Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Misery Loves Company ❯ The Unexpected ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Most of the characters within the story are from the Anime Series,
Ranma 1/2 and are property of Rumiko Takahashi, and whoever else may
own the rights. I write this without permission and do so with no
attempt to profit off the marvelous works. Rather, I do so for
everyone's benefit. Please enjoy and tell me what you think.


Ranma's return, late shy a decade, is nothing short of a profound
event in the lives of his loved ones. Though in the guise of Kimiko
Nishiyama that has slowly become him, he goes to meet the twins,
Kenichi and Mayako Tendo at his old home. Fate guides his course once
more and anything unexpected can happen...

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*A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction: Misery Loves Company*
**********************************************
-Third Fanfiction, following "Vengeance" and "A New Life."
by Ryan Erik



Part One: The Unexpected


With a stuffed full, black duffel bag slung over her left
shoulder, the young woman slowly wended the cold, dismal streets as
the morning sun broke free of the horizon and a chilled breeze numbed
pedestrians. The orange glow of morning splashed over the girl's
body, reflecting the warm light off her skin. Bangs, like thick
strands of red silk, hung in her face, covering her eyes and the
bridge of her petite nose. Her lips parted slightly, producing a
quiet whistle as she breathed. Brushed yet untamed, her mane of fiery
crimson hair dangled in a ponytail down to the small of her back. She
tugged at the cuffs of her purple, long-sleeved shirt, and then
dragged her hands along the waistline of her voluminous black
trousers.

So much had changed in Nerima since she last walked its streets,
and Kimiko felt lost in it. Ucchan's occupied a different building
placed on the other side of town, nearer to the Tendo's than it had
been before. Large, strangely shaped, bright red fire hydrants peered
up at her from both sides of the streets like neon crows watching and
waiting for someone to breathe their last breath. Even the concrete
paved road felt different under her feet as she treaded it's streets.

Along with meeting the Tendo twins, Shampoo's presence in Nerima
became another welcomed surprise. Though the older woman had failed
to spare Kimiko even a glimpse, let alone a word, Kimiko could tell
that she enjoyed herself working at Ucchan's. The pleasant smile upon
her face, her relaxed poise and the ease with which she worked all
pointed that whatever difficulty she had with the Joketsuzoku had
long been dealt with.

The knowledge of Shampoo's fate led Kimiko to wonder about how
the rest of her friends were doing. So many questions had formed in
her head since she arrived in Japan, and very few had been answered.
She would do her best to check up on them all, or at least procure
some information from the twins.

A loud disturbance from a side alley brought her around, stirring
her curiosity. A few shouts and the sound of scuffling echoed towards
her. She poked her head around the corner, observing the events. Two
young men, surrounded by a half of a dozen others creating a
makeshift circle around the two, stood across from each other,
trading heated insults.

"That's it!" the taller of the two yelled, his short black hair
glistening with sweat. He charged the shorter, whose brown hair was
tied in shoulder-length ponytail. The shorter dodged the attack,
causing his opponent to crash into the brick wall that bordered the
wide alley's flanks. Virtually unfazed, he took an unsteady step
backwards and dusted his gray shirt and black dress pants. She drew
as close as she could to the fighters by squeezing past one person
and the brick wall, putting herself in a better position to judge the
two fighters.

Frustrated with the other's lack of response, the taller young
man balled his fist and held it out in front of him, straining his
neck muscles and causing thick, corded blue veins to pop out. His
overweight yet somewhat muscular form bound towards the shorter young
man, growling. With his eyes squinting into thin slits, he continued
to provoke his opponent.

Kimiko's eyes danced between the two fighters as she witnessed
the encounter with increasing interest. Unlike the majority of fights
involving unskilled, weak fighters, at least one of the two showed
some knowledge of martial arts. The shorter boy, his ponytail swaying
from side to side, displayed a catlike grace in his posture, ready to
spring at moments notice. His long bangs, curled over his eyes,
shadowed the top portion of his face, though she could easily tell he
had a handsome, if not pretty, face. His clothing loosely rippled
over his body, not restraining him in the slightest. Though his
deceptive movements appeared to be out of fear, they actually were
part of an intricate kata that Kimiko had seen somewhere, but she
could not place it.

"Get'em, Shoji! I got my money on you!" the tall brunette in
front of her shouted towards the taller fighter who winked in
response.

"Prepare to eat pavement, pretty-boy!" Shoji warned, darting at
his opponent with his fists flailing. The pony-tailed boy danced
around the other's attacks, managing to evade every one of Shoji's
punches. Leaping away from his irate opponent, he landed softly in
front of Kimiko.

Further enraged from his lack of superiority, Shoji shouted,
"Stop running, Ryosei!"

"Come on, man!" the pony-tailed boy, Ryosei, replied, prancing
around the circle away from Shoji. "I don't want to fight you!"

Stoically watching the whole encounter, she patiently awaited the
point when Ryosei could no longer flee from the attacks. His solid
defensive martial arts abilities were blatantly visible in his stance
and form. If his offense were anywhere near as impressive as his
defense, the other boy was hopelessly outmatched.

Pushing aside people to stand next to Ryosei, a short girl with
long black hair planted herself firmly with her hands pressed to her
hips. As her back was turned to Kimiko, her face was not visible, but
through her mannerisms she deduced that she had learned at least the
basics of martial art forms from the same person as Ryosei.
"Please, stop this!" the short girl pleaded with irritation.
"Can't you two talk this out?"

"Shut up, bitch!" Shoji snapped at the girl, walking towards
Ryosei. "What's wrong, Ryosei? Scared?" His taunts began to strike
home against the smaller fighter, but the other boy did not act.

"I already said I won't fight you," he calmly told Shoji, the
strain of holding back his anger seething in his words. "So, back
off!"

"Maybe I'll have to give you some incentive," the enraged boy
threatened, turning his back on Ryosei. "We'll get to see how chicken
you really are." Approaching the blind spot in Kimiko's vision, he
walked towards the girl he had insulted earlier, raising an arm to
strike her. Pushing by the tall teenage girl in front of her,
Kimiko's heart beat once as she blurred towards the assault. She
vaguely heard someone cry out and another shout as her mind focused
on one point and one action, deflecting the descending fist.

"What?!" Shoji shouted in a mixture of shock and outrage. With
his full attention now fully upon the redhead, he recoiled his arm,
holding his right wrist protectively. "That hurt, wench! You're going
to regret that." He backed up slowly, distancing himself from Kimiko and
Ryosei. "Masami, Michio, Seiko, get in here, you bakas! This girl
broke the duel rules. Full combat time."

Shuffling feet and a wave of whispers alerted her to the arrival
of three youths breaking through the circle of teenagers. Kimiko's
awareness flared as the trio entered the makeshift arena, now
enlarged to support the extra fighters. The first, a thin, lithe
female with midnight black hair and pretty face for all but a scar
horizontal along her left eye, wore a pair of loose black slacks and
a tight, starched white embroidered shirt as she approached
provocatively, accentuating her breasts enough to make even the least
bashful people to blush. A deadly, yet poetic, grace saturated her
being, reminding Kimiko of the cobra and its hypnotic dance right
before its strike. If she guessed correctly, this girl's bite was
more than physically intimidating to its victims.

With malice inscribed in his very person, the second, a young man
with absolutely none of the sex appeal as the first, smirked. He had
short cropped brown hair, smug features and broad shoulders, but he
was not as muscular as he was athletic. His sturdy arms protruded
from his black sleeveless shirt and his restrictive blue jeans shaped
to the form of his legs. His smirk curved into a sinister smile as he
neared them, his eyes devouring Kimiko's body in anticipation.

Kimiko cautiously backed herself away to view the third,
approaching from the rear. Shadows darkened his features, but she
easily made out his neon green shirt, which strongly contrasted his
pitch black pants and ebony hair. He moved in quickly, and the three
glided in front of their enthusiastic leader, Shoji.

"Oh, god," the pony-tailed boy, Ryosei, moaned as if a sentence of
death had been ordained upon him. "Mai, get the hell out of here!"
His cry did not go unanswered as the bouncy waitress from Ucchan's
that had served Kimiko the night before dashed out of the circle.

"I hope you can fight," he whispered to her, his body now
occupying Kimiko's left flank. "Because we're now outnumbered two to
one. I might be able to take any of them on in single combat, but two
at once? That's stretching it."

"I can fight a bit," Kimiko replied with deadly calm as
adrenaline began to rushing into her blood. She briefly turned to
face the young man, analyzing him one last time and then ordered,
"You keep one of them off my back and I'll do the rest. Take out that
Shoji character if you can. I'll try to stick to the other three
stooges. And make sure to stay away from that viper of a girl. Stay
in as long as you can, and don't split away too far from me." Any and
all of Ryosei's protests went unheard as the frenzy of battle began
to consume her, instincts replacing thought, fire burning in her
blood.

"I don't think that we've been properly introduced," Shoji said
as the quartet grouped, walking towards Kimiko and Ryosei. "This is
Seiko Nomiya," he continued, indicating towards the young woman.
"Michio Saito," he said, indicated towards the second young man with
the homely features. "Masami Iwamoto," he said pointing at the third,
who still failed to become completely visible. "And me. I'm Shoji
Watanabe. And you. You're dead meat." With his final statement, the
whole group rushed, with Shoji and Seiko attacking Ryosei, and Michio
and Masami attacking Kimiko.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kimiko noticed the duo attacking
Ryosei lance forward, right before the other two approached her
menacingly. Michio tentatively attempted to strike first, quickly
snapping his foot towards Kimiko, but she easily deflected the kick
with minimal movement, sending him spinning around. She would have
moved to finish him at that moment, but Masami wisely chose to defend
his companion, putting himself between the two.

Kimiko answered his challenge with a blinding sweep, knocking the
startled boy on his back, only to immediately be attacked by Michio
once more. This time the ugly boy held nothing back, unleashing a
well-practiced and deadly combination of kicks and punches, yet it
was entirely too predictable for her. She easily countered, bringing
her elbow down hard over his left arm and blasting his left knee with
a jarring downward snap kick. Yelping in pain, Michio fell to the
concrete.

