Strangeness in the Night ____________________ [June 13, 1996] Large, close-set yellow eyes watched from across the street into the window of a local bar. A long hind leg came up and scratched at an itch in the wiry brown fur behind an oversized, tufted ear. <It's over. It's finally over. And I lost.> Hakubi Ryouko slammed back another full bottle of sake and pounded the bar counter, demanding more. The bartender grimaced and walked over. She had an elbow on the counter and had placed one hand on the bronze dragon sculpture incorporated into the Chinese chic decor. She wore her pale green and orange outfit that she first wore when released from her imprisonment. Her "elf" outfit. Somehow it had felt appropriate. "Look, Miss. You've already had more than I'm supposed to give out. This is a family bar..." The sculpture began squeezing out from between Ryouko's fingers like putty. The barkeep bigsweated. "Errr, co-co-coming right up!" He jogged to the other end of the bar, put three bottles on a tray, and jogged back, setting the tray down and escaping. Ryouko slowly released the mangled dragon, but stopped when she caught sight of the gem in her wrist, the wrist that hadn't had one in over 700 years. She reached up and felt the gem at her throat and looked at the gem on her other wrist. Sighing and putting her elbows on the counter, she rested her forehead against her palms and remembered. The end had begun 3 months ago. She and Aeka, the other serious contender for her beloved's heart, were actually sort of getting along, more or less. Oh, the fights still raged occasionally, but it was more to vent frustration than from any real enmity. It had also helped that Mihoshi had been and would be out of the picture for a while, called back for some matter dealing with her grandfather, Galaxy Police Grand Marshall Kuramitsu. And Tenchi. He'd actually started looking at them and acting around them like potential mates, and the two girls... no, *women* had begun to see a light at the end of that long, oh so long tunnel. And then it all fell apart. It began with a scream that morning, coming from the kitchen where Sasami was about her usual business making breakfast. Everyone rushed to see what'd happened - the entire household dearly loved the little blue-haired princess. What they saw tied their stomachs into knots, instantly evaporating any thought of food. Sasami was floating in a cocoon of blue energy... and dissolving. Pain was clear from her features and stark terror from the look in her eyes. The family rushed to help, but the field was too strong. Energy swords, the Tenchi-ken, even Washuu couldn't bring anything sufficient to bear. Soon enough, Sasami was gone, her last expression, oddly enough, a joyous smile. The energy cocoon stayed in place, just hovering there. Aeka had broken down, incoherent, and Ryouko hugged her and cried with her. Washuu and Tenchi were too stunned for words. Ryou-ou- ki was wailing piteously in her piercing voice. Only Katsuhito seemed collected, although he always wore that face. It turned out, however, that he was the only one who had an inkling of what was happening. He moved next to the cocoon and waited. Those still aware of their surroundings looked at him strangely, but continued to comfort those more distraught while trying to deal with their own grief. Katsuhito continued to wait, his arms folded. After a period of time, long or short, no one knew, the cocoon began to pulse and shrink. Katsuhito made no move. The blue ovoid began to crease and ran through various ill-defined forms. Later reflection would reveal that the shapes had been reminiscent of the various stages of embryonic development. The form continued to shrink and finally took the shape of an all-too-familiar woman. The corona of energy flickered out, and Tsunami stood in its place. Yet, not quite Tsunami, but neither Sasami - something in between. The Juraian goddess-princess lifted her head and said with her high voice, "It is done." What happened next surprised everyone, even Tsunami. "Your reasons are plain to see, Tsunami," Katsuhito's eyes flicked over to Tenchi and back, "but did you have to steal her childhood because of it?!" he said with undisguised anger and disgust in his voice. Tsunami said nothing, and Katsuhito whirled around and stalked out of the house. Tsunami watched him go and stared at the point of his exit for several moments. <Not for Tsunami, Oniisama...> She then turned and surveyed the shocked group, settling on one face. "Tenchi... niichan." Ryouko slammed her fist onto the wooden counter, causing a crack to open along its entire length. The bar patrons froze, and Ryouko looked over her shoulder at the staring crowd. "Gomen," she said flatly. The patrons returned to their conversations, keeping one eye on the strange woman with the odd cyan hair. Ryouko slammed down another sake, long immune to the burn of the liquor, and stared at her reflection in the bottle-encrusted mirror behind the bar. <I should've seen it then. It was so obvious! But... I didn't want to see it.> She quickly disposed of the remaining two bottles and caught the bartender's eye, glaring at him. He trotted over with three more bottles and returned to the safety of the other end. Over the course of the next few days, everyone was beginning to wonder at what Tsunami's arrival truly meant. Only Katsuhito and Ryou-ou-ki seemed to have made up their minds about the event. Katsuhito stayed at the shrine almost constantly, and Ryou-ou-ki had rebuffed Tsunami repeatedly. The little cabbit eventually retired to Washuu's lab and rarely came out, profoundly unhappy with the changes wrought on her friend. Unfortunately, Tenchi's eyes were being inexorably drawn to Tsunami, and she did nothing to discourage him and much to encourage him, her behavior a strangely provocative mix of Sasami's cheerfulness and humor and Tsunami's femininity and presence. Over the next few weeks, they begin to spend all of their time together. Ryouko was infuriated when she caught them kissing, but was too afraid of Tsunami's power and of accidentally hurting Tenchi to do anything more than scream in outrage. Aeka had withdrawn to her room, unwilling to come out for anything other than baths, the restroom, and an occasional meal. Aeka's behavior only fueled Ryouko's fury, but she waited, hoping to find an opportunity to nip this, this horror in the bud. She hovered around, out of sight, tiring herself to the point of falling down. And fall down she did. For two days straight she slept up on her rafter beam. When she finally awoke, it was night, and she floated down to the kitchen for something to drink. The clock read 4:23 AM. She downed the last of some orange juice and then phased through the walls into Tenchi's room. She'd had to choke off a cry. Tenchi and Tsunami were asleep under the sheets. They were