when you're in school, 
so why don't you just ditch the priest getup and go home?" 
  In anger, Shizuka threw her arms apart, forcing Ranma to 
release his grip. "Tomorrow, you bastard." 
  Ranma shook his head as the priestess of Genbu turned to 
walk away. Sighing, he silently wished the schizophrenic girl 
would just stay in her 'nice' attitude mode. 
  As soon as the martial artist started on his way home, his 
back turned to Shizuka, another person stepped out into the 
open. The newcomer, dressed in a kendo training outfit, 
feasted his eyes on the girl, not Ranma. 
  Tatewaki Kuno rushed to catch up with Shizuka. 
  "Excuse me!" he cried. 
  Shizuka looked over her shoulder with irritation in her 
eyes. 
  The kendoist slowed his pace as he came to the girl's 
right side. "I notice that you are a foe of Ranma Saotome." 
  Continuing her walk, Shizuka remained silent. 
  "I have seen you challenge Saotome to a duel every day 
since the beginning of the week," continued Tatewaki. "I 
congratulate you on your choice of enemy." 
  The priestess said nothing. 
  "There can be no better path to walk than one that 
coincide with Tatewaki Kuno," he said. Planting his left hand 
on her shoulder, and waving his right in the air, Tatewaki 
declared, "This day, an alliance shall be born, upon which 
Ranma Saotome shall meet his fate!" 
  POW!! 
  Silently, Shizuka continued on her path, her right hand 
raised up in a fist, leaving Tatewaki to bleed on the 
sidewalk. 
  Tatewaki watched the priestess walk off as he rubbed his 
aching nose. He shouted, "I shall take that as a formal 
'yes!'" 

  The man in the dark business suit stepped into the arcade. 
  Aptly called Neo Geo World, the Osaka arcade housed many 
arcade units powered by the Neo Geo system board. Lined up 
in a series of rows that stretched across the room were 
several two-player cabinets, featuring one monitor and one 
seat for each player for one game. 
  Local teenagers crowded the machines, watching their 
peers perform some fancy feats, but that was not the object 
of the dark-suited man. Rather, his eyes, concealed by 
sunglasses, were scanning for one person in particular. 
  Walking row after row of machines, it hardly took much 
time before he found the apprentice sitting at one of the 
machines, playing diligently against one of the locals. 
  He watched in cold silence as the apprentice beat the 
local teenagers, one after another, and found he had to smile. 
  The younger ones have much fun, he thought, but they spend 
too much time in this dead world. 
  With that thought in mind the dark-suited man tapped the 
apprentice on the shoulder. 
  "What?!" the apprentice yelped in surprise. 
  The dark-suited man stared at the apprentice's turned head 
with hard intent. "What are you doing here?" 
  "What does it look like?" came the reply, as the apprentice 
gestured to the monitor. "Having a good time!" 
  "Did you forget your mission?" 
  "Of course not! I'm just takin' my time." 
  "You're taking up too much time. Shizuka is running out of 
options. Where's Thanatos?" 
  The apprentice smirked. "Same place, as always." 
  "I see," the dark-suited man replied. He reached into his 
coat, and withdrew a set of train tickets, then handed them 
to the apprentice. 
  "What's this?" 
  "You have no excuses anymore," he said sternly. "Stop being 
such a cheapskate and use the train." 
  "Cheapskate?! You didn't give me enough money last time!" 
  "You WASTED it on your stupid games." 
  "It STILL wouldn't have gotten me train tickets." 
  "You weren't being creative enough." 
  "Traveling in a crate isn't my idea of being creative!" 
  The dark-suited man grabbed the apprentice from the game. 
"You had better be on that train before it leaves in one 
hour. Do you understand?" 
  The apprentice nodded. "Perfectly." 

  "I have no time to waste on your petty little games," 
Kodachi said sternly, "so either you cut to the chase or cut 
it out." 
  Nabiki tsked as she leaned against the front gate of the 
Kuno estate. "All I ask in return is fifty-thousand yen for 
the scoop of a lifetime." 
  The Kuno girl's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What... KIND 
of scoop?" 
  "The kind which smart girls like you need to stay on top," 
the other girl said, smirking. "The kind that certain 
someones don't want you to hear about." 
  "And what makes you think I would be interested in petty 
gossip?" Kodachi asked. 
  Sensing that she was losing her customer's interests, Nabiki 
drove straight to the point. "Ranma and Akane." 
  Kodachi's eyes widened a bit, but caution settled in at the 
same time. "Why should I care about them?" 
  "Oh, nothing." Nabiki waved her right hand in the air 
dismissively. "Just thought you'd like to keep an edge on the 
Church of Saint Hebe...." 
  And then fifty-thousand found its way into Nabiki's open 
hand. 
  "Wise choice," the Tendo girl said, counting the bills in 
her hands. 
  "Reveal your information," commanded Kodachi. 
  "Okay, here's the scoop: Ranma and Akane... DID it." 
  Shock passed over Kodachi's face. "You lie." 
  Nabiki shook her head. "No lie." 
  Anger grew in the other girl's expression. "Remove yourself 
from my presence immediately," she hissed. 
  Chuckling to herself, Nabiki folded her payment and turned to 
leave. Moments later, she heard the loud crash of the Kuno gate 
being shut in anger. 
  Tomo, Nabiki thought to herself, you are a fool to think you 
can get away with defying me again. 
  She unfolded her newly acquired bills, counting them once 
more. 
  Not quite as much as I had to dump on your doctored tapes, 
but it's a start. You're getting much trickier all the time, 
and when I get all my money back, we'll see who's going to 
get the last laugh. 