Her eyes darted towards Ryosei, glad he still held himself up,
but not too surprised that he appeared to be losing, badly. Seiko
fired attack upon attack on the defending pony-tailed boy while Shoji
only attacked when he could blind side him. If she did not help him
out within the next thirty seconds, she would have three people on
her back.

"Kimiko Nishiyama, nice to meet you," she said, punctuating her
introduction by sending Masami to the street again, landing on his
partner. "Learn how to fight and come see me again," she taunted
before turning towards the pony-tailed boy. "Need help, Ryosei?"

"Hai!" he exclaimed, as a foot struck his arm. "Help?"

"Hey, Seiko!" Kimiko yelled towards the dark haired girl. "May I
have this dance?"

As Ryosei fell to the concrete in a heap, Seiko twisted to face
the redhead with a scowl on her face, emphasizing the light scar on
her pale skin. "You will be addressing me as your mistress in a few
moments, whelp," she replied fiercely. Turning her head slightly to
address Shoji, she hissed, "I'll handle this bitch. You finish off
Ryosei, since he was the one you were after."

"Whatever," Shoji retorted, obviously angry for her ordering him.
Cracking her knuckles, Kimiko swiftly dropped to one knee,
spinning in a complete circle with her left leg outstretched. Masami
once again fell to the concrete, this time not to rise again for
another couple hours. With a smug grin firmly planted on Kimiko's
face, she initiated combat with Seiko.

Unlike the two that fought Kimiko before her, Seiko's skill was
readily practiced, and her flawlessly executed attacks proved it.
Like all fighters, though, her flaw stood out like a black sheep for
Kimiko and anyone else who peered close enough to see. Seiko's
vigorous assault, continued from her last fight, could not be
maintained for long, and her defense began to show signs of tiring.

Slipping into a mixed school combination of attacks, Seiko
finished a delicate one by slashing with her left foot in a
semi-circle, but Kimiko inched back to be missed by millimeters.
Kimiko pounced inward, grazing the girl a number of times across the
chest and face to finish with one of her increasingly favorite
techniques, "Bakufuuken!"

Calmly dusting her shirt off, she glanced towards Ryosei who
desperately engaged Shoji.

Enough was enough.

"Hey, Shoji," she jeered with a kawaii voice. "Time to fall
unconscious!"

The startled and only able member of the quartet turned to face
his fallen comrades with horror. Michio had pulled himself to the
side to nurse his jarred, if not broken, limbs. Masami still lay
unconscious a few feet from Michio. Seiko, on the other hand, sat
dazedly upon her bottom, still stunned from her collision with a
brick wall.

His lack of attention gave Ryosei enough time to turn the tables
on the leader, but it only took one moment and one technique to
finish him. The pony-tailed boy's hands blurred towards his opponent,
producing a cried yelp and a body falling to the floor.

"A hundred and fifteen," Kimiko whispered to herself, nodding
with approval. The only question now was, where he learnt the
Chestnut fist.

"Bastard," Ryosei scoffed, spitting on Shoji. He weakly rested
his hands on his hips, but he began to loose his balance.

"Careful now," Kimiko whispered, supporting the pony-tailed boy
with her right arm. "You didn't do half bad against those two. Oh, by
the way, I'm Kimiko Nishiyama."

"Ryosei O-" A jarring cough cut off his words violently. "We have
to get out of here before Shoji or one of his goons gets help. I-"

"Put a sock in it, will you?" Kimiko rudely interrupted. "I can
hardly make out what you're saying, so concentrate on staying alive
and conscious."

"All right," he muttered, resting his arm around her shoulder
unsteadily. "If you help me to Ucchan's, I'll buy you breakfast."

"Sure, no sweat. I have plenty of time to burn."

"Are you okay, brother?" a small voice inquired from the boy's
right flank, startling both of the fighters. Kimiko, still supporting
Ryosei with her arm, turned to face the young waitress. Though
moments ago she had been in a state of panic, a lucid calm permeated
the girl now. "Thank you for helping my brother, miss. He gets in
over his head, sometimes."

"Hey!" Ryosei interjected, wearily trying to stand without aid.
"I did not get in over my head. I could have handled Shoji by myself
any day, but I wanted to avoid it if I could. I didn't expect him to
try and hit you, Mai. I'm sorry, and I'm sorry to you, Kimiko, for
getting you involved in this too."

"Listen here," the offended redhead stated. "I chose to fight; it
had nothing to do with you. Either way though, it was fun." Her lips
curved into a sinuous grin. Scanning the area briefly, she noticed
that Seiko had escaped, though her companions still lay flat across
the concrete. "I think you're right, Ryosei. Let's get out of here
before more show up."

The other two nodded and Mai went around to support the
pony-tailed boy's other shoulder. At first he refused their combined
help, but after he nearly fell again, he ceased his protestations and
rested his arms around their shoulders. They rushed out of the alley,
heading in the direction of Ucchan's.

"Thanks for saving my sister," the pony-tailed boy said as he
limped with the two girl's support. "She could have been injured if
not for your interference."

"Thanks, I guess," Mai replied, unsure of herself. "I could have
avoided Shoji's weak attack, Ryosei. I may not be as good as you, but
I could have taken him. Thanks for jumping in, though, Nishiyama-san.
Four of them is a lot."

"It was nothing," Kimiko replied bashfully. "They had it coming."

"Hey!" the waitress cried out in sudden realization. "You're
Kenichi and Mayako's friend from last night, aren't you?" Kimiko
nodded in response. "I thought you looked familiar!"

"Any friend of Kenichi or Mayako Tendo is most definitely a
friend of mine," Ryosei told her solemnly. "Now you must tell me
where you learned how to fight. Those were some of the better
fighters in Nerima, and you probably could have taken them all on by
yourself!"

"My father taught me for a while," she answered softly. "He was a
very good teacher. Now my brother is training me, and he is an
excellent fighter. He makes me look like an amateur."

"Cool," Ryosei whispered. "If he's even half as good as you, he'd
be more than an excellent fighter."

"Thanks," Kimiko said unsteadily. "Hey look, we're almost there."

* * *

"What'll it be, girls?" Ryosei asked, leaning over the sparkling
clean counter, winking playfully. A cheeky smile planted firmly on
his face as the cute redhead's eyes scanned the menu thoughtfully.
"Might I recommend the special? I make it exceptionally well, if I do
say so myself."

"I'll have two," Mai ordered, returning his smile. "And maybe a
third later on, since you're so good at making them."

"Same for me," Kimiko said, holding out the menu for him, which
he gently took. "For starters."

Stealing another appraising glance at the well-built martial
artist, Ryosei grinned as his hands blurred, mixing the ingredients,
quickly placing them on the stove to cook. The pain in his arms had
already receded and in less than two minutes flat, so he broke his
concentration to pay attention to the blaze of a girl in front of
him. Pulling a stool up from behind the counter, he placed it across
from his sister and Kimiko and sat.

"So," he began, gazing into Kimiko's eyes. "You live around
here?"

"Nope," she replied solemnly, returning the stare as if a
challenge. "I'm only in town for a little bit."

"No?" he asked again, nervously adjusting his posture on his
seat. "Not too far away, I hope."

"Unfortunately, it's quite far," she disclosed. "Why, what's the
matter?"

"Oh, nothing," he lied, suddenly finding the ground very
interesting. Winning the brawl in the alley would have later
consequences, and facing them alone did not sound too promising. If
only she would be here long enough to...

"Ryosei, the food," Mai blurted, interrupting his thoughts.

Returning to reality, he turned off the grill and flipped the
fresh okonomiyakis onto three different plates, which he slid to the
girls after separating one for himself.

Sitting back on his stool, he watched as the two females started
to eat, both in drastic contrast of one another. His sister was
anything but a dainty eater and she finished her plate of food before
he did on many occasions, but she barely was comparable to Kimiko.
Not quite shoveling but close enough, the redhead attacked her food
with a vengeance, polishing off one before Ryosei had a chance to
even pull off a piece with his chopsticks.

Quietly grinning, he dug into his food, still watching Kimiko out
of the corner of his eye. Though slightly overcooked, the pancakes
still tasted delicious. He knew that he would have to make the two
girls seconds, or even thirds.

"That hit the spot," his sister told him affectionately.

"Mmm hmm!" Kimiko agreed with her mouth was still full. "Very
tasty."

He smiled grimly, placing his hands upon the counter of the bar.

"I'm guessing that you'll both want more," he said as he began to
prepare another round of okonomiyakis. "Same as last time?"

"Actually, I've gotta get going," Kimiko told him with regret as
she stood up from her stool at the bar. "Thanks for the meal,
Ryosei...?"

"Ono. Ryosei Ono."

"Maybe we'll see each other again, Ryosei Ono," she whispered as
she quietly padded towards the door of the restaurant. "It was nice
seeing you too, Mai. Later!"

"Bye!" his sister shouted over her shoulder at the departing
girl. She turned to him before he could put the ingredients away and
said, "I'll take a couple more specials, Ryo-chan." He quietly made
clear his dislike for the nickname with a glare.

"Why should I?" he returned as he began to prepare more of the
pancakes for his sister and himself, the small spatulas in his hands
blurring with the magic of cooking.

"Because I'm hungry and you're the cook," she answered, resting
her elbows on the bar.

"I was really only making them for Kimiko," he joked, flipping
the prepared pancakes onto the grill.

"Hey, what does she have that I don't?"

Silently turning to her, he smiled at his little sister. "Nothing
other than that she's a potential girlfriend. You're both too cute to
compare to each other."

"Tee hee," she giggled, beaming under the compliment.

Too cute was by far an understatement, he thought, drifting in a
sea of thoughts.