nude, and the musk of sex was still heavy in the air. But it was only one, otherwise innocent thing about the whole scene that sent Ryouko spiraling out of control into the deepest of depressions. Tenchi lay there... a smile on his face. Ryouko raced back through the walls and landed on the kitchen floor. She hugged herself and shivered, moaning to herself again and again. "It's over. It's over..." A surprised Aeka stood stock still, a half-empty glass of water at her lips. After a second, she lowered the glass and put her other hand on Ryouko's shoulder. Ryouko jumped and looked at her with wild eyes. "Ryouko-san?" Ryouko's eyes steadied for a moment, and she said, her voice still shaking, "It's all over... Aeka. No more... fights. Nothing... to fight *over*... anymore." Forcefully quelling her fears, Aeka clutched at the one-time space pirate with her free hand. "What are you talking about?!" she hissed. Aeka stifled a shriek, because instead of answering, Ryouko grabbed her arm and dragged her back through the walls and into Tenchi's room. "Look!" Ryouko hissed back. "If you never again allow yourself to see, look now! It's over, Aeka!" The glass of water Aeka had carried with her through Ryouko's phasing fell out of her numb hands. It hit the floor with a hollow ring and rolled in a circle until it stopped. The sleeping couple mumbled in their sleep, and Tenchi put his arms more firmly around Tsunami, pulling her tighter to himself. Tsunami drew her leg up and over his hips and pulled herself on top of him, obscuring Tenchi from view. Having seen enough, Aeka turned away, and Ryouko led her back to the kitchen. In Tenchi's room, Tsunami looked at the space where the pirate and princess had been. A hint of confused sadness showed in the gathering of her eyebrows, and the pink of her irises seemed to lighten fractionally. But she then closed her eyes and went back to sleep, the smile returning to her face as she nuzzled her lover's chest. Ryouko swirled the clear contents of another sake bottle before polishing it off. She had asked for the rest of her gems back the next day, and it had galled her that Tenchi had looked to Tsunami before granting her request. Tsunami, however, simply nodded and then went into the kitchen to fix herself and *her* man a snack, humming one of Sasami's favorite pop songs. Ryouko was no longer certain who had gotten Tenchi, Tsunami or Sasami. It didn't matter; the line had been crossed. Once the gems were returned, Ryouko had left without a word. Ryou-ou-ki had tried to follow her and comfort her, but in her grief, Ryouko chased away her long-time partner in crime. That had been one week ago. Ryouko opened and drank the last bottle of sake and concluded that she'd had enough... for now - the pain had been sufficiently dulled. She materialized an ingot of platinum into her hand and set it on the counter, the wood creaking under the weight. She'd forgotten much of what she could do with all of her gems, and this was just one little talent that she'd accidentally rediscovered. She stumbled to her feet and tried to navigate through the tables on foot. It would've been easier if the room hadn't been alternately spinning and moving in and out. Annoyed with the effort it was taking, she levitated and floated erratically towards and out the door. The bar she left behind was deathly silent, the patrons trying to decide if they'd had too much to drink and the bartender deciding it was time *to* drink. Across the street, a cabbit phased back into the wall and out of sight. For Ryouko, floating, while great from the point of view of not having to walk, was hell on her inebriated inner ear, so, the world turning circles, she alit on the sidewalk and considered where, on foot, to go next. "Any old port in a storm," she muttered, after a moment. Ryouko stepped into the street. ---------- "Kamisama, what a day!" Ono Ranma leaned back against the seat of the car he was driving, straightening his arms against the steering wheel, and yawned. The car, a Toyota compact, belonged to the school, and as a second-year medical student, he was high enough in the echelons to be responsible for ferrying visiting dignitaries around, in addition to his normal schoolwork, of course. It didn't hurt, either, that he was one of the few students with a driver's license. <One slave, made to order,> he thought ruefully. He chuckled as the memory of a conversation he'd once had with Father surfaced. It'd been a couple of years back, just after turning 21. "Ranma," he said, "I'm not asking you to buy a car, just get the license. All your martial arts and roof-hopping notwithstanding, there'll be times when it just won't be appropriate!" Father was a good debater, especially when he was right. Of course, he'd been right about a lot of things. Ranma yawned again, looked down, and slammed on the brakes. The line of pedestrians crossing the street glared at him, and he hunkered down behind the wheel. Once the crowd had passed, Ranma eased away from the intersection, keeping a low profile. Father had also told him to pay attention when driving. Ranma shook his head back and forth, rapidly. "Gotta stay awake!" His thoughts resumed as he managed to perk himself up a little. Father had been right about his old mentors, too. One assessing look at Ranma and his aura, and they were offering him the moon to go to school. Well, to *that* school, the one for traditional healing. Ranma was a double student of sorts. There was the regular medical school he attended, working toward his doctor's license, and then there was the *other* school, where, when time permitted, he learned to do the things that had so impressed him about Father; accupressure, moxibustion, chiropractic, and other more arcane methods of healing. They also had an unusual library, full of aged scrolls. Among them were a handful of martial arts treatises, unfortunately in Chinese. A few of them scared him; what little Chinese he knew allowed him to read 'Nyuuchiezuu' in the text in places. Ranma sighed. <What would Pops think if he knew I was afraid of a scroll? Well, Pops isn't here, is he?> Noting that, though, led him to the conclusion that perhaps he should pick up a Chinese course next term. In spite of his best efforts, another yawn muscled its way to the surface, and Ranma opened his mouth wide, temporarily shutting his eyes. When he opened them, a woman was about 4 meters directly in front of the car. "GAAAAHHH!!!" His martial arts reflexes allowed him time to turn, but not quite soon enough. The car lurched as the front left of the vehicle clipped the woman, launching her through the air to land in a heap 5 meters away. Ranma screeched to a halt and, with a sinking stomach, rushed out of the car and towards the woman. To his lasting surprise, the woman climbed to her feet and wobbled over to meet him. "You HIT me!" she cried, the fluorescent streetlamp backlighting her and shadowing her features. Ranma had stopped short, amazed. He looked back at the car; the left front quarterpanel had been caved in. At least it was drivable. He looked back at the woman, who continued to weave her way toward him. "Why... why..." she said, before passing out and falling into his arms. He gently laid her on the asphalt and, using what training he had, tried to assess her injuries. He found none. Scratching his head, he looked back at the car and then back at the woman. <No way!