  Her temper still flaring from her encounter with Nabiki, 
Kodachi barely acknowledged Chika's existence as she stormed 
past her. 
  "Kodachi?" the girl said. 
  Stopping at the mention of her name, Kodachi turned to face 
Chika. "It had better be news worthy to my ears!" 
  Chika twiddled her fingers nervously. "Well, there's been 
some activity in the school again. I think it's because we 
blew up their train last week." 
  Kodachi nodded. The attack on the train took a whole week 
of planning, but only a minute to execute. It was one of her 
better operations against her former school, and, best of 
all, the authorities failed to trace the work back to her. 
Of course, they could not verify that the Church was 
involved, either, but that was hoping for too much. 
  "And?" 
  "Well, it's nothing as big as the train," continued the 
media specialist, "but if what I heard is correct then 
Asuka herself is going to bring in a new arms shipment." 
  At the mention of Asuka the White Lily's name, the Kuno 
girl laughed. 
  "What?" Chika wondered. 
  "Ludicrous!" Kodachi exclaimed. "Asuka always gets 
another to do work for her." 
  "She's going down to the harbor tonight to receive the 
shipment." 
  "Asuka will not be there." 
  "Then it's a lure?" 
  Kodachi nodded. "Asuka is far from dim; that is why she is 
my chief opponent. She must have deduced, from our timely 
attack on the train, that we know what they plan." 
  "How'd they figu... never mind." 
  "The picture is as plain as the sky above! Hardly subtle, 
but this is a feeble excuse to eliminate us." 
  "You're too smart for that," Chika praised. 
  "Perhaps not," Kodachi replied. 
  The other girl blinked in surprise. "Then you're REALLY 
going to go?" 
  "Of course!" She laughed to herself. "Asuka is counting on 
my inaction, while also planning upon the event of action. 
Either way, act or not, she wins. Therefore, we must act, save 
we must devise a countermeasure of our own." 
  "Such as?" 
  "Deduce her strategy," Kodachi ordered, "because I 
prefer to have a contingency rather than none at all." 
  Unnoticed to either girl, the white housecat hiding 
in the ceiling bounded off. 


That Evening 

  "Don't you think it's time you and Shizuka make peace?" 
Akane asked her husband as he reclined in his bed, arms 
folded between his head and his pillow. "Two weeks is a 
pretty long time for someone to be angry at you, isn't it?" 
  Ranma snorted as he stared at the ceiling. "She's a 
nut. Every time she puts on that priest getup that girl 
wants to kill me. All the other times she's being nice to 
everybody." 
  "Do you suppose that's what it is?" wondered Akane. 
  "Who knows?" 
  "Maybe we ought to find out where Shizuka lives, and 
we could help her with this," she suggested. 
  "I don't know... she's likely to have all that priest stuff 
there, too," Ranma pointed out. 
  "I have an idea," Nodoka said, poking her head into Ranma 
and Akane's room. 
  Both Ranma and Akane jumped in surprise. 
  "Mom!" Ranma exclaimed. 
  "Why don't you invite your friend over for dinner tomorrow?" 
suggested Nodoka. "I'd like to meet this person you like to 
talk about." 
  "Uh... ah... sure," Ranma agreed half-heartedly. 
  His mother smiled. "That's good!" 
  As soon as Nodoka left, Akane said, "Why does she keep 
popping into our room like that?" 
  Ranma shrugged. "Beats me. Don't know why OUR lives are so 
interesting." 

  Chika passed her binoculars to Kodachi, her eyes wide with 
surprise. "Asuka's there," she said, a burning cigarette 
between her lips. 
  "Hmph," Kodachi snorted, shaking her head. She raised the 
binoculars to eye level, and fixed her sights on the only one 
standing at the dock dressed in white. 
  True to form, Asuka the White Lily dressed in a radiant 
white gown, with a bouquet of fresh white lilies mounted on 
her back. Both her skin, and her hair, were so pale as to be 
white themselves, if they were not already. Her eyes, though 
unable to be seen from Kodachi's vantage, were fixed on the 
man standing next to her. 
  In contrast to the White Lily, this man dressed entirely in 
a black business suit. Both his shoes and his gloves matched 
the darkness of the suit, leaving only the head exposed to 
the night air. His face, however, was concealed by shades, 
an oddity in the night, but its purpose held true nonetheless. 
  "Senryu Amakusa," Kodachi whispered. 
  Chika raised an eyebrow. "The Founder? Here?" 
  The other girl nodded. "They must truly believe I am 
worthy." 
  The man known as Senryu Amakusa, as all students attending 
St. Hebereke School knew, founded the church and the school, 
based on the principles of the saint. Although the church 
had only existed for no more than thirty years, it proved to 
be a larger than usual following, as Amakusa was charismatic 
as he was faithful. Men like him, Kodachi knew, tend to 
attract a lot of attention. 
  This time, that attention was going to be of the bad kind. 
  "You're not going out there anyway, are you?" asked Chika. 
  Kodachi handed the binoculars back to Chika. "Of course I 
am! How else do you expect everything to go?" 
  From behind, another girl said, "We lose either way if we 
don't do something." 
  "Come with me," Kodachi directed the girl, Aya. 
  Aya nodded, forcing Kodachi to smile in satisfaction. 
The younger rhythmic gymnastics girl was nowhere near her 
own abilities, but Aya showed much promise. In bygone days 
Kodachi had meant for the junior classman to take her place 
when she herself graduated from high school, and to that 
end Aya became her lieutenant. Of course, now that her 
gymnastics team was shattered, Kodachi hardly had time to 
groom her successor; instead, the younger gymnast served 
mainly as a sort of extension to her upperclassman's will. 
  Sometimes other girls referred to Aya as a 'younger 
Kodachi;' however, Kodachi resented such a remark, often 
to Aya's confusion. 
  Turning to Chika, she pulled the cigarette out of her 
mouth. Stomping on the cigarette with her shoe, Kodachi 
said, "Remain close. And stop smoking those; it is 
irritating enough that it smells bad." 
  Before Chika could reply, both Kodachi and Aya were 
already heading toward the docks. 
  As soon as the two girls were out of sight, Chika 
sighed, reaching for her coat's inner pocket. She produced 
a full pack of cigarettes, removing one and holding it in 
her mouth. After putting the pack back in place she 
reached into her pants pocket, and produced a lighter. 
  A few puffs later, Chika felt more relaxed. 
  "Nothing interesting ever happens for me...." 
  Her train of thought went unfinished as Chika realized 
she was being assailed by a large mass of hair. In a blink 
of an eye, her cigarette was instantly on the ground, and 
its owner long gone. 