Ono. So, Shampoo married Dr. Tofu. That, most certainly, was
something to think about. Shampoo Ono. Without thinking about Kasumi,
they probably could make a cute couple, though she never thought that
it could possibly happen. Last thing she remembered, Shampoo had left
for China with no plans of returning, while Dr. Tofu was still
obviously in love with Kasumi. Kimiko was just thanking the heavens
that Cologne had yet to make an appearance.

Retracing the steps she and the twins had taken from Ucchan's the
night before, the rest of her trip was fortunately uneventful, though
the free meal and light workout was not bad. She figured it was
probably still a good three or four hours until noon, so there was no
reason to hurry. The sun rose enough to be seen over the roofs of
houses and in between them, shining warm rays of light upon her skin.

Since she had arrived here, her luck had been stellar. From
meeting the twins in a chance encounter, to meeting Shampoo's
children in another, not to mention free food, she wondered what
could there be to possibly make it any better. Of course, all she
would have to do is see Ryouga, and her cheerful attitude would be
ruined, but that had been placed in the farthest reaches of her mind.
She wanted revenge, but everything was turning out so well in her
short visit her, that she subconsciously wanted nothing to spoil it.

Now she was going to get to spar with the Tendo twins to see how
good they really were. Considering that her father, Soun and Shampoo
all seemed to be good friends now, they probably had very excellent
training from birth. She doubted that she could learn much from them,
but it would be nice to spar against someone and actually win for a
change. Kiyoshi's dominance over her in the arena was entirely too
belittling.

Unfortunately, she would have to be very careful not to show her
total ability and definitely hide her near mastery of the
Anything-Goes style. She would have to stick to a few schools rather
than her whole repertoire of techniques. Hapkido, Aikido and Jujitsu,
which were all very good defensive schools, would work for starters.
They included many throws, blocks and grapples with limited kicks and
very few punches. That would certainly be a drastic change from her
norm, and she might actually improve from the experience.

Arriving at the gates to the Tendo residence, she heard children
shouting from within. Opening the gates cautiously, she stepped
through the gates but was promptly stopped by a small child, who
slammed into her legs with, full force.

"Huh?" she said, picking up the small girl, no more than five
years old, and setting her on her feet. "You okay?"

"Hai," the little girl answered, scampering off to go and bother
someone else.

She began to walk in farther when someone addressed her. "Can I
help you, miss?" The voice sounded slightly different and had a
motherly tone to it, yet it was very familiar to the redhead. She
could feel her heart began to beat quicker while she opened her eyes
wide and turned to see Akane, much different from how she remembered
her, yet so much the same. Her hair had regained its long length and
she seemed to stand taller than before, but it might have just been
Kimiko's shorter height. Her smile radiated with the same warmth
Kasumi had when Kimiko stayed with the Tendo's, and she was dressed
in a casual sunflower dress with a yellow, wide-brim gardening hat.

"H-hai," Kimiko responded weakly, coughing to cover the shakiness
in her voice. "I'm here to meet Mayako and Kenichi Tendo. I'm Kimiko
Nishiyama." Taking deep, slow breaths, she managed to get control of
her nerves before she did something stupid, like running up to Akane
and pulling her into a bear-hug.

"Oh, Kenichi told me about you," Akane told the redhead warmly,
though her attention was absorbed entirely by the children scampering
about the yard. "I'm their mother, Akane Tendo. It is good to meet
you, Nishiyama-san."

Forcing herself to smile, she grieved the loss of yet another of
her dreams. Akane had birthed children...children not conceived out
of their love, but from her love for another. The last remains of her
hope to be with the raven-haired woman melted, crushing it like a
rose between the pages of a book, sweet in memory, but now nothing
more than a dried up flower husk.

Though her heart ached with loss, she was happy to see that Akane
had done well for herself in the intervening years. Her mischievous
smile seemed to have been replaced with a more maternal one, but
Kimiko's heart, upon receiving it, skipped a beat. Facing reality,
the dreams of a fated reunion with her soul-mate turned out to be
exactly what they were: the romantic fantasies of a teen-aged...girl.

The challenge of forging a new relationship with Akane lay before
her, and whether close or not, the mistakes that she had made in the
past as Ranma, she would not repeat as Kimiko. The need to remain
near and protect her love still permeated her soul, though the role
she would play in Akane's life would be forever changed.

Kimiko bowed, quickly wiping a tear from her eye so that the
older woman would not notice.

"They're in the dojo sparring," Akane told the redhead. "If you
want, I can have one of the kids take you to it."

"That's okay, Tendo-san," she replied. "I already know where it
is." She started walking around the back.

"Please, call me Akane, and you can go through the house, dear."
After that, she turned and left to manage the energetic children
running around.

"Thank you, Akane-san. It was nice to meet you."

She entered the house quietly, walking through and finding the
entrance to the dojo. As she approached, sounds of combat were
audible from within. She heard two voices conversing as they fought.

"Haha!" one of them cried in triumph. "I got you now!"

Upon entering the dojo, Kimiko witnessed Mayako complete a swift
spin kick, leveling her brother to the mat. Kenichi quickly snapped to
his feet, prepared for Mayako's next assault, while Kimiko walked to
the edge of the mat and sat cross-legged.

Mayako became a blur of motion as she attacked her brother from
every possible angle, one move seamlessly flowing into the next.
Though he managed to deflect the majority of her attacks, many
slipped through, striking him hard. Much to Kimiko's amazement, he
bounced to his feet again, standing in a defensive posture.

"You call those punches?" he taunted, looking a little worse than
he sounded but well enough to continue. "Eiji can hit harder than
that!"

"You've really been training while I was gone!" Mayako exclaimed,
quite out of breath. "Dad?"

"Hai," he replied. "He freaking hits hard."

"I believe it," she responded.

Clearing her throat loud enough to gain their attention, Kimiko
smiled as they nearly jumped in surprise. The shock of her presence
turned to delight when they recognized her.

"Kimchan!" Mayako cried out. "When did you get here?" She then
walked over to the redhead, sitting down in front of her, followed by
her brother.

"Just a few minutes ago," she told them. "You two are really
something." The awe in her voice was not false. Mayako's sheer speed
and Kenichi's durability took a great deal of training to achieve, and
could rarely be achieved at so young an age. Something about their
styles seemed familiar to the redhead, but she could not pinpoint
exactly what it was.

"Thanks," Kenichi said, a little embarrassed. "How are you doing
today?"

"I'm fine," she told him, smiling. "I've been looking forward to
sparring with you two." She grabbed her duffel bag from her side and
stood up. "Where can I change?"

"Right over there," Mayako said, pointing towards a door in one
of the corners of the dojo. Apparently, the Tendo's had a locker room
installed on each side of the dojo, one for male students and the
other for females complete with showers.

Kimiko entered the lady's locker room. It was actually quite
spacious with a few over ten lockers on each wall, a bench running
around their length. She smiled and randomly picked a spot, dropping
her bag to the floor. Taking off her shirt, she tugged it over her
head and dropped it on top of her bag.

Mayako walked in the next second, causing the redhead to blush.
"Don't mind me," she told Kimiko. Walking to a nearby locker, she
opened it and removed a towel, drying her face. "I forgot to ask what
style you use."

"Whatever I'm taught," Kimiko replied, removing her trousers a
little bit shyly. She pulled her white gi out of the duffel bag and
quickly slipped into the pants and top.

"Same here," Mayako agreed, shutting her locker.

Shadowing Mayako, Kimiko stepped out onto the mat, starting her
stretches. Her mind began to aimlessly wander as she mechanically
fell into the forms of her warm up exercises. Mayako's earlier
performance suggested that she at least knew the basics of the
Chestnut fist, if not the complete technique. She could have easily
defeated Kimiko when she had first arrived at the Tendo's residence
nearly twenty years ago. Kenichi, on the other hand, might have been a
better match for her at the time. His incredible show of durability
hinted towards breaking point training that Ryouga and Shampoo had
been put through. He took more strikes than Kimiko, herself, could
take without becoming severely hindered. The twins would be good
training for her skill, provided they both attacked the her at once.

Upon completing her stretches, she fluently began a simple
jujitsu kata that her father had taught her a few weeks after her
sixth birthday. The first few tries, she had been unable to perform
all of the moves without pause, but several days later she was able
to complete it flawlessly. The learning of this kata held special
meaning for her, though it was not the first she learned, it was the
first she learned quickly. It seemed to symbolize her ability to
learn anything within the realm of martial arts in a very short
amount of time. From that day on, everything her father had shown
her, she quickly mastered.

"Who wants to spar with me first?" she asked as she finished the
kata.

"I will," Mayako offered, walking to the center of the mat.

Meeting the girl's challenge, Kimiko stood opposite of Mayako.
After they bowed, each took a stance that would reflect the their
approach to the fight. Mayako quickly fell into a modified kempo
stance, the majority of her weight balanced upon her front leg which
suggested a plan to take an early offensive. Kimiko eased into a
simple, defensive Hapkido stance, her right hand cupped upwards along
her belt and her left palm open and parallel to her body, more weight
distributed to her back leg. She chose that particular stance because
it afforded her a stronger defense with minimal movements. The simple
swinging of her hips would gain enough momentum for a spin kick or a
series of blocks.

"Hope you're ready," Mayako warned, right before she threw
herself at the redhead.

Casually blocking Mayako's strikes, Kimiko easily maintained her
position while analyzing the other girl's strategy. Noticing the
decrease of speed from Mayako's earlier fight with Kenichi and the
missed target locations, she judged that the opening had been a
subtle test of her defensive capabilities. Camouflaging her superior
ability by shrewdly matching Mayako's skill, she allowed a few
strikes to slip through, harmlessly falling a few millimeters short
of her body. Nimbly dodging and blocking the next combination of
punches and kicks, she paid close attention to the other girl's
rhythm, but rather than finding a pattern she observed an impressive
string of seemingly random attacks.



