The Wheel of Fire, #25: Reflections 

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NYAhotmail.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 

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

  For several long moments Joseph Nakamura, priest of 
Saint Hebereke and acting head of the Church, stood 
silently over the dais below the altar dedicated to the 
saint. Smoke rose from the shallow bowl before him, 
strangely howling hauntingly, as if demons were being 
exorcised. 
  In a sense, that may as well be the case. 
  Nakamura stared down at the bowl resting on the dais, 
at the smoking mess burning without embers. It was to 
the careful instruction of Lord Senryu Amakusa that the 
three godly gymnastic weapons were to be destroyed on 
the eve of the sacrifice. 
  The equation hardly called for the weapons 
specifically, he knew, but it was Amakusa's girlfriend, 
Asuka, who suggested it, citing that in addition to 
serving the goals of the saint it also hampered the 
threat present in former student Kodachi Kuno. 
  "It's done," the priest said aloud. 
  Turning in place, Nakamura faced the black-suited man 
standing behind him. "Prepare the sacrifice 
immediately." 
  Spencer bowed. "As you wish." 
  The paladin hardly had to wait to be dismissed, as he 
turned on his heels and walked out of the great hall. 
  Nakamura nodded approvingly to himself. "It's almost 
ready," he said. "We have the blessings of the people. 
We have unleashed the pure essences of the god 
artifacts. And now, all that need be done is to finish 
the job." 
  His eyes glowed a harsh crimson. 


			*  *  *  *  * 

In the case of Senryu Amakusa: 

  I wasn't sure how long I'd been lying on this cold 
stone slab, but the wracking in my body was quite 
familiar. It was the same kind of feeling I felt about 
thirty years ago, in my youthful years. 
  Of course, anyone that looked at me thought I was 
only thirty years old. An American named Dick Clark, I 
believe, was also praised for his youthfulness, despite 
being in his sixties or so. I imagine that many fifty- 
year-olds would be envious if they knew I shared their 
age range. 
  But... it was almost thirty years ago that I founded 
the Church of Saint Hebereke, the year after being 
touched by the saint. Thirty years... quite a long 
time, and quite a lifetime ago. 
  Even though in those times the memories of Hiroshima 
and Nagasaki were fading away, people still remembered 
what happened, with a certain bitterness. I hardly 
understood at that time, but I knew of the devastation 
brought about by Allied Force's weapons, for my family 
lived in Nagasaki when the atom bomb was dropped. 
  Since that day the family was terribly off, and I had 
no certain path to walk. It was this uncertainty that 
got me into a lot of trouble in the years following, as 
a teenager without aim. 
  Thirty years ago it was one of those troubles that 
nearly killed me. A couple of friends and I went out 
into the mountains to camp out for a while-- a poor 
excuse to get out of our parents' hairs. Unfortunately 
for us, the drinks proved to be far too strong for our 
blood. I don't remember how I got there, but I found 
myself bleeding to death at the foot of a cliff, barely 
able to move. I had no idea what happened to the others 
or where they were. 
  I probably lay there, dying, for at least two hours 
when delirium overcame me. I remember wishing I didn't 
want to die, wishing for the kami to spare me. 
  Of course, with the fall of all things traditional, 
relying on kami became a joke. But, I was delirious. 
  What wasn't a delirium was a golden light I saw. At 
least, I believe it wasn't delirium. I saw a golden 
face, vaguely smiling down upon me, urging me to get 
up and move on. 
  The golden light enveloped me, giving me the 
strength to lift myself up. I felt invigored by the 
golden light. I found the strength to deliver myself 
to safety. 
  It turned out that my friends were looking for me, 
so when search parties found me one of them said, 
"Thank God." 
  If it hadn't been an act of God that saved me, then 
what else could it have been? 
  After I recovered weeks later I returned to where I 
touched God, and eventually found a hidden shrine in 
one of the caves in the cliff. Dedicated to some 
unnamed spirit, I assumed, but a statue there did 
resemble that of the savior. 
  Thereafter I dubbed him Saint Hebereke. It seemed 
strangely appropriate, considering the circumstances of 
our encounter. 
  From that day forward I created what stands today in 
the name of the saint. Since that day I became Senryu 
Amakusa, discarding my previous name. I felt the golden 
warmness of the saint day after day, encouraging me to 
go on in his name. 
  But, today, I no longer feel that warmness. The saint 
has abandoned me. 
  The poison racking my body seems to have opened my 
eyes: I remember everything perfectly, and quite 
frankly, it doesn't make sense anymore. I had to 
gather a number of followers for the saint, but could I 
have not been content with my own pet god? Was I really 
ever cut out for becoming a religious leader? For what 
reason did I attempt to gather fighters and weapons, 
when there was nothing to fear? 
  And why must we sacrifice someone to the saint? 
  I tried to move my arm, but something jingled, 
echoing in the dry background of the empty chamber. 
When I lifted my head to see what was the matter I 
found I was inhibited in that action as well. I felt 
the colder iron that kept me on the stone table, and 
realized that I was now a prisoner. 
  It had to be Joseph. He was the first true follower 
of the saint's vision, and I did place him in charge 
while I recovered. It HAD to be him! 
  To think that my mad words forced a good man to do 
the unthinkable.... What beast of man am I? 


In the case of Asuka Saginomiya: 

  All I asked for was the best boyfriend in the entire 
world-- was that asking for too much? 
  Sure, scant months after we agreed to renew our duel 
in five years I found the perfect man: Senryu Amakusa. 
The features! The charisma! The power! Had I found him 
sooner Kodachi Kuno would have been shamed under my 
greatness! 
  I hardly bothered with the business of petty people, 
but during a tantalizing... visit, to Kodachi's school 
I saw that man. I saw him, and I knew I wanted him. I 
was even so surprised that Kodachi hardly knew he 
existed! 
  Presenting myself splendidly before the man he was 
immediately smitten by my natural beauty! To say that 
Senryu was enchanted by me would do injustice to our 
encounter. We found ample time to get to know each 
other over the course of a scant few weeks. 
  And then, just when I thought I knew the man, Senryu 
brought me into his Inner Circle. 
  To say I was surprised would be an understatement. 
All along, existing under the premises that the school 
stood upon was a hidden complex, probably designed 
long before the school was built. Senryu displayed this 
all for my eyes, but when I thought this was the most 
enchantment that was in store for me.... 
  Senryu elaborated upon a plan-- a plan that would 
increase the power of his church many times. He wished 
to control the future of Japan, and the means by which 
he wished to do so was through the minds of students, 
starting with those attending his private school. 
  To become involved in determining the future of this 
country... how could I refuse? Particularly if the fate 
of Kodachi was also in my hands-- a suitable bonus 
upon bonuses! 
  Much of what transpired thereafter seems quite foggy, 
to say the least. I certainly remember engineering the 
chain of events that would remove Kodachi from the 
school forever-- a plan that seemed to please Senryu 
greatly. I determined that, in order to gain more 
control over students' minds, placing them within a 
single pecking order was required. Since conformity to 
one mind was the idea, and since I knew Kodachi's 
mannerisms, I knew she would be revolted enough to 
depart. Dashing her educational gravy train was a great 
satisfaction. 
  However, the night after Kodachi left the school for 
good I had a nightmare. A man appeared in my dreams, 
whispering words I cannot remember even now. In 
hindsight, after that night for some reason Senryu 
elaborated further upon his goals: a revival of the 
saint himself. It had nothing to do with manipulating 
student minds from the start; all Senryu wanted was the 
universal worship from the masses-- that was how he 
wanted to control the country, not through minds, but 
through hearts and souls. 
  In hindsight, such an idea seems ludicrous, but for 
some unfathomable reason I agreed with it. I actually 
went along with it! 
  But, after awakening in Kodachi's very home it seems 
I came to my senses, for though I recalled everything 
that transpired during this... fugue, I hardly 
remembered why I did some of those acts. One thing was 
for certain, it had much to do with that tramp of a 
girl with too much hair. 
  To this moment I wonder what Senryu is up to, and 
whether or not he is succeeding in his mad scheme. 