  "Chika?" the man said into the microphone before him. 
"Chika, what's going on?" 
  Sitting back against the chair Chika often used while at 
work in her 'office' of monitors and gadgets, the man 
scratched his clean-shaven chin, scanning the only monitor 
that mattered. He pushed the rim of his glasses to his brow, 
and realized that the monitor displaying the camera on 
Chika was dark. 
  He reached under Chika's desk, grasping a set of wires in 
his left hand, then released them. With his right hand he 
formed a fist, then pounded the desk in anger. 
  "Dammit!" he shouted, jumping to his feet. 
  Putting on his coat that was slung over the chair, the man 
rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, and stormed out of 
Chika's office. 

  Shizuka pushed thoughts of hunting down Ranma out of her 
mind as she walked alone in the empty street, munching on a 
box of fried noodles. 
  "There's no way I could've stayed out THIS late," she 
said to herself. "Kyoko's going to kill me...." 
  She stopped in her tracks, sensing a presence. 
  Looking around the area, the priestess's eyes stopped, 
focusing on the fence just above her field of vision. 
  A slight movement. 
  I'm being watched, she realized. 
  Then, the shadow moved. 
  Discarding the box of noodles, Shizuka leaped after the 
shadow. 
  "Come back here, you freak!" she screamed at the top of 
her lungs, her eyes continually locked on the shadow. 
  Jumping from fence to fence through the neighborhood, 
Shizuka never lost sight of her prey, and hardly intended 
to. But, even though the shadow was fast, the priestess 
was faster, and the gap between the two was closing fast. 
  "I got you now!" she cried out in delight. 
  Suddenly, she ran into something. Something hard. 
  Shizuka gathered herself from the ground, and stared up 
at the one who stopped her. A man, dressed casually in 
black clothing, stood there, having used his entire body 
to stop the priestess from pursuing the shadow. His brown 
hair was cropped short, his face was youthful, yet cold and 
stern. 
  "What the...?!" she squawked. 
  "I don't know how you found us, or what you're after," 
the man said, "but you could present a problem." 
  "We're not after you," another said, a girl. "Actually, 
we thought you were Kodachi... but no. You have just as 
strong an aura as she does, however." 
  "Who are you?!" demanded Shizuka. 
  The man replied, "Paladin Spencer Bates of the Saint 
Hebereke Church!" 
  The priestess rolled her eyes, almost expecting a band 
of trumpets to accompany the introduction. 
  A second man appeared, dressed in similar attire to 
Spencer, only his hair was shoulder-length. "Paladin Sakurai 
Sasaki, of the Saint Hebereke Church." He bowed respectfully. 
"You are quick, girl." 
  Finally, the girl said, "Miranda Kusao. I USED to go 
to Saint Hebereke's private school." 
  "Not of the Church, eh?" Shizuka spat. 
  Miranda shook her head. "Not really, but our goals do 
coincide. But, like I said, your aura is just as strong as 
Kodachi's... and you actually kept up with Sakurai! You 
certainly must be dealt with as well." 
  "Three against one is hardly fair..." protested the 
priestess. 
  "Oh, no," Miranda said, cutting her off. Pointing to 
both Sakurai and Spencer, she added, "They're going to take 
care of you. I'm busy." 
  Taking off in a flash, the girl disappeared over the 
fences. Spencer cracked his knuckles, while Sakurai 
pulled a set of nunchuku from his back belt. 
  "Shit," cursed Shizuka, edging backward. "Why do *I* 
get to fight all the neighborhood's martial artists?!" 