> Shrugging in confusion, although relieved, he picked her up in his arms and carried her around to the passenger side of the abused Toyota. Getting the door open proved to be a bit of a chore, as the car's frame had twisted slightly. Shaking his head at the wonder of it all, he managed to get her into the seat. Leaning his body against hers to keep her upright while he fastened the seat belt, Ranma got a noseful of sour sake breath. <Well, that explains the wobbling, but still...> Ranma hurried around, getting back behind the wheel, and drove off, going as fast as the law would allow. His concern brooked no thought of the beautiful twinkle of the Grand Seto Bridge, which he often admired, visible just above the Okayama City skyline. A small shape soared about 20 meters above the road, following. ---------- The front door slammed open, then shut, startling the man sitting in the den, reading a medical journal. "Father!" a voice called. Ono Toufuu rose from his seat and met his adopted son in the hallway. "Oh, my!" he exclaimed. "What happened?!" Ranma stood there, shaking in concern and holding a beautiful yet unusual young woman. "I... I ran over her!! But... but I can't find nothin' wrong!!" "Take her into the den and put her down on the couch. I'll get my things." Toufuu hurried into another room, and Ranma took his victim into the den, laying her down and smoothing her oddly colored hair out of her face. He looked a little closer. <That color's natural!> Toufuu walked in. "That's some dent! What else did you hit?" "Nothin'!" Ranma lapsed into the speech patterns of his teen years. "I swear! All I nailed was her!" "All right, all right. Calm down and let me have a look." The older man put on a stethoscope and listened to the woman's heart. He nodded, satisfied, and began to massage her limbs, feeling the flow of the woman's life force. He stopped, then restarted, only to stop again and jerk his hands away. "Father?" Ranma asked. "Errr, just a minute. Where do you think you hit her?" "On the hip, most likely." Toufuu lifted the woman's left leg and watched the hip joint. Putting the leg down and steeling himself, he touched her again at the hip. After a moment, he moved back and thought. On a whim, he reached over and opened one of the woman's eyes. He gasped and let go. "All right, spill it!" Ranma was getting nervous from Toufuu's behavior. Toufuu coughed a couple of times to clear his throat. "There's nothing wrong with her, I'm guessing, besides being drunk, but I'm hardly qualified to know." "Huh?" "Look at her eyes." Wary, Ranma reached over and opened the same eye on the woman. "Ca-ca-CAT!!" He hastily let go and backed up against the wall. Toufuu sighed. "Ranma, look at her. Is she a cat?" Embarrassed, Ranma scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Er, no, she's not." He moved back to the woman's side. "So, what do you think?" Toufuu considered his next words carefully. "Ranma, do you believe in magic?" Ranma snorted. "You're askin' ME?" Toufuu didn't smile, and Ranma settled down. "If you believe in magic, is it reasonable to believe other fantastic things might exist?" Ranma couldn't see where Toufuu was going, but he nodded anyway. "Sure, I guess..." Ranma's adopted father turned and looked him in the eye, glasses glinting. "She's not human." Blinking, Ranma looked at the woman and then back at Toufuu. "Just because of the eyes?" "No. Okay, time for a little advanced training. Put your hands on her leg." Ranma complied. "Now, concentrate like we've been doing in school. Feel her life force?" Ranma closed his eyes and concentrated. "Yeah..." "Feel its nature, its quality, its strength. What do *you* think?" Ranma kept his concentration for a moment longer, and then his eyes snapped open, and he jerked his hands away. "Ah! Uh! Weird! STRONG!! Stronger than anything I've ever felt! Ah! Hmmm. Nothin' like the plants or animals or other folks we've been practicin' on." "Right. And your diagnosis?" Ranma shook his head, staring at the unconscious female. "Not human," he muttered. "But!" Toufuu interjected, startling Ranma, "Still a patient!" Ranma had to chuckle. "True. And she does speak Japanese; she asked me why I hit her. I'll go get a blanket." Toufuu nodded and returned to his examination. ---------- The first thing she became aware of was PAIN, and she felt every single capital letter of it. Her eyes hurt, the space behind her eyes hurt, her forehead hurt, her temples, her ears, behind her ears, the back of her skull, and her neck hurt. In short, everything from the collarbone up was PAIN. Her stomach was also queasy, and her left hip ached a little. The second thing she became aware of was an intermittent wet coolness on her face and neck. <That's niiice,> she thought. Ryouko's eyes fluttered open and looked directly into the bluest orbs she'd ever seen. It wasn't the masking purple or maroon of some she was familiar with, or the nondescript brown she was most familiar with, or... the hated pink of others; just a cool, relaxing blue. She sighed, and then realized she didn't know the owner. "ACK!!" She backed up against the arm of the couch. Bad move. "Oh, fuck!" She covered her face with her hands, shutting out the light, and slid back to a prone position. After a moment, she wearily let her arms flop down to her sides. She blinked at the man sitting next to her. "Tell me why I hurt so bad." The man dithered for a second. "Um... where exactly?" "My head. My stomach. Oof! My hip." The man nodded. "The head and stomach is sake." Ryouko grunted. "Figures." "The hip, erm... because I ran over you with a car last night." He was suitably sheepish. Ryouko blink-blinked. "Oh." "Ano... gomen nasai." He bowed from his seat. "Don't worry about it." Ryouko put her arm up over her eyes and breathed, expelling a lungful of air. "Hungry?" Ryouko considered that. Her stomach was having an argument with itself. One faction, the queasy party, said no. The other faction, the cramping-muscle party, said yes. Ryouko compromised. "Okay, but a pot of strong tea, first," she said from behind her arm. Unseen by his patient, the man smiled and rose to fulfill her request. A little later, the clatter of tea things made Ryouko put her arm down and make an attempt at sitting up. "Slowly," the man cautioned. Ryouko obliged and carefully maneuvered herself to a sitting position. The man hovered over the tray. "Anything in your tea?" "Sugar. Lots." He softly snorted and put in four teaspoons, offering her the cup after he'd stirred it. She sipped and sighed. "Super." He sat and sipped from his own cup, studying his patient over the rim. He sat the cup down and placed his hands in his lap, a studied pose of receptiveness. He'd learned much from observing his father. "How are you feeling?" Ryouko slurped another mouthful of tea and swallowed. "I'll live." "You don't sound too happy about that." Ryouko glared at him. "Mind your own business." "Of course." He waited patiently, somewhat to Ryouko's annoyance. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" "It's my day off." "Oh. I hadn't realized." She slurped again, and then looked at him. "Well, what's your name, anyway?" "Ono Ranma." Ryouko boggled for a second. "Wild horse?" Ranma laughed. "You get used to it." "I'll bet." She set her cup down and leaned her head back, massaging her temples. "Aspirin?" "Doesn't work for me. Just time... and food," she said meaningfully. "Ah." Ranma got up and disappeared into the kitchen. He came out a few seconds later, breakfast already made. A bowl of miso, rice, and a few pickles were presented. "Mmmm, looks good. You the cook?" Ranma nodded. "Father and I ate earlier. I've been keeping it warm for you." Ryouko eyed him strangely, but dug in nonetheless. It was excellent, and she found she had an appetite. The meal was gone in short order. She sighed, feeling more charitable by the moment. "Why did you bring me to your home?" Ranma shrugged. "I ran over you. It was the least I could do." "Maybe. Why else?" A nasty suspicion had begun to form in her mind. She *had* been unconscious. Ranma sighed. "My father's a doctor. I'm training to be a doctor. That good enough for you?" he said a little testily. Chagrined, Ryouko said, "Gomen. You never know." "True enough, I suppose." Pause. "So, do you have a name?" "Ryouko," she said, disinterestedly. "Pretty name... and mysterious. It suits you." Ryouko looked up sharply to see Ranma smiling at her in genuine warmth. She blushed furiously, but said nothing. Ranma's smile faded a little as he prepared to ask his next question, hoping he wouldn't be pushing his luck. "Now that I know *who* you are, mind clueing me in as to *what* you are, exactly?" Her blush faded to white as a grimace flashed across her face. "Mind your own business," she muttered. She picked at the fuzzballs on the blanket. "Sorry," he sighed. Silence reigned for a time. Ranma was in a quandary. Something about this woman reminded him of himself, back when things were looking bad for him, when hope had been lost. The look on her face, the tone of her voice, the despair in her words. He wasn't sure what about her kept striking a chord in his soul, but there it was. He felt compelled to do *something* for her. <Maybe Father was right,> he considered. <Maybe I do have a healer's instinct.> He brightened as an idea occurred to him. Maybe he could strike the same chord in her and break down a wall or two. He got up from his chair, sat on the floor, facing away from Ryouko to give her some distance, and leaned his head back against the couch. He sipped his tea quietly for a few more moments. "Several years ago," he began, "there was this boy. He'd trained all his life, since he could even remember, in the martial arts. His father wanted him to be the best, and to that end, he dragged the boy away from his mother at age six and began a ten-year journey, visiting all the famous teachers and training spots. "At the end of that journey, there remained only one site left to train at. The boy was homesick and had just been given reason to believe that after all that time, he would still be a disappointment to his mother because he wouldn't follow in his father's lawless ways, strange as that may sound. He was also told that his mother expected him to be very manly. "At the last training ground, something, er, happened to take away some of his manhood, and the boy knew he could never see his mother again, so he ran off. At sixteen, he ran off into the unknown, without his father and without any idea of what he was going to do. "A kindly Chinese lady took him in, made him feel better, and gave him hearth and home. He came to love her very much. She became as a mother to him. But some people came, looking for the boy because of what had happened at that training ground, and he had to flee, or become a slave to those people. "The boy wandered for many months and finally found his way back to Japan. Only Japan wasn't nearly as kind to him as China had been, which isn't saying much. So instead of just being shiftless, he became shiftless and starving. At the onset of the fall rains, he found himself ill, very ill, with nowhere to go. He finally curled up in a doorway, waiting and wanting to die. "But it didn't turn out that way. Wouldn't be much of a story if it did, ne? Anyway, a kindly man, a doctor, happened by and saw what the boy couldn't. He saw hope where there had been none. He saw potential where there hadn't been any." Ranma paused to clear his throat. "And that is why... I am alive today, studying to be a doctor and tending to a patient on my day off." They sat there, Ryouko on the couch and Ranma on the floor, for several long minutes, staring into their pasts, before one of them broke the quiet. "So... what happened to that boy at the training ground?" Ryouko asked. Ranma turned his head and looked at her. "You really want to know?" Ryouko nodded. "Un." Ranma smiled. "I'll show you if you'll tell me what *I* want to know." Ryouko looked away and fidgeted for a moment, but figured she really had nothing to lose. Nobody here could hurt her, not with all of her gems, anyway. Ryouko stood and walked a little bit away. She turned and faced Ranma, and Ranma had to stifle a chuckle at the formality of it. The potential chuckle died as Ryouko levitated off the floor. Hovering there, the gems at her wrists and throat began to glow, and a flare of light began at her feet and washed up her body. In place of her previous clothing, the light left a black and red bodysuit in its wake. Much of one side of her face had turned black, like some strange solid warpaint. Ryouko's head had lolled back; she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the full power of all her gems. She brought her head back down and speared Ranma with her gaze. "I am Ryouko," she intoned. "My family name is Hakubi, although I rarely use it. I was born, or perhaps created, several thousand years ago in the laboratory of my mother, Hakubi Washuu, at the Todain Academy of Science, on planet Todain, which circles a blue-white binary star, about 1200 or so light-years from Earth. My mother's origins are unknown; even she doesn't