In the case of Chikatomo Hisho: 

  My dad wanted to name me Chika, and my mom wanted to 
name me Tomo. That was the most absurd way to get a 
name, but if I had the choice back then I would've 
sided with Dad. After all, he's the one that's still 
with me, after that two-time loser mother jumped ship. 
  These days, since Dad remarried, I've used Mother's 
revolting name as my alias. My step-brother, Shion, 
suggested using an alias as I was getting myself into 
his kind of business; it was for the benefit of 
remaining virtually anonymous (of course he pointed 
out that 'Tomo' could easily get traced back to me with 
little effort). Shion was the one that introduced me to 
the 'mercenary' concept, after all, being a mercenary 
himself. 
  They called him 'Warlock' for the amazing things he 
could do. If you needed to trace a Swiss bank account, 
he could do it. If you wanted to doctor a resume, and 
back it up with external physical evidence, then you 
went to 'Warlock.' If you needed to disappear, or even 
erase yourself, he was your man. The only catch was the 
price-- such demanding services never came cheap, but 
you certainly couldn't complain about the quality. 
  He was the faceless one that could do whatever he 
wanted, and was known only to be the one at the other 
computer monitor. Indeed, perhaps what he did was 
truly magic. 
  I remember the first time I caught Shion in his 
'Warlock' act in his room, not long after Dad married 
his mom. I was a single child, and so was he; Dad 
suggested I should get to know Shion; after all, we 
were now 'brother and sister,' and we should get along 
as such. Well, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea at 
first, but after barging into Shion's room 
unannounced... well, to say the least, changed my 
life forever. 
  Until that moment I had no idea that Shion had a 
computer, much less a network connection. After I 
coerced him a bit he admitted to being a digital 
bigshot-- otherwise a techno-geek, a hacker. He often 
did small favors for people he didn't even know for 
money, and it surprised me how much work he put in just 
to hide his identity. 
  Shion recognized that I had some talent, and taught 
me the ropes... starting with his computer. I learned 
quite a bit about how things worked from him, and how 
to get things to work in my favor. It also kick- 
started my interest in media arts, strangely enough. 
  One of my first 'tests' was wiring a hidden camera. 
Shion often pointed out the obvious places, and made 
a few helpful suggestions here or there. Eventually, I 
could make such decisions on my own. In fact, I got so 
good at it that I wired Shion's room without him 
realizing it. 
  Of course, after he figured it out (which hardly took 
long, as I made the mistake of wiring the camera 
directly to his computer) he offered to teach me 
everything else if I'd stop bugging his room. 
  That time was the moment 'Tomo' was born. 'He' was a 
mercenary of a different sorts-- one that was clearly 
localized in Tokyo, yet extremely effective and quick. 
Where 'Warlock' excelled in the digital world 'Tomo' 
did in the real world. 
  Eventually I had enough money to build my own lab, 
which I take great pride in. The incredible network of 
information I hold over Tokyo is... well... 
unbelievable. If I paid close scrutiny to every 
monitor I had in my office I'd be the information 
broker in no time (but then, I've got better things to 
do than that, like doing my homework and learning tea 
ceremony-- yuck). 
  Of course, that pales in comparison to what Shion 
can do, since he practically owns the information net. 
Well, he could if he wanted to, but he's just in it for 
the money, and would rather make a real life for 
himself other than being a professional hacker for the 
rest of his life. 
  Not long ago I met Kodachi Kuno in a cooking class at 
school. I'm not sure how she figured it out, but she 
knew that I was talented. Heck, she might have known 
that I'm 'Tomo,' but whatever the reason Kodachi asked 
me to doctor some photos for her-- the initial set 
being her brother and some strange girl in the same 
picture. Scandalous was the key. 
  The second set was full of pictures of Kodachi's 
brother's head on a pig. I hardly asked questions 
about that, but I got paid well. It was the start of 
quite a friendship, though; Kodachi never gets boring, 
always finding something interesting to do or talk 
about, even if they were odd at times. Her brother, 
Tatewaki, was pretty good-looking, too, although I'm 
certain he hadn't thought of me. 
  Between that and the other odd jobs I somehow got the 
attentions of one Yakuza gang; the contact was a girl 
named 'Black Widow.' She claimed she's heard of 'Tomo' 
from reputation, and wanted some information that could 
be used against her enemies. Needless to say, she 
paid well, but eventually I somehow pissed her off. 
  Of course, after I figured out who 'Black Widow' 
really was, I got back at her. 
  Shion constantly berated me over those times, with 
many 'I told you so' remarks and all that. Heck, I'm 
still trying to get the hang of it, but I'm certainly 
getting better at it than Nabiki Tendo. That girl is 
still in her infant steps, much like I was before. 
  I'm certain that when he gets out of college 
'Warlock' may leave the scene for good in favor of a 
real job. When that time comes, 'Tomo' is on his own. 
I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet. 