  Kodachi hardly contained her excitement at the prospect 
of ruining Asuka, and this feeling bled off onto Aya. 
The younger girl's wild eyes glowed like hot coals in 
the moonlight. 
  "What now?" she asked her boss. 
  Pointing to the ship moored at the dock behind Amakusa 
and his goons, Kodachi answered, "One hole in the hull 
should spoil any cargo Asuka bought." She produced a 
fist-sized plastic explosive. "This should do it. All I 
need is cover." 
  Aya nodded. "Gotcha." 
  "Wait a minute," Kodachi hissed, holding her hand up. 
  The younger girl pouted. "What?!" 
  "Problem," answered the older girl. 
  Both girls peered at the docks from the roof of the 
warehouse building, and saw Amakusa and his cronies 
gathering around a newcomer, who carried another in arms. 
Long hair falling well below the waist, as well as dress, 
instantly gave away the identity of the newcomer. 
  "The Chinese Amazon," Kodachi whispered. 
  "Fiddlesticks," Aya cursed. "They got Chika." 
  "What?!" 
  Pounding a fist onto the roof, Kodachi shook her head. 
"Why is Shampoo helping them?!" 
  "Kodachi Kuno!" the girls heard from the docks below. 
Asuka held a bullhorn raised to her lips, turning in 
place, as if scanning for her rival. "Come out before we 
decide to do something with your friend here!"  
  Kodachi clamped a hand over Aya's mouth. "Don't 
answer them, you fool!" she hissed. "They WANT us to 
reveal ourselves!" 
  "But, what about Chika?" asked the younger girl. 
  "So long as she keeps her mouth sh...." Stopping 
herself, Kodachi amended, "No, she talks too much." 
  "Then what?" 
  "Let me think!" 
  "We're getting impatient down here!" they heard 
Amakusa shout through the bullhorn. "Accept it, girl! 
You cannot defy the will of the Saint!" 
  "Just perfect," Kodachi whispered to herself. 
"Chika WAS our backup plan!" Turning to Aya with hope 
in her eyes, she asked, "Have you any ideas?" 
  "Well," the other girl said, "we could just blow up the 
ship anyway." 
  "Do that, and they might run off with Chika," Kodachi 
pointed out. "That is far worse than if we get caught. 
We need to get rid of Shampoo somehow." 
  Facing Aya with resolution in her eyes, she decided, 
"Take out Shampoo, get Chika and ourselves out of the area. 
Right now, the ship's cargo hardly matters!" 
  "Gotcha!" 
  "V-Formation! Converge on the target!" 
  Leaping into action, Kodachi and Aya sprung off the top 
of the warehouse in different directions. Below the two 
rhythmic gymnastics martial artists Amakusa's men 
scattered in two directions, leaving Asuka, Amakusa, and 
Shampoo by themselves. 
  Smirking to herself, Kodachi shouted, "V-Formation 
Cross-Slash!" 
  As soon as she landed on the docks the Kuno gymnast 
rocketed herself over the dark-suited men, straight 
toward Shampoo. She spared a glance over to Aya, who had 
done the same, exactly as in training. 
  In a V-shaped pattern, Kodachi and Aya converged on 
Shampoo, who had dropped the bound Chika to raise her sai 
in defense. 
  Kodachi bounced off Shampoo's defensive posture, 
somersaulting over her head and landing behind the Chinese 
Amazon as Aya collided with her exposed flank. Both Asuka 
and Amakusa stepped back away from the three combatants 
as the Church goons were heading their way. 
  Picking up Chika in her arms, Kodachi ordered, "Aya!" 
  But Shampoo had already recovered, and was in full 
momentum of battle, thrusting her sai in attempts to 
pierce Aya's stomach. If Shampoo was fast at attacking, 
Aya was faster at dodging. 
  "Freeze!" someone shouted. 
  Halting in their tracks, the three fighting girls 
looked around themselves. Amakusa's men, ignored up 
until now, completely encircled the girls and Amakusa, 
each man holding a leveled pistol. 
  Amakusa snorted. "You see, Kodachi Kuno," he said, 
"you've run out of allies. We have you, at last." 

  For the umpteenth time that night Shizuka Minazuki 
ate dirt as Sakurai and Spencer took turns landing 
blows on the priestess. She cursed herself, and the 
residents of the neighborhood, for not even thinking to 
help her. 
  Struggling to get up, the priestess wiped the blood 
trailing from her chapped lips. Before she could reach 
for a weapon in her sleeves, Shizuka felt the force of 
a heavy boot on her back, and was thrown again to the 
ground. 
  Coughing blood, she snarled, "I'm not done yet...." 
  "Oh, you will be, soon," she heard Sakurai say. "If 
Miranda doesn't come back with Kuno's stupid god- 
weapons soon, there won't be enough of you left." 
  "Why d'you tell her that, you idiot?!" Spencer 
yelled angrily. 
  "It hardly matters," the other man reasoned. "This 
girl isn't even in the loop." Planting his boot onto 
Shizuka's back once again, he continued, "You see, we 
concocted a good scheme... distracting Kodachi long 
enough so we can steal her three artifacts, all in the 
name of the Saint!" 
  "Big fuckin' deal," the priestess spat, her vision 
starting to see double. 
  "We're going to destroy the godly gymnastics weapons 
as the first part of our ultimate goal to spread the 
power of the Saint to all Japan!" 
  Shizuka cried out in pain as Sakurai stomped on her 
back a few more times, wishing that the end wouldn't 
come this way. 
  Suddenly, the rhythm of the stomping ceased. Though 
she could not see, the priestess knew that someone else 
had come. 
  "A terrible sport!" a familiar voice declared. 
  "Well," Spencer said, tapping his foot on the ground. 
"If it isn't Tatewaki...." 
  Raising his bokken, Tatewaki Kuno yelled, "To defile 
the grounds and a woman in the vicinity of Kuno is 
intolerable!" He charged at Spencer. 
  Dodging the flurry of Kuno's quick-strike attacks, 
the paladin yelled to his partner, "Forget the girl! 
Help me!" 
  Sakurai nodded, throwing his nunchuku at the new 
opponent. 
  Breaking off his first engagement, Tatewaki deflected 
each nunchuku blow with his bokken, then thrust into 
the midst of the attack. 
  Yelping in surprise, his weapon hanging uselessly by 
the chain on his enemy's bokken, Sakurai turned to run. 
  "Remain and fight, coward!" Tatewaki shouted, pursuing 
Sakurai. 
  Pressing his attack onward, the kendoist forced the 
paladin into retreat, leaving Spencer alone with the 
battered Shizuka. 
  Standing over the beaten priestess, the remaining 
paladin produced a pistol, aiming it downward. "Nothing 
personal, but you shouldn't have heard those things." 
  "Spencer!" 
  He turned around at the call of his name, finding 
Miranda behind him. 
  "We've got what we came for," she said. "Let's get 
out of here." 
  "But what about the girl?!" Spencer asked. "And about 
Sakurai?!" 
  "Forget the girl!" ordered Miranda. "Sakurai... that's 
his problem, now. Come on, before Tatewaki comes back 
this way!" 
  Resetting the safety of his pistol, Spencer sighed. 
"Oh, all right." 
  Kicking Shizuka one more time, the paladin said to her, 
"You got lucky, kid. Go home." 
  Shizuka reached out a hand toward the retreating Spencer, 
but, unable to grab anything, darkness overcame her. 