remember past 20,000 years ago. "I remember little to nothing of growing up. I remember nothing of being captured by mother's assistant and my mother being locked away in a closed dimension for 5,000 years. Thankfully, I remember only a little of being the assistant's mind-controlled tool of destruction. I was... a destroyer of worlds. "I was finally defeated 700 years ago on Earth, by the crown prince of one of the most powerful empires in the known universe. He took my power and imprisoned me in a cave. For those 700 years, I fought and lost to madness many, many times. I finally learned to move out of my body and roam the countryside. "I was finally released from my prison by the grandson of the man who put me there. I had fallen in love with him, having watched him grow from a baby. I moved in and lived with his family up until a week ago, when someone stole him from me." Ryouko's gems flickered and dimmed. She touched ground, her regular clothing materializing around and on her. "I lost him to one I can't fight and hope to win. Now, I am nothing, even less than I was when I only had part of my power back." She looked at the recently returned gem on her right arm, and then looked back at Ranma. "I've been drinking ever since." She lowered her arm and shuffled back to the couch, looking in every way like a lost soul. Ranma shook himself out his shocked daze and let out the breath he'd been holding. Ryouko said with some amusement, "What's the matter? Don't believe in aliens?" "Ah, well, I'd heard that there are some strange goings-on in Tomobiki, but nothing quite like this. Wow!" Ryoko laughed. "Well, believe it. I'm about as alien as *you'll* ever see. Now," she said seriously, "I believe it's your turn." Ranma studied the floor for a moment. "I'll believe in aliens," he began, "if you'll say you believe in magic." Ryouko quirked an eyebrow. "Well... I'm game, I guess. What's the trick?" "No trick." Ranma put his arms around his knees and rested his chin on his kneecaps. "That last training stop is called Jusenkyou, the Training Ground of Accursed Springs. It's also called the Pools of Sorrow, and for good reason. In almost every pool, something different has drowned." Ranma stopped his narrative and got to his feet, going into the kitchen. He came back with two glasses of water. "As I was saying, something different drowned in each pool. If you have the bad luck to fall into one, you take the form of whatever last drowned there when splashed with cold water." He picked up one of the glasses. "I fell into the Nyanniichuan..." he poured the water over his head, "the Spring of Drowned Girl," she finished in a much higher voice. Ryouko was stunned. She'd seen a lot of strange things, but this was of an entirely different order. Ryouko stood and slowly walked up to the short, busty redhead. Ranma's gi-style tunic was too big, now, and the front had fallen open enough to give a decent view of the swell of her breasts. Ryouko took hold of the two halves and opened the tunic completely. "ACK!!" Ranma grabbed control of her clothing back and wrapped it tighter around herself. "Yep!" Ryouko commented. "No fakin' those." Ranma scowled at her, and Ryouko giggled. "Gomen ne." Ranma's scowl softened. "Okay... I guess." "How do you go back?" "Hot water." Ranma reached for the other glass, but Ryouko touched her arm, causing her to stop. "So what do you do when you're a woman?" Ryouko asked as she continued to walk around the object of her amazement. "What do you mean?" "Do you, like, go out with guys, have sex with 'em, you know?" "GAAAH! I don't do nothin' like that! I'm a GUY!!" she shouted. Ryouko put her hands up in a peace gesture. "Just curious," she said, smiling. "Can I change back, now?" she growled. "Sure." Ryouko stepped away and watched the reverse process as Ranma doused herself with the warm contents of the other glass. Ryouko watched the transformation rip through her... his body. Where the adult woman had stood, Ranma now appeared. He was obviously relieved. "Don't like it much, do you?" Ranma shook his head in the negative. "You know, as problems go in the cosmos, it's not really that bad. There are worse things." Ranma sat down on the couch with a thoughtful expression. "I don't *really* hate it, I guess. Not anymore. Maybe that's part of the magic. I don't know. I've found my girl form is actually useful for some things. It definitely handles pain better." Ranma then smiled wickedly. "I can also cadge all the free eats I want from young male vendors." Ryouko face-faulted, then started laughing while on the ground. "Sounds like the best of both worlds to me," she chortled as she got back to her feet. "Just don't give up on the sex, just yet. You might like it." Ranma turned a little green. "Urg... how would you know?" He jumped off the couch and brought his hand up to his mouth, and Ryouko scowled. "Uh, gomen. You're a girl, too." "Glad you noticed," she said icily, but her face and body drooped a little. "You're right, though. I don't really know. I'd hoped... that... my love might've shown me, but..." she trailed off. Ranma felt low. "I'm sorry, Ryouko. I shouldn't have shot my mouth off. Old habits die hard." Ryouko reached across the distance between them and cupped his face in her hand. "Thank you," she said. "For taking care of me. You're sweet, and I *do* feel better... some." She stepped over and kissed him on the cheek. Stunned, he shivered from the soft warmth of her lips. Her hand dropped. "I should go." She turned and walked a few steps before turning her head. "Thank you, again." She began to shimmer out of existence. "WAIT!!!" Ranma yelled, but she was gone. And then she was right back. "What?" Ranma's mouth worked, and he finally said, "What'd ya just do?!" "Teleportation," she smirked. "Just one of my many talents." She polished her fingernails on her blouse and inspected them smugly. "What'd you want?" "Ah... ah... ah..." Ranma's eyes were still bugging out, so he clonked himself on the head. Ryouko giggled. "Ah, where do I find you?" The mirth left Ryouko, and her eyes narrowed. "Why would you want to?" He managed to collect his wits. "I want to do a checkup in a week or so." "You're *not* a doctor, yet." "For practice?" he asked hopefully. Ryouko laughed, but then turned grim. "You don't want any part of me. Trust me." She turned away. "Why don't you let me decide that?" Ryouko stood there for a moment, thinking. She turned her head to the side and looked at him out of the corners of her eyes. "Masaki Shrine. Your choice," she said softly and vanished. Ranma blew out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and fell back onto the couch, wondering just what he'd set himself up for. He absently put his hand up to his tingling cheek. ---------- [June 20, 1996] A cool breeze was blowing up the valley, and Masaki Katsuhito had brought his fresh cup of green tea out to the office steps to enjoy the mild relief from the already muggy summer heat. He was also thinking on unsettling events recently past and wondering if he should interfere on his grandson's behalf. Much about those events rubbed him wrong, but he couldn't deny the growing love between Tenchi and Tsunami. He sighed. It was too late to prevent the real tragedy, as he saw it; little Sasami was now fully assimilated, combined with the spirit of his homeworld. Katsuhito knew that much of the life in the house below had changed, as well, and possibly not for the better. His moody musings were interrupted by the appearance of a young man cresting the top of the long stone stairway and looking around. "Oi!" Katsuhito called, waving his free hand. He watched the visitor walk across the hard dirt of the grounds. <A martial artist. And a good one, if I'm any judge. This could be interesting.