In the case of Nabiki Tendo: 

  If anyone asked, I'd tell them it was for the money. 
  Of course, that just wasn't the case, but I let 
anybody believe what they wanted, so long as it served 
my ends. 
  As I watched Ranma and the others fight out in the 
front yard, I took hold of my sister, Akane, holding a 
kettle of hot water. She wanted to give it to Ranma, 
who was in girl form, I knew, but what she didn't 
seem to understand was that she'd get in the way in 
the process. 
  I doubt that Akane appreciated anything I did that 
could be viewed as protecting her; after all, I wasn't 
a martial artist, she was. Being pestered by a non- 
fighter was probably insulting to her-- yeah, that 
would be Akane, all right. Any little thing could set 
her off, the headstrong girl. 
  She certainly believes I don't have a heart, after 
the kinds of things I did a while back. I think it was 
back when I dissolved our little singing group; for 
some reason I think Akane truly believed she could make 
a life out of that. Well, if I know how idols work, I'd 
say that it's not a long-term career. 
  It certainly wasn't one I wanted to be stuck in, 
which is why I dissolved it. 
  Popular theory said it was money, of course; they can 
believe what they want, but becoming a professional 
idol was an invitation for social suicide. The bright 
lights and all were fleeting indeed; does anyone wonder 
why there are so many idols around? Fans do get tired 
of one, then go on to the other. 
  So it was better to dissolve at the height of our 
popularity, rather than die a slow and painful death. 
  It wasn't pretty, the night we held our last live 
concert. Three of Ranma's friends came by and trashed 
the place in the middle of the concert... but it wasn't 
entirely unexpected. Needless to say, they were pretty 
mad at me, but they weren't MY friends. Well, one of 
them got killed the next day, but if she was still mad 
at me then it's not my problem; she can carry her hate 
all the way to Hell. 
  At least I can still make money off our popularity by 
selling recordings of Kasumi's voice. For some reason 
stupids would pay to listen to her speak about 
nothing-- but it was a constant source of income. 
  Not long ago I decided I needed some insurance in 
case Ranma or Akane ever got in the way of things; I 
needed solid evidence of their love. The idea was to 
keep them out of my way while I had physical proof of 
something they didn't want to get out. Knowing the two 
they were pretty secretive about their personal lives. 
  On the side I could get them to admit their feelings 
and relationship publicly, which would be good, too. 
  After checking a few places, calling in a few small 
favors, I was directed to the best information network 
in Japan, one run by a guy named Tomo. Actually, I 
looked this guy up long before I dissolved our singing 
group, and we sort of had a little disagreement, but 
we patched things up over the phone. Not surprisingly, 
he was disguising his voice through some kind of 
scrambler, but it was obviously a guy. He was also 
somewhat reluctant to help me this time around, because 
of the last job I gave him. 
  That time? Oh, it's just that he somehow got me on 
one of the job videos I paid for. He thinks I'm some 
big-time Yakuza boss, so of course he was worried. 
  It wasn't long before Tomo came up with something, 
but when I reviewed the tapes the contents weren't 
exactly what I expected. So I destroyed the tapes, and 
drew up another plan. 
  Sometimes I wonder if Tomo altered the tapes, but 
there's no way to find out unless I found his office. 
  In the end I went ahead with my scheme anyway, even 
without the physical evidence to back it up. This was, 
of course, all operating under the assumption that Tomo 
indeed altered the tapes; I refuse to believe that 
Ranma and Akane did nothing while alone. They didn't 
like to appear too close, but I know better. 
  Maybe I can't get them to do what I want, but I can 
get them to admit their lives to everyone else. I 
passed a rumor to Kodachi Kuno that Ranma and Akane... 
well... did it. Well, when it finally hits the ears of 
the couple in question, I expect some hefty explaining 
coming around. 
  After that I called in a few more favors and got the 
name of another, different guy, named Warlock. It was 
obviously not his real name, of course, since Warlock 
was reputed to have done illegal jobs in the past. I 
tried to coerce him into digging into the identity of 
Tomo (so I could get the master tapes), but he refused 
my offer. 
  Instead, after that weird priestess showed up at my 
house for dinner I asked him to look her up. I wonder 
how long it'll take before I get a response? 


In the case of Nagi Tachibana: 

  I should have died. 
  No, not the previous duel with Tatewaki, I meant 
long before that, back during the fall of the 
Tokugawa Shogunate. 
  There really isn't much to say about myself. I was 
a member of the feared group of swordsmen, the 
Shinsengumi, the men of justice. It hardly meant a 
thing, however, when the rebellion was in full swing. 
I was good, very good, but there was a man that was 
even better, and he was serving the other side. And if 
history had its way I would've been just another 
dead man at the hands of Battousai. 
  For some reason or another, which I never truly 
found out for certain, I didn't die because a man in 
midnight robes rescued me. He brought me to the 
hidden shrine to a monstrous eight-headed dragon, which 
he called the Orochi. It was supposed to be the same 
Orochi mentioned in the ancient legends. 
  So I was rescued from death by a cult-- the man's 
name was Puerile, the leader of the cult. He told me a 
great many things, about the greatness of Orochi and 
his plan for a New Order-- returning the planet back to 
its roots. Puerile made many points, citing the mark 
of the beginning of the end of Japan if mankind 
continued on its destructive course. 
  As a samurai I should have fallen on my sword, to die 
with honor, but Puerile's words enticed me... 
enchanted me. The rebellion, I knew, would spell the 
end of Japan, so I agreed to become a part of Orochi's 
grand scheme. Only afterward I would be granted the 
honors of death, for I must repay the kindness Puerile 
showed to me. 
  I served quietly in the cult for many years, and I 
realized that my blood had been replaced with Orochi 
blood. Puerile explained that it gave me the strength 
of the dragons, but also had the quirky side effect of 
extending lifespans. 
  Eventually, I became a member of the honored Eight 
Assassins, a coveted position within the cult. It 
occurred after the unfortunate death of Puerile, 
however, at the hands of a lesser Assassin, Warmage. 
  As a member of the Eight Assassins I became the 
User of Earth power, a very powerful aspect of the 
eightfold dragon. A new blade was forged for my hands 
alone, the Earth Dragon Sword. It was said to have 
been bathed in the Earth Dragon's essence, which is why 
it was so strongly attuned to the earth element. 
  I also fell in love. It was the last place I 
expected to find a wife, but the female assassin 
known as Lash I found attractive. Not in the physical 
sense, mind you, for she was quite unattractive, 
sporting numerous scars and bursted bulges here and 
there. It could be an inner beauty, I suppose, or a 
common interest. Lash was brought into the cult after 
working in a whore house; she, too, hated this world 
and wished to help shape the future. Though we could 
not have children, she filled my days with fond 
memories (barring her fetish of self-inflicted 
torture, which was probably a psychological problem). 
  Warmage was a foolish leader, as he was the one that 
lead to the Assassins' destruction at the hands of 
eight rival warriors outside the cult. I expected to 
perish, but somehow I survived, minus my left arm. And 
yet, my dear Lash had not survived. The only thing that 
kept me going was the desire for revenge. 
  In a desperate bid to regain Orochi's favor Warmage 
decided to summon Nemesis, the god of vengeance. I took 
this last battle as an opportunity to rematch Tatewaki, 
who had beaten me earlier with a surprising skill. 
  To say the least it was an even match-- no, more than 
even. I ended the battle by throwing myself into the 
jaws of the earth itself, taking Tatewaki with me. 
  But no. Death was not there to meet me, but the 
waters below. It was a direct current to the ocean, it 
turned out, and when I came to I had washed ashore at 
the feet of a man. 
  Later this man, my rescuer, turned out to be none 
other than Senryu Amakusa himself, the founder of the 
popular cult of Saint Hebereke, an open cult, so to 
speak. I hated the man, but I was in his debt, and I 
was obligated to serve him before I could kill myself. 
  But now, the time has come. Once again, I found 
myself before the man who humbled me twice, Tatewaki 
Kuno. I could bear the shame of living no longer, and 
it was to his surprise that when I drew my blade, the 
Earth Dragon Sword, I handed it to him. 
  I asked him to assist in my ritual suicide. 
  Miranda and Spencer were shocked, to say the least. 
Those two expected me to challenge and duel Tatewaki 
again-- they were mistaken. I only lived this long to 
repay the favor of Amakusa's, and if Spencer were smart 
enough he'd take advantage of the confusion to carry 
out the job. 
  The battle that had hardly begun had frozen, and all 
eyes were on Tatewaki. He dropped his bokken, and 
accepted the Earth Dragon Sword wordlessly. 
  Smiling, standing on my knees, I thanked him, and ran 
my artificial arm's blade through my stomach. 
  I was unsure as to what Tatewaki was doing at the 
moment, but the only response I needed was the 
enveloping blackness. 