  "You are quite spirited," ranted Amakusa, as he circled 
the captive Kodachi, Aya, and Chika, "and for that, I 
admire you. However, your insubordination...." 
  He lifted the girl leader's head to level her eyes with 
his own. "...needs to be corrected." 
  Kodachi wanted to bite the founder of the school, but 
Amakusa withdrew his hand quickly. "I see your intentions 
are less-than honorable, given Asuka and Shampoo...." 
  Chuckling softly, Asuka replied, "Shampoo only joined 
us recently, having seen the advantages of our goals." 
  "Which be domination of minds," the Chinese Amazon added. 
  "The point being, of course," continued the White Lily, 
"is simply this: students are the minds of the future. 
If we control that, we control the future." 
  "Under the guidance of the Saint," added Amakusa. "It 
is his will!" 
  "Don't you find something fundamentally wrong with 
your logical thought?" Chika voiced. 
  Asuka slapped the girl. "Never speak until spoken to!" 
  "Asuka," Kodachi said, "your goals were never so petty!" 
  "'Petty?!'" echoed Asuka. "Dare you label it 'petty?!'" 
  "Yes, petty!" insisted the Black Rose. "Never so lofty 
as world domination, but never so petty as manipulation! 
No, I know you; you take what you want, whenever you want, 
and how you wish, but always directly. Your way is the 
only way, but you concede to the will of another now!" 
  "My will is my own!" cried the White Lily, raising a 
fist in anger. For a moment, she seemed ready to sock her 
old enemy, but halted. 
  Straightening herself, assuming airs, she decided, "I AM 
above such behavior, unlike you!" 
  Shampoo, curious, leaned over to Kodachi's ear and 
whispered, "This NOT normal for her?" 
  "Of course not!" came the reply. 
  Nodding, the Chinese Amazon declared, "Then my target 
is clear!" 
  She lunged at Asuka, withdrawing her sai as she sailed 
through the air. Caught by surprise, the white-dressed 
girl was tackled by the Chinese Amazon, forcing action 
into Amakusa's black-clad men. 
  Taking her cue for action, Kodachi broke into her own 
attack, throwing kicks at any goon that came too close to 
her. Aya followed suit, covering her leader's back side, 
as Chika simply ducked for cover. 
  "Get that girl!" Amakusa yelled, pointing at Kodachi. 
  "Halt, Sister of Tatewaki Kuno!" 
  However, the one who issued the command did more than 
stop Kodachi in her tracks; all the other combatants 
froze as well. Black suits parted from around Kodachi, 
revealing another man, carrying a sword in his right hand. 
Dressed in a similar black suit to the rest of Amakusa's 
men, the only other distinguishing feature was the lack 
of a left sleeve. 
  For that matter, the man lacked a left arm, it being 
replaced by a mechanical arm that ended in a sword blade. 
  "You," Kodachi said in recognition. 
  Nagi Tachibana, former Orochi Assassin, approached the 
girl with his blades lowered. "You are the sister of Kuno, 
are you not?" 
  "Of course I am!" she answered, not amused. 
  Shampoo stood up, dragging an unconscious Asuka up with 
her by the arm. She sheathed her sai in her belt, which 
faintly glowed a pale blue. 
  "You're still alive?!" the Chinese Amazon exclaimed. 
  "Fate's embrace rejected me once again," Nagi replied. 
"Had I known that battle would not be my last...." 
  "You see," Amakusa interrupted, "the swordsman works 
for me." 
  "Your brother fares well?" the swordsman asked Kodachi. 
  "As well as can be," she replied, "all factors 
considered." 
  "I look forward to challenging him again." 
  "The challenge will have to be delivered at a later 
date," Amakusa said, "for we have what we wanted." 
  "And that would be...?" Aya said. 
  "We have the leader of our little 'rebellion,' of 
course," answered the founder. "Now that our strongest 
resistor is gone, we can...." 
  He felt a prick in his back shoulder. Amakusa's men 
gasped all at once, looking around frantically for the 
unseen assailant. The founder, pulling out the dart from 
his back, studied it for a moment. 
  "I thought we got them all!" he complained, just as his 
eyelids became heavy. 
  Stepping past Kodachi, Nagi was there to support his 
master. "We should return to the compound at once." 
  Amakusa yawned. "Don't... forget to... bring...." 
  "Hmph," snorted Nagi. To the other men he ordered, 
"Prepare to fall back. We must get Amakusa to a doctor 
in case the dart's poisoned." 
  "What about the girls?" one man asked. 
  "Leave them be for now," the swordsman answered. "If I'm 
not mistaken, that's the purpose of the attack, and if we 
leave them here we should remain unassailed." 
  Turning to Kodachi, he added, "Consider this a favor. In 
return, I want you to convey a message to your brother." 
  "I believe I know what it is," Kodachi replied. 
  "Tell him that one day we will finish what we started," 
Nagi said. "When that time comes, it will be our final 
meeting." 