> The young man stopped at a respectful distance and bowed. "What are your needs, my son?" Katsuhito asked. The young man straightened and scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. "Ono Ranma, sir. I... I'm not... Does Ryouko live here?" he finally blurted. An eyebrow rose on Katsuhito's face. "And what business might you have with her?" Ranma blushed. "I, erm, kinda ran over her with a car last weekend." Katsuhito's other eyebrow went up. "She's also sorta my patient, or... would be if I was finished with medschool, that is." "I see." Katsuhito sat and watched him. Ranma fidgeted, and then realized what the old man was waiting for. "I know what she is and some of what she's done, if that's what you're wondering." Katushito nodded. "Very well. Please wait here. I will see if she is available." He started to walk around the building, but he paused after a few steps. Without turning around, he said, "I expect you to be gentle with her. She's had a hard blow recently." "Yeah," Ranma answered, "I know." Katsuhito continued and disappeared around the corner. *NMMMMM* *SWISH* An assortment of severed tree limbs fell onto the hardpack. Ryouko eyed her trimming job; satisfied, she dispelled her energy sword and began to pick up the cauterized pieces of green wood. She was trying very hard to keep her mind on what she was doing and *not* on the goings-on at the Masaki house. To that end, she hadn't gone back down there since she'd returned from her weeklong binge. It had also helped a little that a pair of cool blue eyes kept wandering in and out of her thoughts. Yoshou had been kind enough to let her sleep in the shrine office ceiling and had brought her food up twice a day. He wouldn't do it for much longer, but she had been touched by his efforts. Sooner or later, however, she'd have to either re-enter life at the household or leave for another destination. It wasn't that she wanted to leave behind her friends and family, but the pain was just too great. The dashing of her single ray of hope after 5,000 years of loneliness was not something easily gotten over. She dumped her trimmings into the cart she'd brought along for the purpose and smirked to herself. <Look at me. Working for a living. Who'd of thought?> She returned to the edge of the grounds and sheared off another armload of errant growth. She had apologized to Ryou-ou-ki when she had returned to the valley, and the cabbit had since stayed nearby, giving and receiving comfort as needed. Aeka had been a real surprise. She'd started coming up in the evenings, carrying Ryouko's third meal of the day. They would sit and chat, carefully avoiding any talk of their mutual misery. She'd also told Aeka about the strange man she'd met, who'd run her down in his car. They'd both laughed at the situation, although Aeka obviously had some trouble believing the sex- changing curse. It wasn't deep conversation, but it provided a little something for both of-- "Ryouko-san." "YAH!!" Ryouko spun around, clutching her heart. "Wool-gathering, Ryouko-san?" "Yeah, *pant* something like that. *pant* Damn it, Yoshou! *pant* You're a sneaky old--" "Now, now. Don't curse on shrine grounds," he admonished with a twinkle in his eye. "And don't call me Yoshou. We've talked about that, ne?" "Sure, 'Katsu-chan'. Whatever your heart desires," Ryouko snorted. "Tut, tut!" His glasses went bright with sunlight. "Or I'll tell that handsome young medical student that came to see you that you're... not... Hmmm." Ryouko had shimmered out of existence before he could finish. Katsuhito allowed some teeth to show in his smile. <I wish you luck, Ryouko. Of anyone, you deserve it.> Ryouko phased in at the top of the stone stairs, looked wildly around, and saw Ranma stand up from the office steps. She phased out and appeared in front of him. Ranma jumped and clutched his chest dramatically. "Jeez! That's gonna take some gettin' used to!" Ryouko blushed. "Er, gomen. Oh, uh... Hi!" "Hi! Thought I'd look in on my favorite patient." Ryouko's blush reddened. "I'm your only patient." Ranma scratched the back of his head and laughed. His memory of the cyan-haired woman had not done her justice. He discovered his heart was racing. "I guess the first, erm, patient is always, ah, special. Heh." Ryouko's color bordered on purple. They both stood there for several moments, looking at anything other than each other. Ryouko finally had enough. "ARGH!" She grabbed Ranma's arm and nearly yanked him off his feet. "C'mon. Let's walk." A little shaken by her obvious strength, he quickly calmed down, and they leisurely walked to the stairs and down. Katsuhito had waited and then turned the corner as they walked away. He stopped at the entrance to his office and watched them disappear down the stairs. "What do you think?" a voice from behind him said. "Ohayou, Washuu-san," he said without turning. "Katsuhito-dono." What could've been mistaken for a twelve-year-old girl walked out of the shrine office and stood at the top of the steps, keeping herself at eye-level, almost, with her companion. "An interesting young man," he observed. "Strong aura... and something else I can't put my finger on." "Mmmm. It's that last bit I'm interested in. The second he set foot in the area, my instruments started going off right and left. He carries an unusual energy signature." Katsuhito looked over his shoulder to see a familiar gleam in the diminutive scientist's eyes. "Let him get to know us before you drag him into your lab," he said dryly. Washuu cackled, throwing her head back. "Not to worry! I value my daughter's future happiness too much!" A brief frown flashed across her face, but it was swallowed by an evil grin. "But mark my words, I *will* get to the bottom of this!" Katushito laughed. "I expected nothing less." The two of them went back into the office and enjoyed several cups of tea with conversation. A small brown blur streaked across the shrine grounds and disappeared