Feigning a slap, Mayako harnessed her momentum, swinging her leg
around in a powerful spin kick, but completely missed, sending her
off balance. Recovering from her failed maneuver, she tried to
continue her as of yet unchallenged offensive, but a strong strike to
her left shoulder stole her intended trajectory. She tumbled
diagonally away from Kimiko and quickly bounced to her feet.

Exploiting the time before their melee continued, Mayako
attempted to analyze Kimiko's amazingly deceptive defenses. At first
look, she had assumed the redhead's only knowledge sprouted from
primitive American self-defense classes in combination with some
Korean Hapkido, but probing them proved otherwise. She simply failed
to recognize half of the defenses that Kimiko employed, and the other
half were so incredibly modified that she could only guess the
original school. Kimiko must have had a decent amount of experience
in live combat, or at least an excellent teacher and sparring
partner.

Smiling with increased enthusiasm, she reinitiated combat, and
this time she would hold back absolutely nothing.

In a furious barrage of attacks, Mayako cunningly combined her
attacks in a fashion that she uniquely regarded as her own. One
seamless assault after another Kimiko blocked or dodged, either
unable to retaliate or hoping to tire her. Mayako certainly hoped
that it was the former, for her limbs began to quickly tire since she
had little time to recover from her earlier spar with Kenichi in
combination with the necessary Chestnut fist speeds.

Springing away to avoid Kimiko's subtle counter, Mayako reversed
her trajectory and leapt at her opponent, driving towards her with a
flying jump kick. The instant she believed Kimiko should have been
knocked onto the floor mat, to Mayako's utter amazement, the redhead
vanished. Landing in the position the girl had occupied a second ago,
Mayako blinked absently and began to turn to locate her, but she had
little need when her legs collapsed and head slammed into the soft
padding of the floor mat.

"Whoa!" she yelped in surprise, quickly rolling a short distance
before bouncing to her feet. Unfortunately, Kimiko gave her no time
to prepare a defense for her attack.

Barely ducking under a sickeningly quick kick, Mayako blocked two
more punches before being struck across the arms and chest. The pain
minimal, she turned the tables on the redhead, dropping her defenses
and going all out in a suicide counterattack, crying out, "Kachuu
Tenshin Amaguriken!"



Kimiko had everything well underhand, up until Mayako's arms
burst into a deluge of energy, channeling her chi into a very
impressive Chestnut fist. Leaping backwards into a flip, the redhead
gracefully landed away from the range of the Chinese special
technique. Her opponent not only knew the basics of it, but the full
fledged attack and that impressed her immensely. To pluck a chestnut
from an open flame was no easy task and she could adamantly testify
to that.

Raising her arms to resume her guard, she noted the torn sleeves
of her gi top. Frowning slightly, she decided to end this battle
before someone became injured.

Since Mayako appeared simply exhausted, Kimiko lightly sprang
towards her. Deceptively leaving herself open to any form of a low
strike, she struck out at the tired girl, surprised to find her
defenses still remaining strong. When Mayako countered with a string
of sloppy punches, Kimiko caught one over-extended arm and literally
tossed her across the dojo, narrowly missing the far wall.

Landing on her feet but obviously winded, Mayako put her hands on
her knees, trying to catch her breath. "I give," she coughed, too
winded to continue.

Distantly, she heard Kenichi's enthusiastic applause, but her mind
actively replayed her recently completed battle. Aside from her
active countering, the images sickly reminded her of the miserable,
rainy day in her stormy past. The relief Akane felt after she
realized that the redhead was a girl and their quick melee in the
dojo flashed, striking pain in her heart. Those were days she would
give anything for, but those were days long past.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Kenichi asked, his voice
piercing her train of thought.

"Both my father and brother," she answered truthfully, turning to
face the boy. "They were good teachers."

"I bet," Mayako mused, unceremoniously dropping to the edge of
the mat.

"Are you hurt?" Kenichi blurted, gently taking hold of Kimiko's arms.
"Your sleeves are shredded!"

She passively watched him as he carefully checked her arms for
injuries, his concern very blatant. He slowly turned them over,
passing his hand over the surface of her skin. Staring at him with
increasing curiosity, she felt her heart skip a beat when he turned
to smile at her. His eyes...Akane's eyes...

"You're lucky," he whispered to her, releasing his light grasp.
"Mayako!" he scolded, turning to his sister. "You could've hurt her
using the Chestnut fist like that!"

"I kinda got carried away," Mayako admitted sheepishly, dropping
onto her side. "I'm really sorry, Kimiko."

"It's nothing," the redhead replied quickly, examining the damage
to her sleeves.

"I have a spare gi in my locker if you want to have it," Mayako
offered, her eyes slowly sliding shut.

"Nah," she shrugged, tugging at her right sleeve. "Who needs
these anyway?" With a sharp yank, the shredded cotton fell to the
floor. After ripping the left sleeve from the gi, she turned to Kenichi
again. "You ready to spar, Kenichi?"

Pushing everything but the upcoming fight into her subconscious,
Kimiko squared off across from her new opponent. Likewise, she
observed the mirth on his face fade into a serious appearance of
concentration. In contrast with his sister's small, petite frame, he
loomed nearly a half foot above Kimiko with his muscular arms relaxed
at his sides and broad shoulders held back.

Mayako's evident proficiency in Anything-Goes showed her to be a
very dangerous opponent, resorting to a deadly special technique when
obviously outmatched. Though from his earlier spar with his sister
made it quite clear that his style did not match hers, he could very
well have any number of similar techniques in the arsenal of his
mind. Even in friendly combat, the urge to draw upon that power could
overwhelm sensibilities, like it had with Mayako. To prevent being
caught off guard, Kimiko needed to stay wary.

Kenichi formally bowed, his eyes never straying from her, and she
returned it in similar fashion. He drew himself back like a bow, as
if nocking an arrow into place. Appreciating his unique stance, she
fell into hers by simply leaning forwards on her front leg as if
preparing for a race, which, in her opinion, it was.

With a barely audible battle cry, Kimiko lunged, launching
herself at the young man, whom was obviously unprepared for her
incredibly quick opening. Absorbing her jump kick with his chest, his
counter took the redhead by surprise. Weaving through his deluge of
punches, she began her offensive, ripping through his almost
non-existent defense and blasting him with an open-hand palm strike
to the chest, and a few quick snap kicks to his thighs. Ending her
combination as he stumbled away from her, she dropped low and stepped
into him, swinging her right leg around her body. Absorbing the brunt
of her spin kick, he brought his right arm up, minimizing the
concussion.

He grinned at her as he regained the offensive, utilizing her
recovery time from the kick. As he completely abandoned his defense,
he attacked hard, tearing through her blocks with the strength of ten
men. Her eyes opened wide with shock, yet she managed to dodge his
blows, relying on her superior speed to avoid harm.

She began to find herself anticipating his blows as they
continued their spar, and something about his style seemed
infuriatingly familiar, though she had yet to put a name or face to
it. Remembering a few weaknesses of his art, she had to admit that
his strength and durability thoroughly made up for the areas he
lacked, though he was far from being in her class.

Cautiously maneuvering within his reach, she caught his right arm
as it recoiled and hip-tossed him over, causing him to roll out and
quickly bounce to his feet. Easily defending herself from each of his
renewed, powerful attacks, she realized that if but one of his
punches hit her with full force, she would probably be down and
unconscious. He, too, most likely knew as much, as his tactics
suggested.

With a quick counter, Kimiko pummeled Kenichi across his chest
stumbling backwards with the force. In an attempt to finish the
battle, she swept his legs and tried to pin him, but he quickly
rolled out of her reach to stand face to face again. His attack began
anew, though with less vigor than before. She noted that his form
became sloppier as they continued their dance of combat, their test
of skill.

As she easily defended his newest offensive, she slid under his
attack and struck a series of pressure points along his right thigh.
Kenichi leapt back to avoid any further attacks but landed squarely on
his bottom without the support of his right leg. She darted to his
prone figure, pinning his body to the mat.

"You give?" she asked smugly, grinning down at him.

"What if I say no?" he questioned playfully, returning the grin.

"I'd throw you across the room and ask you again."

"Okay, you win," he said, admitting defeat. He struggled for a
moment, but she did not release him. "Um, are you going to get off?"

She considered it for a moment and shrugged. "See if you can
throw me off."

"If you two want to make out, I'll leave," Mayako teased from
across the dojo. "You might want to rent a cheap motel room while
you're at it."

Turning bright red, Kimiko released her grip on him and rolled
backwards onto her feet. Quickly sitting, Kenichi dusted himself off and
turned his head away from them in an attempt to hide his equally
crimson cheeks.

Mayako strode up to Kimiko, placing her right hand on the
redhead's left shoulder.

"That was simply amazing, Kimiko," she praised, beaming. "Where did
you learn to fight like that?"

Kimiko turned to face Mayako and paused. "My brother and father
taught me most of what I know," she honestly told her, weakly
returning the girl's smile. "Where'd you learn that technique you
used to shred my sleeves?"

Shying her head bashfully, Mayako replied, "Auntie Shampoo taught
me it. I'm sorry again about that; I really wasn't thinking when I
used it."

"It's no problem," she said, rubbing her bare arms. "Interesting
practice, if anything."

"Yeah," Mayako said sheepishly.

"Whew," Kenichi sighed, standing from his fallen position. "Whatever
you did to my leg just wore off. That was crazy. So, how'd you beat
us down so easy?"

"I'm just familiar with your style, that's all," Kimiko said
modestly. "When I saw you two sparring earlier, I guessed how you
would fight so I just did the opposite."

"Well, I'm thoroughly beaten," Kenichi admitted. "Call it a day?"

"Sure," Mayako said. "I think I'm going to kick back for the rest
of the day. Reiko and Mai said they were coming over. You're welcome
to hang with us, Kimchan."

"Sounds fine with me," she replied, following Mayako into the
locker room.