  "I have no idea what you speak of," Asuka said, taking 
a sip of tea. 
  She sat in the middle of the dining table in the Kuno 
home, the center of attention to the other occupants of the 
room. A few seats down from the White Lily was Sakurai, who, 
unlike the girl, was bound to his chair, Tatewaki hovering 
above and behind him. Kodachi sat opposite Asuka, with 
Chika and Aya on her right and left respectively. Shampoo 
stood by the doorway, leaning her back against the wood 
frame, arms folded. 
  When Amakusa's men left, true to their orders they let 
the girls go... which included Asuka, apparently. On the 
way back Shampoo explained in detail why she was helping 
out the Church gang. Following a lead, she managed to track 
down Ashitare, a spirit of Seiryu, to their headquarters. 
But, unable to determine which one of them was possessed 
by the spirit, the Chinese Amazon decided to play along 
with them long enough to figure it out on her own. In the 
end, it turned out that Asuka was being possessed, having 
been tipped off unexpectedly by Kodachi's words. 
  Kodachi learned from her brother that Miranda, a girl 
from her days as captain of the rhythmic gymnastics team, 
had stolen all three godly gymnastics weapons from the 
estate. Miranda, the same age as Kodachi, was always her 
most vocal enemy within the school's ranks, as she made 
everything between them a competition. It almost seemed to 
the Kuno girl that she was trying to prove something, but 
it was lost upon Kodachi. 
  Miranda, it seemed, had aligned herself with the 
Church, even after being kicked out for refusing to 
convert to their religion. 
  "If all this back story junk is worth the salt," Chika 
said, "then Asuka couldn't have been possessed the entire 
time being with Amakusa." 
  "I met Amakusa out of my own will!" Asuka pointed out. 
  "Obviously to win our little 'bet,'" Kodachi added. 
  "You still have no boyfriend," the White Lily said. 
  "Soon, you will lack one as well!" 
  "Perhaps a different approach?" suggested Tatewaki. He 
looked down at Sakurai. "What was the purpose of your 
theft of my sister's weapons?" 
  "Heh, the godly gymnastics weapons?" Sakurai said. 
"Since it's far too late to stop them, I'll tell you: in 
order to carry out our master plan we need the energies 
released from those weapons' destruction." 
  "And good riddance!" Kodachi exclaimed. 
  "The weapons indeed contain godly power," continued the 
paladin. "And we need such power to resurrect the Saint." 
  "Resurrect the Saint?!" echoed Aya, wide-eyed. 
  "That's impossible," Chika said in disbelief. 
  "On the contrary," Sakurai said, "it is. Releasing the 
energy is but the first step. The second step requires 
the wishes of the people; we have that as well." 
  "As given by forcing the students of the school to 
convert to worshiping the Saint," Kodachi realized. 
  "And, of course, now we need to sacrifice a pure heart 
from a virgin believer," concluded the paladin. He 
shook his head. "I'm not sure why, though...." 
  "That even more silly than tribal rituals," Shampoo 
said, speaking for the first time. 
  "What vile sorceries require dehumanization?!" Tatewaki 
demanded. 
  "Beats me!" Sakurai replied, shrugging. "I'm not the 
one who wrote the book on it." 
  "Well, would it help for you to know that sacrifice is 
hardly a civilized practice?" Kodachi pointed out. 
  "Or, that your beloved 'Saint' isn't really a saint?" 
Chika added. 
  "Don't be ridiculous!" the paladin said hotly. 
  "She has a point, in any case," Asuka said, taking a sip 
of tea. "What saint demands human sacrifice?" 
  "You should know; you went along with it!" 
  "Since when did I...?" 
  "I checked the records!" Chika yelled, interrupting the 
argument. "If you check the archives, they have a listing of 
all the men and women who were made saints. I did a cross- 
reference search for 'Hebereke,' but what did I find? Zero, 
nothing, zilch." 
  "Which means, of course, that you serve a false saint, 
among other things," Kodachi finished. 

  The first thing Shizuka realized when she regained 
consciousness was the fact that she was indoors. 
  Lying in a futon, no less... on an expensive wood 
floor, in a dark room. 
  Groggily, she tried to extend her arm out, to feel for 
something familiar with her hand, but the priestess 
found she could not do it, for the pain in her back 
ached too much. She stared at the ceiling, lying flat 
on her back-- now that she figured out she couldn't 
move her arms Shizuka felt totally helpless. 
  Where the hell am I? she wondered. How the hell did I 
get here? Who brought me here? And, where did my 
luggage end up this time? 

  As soon as she entered her office Chika rushed over to 
the man sitting in her chair, and gave him a big hug 
around the neck. 
  "Hey!" he said, startled. "Get off me!" 
  "You WERE there, weren't you?" Chika asked, releasing 
the man. 
  To those who knew him from his business dealings, or 
from the Internet, the young man was known as 'Warlock,' 
for it was known that his activities are enigmatic, yet, 
he manages to do what he sets out to do. To Chika, he 
was simply Shion Kagami, favored brother-in-law since 
her dad remarried after the divorce. Though separated 
by blood, the two treated each other as real brother 
and sister, if the feelings went unmentioned on Shion's 
part. 
  "Yeah, it was me," Shion admitted. "You got careless." 
  "I wasn't expecting to get mugged!" Chika said in 
excuse, as she produced a cigarette and her lighter. 
  He stood from the chair, and offered it to the girl. 
"I suppose it's back to work for you, eh?" 
  "For a little while, at least," Chika answered. "I've 
still got to go to school tomorrow and all...." She lit 
her cigarette. 
  "When you get to college, you'll have all the free 
time you want." 
  "I'm sure." 
  "So, did that guy finally crack?" 
  "He didn't crack." 
  "Really." 
  "Sakurai actually volunteered information." 
  "What a wuss." 
  "That's stupidity for you." 
  "Too many stupid people in this world." 
  "If there wasn't that many, then all the smart people 
would be pretty stupid, wouldn't they?" Chika pointed out. 
  Shion shrugged. "So what's Kuno going to do with the 
girl?" 
  "What girl?" she asked. 
  "The one he carried home all bloodied-up." 
  Chika raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember seeing any 
such girl." 
  Shaking his head, Shion said, "Eh, you'll find out 
eventually. She's not going anywhere for a while." 
  Heading for the door, he added, "You watch yourself 
better or I'll feed you to the ronin, you hear? I don't 
do that 'knight in shining armor' thing." 
  Chika returned a pleasant smile, remembering her 
brother-in-law's tastes and distastes. "Nor would I 
expect you to. Thanks." 