into the brush to one side of the stairway. Ryouko led Ranma onto a path that cut away from the stairs. The ice eventually broke, and the two of them chatted amiably about little things. Their walk eventually led them to the mouth of a cave. "Cool," Ranma observed, and he started to walk into the opening. He was stopped by an irresistible grip on his arm. "No. It's not," she said in a low voice. "Eh?" "Remember what I said about what happened 700 years ago?" Ryouko looked at him meaningfully. Ranma searched his memory and came up with the answer. "Here?" He pointed into the cave. Ryouko nodded. "I'm... Gomen, I didn't know." She smiled at him again, and Ranma thought it was like sunshine. "Of course you didn't. C'mon." The pair trooped back down the path and took a different route where it forked. They soon found themselves at the edge of a large pool. In the center, approached by stepping stones, was an old and very large tree. "Nice," Ranma commented. Ryouko gently pulled him across the stones to the base of the tree, Ranma keeping a careful eye on his footing. <Why does it always have to be water!> Once back on terra firma, he relaxed, but his tension hadn't gone unnoticed. "What? Oh! I'd almost forgotten." She snickered at his predicament. "Ha, ha, very funny," he said, sulking. "Aw, don't be mad," she chided. "Besides, I think you're just as cute as a woman." Ranma was indignant at first, but then he worked that comment around a few times and discovered the hidden compliment. He blushed and evasively turned his attention to the tree. Ryouko snickered again, understanding the play of emotions on his face. <Such an honest face, too.> Ranma leaned against the tree and relaxed, enjoying the same breeze as Katsuhito had earlier. After a few seconds, however, something began tickling his trained senses. He turned and looked at the tree. Curious, Ryouko watched, wondering what was going on. Ranma laid his hands against the rough bark and closed his eyes, letting himself fall into the sensing mind he'd been taught. He felt the flow of the tree's life force (it was very strong) and smiled from the subtle euphoria that enveloped him. He felt the tide of force shift into him slightly, a greeting from the tree. Ranma lent the tree a little of his own aura and said hello back. His eyes snapped open, and he let go of the bark as if it were burning. "What?!" Ryouko asked, concerned. "IT... IT... SHE *TALKED* TO ME!!!" Ranma was shaking in amazement. He looked down to see Ryouko rolling on the ground and howling in laughter. In the shrine office, two levels of communication were occurring. Washuu was chattering about an experiment she'd just finished, and Yoshou's spaceship tree was telling him how much she liked the young man who'd just core-dumped his mind into her. Funahou posed a question, and Yoshou frowned minutely, thinking. After a moment, he gave the tree a "Yes". He smiled and tuned Washuu back in. Ryouko had calmed down some when she saw Ranma backing away a little from the tree. "Stop!" she said. "It won't hurt you. This," she gestured at the tree, "is Funahou. She used to be the mind of a living spaceship, although I'm told that since she's taken root, she can never be that again." "A SPACESHIP?!?!" "No, just the mind." "Oh," he said, as if that cleared things up. "Hey, how could you talk to her? Only the person who commands her key can do that." "I... I'm not sure. I just extended my aura into the tree, and, and it spoke!" "Your aura?" "Yeah, it's part of my, er, less formal medical training. It's kinda hard to explain." Ryouko shrugged. "Try it again," she encouraged. This was neat. "Un-uh." Ranma shook his head vigorously. "What's a matter? Chicken?" she taunted. "HEY! I'm not afraid... of... well... maybe," he finally conceded. Ryouko placed her hands flat over the swell of her bosom. "I swear that nothing bad will happen," she said solemnly. <Besides, I'd like to get one over on the old goat,> she giggled inside, thinking of Yoshou, no, Katsuhito. "I don't know--" Ryouko began a singsong. "Ranma's a scaredy ca--" "GAH! Don't say that *word*!" Ryouko blink-blinked. "Huh?" "Look, fine! I'll do it! Just don't say... that again." Ranma shivered and stepped back up to the tree. Ryouko was left scratching her head. <What'd I say?> Ranma tentatively laid his hands against the tree again. When nothing immediately happened, he breathed in relief. The tree, however, was patient; it'd had plenty of practice at waiting. Concentrating so as not to slip too far too fast, he opened his senses. Just barely extending into the tree, he could feel the life force again. He extended a little further - nothing. He let out a second breath he'd been holding. <"Hello, Ranma."> Ranma did the mental equivalent of presenting warding signs. When nothing more was forthcoming, he stuttered a reply. <"You... how do you know my name?"> <"When you first reached out, you spilled most of your life in with your aura. Your inexperience with this is at fault. You probably felt the data dump as a feeling of overwhelming happiness. I am told it is very cathartic. One of my... functions is to gather and store data. You force-fed me most everything about you."> <"Erm... sorry."> <"That's all right. A drop in the bucket, in your terms."> <"Oh. How... how come we can talk like this?"> <"You have a strong empathic talent. When you came into contact with a strong enough source, me, it provided a conduit for telepathic communication."> Ranma said nothing, trying to work what the tree had told him into what he knew from his studies. <"You're very fond of Ryouko,"> she said, after a time. <"Huh? Ah... I... *sigh* Yes. I don't know her very well, but... I don't know how to word it."> <"You don't have to. I understand."> A brief pause as Funahou firmed a decision already made. <"Break contact and remove your hands from my bark."> <"What?! Did I say some--"> <"No, no. I have something to show you, but you should be solidly in your own mind. Break contact and remove your hands from my bark."