In the case of Tatewaki Kuno: 

  I held the bloodied sword of my foe outward, and felt 
the urge to throw the despicable weapon away. 
  The deed having been done, I had no idea what to 
think or feel. I resisted the urge to look down upon 
the severed head of Nagi, a formidable opponent who 
died with honor. 
  Honor. What does it mean now? 
  Many a time I shouted the words, "Prepare to die!" 
and yet, in none of those instances have I ever carried 
out such words. But today, Tatewaki Kuno has killed a 
man. 
  Samurai. Honor. Dignity. Code of Warrior. 
  'Tis one thing when read in stories of the past. 'The 
Tale of Genji,' for instance-- many a noble warrior 
met his end in the myriad passages. The stain of blood 
does blanket the victor, if not physical, but mental. 
  No story prepares for this. 
  I wanted to throw the sword away. I wanted to laugh, 
but I knew it to be hollow. I had no idea what to do, 
what to say, or what the consequence of my action 
would be. 
  The man I fought valiantly in the past was slain 
by my hand, through no skill of my own. 
  For many years I yearned for the feeling that ran 
through the blood of a warrior, as in the stories I 
read and memorized by heart. Many a time I had ample 
opportunity to feed a blade the blood of my enemy. 
Many a time I failed, but today Fate has shown me a 
reason why. 
  I killed a good man. 
  It had no meaning. 
  Honor means nothing. 
  To think I held such a noble code in high esteem! 
  What good was it now? 
  I heard the voice of little Kodachi, but I could 
not discern the words. She was getting closer, I 
could tell, but she wisely kept her distance. 
  All eyes were waiting for a reaction from one 
Tatewaki Kuno, who slayed a good man. 
  "It means nothing," I said. 
  "What means nothing?" she asked. 
  "To be a samurai... to slice and kill... and to 
survive," I replied. "Honor... warrior ways... it all 
means nothing!" 
  I still felt the dreadful blade in my death grip 
as I started to run. 
  "Brother!" Kodachi yelled. 
  No, I could not stop; I WOULD NOT stop! There was no 
place I needed to be, save away from others. 
  So I ran into the cold night. I had no idea when 
I could no longer hear Sister's voice any longer, but 
I kept running nonetheless. 
  My life, my dreams, my desires... all mean nothing. 


In the case of Kodachi Kuno: 

  Brother was running off into the night, all alone. 
  For the moment, the world around me seemed to 
vanish altogether, and there was only me, Brother, and 
the corpse of the one-armed man who had spared me the 
other day. What was it that drove Brother to murder 
that man? 
  He was running with surprising speed, still holding 
on to the sword the man gave him. I, too, was running, 
supposedly just as fast, but Brother was making it to 
the end of existence faster than I. 
  Brother ran the dark tunnel that was my existence, 
running to the light, and I could not stop him. 
  "Wait!" I screamed. "Come back!" 
  At that moment I shed all false pretenses; this had 
nothing to do with sibling rivalries anymore. It was 
about someone you love being hurt. 
  I could not stand to see him hurt so, but what 
could I do to help? 
  No, such thoughts were not circulating in my mind; 
all there was left was blood instinct. 
  Somewhere along the way, I ran into a stumbling 
block, and Tacchi was gone forever. 
  "Don't you go anywhere!" snarled Miranda, who 
somehow managed to get ahead of me in time to stop me. 
  I hardly understood what this girl, being of the 
same age as I, wished with me. From the first day we 
attended school together Miranda was always the 
competitive one, flaunting all her goodness to me at 
every opportunity she got. 
  If anything, she appeared quite insecure. 
  Miranda balled her rubber gloved-hands into fists, 
then tossed her mane of hair over her shoulders. "I've 
been waiting a long time for this!" 
  "Oh, really?" 
  "Ever since you came to school that day you proved 
yourself the best in everything you did," the other 
girl accused. "From day one you were made the captain 
of the rhythmic gymnastics team! From day one you 
became Miss Popularity, as all the girls looked up to 
you. But, *I* am better!" 
  "There is ego for you," I snorted. 
  "However," Miranda said, raising her index finger, 
"there is one thing you are no good at all!" 
  "What would that be, pray tell?" 
  "I'm a better fighter!" 
  I could tell where this was going, therefore I 
snapped out my ribbon. "This should prove an amusing 
little exercise!" So I laughed. 
  Easily I avoided Miranda's booted kicks, as she was 
too slow to match me. Already I could tell the girl 
was sweating. 
  "Your skill is lacking, as usual," I taunted. 
  "Oh, no, that was only a warm-up!" Miranda shot 
back. 
  She was smiling at me, perhaps because she had an 
ace up her sleeve. 
  Spreading her feet apart, standing as if she were 
bracing herself, Miranda cupped her hands together. I 
saw a glowing ball of energy forming within those 
cupped hands, and it was then I knew I was outmatched. 
  Somewhere along the line Miranda must have decided 
to take her little beef to an entirely new level. 
While the art was only a means to an end in my 
sophisticated life, the plebian was obsessed enough 
to pull this stunt! 
  "SHISHI SENKO!!" the plebian shouted, throwing an 
energy bolt. 
  The bolt was surprisingly quick, as it nearly got 
me. Yet, being who I am, I was not satisfied with 
being a target for an enemy I hardly acknowledge. 
  I leaped up and onto a nearby wall. "Shouting out 
the name of attacks... ha-hah!" I laughed. "Truly, it 
is out of style. But then, you were always one step 
behind." 
  Only anger registered in Miranda's features. "Shut 
the hell up and fight me!" 
  "You can come up with more play tricks if you wish, 
but a fight is denied!" 
  Miranda snarled, clenching her fists. I could even 
hear the rubber gloves squeaking from where I was. 
"Fine, then! Don't fight back! I'll just kill you 
as you are!" 
  She arced her arm behind her. Then, as throwing a 
discus, the plebian threw another energy bolt. 
"SHISHI SENKO!!" 
  This time I stepped to the side, and watched as the 
energy disc flew by. 
  "Hah! Was that the best you ca...." 
  My words cut short, I screamed in pain as I felt a 
great force pummel me from behind. Without time to 
recover I fell to the sidewalk face-first-- it was 
quite painful. 
  The only possible reason why this could have 
occurred was that I underestimated Miranda greatly. 
  "The great thing about my Shishi Senko," she told 
me, "is plasticity! You didn't think it'd come back in 
this direction, did you?" 
  I refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing 
that I was completely surprised. I tried to get up, 
but I felt the heavy weight of Miranda's boot on my 
back. 
  With that avenue exhausted, I tried to find where I 
lost my ribbon, but it was conveniently out of my 
reach. 
  "Now," the plebian said, "who's the better warrior? 
Say it!" 
  What a humiliating way to lose.  