  Slowly, Nagi 'Clash' Tachibana shut the heavy iron 
door behind him, then walked down the narrow underground 
corridor. 
  "How is our 'boss?'" a girl asked from behind the former 
assassin. 
  Nagi stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder to 
Miranda, who was leaning against wall, arms folded. "It 
was a mild poison, as I expected." He walked closer to the 
young girl. "Hardly fatal, but it could have been worse, 
had we not gotten here soon enough." 
  "Doesn't matter," Miranda said, shaking her head. "So 
long as Amakusa's out, and Asuka's gone, we're to 
ourselves. At last." 
  "In bringing Amakusa here expediently, however," Nagi 
added, "I allowed Kodachi to go free for the moment." 
  "Really," she said evenly. Miranda's eyes darkened at 
the thought of her greatest rival and enemy. Kodachi Kuno, 
a girl with so much skill, ability, and power that she 
could do whatever she wanted in the school, whether that 
be leaving class early or breaking school records. But, 
close behind, and always second, was Miranda, constantly 
chasing Kodachi's shadow. No one recognized second place, 
for it was the first of the losers. 
  Worst of all, Kodachi hardly recognized her as a 
legitimate rival, fueling Miranda's anger to no end. 
  "Funny," Miranda noted, "I ran into her brother myself. 
He sorely beat Sakurai to a pulp." 
  "As with you, I long to challenge the enemy," the former 
assassin said. "Our previous duel went unfinished." 
  "So, in the meantime," the girl started, "if Amakusa's 
going to be out for a while, what'll we do? These 
religious freaks are giving me the creeps." 
  "I think so as well," agreed Nagi. "Kodachi's lackey 
did mention that there was no Saint Hebereke...." 
  "Hold your tongue!" Miranda warned, clamping her hand 
over Nagi's mouth. "What if they hear you?" 
  "Let them!" insisted the swordsman. "I served many a 
god in my time, and, take it from me, the 'Saint' is 
hardly saintly. Had such a sham existed back in the 
structure of the...." 
  "So you do like to live on the edge," Miranda 
concluded, nodding with a brief smile. 
  Nagi smiled. "To live on the edge, to own an edge, 
and to die by an edge." Almost as an afterthought, he 
added, "Kill evil instantly." 


			*  *  *  *  * 

To: warlock@spielburg.org 
From: blackwidow@northspire.net 
Subject: Quick Favor 

I have heard only good things about you, and that is 
why I'm sending this message. 

I am certain you are familiar with the underground 
mercenary 'Tomo.' For a generous wage I'm asking 
you to find out who exactly 'Tomo' is. Pay rate starts 
at 5,000 yen, but if you work fast I'll get you 
10,000 yen for your troubles. 

- Black Widow 

-------------------------------------------------- 
"Harro! You have leached Intelnationar House of 
  Sushi! We deribel in 30 minutes or you get 
  NO sushi!" 

			*  *  *  *  * 

To: blackwidow@northspire.net 
From: warlock@spielburg.org 
Subject: Re: Quick Favor 

Having reviewed your 'favor' I am afraid that your 
proposed salary is unacceptable. As you know there 
are many elements which depend upon the services of 
'Tomo,' and for that reason I have no wish to bring 
the wrath of the dependants upon me. You do realize 
that is true from a mercenary's standpoint. 

If, on the other hand, you could provide me with 
certain guarantees, and significantly higher wages, I 
will reconsider your offer. At the moment, however, 
your offer is rejected. 

Have a nice day. 

- Warlock 
+-------------------------------------+ 
| There is no knowledge that is       | 
|      not power.                     | 
| Serving Tokyo for over three years  | 
+-------------------------------------+

			*  *  *  *  * 

The Next Day 

  Throughout the school day both Ranma and Akane kept 
their eyes peeled for a sign of Shizuka, but it was not 
until lunch period that the couple had the chance to 
meet up with her. 
  Shizuka sat at a table by herself when the couple 
approached her. Smiling, she greeted them. "Good 
afternoon." 
  Taking a seat, Akane replied, "Nice to see you, too." 
  Ranma, cutting to the chase, said, "You busy this 
evening?" 
  The girl shook her head. "No, why?" 
  "We were thinking about asking you over for dinner, 
that's all," Akane answered. 
  "What for?" 
  "Eh, just because," Ranma said. 
  At that moment two other girls walked to the table. 
"I see you keep new company these days, Ranma?" 
  He looked up at the new arrivals: Kodachi Kuno and 
Ayame Mishima, Ranma recognized. "Buzz off, Kodachi." 
  "Rude punk," Aya shot back, appearing ready to brawl. 
  Waving her follower back, Kodachi leaned over the 
table toward Ranma. "Your zeal is appreciated, but 
hardly necessary. You, Ranma-darling... well, you 
are the least of my concerns." She faced Shizuka. 
"He WILL break your heart. He... DID it already." 
  "I'll keep that in mind," Shizuka replied, a blank 
expression on her face. 
  "Eh?!" both Ranma and Akane exclaimed, passing 
confused glances to each other. 
  Satisfied, Kodachi stood up. "Oh, another thing," 
she said. "Do mind keeping Shampoo out of our way, will 
you?" 
  "What does Shampoo have to do with anything?" Ranma 
asked, puzzled. 
  "If your double-mad quest gets in the way of my own 
tasks, you will regret it," she warned. 
  Aya nodded. "You listen to what the boss says." 
  Eyeing Kodachi's lackey with contempt, Akane said, 
"Who asked you?" 
  Kodachi laughed. "Irritating, is she?" Regaining her 
composure, she added, "A pleasure, Akane...." 
  Both girls walked off, Shizuka's eyes following them 
in puzzlement. 
  "That was... weird," she said. 
  "Eh, that's Kodachi for ya," Ranma said, shrugging. 