> Reluctantly, Ranma complied, instantly feeling his self diminish in some way. He didn't have time to ponder this as innumerable points of light began firing from the leaves of the tree, soon creating a solid curtain of light. Then darkness fell. Ranma looked over and saw Ryouko floating with him above what he could see was Earth. It was, in fact, over Japan. He glanced at Ryouko again, but her expression was unreadable. Something pulled his attention away from Ryouko and the planet below and out to the stars. Quickly, he spied two craft headed towards him, one chasing the other. The craft being chased was very odd. It looked to be made of cobbled-together crystals of varying shades of grey. He cringed when heard the ship cry out in pain from a series of energy discharges fired by the pursuing ship. The crystalline ship flashed past his viewpoint, almost instantly followed by the second. Ranma somehow knew that Ryouko was on the first ship. Another volley from the pursuing vessel sent the first ship into a dive. His point of view abruptly changed, and he saw Ryouko's ship plow into the ground, an explosion rivaling that of World War II atomics vaporizing everything for a kilometer or more in every direction. The other ship touched down just outside of the blast radius, and Ranma saw a youngish man in fancy robes disembark, a glowing wand in his hand. To his surprise, Ryouko emerged from the still- raging holocaust, apparently unharmed and wearing the bodysuit she'd showed him a week ago. Ranma shivered at her glowing, pupil-less red eyes. A sudden movement to his left swung Ranma's attention to where the present Ryouko had been. She was pounding against what looked like empty space, tears running down her face and her mouth open in a yell or scream, but he couldn't hear her for some reason. Feeling oddly detached, the imminent battle in front of him turned his head. Washuu jerked and dropped her cup of tea. "RYOUKO!!" She hopped up and started to run out of the shrine office, but Katsuhito's long reach served him as he snagged her arm. "WAIT! Funahou is monitoring the situation." "WHAT?!?!?!" Washuu screeched. "Sit," he quietly commanded, the iron in his voice quelling even her, "and I will explain." Washuu reluctantly took her seat. Concealed in the undergrowth by Funahou's pond, Ryou-ou-ki pensively sat and waited for the light show to end. She could feel her friend's misery through their link, but for reasons she couldn't identify, Ryou-ou-ki felt that interfering would be wrong. She frowned and continued to wait. The man and Ryouko met with clashing swords. Their fight raged all over the countryside, the effects leveling some small mountains and creating others. After a time, the man managed to impale Ryouko through her throat. Ranma's eyes narrowed, and he looked closely at the small red gems that coursed down the length of the blue blade held by Ryouko's attacker, one by one, until three had passed and embedded themselves in the pommel of the sword. Ryouko wilted and hung on the blade like a puppet with its strings cut. Ranma abruptly found himself blinking in the sunlight, the darkness, then the curtain of light, swiftly vanishing. His head felt like a truck had run over it. He put one hand against Funahou and massaged his temples between thumb and ring finger of the other. <"A choice is now forced upon you,"> Funahou spoke to Ranma. <"How? I haven't..."> <"I kept a very small link with you active.> Pause. <Look at her."> Ranma opened his eyes and saw nothing for a second, but then he spied Ryouko curled up in a fetal position, wedged between two large roots. <"Why did you do this to her?!"> he shouted in his mind. <"Why?!"> Funahou sighed over the mental link. <"Ryouko is a creature of extremes. She is intensely loyal and would not normally switch those loyalties easily. Even though she is attracted to you, as I can see from within your own mind's eye, she would still pine for Tenchi for years, possibly decades... or longer. Tenchi is lost to her; that much is now abundantly clear. May the All-Mother forgive me, but after receiving your life's memories, I... and another chose to create a situation in which she would be capable of switching her loyalties and would have a chance to proceed with her life. You should now understand your choice."> <"But... but... I don't even know her, really. How can I--"> <"The both of you may drift apart. Nothing is written in stone, here. But for now, she needs someone to wean her off Tenchi, and that person is you. The fact that she likes and is attracted to you may turn it into something more, but that is also part of your choice."> Ranma stared at the quivering woman on the ground. <"Your heart brought you here in the first place. Search it! What does it tell you? I know. Do you?"> Ranma pulled his hand away from Funahou. <What do I feel? Is it that strong, already?> He closed his eyes and pictured the smiling woman walking through the woods with him, her golden eyes laughing in the dappled sunlight. She reached out and held him against entering the cave that had been her prison, the tingle he felt when she pressed the flesh of her hand against his arm. He thought a little further back, when he decided he would visit her, that moment when her lips touched his cheek and a marvelous thrill chased up his spine. He now realized what he hadn't before; he had been lost the moment she kissed him. Ranma opened his eyes, his face at peace after the struggle. He moved over and squatted next to the distraught girl, placing a hand on her arm. "Ryouko?" She jerked but didn't say anything. Sighing, Ranma gently gathered her up, momentarily surprised at how light she was. In one smooth motion, he lowered himself to the ground with crossed legs, cradling her in the triangle between his pelvis and knees. She was still shivering, so he began to rock her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. After a few moments, she spoke to him haltingly, not raising her head and her voice breaking from the shakes. "I... never... wanted you... to see me... like that...." "Shhh. It's okay. That wasn't you." She slowly raised her head, dragging her watery eyes up to look into his. "How... how can... you say... that?" Ranma was appalled at her ashen and tear-stained face and her quivering lips. <Was all this really necessary?> For her, he grinned lopsidedly, the wind rakishly tossing the front of his black hair around. "I'm just a dumb Earth boy, but even *I* could tell that there was someone else behind those red eyes. Somehow, I just don't think you have that kinda thing in you. Your real eyes are too beautiful." The quivering of Ryouko's lips intensified, and she slowly put her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, crying freely. Washuu cried against Katsuhito's chest in relief and joy for her daughter, and Katsuhito absently stroked her hair, smiling as Funahou related ongoing events to him. In her little-girl form and laughing through her tears, Ryou-ou- ki bounded into the shrine office and hugged her mother and Katsuhito. Aeka chose that moment to enter the shrine office and visit with her former rival. "Ara?" Aeka stared at the tableau. Ranma had continued to rock Ryouko for several minutes until an internal percentage meter started sounding an early warning. "You keep hosing me down like that, and you're gonna have, instead of Ranma, Ranma-*chan*." Ryouko laughed and hiccuped into his soaked shirt. She turned her head against the moisture and looked out over the pond surrounding Funahou. "I wouldn't mind at all," she whispered. ____________________ FIN Someone pass the Kleenex, please...
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