Kenichi watched them exit before entering the locker room himself. He
was still marveled by Kimiko's surprising ability. She had beat him
very easily and she had even tried to hide most of it. Her style was
so bizarre that he had to wonder if that was how she fought normally.
Against Mayako she was so defensive, allowing punches to miss her by
millimeters and sliding through her offense, and when she fought him
she moved in close and decked him without a second thought. She
exploited both of their weaknesses and she did it so effortlessly,
not even breaking a sweat.

He did not find it as strange as he found it exciting. Not only
was she amazingly beautiful, but her fighting style matched her hair
color. She blazed across both him and his sister with so much more
hidden ability yet to be seen. He wondered just how good she really
was, but he figured it would be best not to find out fighting her.
She moved with the grace of a cat and though she did not seem to have
much physical strength, she definitely made up for it with speed and
sheer skill. She had used his power against him.

He smiled, taking off his gi top, the air caressing his body and
cooling him down. He heard the showers from the other locker room
turn on. Trying to keep his mind out of the gutter, he quickly
stripped down and grabbed his clean clothes, placing them on the
bench and his sweaty gi in his locker.

Grabbing a towel, he walked into the shower room and turned on
one of the shower heads. While the water began to warm, he put his
head under. Shivering, he rinsed himself in the startling cold water.
As it began to warm he heard laughter echoing from the girl's locker
room.

As he was just about to exit the lukewarm water, it suddenly got
very hot and he yelped in pain, leaping away from it. The giggling
from the other side made him scowl. Mayako had probably turned on the
cold water to purposely burn him. She always loved to pull childish
pranks on him.

He toweled himself down and quickly put on his clothes before his
sister decided to jump in on him unexpected, which she tended to do
constantly just to embarrass him. He fished a comb out of his locker
and quickly brushed his hair back, replacing the item afterward.

While exiting the locker room, anxiety started to get the better
of him. Chewing on his thumb nail nervously, he became eager to see
Kimiko again and sat down. He calmly reflected on their quick spar as
something kept nagging in the back of his mind. He remembered her
saying, "I'm just familiar with your style, that's all." He wondered
how that was possible if she lived in the States, and he noted to
himself to ask his grandfather about it later.

He turned his head, watching his sister skip out of the women's
locker room and straight towards him, the mischievous grin on her
face spelling trouble. She plopped herself down in front of him,
motioning for him to sit, which he did after rolling his eyes.

"What?" he grumpily mumbled to her, his tolerance for her games
having been spent.

"Wanna know something about Kimiko?" she asked him.

Curious to learn anything about her, he shrugged and said,
"Sure."

"Her red hair is natural," she told him, her grin widening. The
devious tones of her voice mimicked the times when she would tell
sick jokes she had learned from school.

"How would you..." he trailed off, comprehending the meaning of
her words. His face instantly turned bright red, narrowing his eyes
with anger. "Mayako!" he scolded. "Some things..." he tried to say, but
she cut him off.

"...are better left to find out for yourself?" she interrupted,
beginning to giggle.

"Yeah! I m-mean, n-no!" he stuttered.

"Her breasts are real," she whispered between giggles. "She wears
at least a size C cup too!"

He gritted teeth, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Shut up!" he
growled, before somersaulting backwards and rolling onto his feet.
She deliberately said that to unsettle him, and she never failed. He
pressed his cold hands to his cheeks in an attempt to cool them.

"Cool down, bro," she said, standing up. "I was just kidding with
you. You're way too sensitive." She folded her arms under her
breasts, poorly attempting to stifle her laughter.

"I don't think you're funny," he told her seriously.

"You have no sense of humor," she responded. "Don't stop sulking,
though. It makes you look so kawaii!"

He grumbled something unintelligible and turned his back to her
in an attempt to ignore her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Kimiko apologized, exiting the
locker room.

"It's no problem," he replied, turning to face her. While her
bangs covered her eyes, her damp red hair hung loose from its braid,
dangling well past her shoulders. She wore the clothes she had
arrived with, loose-fitting black pants and a long-sleeved,
light-purple, long sleeved shirt, completely unbuttoned and failing
to cover the top of her gray sports bra and a considerable amount of
cleavage.

"Mind if I leave my duffel bag here?" Kimiko asked them.

"Not at all," he responded warmly. "Either of you hungry?"

"Hai," his sister replied, as she exited the dojo. "I'm going to
go call the girls. You make us some food, kay?" She giggled one last
time before leaving Kimiko and him alone.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked Kimiko, who was busy
buttoning her shirt. "Kimchan?"

"Whatever is fine," she cheerfully told him. "I ate before I
arrived, but there's always room for more." She smiled at him and put
her hands in her pockets, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Let's go to the kitchen," he said, waving for her to join him.
"There should be some food left in the fridge."



While trying to tuck in her shirt, Kimiko trudged after Kenichi
as he slowly walked out of the dojo. After he slid the door to the
house open, she followed him through, staying within a few feet of
him. Until she managed to collect her thoughts, the last person she
wanted to see was Akane and with any luck, she would not need to do
so if she kept on Kenichi's heels.

They entered the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and
rummaged through it, procuring a plastic container.

"How about some left over ramen from last night's take out?" he
offered, removing the cover. Sniffing it curiously, he said, "Still
smells fine."

"Sure," she replied, standing behind him.

He placed the container on the counter in front of her and turned
to face the cupboards. Retrieving three bowls and three pairs of
chopsticks, he set them down. Opening the refrigerator again, he
removed a small bottle of soy sauce.

"Go ahead and sit in the dining room," he told her while filling
a teapot. "I'll fix lunch for us."

Calmly exiting the kitchen, Kimiko found a spot along the dinner
table and sat, folding her legs. The sliding door to the backyard was
closed, but the happy cries of children at play sounded through its
thin covering. Light also filtered through it, warming the room to a
comfortable temperature.

One strange thing that had been nagging Kimiko since she woke
from her coma was the oddly cool temperatures during the summer.
Though she knew little of what happened in the past eighteen years,
she did clearly recall summers being warm in Tokyo. Instead, the
cold, windy days and the even colder nights greeted her upon arrival.
This slight change made her old home even less welcoming.

"Here," Kenichi said, placing a bowl full of ramen noodles in
front of her. "I'll leave the Tupperware out just in case you want
more." Sticking a pair of chopsticks into her bowl, he smiled and
dropped beside her with an ungraceful flop. Placing a bowl in front
and across from himself, he produced the bottle of soy sauce and
poured a bit over his noodles. "Want some?"

"Hai," she replied taking the bottle, dabbing some in hers.

Slurping up the tasty noodles, her mind began to drift when the
door to the backyard slid open, revealing a small boy of no more than
seven years of age. His brown eyes were lit with delight as he
skipped towards the couple. Dressed in a small white gi, the child
smiled, radiating joy and the innocence of youth. Kimiko's brows
raised with interest when she noticed that he did not wear his black
hair short, but rather it ended with a proportionately medium-length
pigtail.

"Kenichi!" he cried out, scrambling around the table to wrap himself
around Kenichi's waist. "Let's spar! Please, please, please!"

Trying to disentangle himself from the boy, Kenichi said,
"Eiji-chan, why don't you go bother someone else?"

"No!" Eiji whined, strengthening his grip. "You promised last
night that you would! You did, you did, you did!"

"Ahh, come on, little bro," Kenichi cooed. "We can spar later. We
have company right now."

Distracted from his original plight, the pigtailed boy released
his older brother and turned to Kimiko as if noticing her for the
first time. His frown curved into a smile and he averted his eyes
from hers.

"Hi," he greeted bashfully, grasping his hands behind his back.

Smiling warmly, she replied, "I'm Kimiko Nishiyama. What's your
name?"

"Eiji Tendo," he whispered tentatively. He brought his head up
and held out both of his hands, all fingers extended with his right
and only his index finger with his left. "I'm six!"

"Are you, now?" she said, swinging her legs around to face him.
"That's pretty old." Her eyes ran up and down the six year old and
she smiled. "So, you're a martial artist?"

"Hai!" he replied enthusiastically, casting aside his shyness. "I
can beat anybody! Are you one too? Like Mayako?"

"Hai," she answered. "But, I bet you're better than me. Look at
those muscles!" Feigning awe, she pointed at his biceps, which he
energetically flexed. "You're much too strong for me."

Bursting into a fit of giggles, Eiji leapt and placed himself
between Kenichi and Kimiko, dragging them closer by grasping each of
their arms.

"Are you Kenichi's girlfriend?" he asked bluntly, resting his right
shoulder against his brother. "Or are you Mayako's friend?"

"I'm both of their friends," she replied evenly, missing the
embarrassed look on Kenichi's face. "You want to be my friend, too?"

"Uh-huh," he muttered, nodding vigorously. "You're my best
friend!" He sat upright and leaned to his left, resting his head on
Kimiko.

Cutting in, Kenichi said, "I thought Shintaro was your best friend,
Eiji."

"He's my best friend, too!"

The two teenagers chuckled and continued eating. After a few
minutes of inactivity, Eiji jumped up, said his good-byes and fled
out the door to join his peers in the yard. They then continued
solemnly eating their food, an eerie silence looming over them.
Kimiko felt it seep into her, as if it was the truth of her fate, but
she was unable to deny it any longer.

"So he's your little brother," Kimiko stated between mouthfuls.
"Hai," Kenichi replied, twirling his chopsticks in the ramen. "He can
be a pest at times, but he's usually a pretty mild kid."

"No more than one can wish for," Kimiko sighed quietly after
finishing the last of her noodles. She lethargically drooped her head
slightly, appearing as if she was exhausted, but her fatigue was not
of the body.

"Hmm?" Kenichi muttered, his mouth full of ramen.

"Nothing," she said, putting her elbows on the table and resting
her head in her hands. Her eyelids slid shut and she began to massage
her temples.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

"Sure, I'm fine," she replied sarcastically, but low enough to
hide her tone.

As the knowledge of current events had begun unfold before her,
she had thought herself to be ready for the harshest realities, but
thinking and experiencing were two entirely different matters. One
could only imagine the depths of hell for so much effect, but
plummeting through its layers of torture and pain would make
everything before the descent nothing more than a distant, fond
memory. In her plunge, its dark recesses were becoming increasingly
visible.