  Just before the gates to the Kuno estate opened for 
Kodachi and Ayame, the two looked down the street to 
Chika, who was running toward them at top speed. 
  She came to a halt just in front of the two girls, and 
took several labored breaths before saying, "Ko... 
Kodachi... something you... should know." 
  "Well," Kodachi said, "you were noticeably absent." 
  "Sorry about that," apologized the media specialist. 
"Was going to tell you this morning... but slept through 
morning classes and all...." 
  "Spit it out already!" demanded Aya impatiently. 
  "Eh... you know your brother's... keeping a girl?" she 
told Kodachi. 
  "Really?" Kodachi exclaimed in surprise. "An actual, 
REAL girl?" 
  "Brother saw her," Chika explained. "She's in one of the 
guest rooms... I think. All bloodied-up and all, probably 
because of Miranda...." 
  "The same wanna-be Miranda?" wondered Aya. 
  "Well, then," Kodachi decided, "I want to see this girl 
for myself." 
  Kodachi lead Aya and Chika through the front gates and to 
the front door. Turning down the hallway, she headed to 
where she guessed Tatewaki was keeping this 'secret girl,' 
and was rewarded when he was standing just outside the 
guest room's door. 
  "And what are you doing here, Brother-dear?" she asked, 
feigning innocence. 
  "The room is being occupied at the moment," Tatewaki 
answered. "It is not your place to intrude." 
  "Oh, really?!" Kodachi yelled, shedding her calmness. 
She grabbed the front of her brother's shirt angrily. "And 
why is it that you have kept this a secret from your own 
sister?!" 
  He stared down at her with calmness. "You were far too 
busy to notice." 
  "The hell she was!" Aya yelled. 
  "Shut up," Chika said, bopping the girl on the head. 
  "And so what bothers you so that I cannot see this girl 
with my own eyes?" Kodachi demanded. 
  Throwing her brother aside with surprising strength, 
she slid the door to the guest room aside, and stepped 
inside the dimly-lit room. 
  Sure enough, there was someone in the room, lying in 
an expensive futon. Several articles were strewn aside, 
baubles ranging from caltrops to paper ofuda, and even 
a shotgun. 
  Kodachi took great strides closer to the one sleeping 
in the futon, but as soon as she got a glimpse of her 
face she stopped in her tracks. 
  The face belonged to the same girl Ranma and Akane 
sat with at school. 
  "I found her outside the estate," Tatewaki said from 
the doorway. "Her attackers were the paladins of the 
Church." 
  Together, Tatewaki, Ayame, and Chika gathered behind 
Kodachi, each taking their turns at looking down at the 
sleeping girl. 
  Chika gasped in surprise. "That's...." 
  "No way!" Aya exclaimed in surprise. 
  "Sssshhhh!!!" 
  "Sorry." 
  Lowering her voice, Chika explained, "This is that 
girl that was chasing Ranma around for weeks. Shizuka 
Minazuki, I think." 
  Tatewaki nodded in confirmation. "Her attempts to 
thwart Saotome's magics all end in failure. I admire her 
persistence, nonetheless. I was assured that she would 
recover quickly." 
  "But, if this is Shizuka, then who is the one at 
school?" wondered Kodachi. 
  "She goes to our school?" Chika asked. 
  "Yeah," answered Aya. "We just saw her today." 
  "But that's the only place?" 
  "Other than whenever she tried to attack Ranma." 
  "That doesn't explain a whole lot." 
  "None of it makes sense," Kodachi said. "Could it be 
that this girl-- Shizuka-- has a twin?" 
  Tatewaki shook his head. "I took the liberty of 
cross-referencing the available records. From what I 
have learned, she was born single. There is no twin, or 
siblings, for that matter." 
  "That ruled out my question," Chika admitted, trying 
to resist the urge to smoke. 
  "So what?" Aya asked. "I mean, why does any of this 
matter to us?" 
  For a moment, the dimly-lit guest room was plunged into 
blackness. The four standing people were blasted by a 
sudden gust of wind, a wind impossible for the enclosed 
indoor space that was the Kuno guest room. 
  When the lights flickered back on, two presences stood 
on the other side of the sleeping girl. 
  "What the...?!" Chika yelped. 
  "You're all involved now," a female voice said, the 
dominant presence. A faint outline, revealed to be a 
dark-toned robe, was now visible to the others. A large, 
heavy hood, was draped over her face. 
  "Who are you?!" demanded Tatewaki. "How did you get in 
here?!" 
  "A friend of Shizu's," the newcomer answered. To the 
other presence, she introduced, "Her partner, Thanatos." 
  "And what is this all about?" Kodachi asked, 
suspicious. "Are you with the Church of Saint Hebereke?" 
  The girl laughed. "Those heretics? They have no clue 
what they're dealing with, playing with matches that 
belong to the gods!" 
  "Then... what is it that you want?" persisted the Kuno 
girl. 
  The apprentice replied, "We're here to hunt down the 
spirits of Seiryu from the future. The time is drawing 
close to when the scattered spirits will try to rebuild 
themselves, and they must be destroyed. Many lives 
depend on it, for these spirits are quite mad. I wish 
there was some other way, but desperate times call for 
desperate measures, and being dead doesn't help at 
all." 



			*  *  *  *  * 

Akane (VO): 

  "She likes him, she hates him, she likes him again, 
she hates him again! Make up your mind already! Why's 
this girl so messed-up in the head, anyway? And what 
is it she REALLY wants with Ranma?" 
  "Next time: The Month of Silent Rain." 


------------------------------------------------ 
Author's Notes 

  The rivals are, of course, Asuka Saginomiya (Kodachi), 
Miranda Kusao (Kodachi), Nagi Tachibana (Tatewaki), 
Shizuka Minazuki (Ranma), Chika Hisho (Nabiki), and 
Shion Kagami (Nabiki), only one of which was present in 
the original manga. 
  Amakusa and his groupies were originally portrayed as 
parodies of the Magic Knight Rayearth villains (which would 
make Amakusa 'Zagato;' Kodachi too was written to parody 
the Magic Knights at times in "Nemesis"), but was dropped 
in favor of something more serious. Then again, after a 
fashion they still DO parody Zagato's gang. This is also 
the first real appearance of Sakurai and Spencer. 


Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NOREPLYhotmail.com) 
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html 

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