In the case of Ayame Mishima: 

  When the boss went after her brother, I didn't know 
what to do. After all, she was the boss, and I really 
couldn't do much myself. 
  I tried to look away from the beheaded sword guy, as 
the blood... well... grossed me out. Instead I looked 
toward that guy Ranma... well, now he was a girl, and 
he turns into a girl when splashed with cold water.... 
  "Well?" she asked. 
  I looked around, and during all the confusion the 
other two attackers were gone. "Damn," I spat. 
  "That's no way for a girl to talk," someone said, 
but I hardly listened. 
  Miranda was gone, and so was Kodachi. 
  Of course, knowing the rebel, she's probably going 
after the boss. 
  I made up my mind, and went out in the direction I 
thought Kodachi went, the same direction her hunky 
brother went. 
  As soon as I'd left I heard a couple gunshots; 
most likely that priestess with the shotgun and the 
guy with the pistol. Ignoring the commotion, I set out 
on my little search for the boss. 
  Kodachi was a year older-- my sempai. She was the 
boss of the rhythmic gymnastics team for the second 
year in a row when I joined up, and boy, was she good. 
So whip-thin that I looked fat in comparison, and I 
knew I wasn't fat. Well, not THAT fat. 
  Okay, so I was the snot-nosed newbie of the group, 
but that hardly made me any less able than the other 
girls. Momma said that Saint Hebereke's girl's school 
was one of the best in the country, and that I should 
be proud I got to go there. But then, the first day of 
practice those girls made me very unwelcome. 
  My head was filled with all these silly dreams, you 
know. I wanted to be the best in Japan-- who didn't? 
I mean, my junior high coach said I was bound for a 
whole bunch of good things, and I took it to heart. 
  Well, on that first day all dreams were shot down. 
They didn't call it 'hazing,' but it certainly felt 
like it. They probably did it because I had all these 
airs, made myself self-important to a group of vets. 
  I was the newbie; a smart-ass newbie at that. 
  Maybe I was lucky, that I went to an all-girls 
school. I mean, I didn't have to chase after the girls 
in my underpants through the halls or anything (as the 
others keep telling me happens in other schools... oh, 
gossip is cool, especially when it betters ourselves). 
Oh no, I had to put up with worse stuff than that; 
maybe I wasn't lucky (but I wouldn't want boys staring 
at me like that, either). 
  One of my first lessons as part of the team was the 
deflation of my own personal ego over the team's 
work. Yeah, the team counts more than the person, as 
they kept telling me, but I was still all that. So 
what they did was this: they passed around rumors 
suggesting I was a lesbian. 
  It doesn't sound bad on paper, but it wasn't very 
funny, because any girl who heard that in school kept 
badgering me about it in their own ways. Some took the 
effort to walk around me, as if I had some infectious 
disease. And I even got love notes (though later I 
found out the girls did it just to enhance the 
effect). All that crap was driving me nuts! 
  So after a couple weeks of putting up with the false 
rumors, and in general feeling totally unwelcomed at 
the school, I was going to tell Kodachi that I was 
going to quit. Well, the first thing she did was 
laugh at me. 
  "What's so funny?" I asked. 
  And she answered, "Your ego." 
  I got my first real lesson then. It was okay to have 
an ego, but not so that it screwed up everyone around 
you. Actually, what Kodachi told me was that this 
little... whatever was primarily there so I could suck 
in my pride and grit my teeth-- in other words, to 
humiliate me. It worked... sort of, although the 
rumors didn't die until a lot later. 
  For some reason or another the boss decided she 
wanted to help train me personally. I think that was 
when I started calling her 'boss,' I guess, even 
though she was always my boss. She was absolutely 
fantastic, and she wanted to train me herself! 
  Geez, if they hadn't sunken my bloated ego already I 
would've been flying. 
  After that the boss made it a point to teach me 
everything she knows about life, and I took it all in 
eagerly. I hardly spoke unless spoken to, and as a 
bonus I got the respect I deserved, being Kodachi's 
left-hand guy (apparently at the time she already had 
a right-hand, and I got to know Chika as well-- she's 
cool, too, if a bit of a wuss). One thing's for sure, 
knowing Kodachi's a pretty interesting thing, 
especially after the kinds of stuff she does. I owe a 
lot to Kodachi, that's for sure. 
  So when I found her under the boot of Miranda the 
Bitch Queen, the first thing I did was attack. 


In the case of Ranma Saotome: 