Here she was, sitting at the Tendo's dinning room table and
eating with Akane's son, and yet she was not home. Where did her
home, her center, her heart, lie? The Tendo home, which she imagined
nearly every day while stranded in the United States no longer felt
welcome. It may have affected some less than others, but for Kimiko,
whom had never known any other location as hers, it was devastating.

The purpose for her side-trip here seemed to have been lost
amongst the confusion of her dilemma. Absolutely nothing held her
back from hastily exiting the Tendo residence, to flee from the agony
subjected to her, yet she stayed.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she looked around, noticing
that Kenichi had left the table. From the kitchen, she heard him
shuffling within the cupboards.

"Want some tea?" he asked from inside the kitchen.

"Hai," she replied, trying not to raise her voice too much.

He re-entered the dinning room, carrying a pot of tea and three
mugs. Sitting down next to her, he placed the cups on the table,
filled them with the steaming hot tea and pushed one in front of her.

"So," she began, in hopes to spark a conversation. "Where's your
dad? I haven't seen him around."

"He's on a training trip," he replied, unenthusiastically. "He
goes on them a lot." Hardly discernible venom resonated from within
his nonchalant tone. If it implied the contempt he held for his
father, the unknown man might be comparable to hers, but unless he
threw Kenichi into a pit of starving cats, the chances seemed
unlikely. If that were the case though, he could hardly be considered
the right choice as a husband for Akane. Kimiko noted it for later
when Kenichi asked, "What else do you like to do, besides martial
arts?"

"Not a whole lot," she told him. "Besides working out and
training?" He nodded. "Most sports are okay, besides stupid ones like
golf. I haven't seen many, but I do like movies. Not much else."

"Besides art and martial arts, I don't do much either," he
responded, sipping his tea. "With school and my job, I don't have
time for anything else, really. And when soccer season hits, I rarely
find time for martial arts."

Blowing on her steaming cup of tea, she replied, "What kind of
art?"

"Sketching mainly," he answered. "I do a little painting too."

"You any good?"

"I guess," he replied, shrugging. "Can't really judge my own
work."

"Oh," she muttered, testing the temperature of her tea with a
sip. "You'll have to show me some time."

"Hai," he weakly said. "You said you came here with your brother?
What's he like?"

"Tall," she replied, grinning. "Really tall. He makes me look
like a sprite." Kenichi laughed out loud and started choking. After
slapping his back a few times, she continued, "He's definitely a
weird guy."

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know," she responded. "He's the world's nicest, most
charming and likable person, yet he doesn't know a thing about
people. He certainly tries, though. When we were younger, he was
totally different than he is now, which is very good, because he used
to be a total social degenerate. Don't tell'em I told you that,
though."

Chuckling, Kenichi nodded, placing his cup in front of him. "So, he's
a pretty cool guy who tries to help but ends up bungling the whole
mess?"

"For the most part," she agreed. "If it wasn't for him, I
probably would've..." She cut herself short in mid-sentence, silently
cursing herself.

"Probably would have what?" he questioned with sober curiosity.
"Are you sure that you're okay?"

"Fine, fine," she retorted. "I just would have been a lot worse
off without him. He's a great guy, if a little over-protective at
times."

"Oh," he whispered, turning as Mayako strode into the dining
room.

The girl wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved navy
blue sweatshirt, tucked into her pants. Her neatly brushed, black
hair hung loosely at her back, swaying as she gracefully strolled
towards them. The bemused expression on her face concluded her
current humor, which never really seemed to change.

"You two save any for me?" Mayako asked as she sat on Kimiko's
left side.

"Hai," Kenichi told her, sliding the Tupperware container across
the table to her.

"Mai has to work today, but cousin Reiko said she'd be right
over," Mayako told them, grabbing an empty bowl and filling it with
ramen. "You'll love Rei-chan, Kimiko. She's a real sweetheart, just
like her mom." She globbed a pile of soy sauce over the noodles in
her bowl, proceeding to slurp them up at an alarming rate. Stopping
for a moment she turned and addressed Kenichi. "Where's Uncle Mousse
anyway? He still on concert?"

"Hai," he replied. "He's in Sapporo now, I think."

"Uncle Mousse?" Kimiko asked, her shock hidden within a veil of
curiosity.

"Pretty weird name, ne?" Mayako said between slurps. "He came
from the same Chinese village as Shampoo. Both of their names being
hair care products in Japanese is purely coincidence, or so he tells
us."

"What did you mean by 'on concert'?" the confused redhead
questioned.

"He's the lead singer in a rock band," Kenichi answered,
straightening his slouch. "Ever heard of 'Cold Steel'?"

"Nuh-uh," she replied sincerely, still digesting the 'Uncle
Mousse' part. Unless Nabiki had overtaken a complete psychological
and personality change, the mother of Reiko, whom Mayako had referred
to as a 'sweat heart', would have to be Kasumi. The last two decades
certainly had enough surprises hidden within them to keep Kimiko on
her toes for another two. At least she discovered this information
prior to her reunion with the couples in question; otherwise, she
might have made a fool of herself.

"I have all of his albums in my room, if you want to listen to
them in a few," Mayako offered, letting her chopsticks clatter into
her empty bowl. "They're an older band, but really good."

"Sure," Kimiko accepted curiously. "I have lots of time to kill."
She stood as Kenichi gathered the used dishes, carrying them into the
kitchen.

"I'll meet you up there, Mayako," he said as he disappeared from
sight.

"Hai," she replied as she stood, grabbing Kimiko's left hand.
"Come on."



Switching the globe light on with her free hand, Mayako entered
her room, pulling Kimiko in with her. "Get comfortable," she told the
redhead, releasing her hand. Concentrating upon the task at hand, she
casually strolled up to her stereo and punched in a combination of
numbers on a small, brightly lit key pad along its side. Something
shifting from within was heard, followed by an audible thud.

"Artist, Cold Steel; Album, Renegade," a deep, male voice echoed,
surrounding them.

"What was that?" Kimiko questioned from behind her.

"Huh? What?" Mayako asked, twisting around to look at her.

"Was that the stereo?"

"Hai," she answered, facing the object in front of her again. "I
don't have enough cash for a voice activated one, so I gotta settle
for digital voice. Too bad my remote broke." Pressing the key pad
again, she hit enter and listened to the stereo as it initialized
itself. "I have bad luck with this thing, but it gets the job done.
Sounds good, too."

"Uhm, Mayako?"

"Huh?" she said, turning around. "What is now?"

"I think there's something under your bed," Kimiko replied,
sliding off the bed and onto her feet. "It's moving around."

As Kimiko backed away, Mayako curiously prostrated herself and
lifted the bed sheet to view the underside of her mattress. Though no
light shined, she could vaguely make out someone's small form
underneath.

"Eiji-chan!" she scolded, dragging the small boy out from under
her bed. His black hair was in a disarray, appearing if he had just
woken up. His puffy red, wide eyes seemed to cry out with innocence
and frustration. Tears streaked down his cheeks as his quiet sobs
rocked his chest. Speaking softer yet remaining firm, she asked him,
"What are you doing in my room?"

Eiji lifted his head while drying his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mayako!" he
cried, pouting. "I got lost and when I tried to find mommy, I got
stuck in that dark place. I was scared."

"Oh, Eiji-baka," Mayako sighed, pulling her little brother into a
hug. "It's okay. You're safe here with me and Kimiko, now. I'll show
you out to mom, all right?"

"No," he whispered, sniffling. Swinging violently, his miniature
pigtail crashed against the side of his head as he turned to look at
the silent redhead. "I want Kimiko to take me! She's my best friend!"

Releasing the child, Mayako pressed the palm of her right hand
onto her forehead, shaking her head and as he darted towards her new
friend. Kneeling, Kimiko turned him around and deftly lifted him over
her head, resting him on her back. She stood grasping his legs under
his knees, lifting him with her ascent. With the glee on his face
visible, his head peered over her shoulder.

"Yay!" Eiji squealed in delight, wrapping his arms around the
redhead's neck.

"You sure that it's okay?" Mayako asked of the girl, standing
level with her.

"Hai," she replied, freeing one of her hands to ruffle Eiji's
hair. "I know the way."

"All right," Mayako accepted, resting her hands on her hips.
"I'll get this ready while you take that baka to my mom. You've met
her already, right?"

"Sure have," she answered, poking Eiji's side which produced an
squeaky giggle. "I'll be right back."

Watching Kimiko exit the room with Eiji securely resting on her
back, Mayako pondered the present situations for a moment. Her
brother's obvious crush for Kimiko gave Mayako enough motive to look
at her critically, since Kenichi hardly had any experience with
relationships. His blatant attempts at flirting, so far, had gone
unanswered from what she had seen, but the girl did appear to have
mild interest in him. With a bit of help, she probably would be able
to at least give Kenichi a chance of a dating Kimiko before the China
expedition.

Something had been preying upon Mayako's good cheer since she met
Kimiko at Ucchan's the night before. While they ate, Kimiko had
subtly eluded quite a number of questions directed at her while
eliciting answers for everyone one of hers. During their walk home,
Mayako had noticed the conflict within her, though her brother had
passed it off as fatigue when she talked to him later. That pieced
together with her wretched emotional state of their first meeting, in
Mayako's mind, implied that someone had or was seriously hurting the
girl.

Kenichi's entrance drew her attention and she returned to
programming her dysfunctional stereo.

"Where's Kimiko going?" her brother asked, haphazardly tossing
himself onto her bed. "She taking Eiji somewhere?"

"He got lost again and she's taking him to Mom," she replied,
snarling at the machine. "You fix this stupid thing, Kenichi. I can't
get it to work."

"Hai," he replied, standing to aid her.