  It seemed that at the moment Kodachi's scrubby 
lackey left the war really started, y'know. 
  Well, when Shizuka fired the first shot from her 
single-barreled shotgun, I ducked for cover; she 
probably saw that Spencer guy, or she was firing at me 
again. 
  No sooner that I finished that thought Spencer 
started shooting, too. 
  "Akane, get down!" I yelled, even though it wasn't 
even necessary. Everybody was down on the ground or 
hiding except for Shizuka, who was standing out in the 
open, reloading her shotgun. 
  Dammit, that stupid girl! 
  Getting up at great speed, I ran and tackled the 
screwy priestess. 
  Needless to say, she shoved me off of her and 
scrambled for her shotgun. "What the hell are you 
thinking?!" she snarled. 
  "Stay down!" I ordered, even though I knew she 
wouldn't listen. Kinda like Akane in that respect. 
  She leveled the shotgun at my chest. "Get in the way 
again and I'll give one to you!" 
  I pointed to the bullet strap on her barrel. "You've 
only three bullets left." 
  "Four," she corrected, tapping the barrel with her 
index finger. "This one's locked and loaded!" 
  Another shot rang out, and the priestess ducked 
instinctively. A moment later Shizuka was already 
hunting for the source of the shot. 
  I watched her lower the shotgun slowly. "He's not 
here anymore." 
  "Huh? How'd you figure that?" 
  She looked down at me. "Didn't you hear it the first 
time? They're not after us." 
  I got up to my feet. "So what're you sayin'?" 
  On cue, the answer came in the form of a girl's 
scream from the house. 
  "AKANE!!" I shouted, dashing for the house. 
  "Wait, you!" Shizuka cried from behind. 
  I heard her fire her shotgun, and I saw the black- 
suited man making his escape, someone trapped in his 
arms. 
  "Ranma!" Akane yelled. "He's got Kasumi!" 
  I did a double take. "Kasumi?!" 
  She held out the kettle of hot water for me, which 
I gladly accepted. "Somehow that guy snuck in the back 
and got her in the kitchen!" 
  "Damn," I cursed, pouring the hot water over my 
head. Tossing the empty kettle aside, I gave myself a 
running start to jump over the wall. 
  As I cleared the wall, out of the corner of my eye I 
noticed Shizuka reloading her shotgun. Three more 
shots and she's out. 
  Where the hell was that other girl in the robe, 
anyhow?! 
  Before I could continue my pursuit of the paladin, 
a bright flash of light caught my eye. It must've been 
that other girl that was with the paladin. 
  That distraction was pretty much enough to get me to 
lose track of the stinkin' Spencer, but I knew where 
he was going anyway. So I decided I'd pay this other 
person a little visit. 
  As I rounded the corner I was just in time to see 
the rubber girl take out Kodachi's shadow, that Ayame 
kid, I guess. Both Kodachi and Ayame were down, lying 
in the middle of the street, with that bad girl 
standin' over them. 
  She stared at me with those unnatural red eyes. 
  "Who're you?" we both asked at the same time. 
  The girl chuckled to herself. I couldn't see what 
was so funny. "Miranda Kusao, of the Mantis Blades 
School." 
  "Ranma Saotome, Saotome School of Anything-Goes 
Martial Arts!" I shouted proudly. "You guys're going 
to give back Kasumi or else!" 
  Miranda waved her finger. "I've heard of you, you 
know. You're the cocky guy, all right. Kodachi's old 
boyfriend." 
  "I'm not her boyfriend!" 
  "Doesn't make a difference to me. I've proven all 
along which of us was better, and I've won." 
  "Yeah, well, try ME on for size!" 
  I rushed in for my attack, and Miranda kept me away 
with a simple circular kick. Naturally, I avoided it, 
as it's a simple trick and all.... She followed up 
with an axe kick, which attacks high, so I raised my 
arms up to parry the blow. Catching her leg, I threw 
Miranda backward, but somehow she managed to stay on 
her feet. 
  I dodged her gloved fists easily, so I landed a few 
good jabs on her. I used to go easy on girls a long 
time ago, but after a while I figured out that girls 
were pretty good, too. 
  Miranda leaped back, cupping her hands together. 
"SHISHI SENKO!!" 
  The instant the energy ball formed in her hands I 
instinctively drew one of my own. "MOKO TAKABISHA!!" 
  I have no idea what kind of gas her Shishi Senko 
runs on, but it's certainly no Shishi Hokodan, 'cuz 
my blast ran her's over like a bullet train. So it was 
no surprise that Miranda was blown backward. 
  Quickly, she got up to her feet. I guess she's still 
got some in her. "Dammit!" she cursed. "A blast so 
strong...!" 
  "I hope that wasn't your best shot," I taunted in a 
bored tone. "Even Kodachi was more of a challenge than 
that." 
  Miranda growled angrily. "Bastard! Looks like I'm 
going to have to go straight for the end!" 
  She folded her arms under each other. "One of the 
secret techniques of the Mantis Blades School!" Both 
her gloves glowed faintly. 
  I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" 
  "OUGI: SHISHI SENPU RAIZAN!!" 
  She threw her arms outward, and lightning seemed to 
arc from her palms. But, all the same, it was a 
pretty lame secret technique. 
  Walking between the lightning bolts, as if they 
weren't there, I reached out and grabbed both her 
arms. 
  She stared at me with scared eyes as I told her, 
"Give up. You're so outclassed it's not even funny 
anymore." 


In the case of Miranda Kusao: 

  I trained hard for many years for the day that I 
would beat Kodachi Kuno. 
  The first time we met was in grade school, eight or 
nine years ago, I think. She was some kind of rich, 
spoiled brat, walking through school as if everything 
should go her way. Indeed, everything DID go her way, 
because her father was very rich. 
  We shared the same class together, and it made me 
hate her even more. When we colored pictures the 
teacher always complimented and praised her; when we 
went to P.E. she was the star of the gym. I was better 
in every way; all I had to do was prove it. 
  The first time I confronted her about this it was 
over our art session. The teacher had left the room 
for some reason or another, and all the other kids 
were gathered around Kodachi, praising her good work. 
My work was just as good, if not better, than hers, so 
I made a point to mention it. 
  All the other kids seemed to be on Kodachi's side, 
for they just ridiculed me, taking after the brat's 
lead. Crying didn't help matters more, but from that 
day I vowed I would become better than her. 
  This kind of behavior continued on to junior high, 
where the stakes were much higher than in grade 
school. Although we never shared the same classroom, 
everyone in school knew of our little rivalry. The 
thing was, though, that Kodachi kept pretending that I 
wasn't even a bother to her! 
  That bitch! 
  I couldn't believe the kinds of things I came up 
with back then; they were so simple and stupid, and 
often backfired on me. Like the bucket of water, the 
fake love notes, and getting someone to flick up the 
skirt of her uniform; somehow Kodachi managed to get 
all of those tacked onto me, and everyone hated me for 
it. All because she was Miss Popularity, that bitch! 
  So when I found out she was training in martial 
arts I determined that was my best avenue for my 
vengeance. Eventually I got myself a sensei who 
practiced the Mantis Blades, some obscure art that 
relied on many cutting motions. I studied vigorously 
under the sensei, even skipping out classes just so I 
could get better. 
  I needed to beat Kodachi. 
  Enrolling in the girl's school was no simple task, 
as my family wasn't so rich, but my superior grades 
earned me the privilege, unlike Kodachi. The only 
reason I attended the same school as her all this 
time was mainly to keep tabs on that bitch, and 
whenever she got better I pushed myself twice as 
hard. Sensei thought I was pushing myself too hard, 
but I hardly listened. 
  I was so proud when I got the skill of throwing ki 
energy, but it turned out Kodachi had gotten even 
better still. Learning just one technique wasn't good 
enough. 
  Only recently, when the school changed its 
attendance requirements did my training get 
interrupted. Amakusa wanted all the girls to worship 
Saint Hebereke, something which I flatly refused. But, 
a week later that priest, Joseph Nakamura, approached 
me with a proposition: he offered me the chance to 
confront Kodachi. 
  How could I refuse? Especially since Kodachi was 
commencing a little private war against her old 
school! For once, I'd be in the right! 
  And so today I got my chance; Kodachi was far 
weaker than I anticipated, and that was very 
disappointing. 
  But this new martial artist, Ranma Saotome.... I 
felt fear as he held my arms tight. I didn't know what 
to say or do, for this man... this... whatever, beat 
me without breaking a sweat, just as I to Kodachi. 
  He was that much better than I.... 
  Beating Kodachi put me at the top of the world, but 
this man tossed me off to sink into the void. 
  I blinked the tears out of my eyes, and fear turned 
into despair. 
  Here he was, a specimen of a true martial artist, 
and he beat me like it was nothing. 
  Kodachi's old boyfriend. 
  "Ah...." I stuttered. 
  Instead, I shut my eyes tightly, and kicked him 
between the legs. Instantly, my arms were free, and 
the opportunity presented itself for a counter- 
attack, but that was far behind my mind. 
  I turned and ran. Beating Kodachi meant nothing at 
all... nothing at all. 