While balancing Eiji precariously on her back and speeding down
the staircase to appease the child, Kimiko leapt down the remaining
half of the stairs to the pigtailed boy's utter delight. After
turning a corner and carefully dashing through the hall, she slid to
a halt at the door to the backyard. She slid it open with her right
foot, producing another giggle from the child.

"The Kimiko express is at its destination," she told him,
kneeling.

"Again, again, again!" he happily requested with zeal as his feet
touched the floor. "That was fun!"

"Maybe later, Eiji-chan," she whispered to him, as he rounded to
face her.

"Okay," he conceded with a cute pout. His face twisted into a
broad grin and he fiercely whispered, "I love you," throwing his arms
around her waist with the vigorous strength a child should not
possess.

"Uhf!" she moaned as he squeezed the air from her lungs. "I love
you too, Eiji, but if you squeeze me any harder, you're going to
break me in half!"

Giggling, he released her. "Sorry Kimiko," he replied sheepishly.
"You promise to give me another piggy-back ride?"

"Hai," she promised. "And if you're good, it will be much longer,
too. But you have to obey your brother, sister and mother when they
want you to do something, okay?"

"Okay!" he said, bouncing on his heels. "Bye-bye!" Sliding the
door open, he attempted to run through, but she caught his arm.

"Take my hand, and I'll take you to your mommy," she told him,
sliding her hand down his arm to take his small hand. Leading him
through the door and into the yard, she cautiously treaded the
grounds, keeping her eyes open for Akane.



With Nanaki-chan gently cradled in her arms, Akane sighed in
relief as she continued to rock in the chair. Putting that child to
sleep took a startling amount of effort; she was always so curious
and would start to cry if she was placed in a bed. Of course, all she
had to do was rock while held in someone's arms for a half-hour and
the child would wink out like a light bulb.

Playing with the baby's tiny, delicate hands, Akane sighed again.
She was eager to have another child of her own, but that was hardly
possible without her husband's presence. Watching other's children
eased her maternal needs well, but it was only satisfied for a bit.
She kissed the child's small forehead, smiling.

"Akane-san?"

Looking up she noticed the delightful, young girl, Kimiko,
leading her youngest son towards her.

"Mommy!" the little boy cried out, disturbing the child held in
her arms. He quieted himself when Kimiko placed a finger to her lips
and shushed him. There was something about that girl...

"Hello, Eiji-chan," she greeted her son, beaming towards him.
"Did you get lost again?"

"Hai, mommy," he whispered bashfully, putting his hands in his
pockets and staring at his bare feet. "My new best friend, Kimiko,
led me back, though! Mommy, this is Kimiko. Kimiko, this is Mommy."

The girl self-consciously whispered her greeting, clasping her
hands behind her back, looking aside. Granting each a happy smile,
Akane quietly examined Kimiko. Odd, not many had such an exotic hair
color...nearly crimson. When they had first met upon the girl's
entrance into their yard, she failed to notice the abnormal
brightness of the girl's hair. She unconsciously caressed the small,
metal locket that lay between her breasts with her forefingers and
thumb of her free hand, remembering long past images. Anyone with
remotely red hair caused such a similar reaction, but Kimiko's was
definitely brighter than any she had seen in a long time, a surreal
blaze of fiery hues.

"Good afternoon, dear," she replied thoughtfully. Gesturing
towards the small, plastic table to her right, she asked, "Would you
care for some tea?"

"No thank you, Akane-san," she answered reluctantly. "I had
better be getting back to Mayako."

Carefully rising, Akane requested, "Please stay for a moment,
Kimiko. There's something I need to ask of you."

She looked as if she would speak in protest, but Kimiko nodded
anyway, approaching the raven-haired mother. Akane drew in a shocked
gasp with the girl's advance. Cast away from her, the redhead's
beautiful blue eyes blinked once and sent a wave nausea through her.

"Hai, Akane-san?" Kimiko asked, turning to stare into her eyes.

Suppressing the unease within herself, Akane faced the girl.
"Could you hold Nanaki-chan here for a moment while I use the
restroom? She doesn't like not being held for too long, and I'm
afraid I might take too much time. Oh, and make sure none of the kids
kill each other."

"Of course," Kimiko answered, holding out her arms as Akane
rested the bundle in them. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you, dear," she whispered, casually crossing the patio
towards the entrance of the house. Not even turning once as she
entered, her slow walk turned into a dash, carrying her across the
living room, down the hall and into the bathroom. Pressing her hands
to her chest, she tried to calm herself. While her teeth chattered
and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, she quietly sobbed
and fell to her knees.

"Oh, Ranma," she whispered inaudibly as tears slid down her
cheeks, unhindered. Propping herself on up and resting her bottom on
the hard floor tiles, she reached around the back of her neck and
unhooked the light golden chain, catching the small locket as it slid
down, towards her lap from its resting place. She snapped it open for
the first time in nearly five years, looking between the two faces
pictured in it. On the left, the handsome features of a proud young
man reflected back, stirring dormant emotions from their precarious
cage. To the right, the beautiful eyes of a shy young woman returned
the stare, her cautious smile igniting fond and painful memories
alike.

The differences of the two were more than startling, yet they
were still very much the same. Locks of brilliant red hair cascaded
across the girl's shoulders while dark black hair lie tightly wound
into a pigtail on the boy's. Her face was much more delicate and
petite, opposed to his roughened features. But one thing remained
constant, their brilliant sapphire eyes.

Shutting the small locket, Akane clasped it to her heart with her
right hand, sliding her eyes shut. Slowing her breath, she pressed
her hands back through her hair, proceeding to straighten it. Binding
the locket around her neck, she gently stood and lifted a dry towel
to dab her eyes.

"Pull yourself together, girl," she whispered to herself softly,
preparing to head back outside. She could no longer hide herself from
her fear of the past and the endless sorrow accompanying it. It was
past time to find out the truth.



"I'll take her," a tranquil voice told Kimiko as the speaker
approached her silently from behind. Twisting in her stance, she
peered over her shoulder at Akane padding across the wooden patio
calmly. Disguising her surprise with a smile, she turned to the
raven-haired woman and held the small child out to her.

"Thank you for watching the children," Akane said, smiling
warmly. "Are you sure you don't want some tea?"

"I am, Akane-san," she replied, bowing her head.

"Well, maybe we can talk some other time, then," Akane said
faintly, paying her attention to the baby now cradled gently in her
arms.

"Ja ne," she whispered, backpedaling towards the house. Without
taking her eyes from the elder woman, she watched her begin to coo
the sleeping baby with a soothing melody that she had never heard,
but that was hardly surprising considering no one ever sang her to
sleep as a child. Kimiko had never really known that Akane liked
children so much, though there were probably instances that she could
not remember. Everything was a surprise to her, the...girl who missed
nearly twenty years of her life.

Quickly bounding up the stairs, she reached Mayako's room without
much effort and entered like a wraith, hardly even stirring the air.
She observed the room as she slid through soundlessly. Both of the
twins faced away from her with their attention paid to the project in
front of them, the uncovered stereo.

"Close the door behind you, Kimiko?" Kenichi asked without turning
to see her, though his sister looked up, startled by her presence in
the room. She slid the door shut with her right foot and mutely took
a seat on the far side of Mayako's bed. She watched them curiously as
they fished around in the open stereo, twisting screws and adjusting
wires.

"I think I got it," Mayako muttered, biting her lip in
concentration. She leaned over further, blocking Kenichi's view.

"Last time you said that, you electrocuted me," Kenichi
complained, taking a few steps back to sit on the edge of his
sister's bed, folding his hands in his lap. "Careful."

"Yeah, yeah," she returned, lifting her head back to flash them a
grin. She then placed the screwdriver she had been using onto the
desk and slid the cover of the stereo back to its original position.
"That should do it."

"If it blows up, it's your fault," he teased, sticking his tongue
out at her.

"And I suppose that if it works, it's because you helped, right?"
she quipped, returning the gesture while thumbing her eye.

"Of course!" he replied vehemently, smiling broadly. He slid
himself across the bed towards Kimiko, making room for his sister to
sit. "Which songs you going to play?"

"Uhm," Mayako hummed thoughtfully. "'Misbegotten Love' and then
'The Fight You Can't Win'."

"Sounds like a plan, so play them already."

Plopping down on the edge of her bed, Mayako pressed a
combination of buttons on the key pad, being rewarded with the faint
sound of humming from various points scattered around her room.
"For someone who's too cheap to pay for a decent stereo system,
she sure bought expensive speakers," Kenichi taunted, turning to
Kimiko with a smile.

"Oh, shut up," his sister whispered as the first notes of the
song began to play.

Opening with a symphony of what she recognized to be violins, the
song began joyfully to Kimiko's ears, sounding of one person's
unadulterated love and commitment for another, trial after trial
overcome for the other. The violins slowly faded, dying into the
passions which they had been born. A few words were spoken in
English, emphasized by the reverberations of a slow arising drum
beat. It was no more than an echo at first but it gained volume and
clarity with each passing moment, driving a stake of warmth into her
heart. Pain-felt words flowed, picking up their pace and further
accompanied by soft, sweet guitar rhythms, echoing through her head
as much as the room.

Clear for the first time, she recognized the voice, one which she
had never heard used in such a manner. Life, love, anger and sorrow
all poured from the melody, lining Kimiko's mind with the confusion
of being, adding to her own heartfelt tears, his. The beautiful
lyrics caressed her ears, reached for her hand and took a hold of her
soul. With a balance of light, darkness and humanity, she stared at
nothing and felt everything. Though an eternity it might have been,
the rhythm died, as the violins had earlier, in a slow pyramid of
pain, for the singer, his significant other and Kimiko, the listener.

"Wow," she murmured with astonishment, regaining her senses from
the magic Mousse had cast upon her. She wiped a sheet of sweat from
her forehead with the back of her wrist, realizing her surroundings
once more. "That was amazing."

"Hai, wasn't it?," Mayako agreed, smiling serenely. While
adjusting her collar, she stated, "The next one is a little more
upbeat. It's not nearly as deep, but I like it just the same." Kenichi
only offered a warm smile and a nod.