In the case of Shizuka Minazuki: 

  Tokyo was just too weird for my tastes. 
  The apprentice emerged just after Ranma left, just 
in time to stop me from pursuing him. 
  "You'll get your time," she said. 
  Thanatos, the snake wrapped around me, flicked his 
forked tongue at me, staring directly at me. 
  I lowered the shotgun I loved, sagging shoulders. 
"I guess you're right," I conceded. 
  "Let's get inside and wait," the apprentice 
suggested. 
  So we did as she suggested. I can't believe she's 
the same person we picked up only about a couple 
months ago... I think it was. 
  It's strange, this city. Sure, every city has its 
own little quirks, but the Nerima district of Tokyo 
takes the cake. First time I've ever had so many 
problems getting a job done. 
  For some reason the odd familial quirks of the 
Tendos and Saotomes bothered me. 
  I'm a single child, born to a quiet couple living 
just outside of Osaka. I don't know why, but they 
sent me to live with the priests of the Shrine to the 
Four Gods to train as a priestess, something they did 
when I was only... four. So all my life I guess my 
purpose was to be a priestess-- big fun. 
  They gave me an education, all right, what I later 
figured out was simply better than going to public 
schools. I've never been to a public school until 
recently, and the idea that you've got to do 
frivolous stuff, such as wearing school uniforms, 
joining clubs, and janitorial work were all pretty 
lame things, I thought. Not only that, but it seemed 
that every other guy at school was trying to pick me 
up for some reason-- don't they have better things to 
do? 
  They also taught me the stories of the Four Gods, 
and all the ceremony junk, too. Evidently, it was 
custom for the priests to be divided amongst the four 
as was deemed proper. Not surprisingly, I ended up with 
the black tortoise. Another big whoop. 
  Some Chinese guy said that water, the element which 
Genbu represented, was the weakest and most 
submissive element in existence. Well, taking those 
words to heart I wanted to make it the most powerful. 
  So I trained to become a Demon Hunter, the most 
unenviable job a priest can get. Then again, it was 
also the least boring; I couldn't stand doing all 
those stupid ceremonies. 
  Thanatos became my partner-- a snake being 
traditionally a part of the black tortoise in some 
imageries. The first thing I had to learn was to live 
in harmony with the snake, and today I'm glad I did; 
Thanatos saved me more than once from a lot of 
trouble. 
  I never did ask where in the world they got a boa 
constrictor in the middle of Japan, but somehow I 
suspect they stole him from the zoo. 
  As I got older the higher-ups thought I should get 
more sociable, so they tried to reintegrate me back 
into society. Well, I think blowing people away at 
the arcade was fine, but they didn't think so. So 
they forced me to get a job. 
  Mind you, I was only eleven when I got the job, and 
they made me do birthday parties. No, not for old 
lecherous guys, I meant for kids. Kids were supposed 
to test peoples' patience. 
  Every party was different; the first one was 
probably the one that kept me going. I mean, I just 
hated the stupid bells I had to wear, but something 
about making the kids happy melted me. I never knew 
entertaining kids was so fun. 
  Other than the paychecks and the kids, in the long 
run it was probably worth wearing the stupid costumes. 
The higher-ups said it was to curb my arrogance; I'm 
not so sure that really worked. Now that I'm sixteen 
they said that I don't need the job anymore, but I'm 
still at it (but not as often as before). 
  Traditionally, the demon hunter uses ofuda to 
battle demons and evil spirits, but when I was 
thirteen I found something even better. I just fell in 
love with guns after watching some TV and movies, so 
I went out and got a shotgun. Needless to say, I hurt 
myself a lot with the unexpected kickback, but it did 
get the job done. The higher-ups weren't terribly 
happy with this, but I still kept the shotgun. 
  So pretty much everything that's happened to me was 
just hunting and parties on the side, until a couple 
months ago. We learned of an entity claiming to be 
Seiryu who appeared in Tokyo, a being that shouldn't 
exist now. 
  The ultimate goal of the priests of the Four Gods 
wished for was to become the Chosen Speaker of their 
god, but only the strongest and wisest ever claimed 
such an honor, and it was very rare. Since the Chosen 
for Seiryu had not been chosen, we knew we had to take 
care of the problem. 
  Problem was, I was the only Demon Hunter they had 
left. Nobody else was around to do it because they 
were busy, or they weren't stupid enough to 
volunteer themselves. The Seiryu guys must've begged 
pretty hard, I bet. 
  That was around the time the apprentice showed up. 
While we waited to see how the Seiryu situation played 
itself out I got to know this girl, and she seemed 
kind of lost, as if looking for a niche to place 
herself in. She showed a lot of promise, I knew, but 
only a week had passed before it was decided that I'd 
be sent to Tokyo to clean up the Seiryu problem. 
  Sadly, though, they made me leave Thanatos behind 
in order to keep a low profile. I left him in the 
care of the apprentice, as I knew she'd take good care 
of him, and give the two a chance to get to know each 
other. 
  I made my way by train quickly to the other side of 
the country, but the night I got into the city one of 
the Seiryu spirits must've spotted me, and therefore 
attacked me. It was the Soi of the future, and she was 
hiding in the body of a homeless man. 
  The problem was that Soi was exactly as the Chosen 
would face her, and I wasn't even ready for that kind 
of thing. Soi beat me up soundly until she came up 
with the ingenious plan of taking a better body-- my 
own. And so the mad spirit tried to possess me. 
  Blasted spirits. Fighting these turds gives me all 
the more reason to hate demon hunting. And I wish 
Kyoko was a better cook. Being split down the middle 
wasn't very fun, either, and I'm still trying to get 
used to having two sets of memories. I can't believe 
my other half was such a ditz; could I really be like 
that deep down? 


			*  *  *  *  * 

  "So now what're we going to do?" Ranma asked to 
those seated around the table of the Tendo dining 
room. 
  After the battle against Miranda concluded Ranma 
returned to the house with both Kodachi and Ayame in 
his arms; Nodoka was ecstatic about his manly son, but 
Akane just beaned him. He eyed the apprentice, who sat 
next to Shizuka, strangely. 
  "There is no doubt," Kodachi said, pressing a cold 
compress to her head, "we must take the battle to the 
enemy." 
  "I thought so, too," Ranma agreed. 
  "Then we'd better do it quick," suggested Shizuka, 
"before something bad happens." 
  "You said Saint Hebereke was a demon?" Soun asked. 
  The priestess nodded. "An ancient one, to be sure. 
The creature is crafty, but is certainly no god." 
  "They're going to sacrifice Kasumi to give power to 
the demon," the apprentice added. 
  "But why?" asked Akane. 
  "They need a pure heart." 
  "That's Kasumi, all right," Nabiki muttered. 
  "Now that Miranda and Nagi are gone," continued the 
apprentice, "there should be little opposition left. 
If we leave now, they may not get a chance to 
react." 
  She directed her attention to Akane. "You'll stay 
behind." 
  "Why?" she asked, anger rising. "Kasumi's my 
sister!" 
  "So what makes you think you can get better results 
than Ranma can?" the hooded girl asked. 
  "But...." Ranma began. 
  The apprentice seemed to flash with anger. "It 
doesn't matter if you two are such a team! If one of 
you got pinned down then we're all sunk, because 
you'll save each other over the important goal. We 
don't need that problem. So it's one or the other." 
  "That's probably a good idea," agreed Shizuka. 
"Kodachi and Ayame should stay, too." 
  "I've no arguments there," Aya agreed, rubbing her 
sore right arm. 
  Kodachi simply nodded. 
  "So I guess if Kuno ain't comin' back any time soon, 
I guess it's three," Ranma concluded. 
  "Three?" wondered Akane. 
  The apprentice raised her hand. "I'm going, and 
Shizu's going, too." 
  "I go, too." 
  All eyes turned to Shampoo, standing in the doorway, 
appearing as if she just came out of the shower. 
  "Shampoo?" Ranma said. 
  "I need to atone," the Chinese Amazon announced. 
"For what I did just now." 
  "Ah, just forget about it, you weren't yourself," 
insisted Ranma. 
  "Still, you're welcome to join us," Shizuka said. 
  Shampoo nodded silently. 

  Just as everyone got up to leave Ranma pulled Akane 
aside. Before she could say anything he shooshed her. 
  "What is it?" she whispered. 
  "It's that girl," Ranma explained. "That hooded 
girl that came from nowhere. There's somethin' about 
her that... well...." 
  "She seems to know us a bit much, don't you think?" 
Akane finished. 
  "Yeah. Especially for someone we don't know." 
  "That could mean anything." 
  Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Call me crazy, but I think 
we DO know her." 
  "But who's left?" asked Akane. "I mean, there isn't 
anyone...." 
  "Ukyo." 
  Akane blinked. "Ukyo?" she repeated. 
  Ranma nodded. 
  She shook her head. "Ranma... when are you going to 
stop with those silly ideas? You even fell for what 
Miboshi told you!" 
  "It's NOT silly!" he insisted. "I mean, look at all 
the arrows!" He held out an open hand. Balling one 
finger, "She knows about our relationship," two, 
"according to Shizuka she only came to her shrine only 
a couple months back, which is when Ukyo 'died,'" 
three, "how else would they have known about Seiryu?" 
  Akane closed the rest of Ranma's fist. "She also 
doesn't like you very much." 
  "Yeah, yeah, but Ukyo was like that, too, before 
she died." 
  The girl groaned. "Look, let's say you're right; 
then what? If she's really Ukyo, then why hasn't she 
revealed herself to us? Why keep up the charade?" 
  "Who knows?" Ranma replied, shrugging. "Probably all 
embarrassed or something. Maybe she can't remember. 
Either way, I'm going to find out and throw off that 
hood of her's." 
  He produced a fist-sized, thin object from his pants 
pocket, and showed it to Akane. "She'll recognize this 
in a flash." 
  Akane picked up the jade-carved earring, shaped in 
the form of a four-toed Chinese dragon encircling 
some kind of post or stick. Small ruby-like gems 
served as its eyes, and the jewelry piece looked 
quite expensive indeed. And quite old. 
  "I'll hang on to it, if you don't mind," she said. 
"If you're right, then there's no use getting it all 
broken or anything." 
  "It doesn't look like it breaks, actually," Ranma 
insisted. "I've carried it all this time, and there's 
not a single scratch on it." 
  "You're weird." 
  "I promised I'd hold on to it," he said. "With that 
thing I feel like Ukyo's still here. And maybe, just 
maybe, it's luck is rubbing off on me." 

  Kodachi and Ayame stood alone in the back yard, over 
the koi pond. As Ayame held the cold compress in place 
the Kuno girl held one hand cupped over her ear, and 
held a small microphone in place with her other hand. 
  "Chika?" she whispered. 
  "What?" came the reply in her ear. 
  "They came and took what they wanted." 
  "Then it's time for our secret weapon?" 
  "Precisely." 
  "Hang on a sec, I'm getting it ready." 
  Kodachi listened to the noise in the ear piece for 
several moments, discerning the sound of a telephone 
and ruffling papers. A rather loud curse betrayed 
Chika's disorganization. 
  "It's done," she said finally. 
  "Good, we will join you shortly." 
  "You're not going to stop them?" 
  "Miranda was much tougher than anticipated. Besides, 
I believe it is time to search for Brother. He 
vanished without a trace, and we cannot find him." 
  "I see." 
  "Very well. Over and out." 


			*  *  *  *  * 

Kodachi (VO): 

  "My, my, Ranma-darling! Such foes you make for 
yourself! Such allies you make of them! Such behavior 
is fitting for a man of your caliber.... And yet you 
dare to stand against an institution of thought and 
knowledge? How will your poor mind bear to match! When 
your thoughts leave an old friend, ever so briefly, 
look under the hood and see who resides within-- it 
may be the last sight you ever see!" 
  "Next time: Reverse Gravity! Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!" 



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

  Character history notes: Okay, I made Miranda after 
I watched the OAV series of Battle Athletes; her 
likeness and character were based off the competitive 
Mylandah (gee, where do you think I got the name 
from, anyway?). Not that the series was any good or 
anything, but I was very disappointed how her arc 
ended. So I made my own character to compete, a whole 
new person to fight Kodachi. And she's good enough to 
beat Kodachi, only to have Ranma come in and defeat 
her easily. 
  The names of Miranda's ki attacks were derived from 
Tales of Phantasia. 


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

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