Kimiko pulled herself upright against the wall adjacent of
Mayako's bed, clutching her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes
as the next song began abruptly, a severe change from the gradual
opening of the first. Sharp yet harmonic chords rang through the
room, producing a quick, desperate rhythm, all of which was
accompanied by a seemingly random drum beat. Just as abruptly, the
singer opened with his first vocals, repeating one line in English,
"You can't win," which sounded like nothing more than a feral snarl.

Ending suddenly, the song ceased to play, but it had yet to
finish. One guitar picked up the misplaced energy, twisting the
original tune with a slower tempo. The vocals began anew, singing of
an unbeatable enemy and a fate worse than death.

"You approach him, your eyes glaring in defiance;
You approach him, your tongue declaring hatred;
You approach him, your heart filled with confidence,
But you can't win! You can't win!"

Immediately, the song returned to its original rhythm, repeating,
"You can't win," once more, like a burst of adrenaline, an explosion,
the hand closing around them and blocking out the light. Searing fire
added to the mix, scorching the remains. And once more, it ceased,
returning to the solo, sardonic guitar and the melodic vocals.

"You strive for right;
Yet he surrounds you;
You fight the just fight;
Yet he defeats you."

The rest of the instruments began playing, steadying the tempo, a
combination of the two. The vocals continued with a bittersweet
finale,

"You knew you weren't strong enough,
Yet you still continued.
You knew early of your defeat,
Yet you strove for right,
And fought the just fight.
Though the outcome was fate,
No one can take away...
The agony and shame,
Which you feel because...
You can't win."

With the last words of the song uttered, all music ended
abruptly. A ringing was left in her ears from the silence. Divided by
a random misgiving of thoughts, she opened her eyes and spied over at
the twins, both of whom laid up against the wall like she. Kenichi
appeared to be thinking seriously, staring towards the door. Mayako
rested her head against the wall, with her eyes closed and her
expression peaceful.

Breaking the silence, Mayako said, "I'm going to call up Reiko
and see if she's still coming over," to which Kenichi nodded and slid
to the edge of the bed. Lifting the phone receiver from its resting
place, she pressed a button and placed it to her head. "Hello,
Auntie, is Reiko still there, or is she coming over?" She paused.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, good-bye." She placed the receiver back
on its hook, allowing Kenichi to sit back against the wall again. "She
should be here any moment."

"Is she going to stay the night?" Kenichi asked, resting his chin
in his hands.

"Hai, and Mai is coming over later to spend the night also," she
replied softly. "Why don't you hook up your vid screen in here for
later? I'll clear some room."

"Okay," he agreed, shifting himself to stand. He stole a quick
glimpse of Kimiko before slowly trudging across the room to head out
the door.

His strange manner prompted Kimiko to ask, "Need any help?"
Smiling, Kenichi turned on his heels and nodded enthusiastically.
"Just show me to your room."

"Hai," he replied, waving for her to follow him. "There's
something I want to show you, too." His trot quickened, nearly
leaving her behind.

"What is it?" she asked after him, leaping across the room to
catch him. "Wait, what do you want to show me?"

"You'll see," he replied mysteriously.

She followed him to Akane's room, but he hesitated at the doorway
for a moment. He turned his head to face her and said, "Don't mind
the mess." Light shed into his room as she walked in after him.

Pausing long enough to take in his room, she gaped in amazement
at the artwork that not only hung along the walls, but actually
adorned one. The wall to her left lay bare, displaying a mural drawn
with resplendent colors, a splash of nature in a world of cold
machinery. Divided in half by severe contrast, the left portion of
the mural burned with brilliant life and unrelenting love, while the
right spoke of a bleak future with commodification of life and
Armageddon becoming horrible realities.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Kenichi asked, drawing her attention from the
pastiche she had been viewing, to which she nodded. "I just got
inspiration and had to draw it. Mom was pretty upset with me, saying
I defaced her old room or something. Parents never understand." She
turned from the art work, observing him as he stood on the black
comforter on his darkly shaded bed. "Give me a hand with this, Kimiko?"

"What do you want me to do?" she asked as she approached him.

"Jump up on my bed and grab the other side of the vid screen," he
replied, pointing to the one end of a large cylindrical object with
the misgiving appearance of a rolled up scroll, hanging on the
ceiling above him. She stepped onto the opposite side of his bed and
reached to grab the right end. "Just catch it when I hit the release
button." A moment after he said the last, it fell into her grasp.

"Carry this out to Mayako's room?" she asked, resting the screen on
her side.

"Yeah," he answered, hefting the end that he held to his waist.

* * *

A single drop of coffee, the sole remains of someone's early
morning pick-me-up, laid still in its over-turned, Styrofoam
container along concrete sidewalks of Nerima. The cup rolled along
the walk, carried with the icy afternoon breeze, unfiltered by the
buildings and the pollution of the city. It continued on its path
until it abruptly halted as a teenage girl purposefully crushed it
underfoot.

Pasted to her thin knees, her modest blue skirt rippled like a
flag in the wind. If her long brown hair had not been bound tightly
in a bun behind her head, it, too, would have been lifted by the cool
breeze, scattering her neat brush strokes into a chaotic array of
disentanglement. Light reflected off her thin elfin features as her
arms clung around her waist in obvious discomfort, though she wore an
extra layer of clothing underneath her sky blue blouse. Her brown
eyes blinked once before she lifted her soft heeled shoes off the
cup.

Bending over, the brunette distastefully picked up the destroyed
container and dropped it into a nearby trash can. Her thoughts
immediately shifted from her vehement dislike for litter bugs back to
her normally tranquil contemplation. Saving the world from pollution
could wait yet another day, as it had centuries before her.

She quickened her pace and before long, she arrived at her
destination. She glanced over the Kanji written words, taking comfort
in their familiarity. The name written above the large gates matched
her own, for this was a place where she was welcomed at all times,
and in that she felt secure.

Placidly strolling over the grounds of her Aunt's home, Reiko
Tendo casually waved to her cousin, Eiji, whom bound toward her like
a small freight train. She caught him in mid-stride, lifting his
small body up into a hug.

As she released him, placing his feet upon the floor, she
whispered, "Hello, Eiji-chan. Is Mayako around?"

Nodding vigorously, he answered, "She's in her room with my best
friend, Kimiko!"

"Thank you, honey," she replied, patting his head warmly. "Go
play with your friends and don't get into trouble!"

"Hai, cousin Rei!" he answered dutifully, giggling as he
scampered off into a random direction. She shook her head in
amusement before continuing on her track across the long brick path
to the house.

"Wait for me!" a shrill voice cried out from behind her, causing
her to spin on her heels. The sight of Mai bounding across the
courtyard with her red blouse on verge of sliding off while fumbling
to hold her barely modest skirt from sliding down her legs produced a
chuckle from her older friend. "I...came...as fast as I could," she
managed to spit out between gasps.

"There was no need to rush, Mai-chan," Reiko told her friend
calmly. Pointing to the immodest condition of her apparel, she said,
"You should have at least dressed first."

"But I..." the girl started to protest, "I was anxious to see
Kenichi's new friend again." Finally wearing her clothing properly, she
caught her breath and awaited Reiko's move.

"Honestly," Reiko reprimanded. "You'd think that she was leaving
for China today instead of next week."

"She's going to China?" Mai delightedly squealed, bouncing on her
heels. "That's so cool. I wish I could take time off for that kinda
stuff."

"Don't we all," the brunette replied, twisting the knob of the
Tendo's front door. "You've met her already?" She gently opened the
door, taking her first steps in before motioning Mai to follow.



A strained shudder momentarily shook Kimiko's body as the icy
cold water splashed across her face. Dabbing the face cloth to dry
her wet skin, her eyes locked to her image, gazing back with a
haunted stare. Those sapphire blue orbs set in the lightly tanned
face, the beautifully feminine face; those were her eyes, and no
magic would take them from her. With her teeth clenched almost
painfully, she glared in return, as if to scare the image.

Things were not supposed to be like this. This should be her
household; these children should be hers; and most of all, Akane was
supposed to have been her wife. She had gone over the scenario within
her head countless times, each time clearly recognizing the slim
chances to regain the past, her only wish. And each time she held
onto hope too tightly until it became the truth, until it became more
than hope, more than a fantasy.

Of course, what goes up must come down, and in a gigantic
downward spiral, her plans and hope plummeted into the dry earth.
There could be no hope in the face of such opposition, the likes of
which had overthrown dictators, dynasties and countries. No one could
hope to fight time and win...no matter how hard one tried. Kimiko
would keep trying, though. Some time, somewhere, there had to be
someone calling her name, waiting for her safe return with open arms
and an open heart, ready to love her for who she was and who she
would be. No one would stop her from at least accomplishing that
much, and she would win. She always won, in the end.

Accurately tossing the wash cloth into the hamper, Kimiko lightly
slapped herself, regaining her mental poise. Nothing good would come
of looking like the emotional wreck she had seemed to become in
recent times, confidence evading her more often than not. Sliding the
door to the outer bath open, she treaded through to the bathroom door
and opened it, exiting.

Her first surprise upon entering Mayako's room was that the twins
had finished setting up their own private theater, bean bag chairs
and all; the second was that all but one bean bag was full, with
total of five set out in a circle.

"Hello," she murmured hesitant about entering and imposing
herself. The two seated not facing her turned in their chairs. The
first, the young waitress from Ucchan's Mai Ono, affectionately
smiled back. The second, a very shapely brunette, peered
inquisitively in return.

"This is Kimiko Nishiyama," Mayako spoke, tearing their immediate
attention from the redhead. "And this is Reiko Tendo, my cousin, and
I believe you already know Mai." The latter was met with two nods.
Pointing to the only empty chair between Kenichi and Reiko, she said,
"You can take that seat, Kimiko."

Quietly padding across the floor to take her seat, Kimiko
silently listened as the others continued their conversation.
"As I was saying before," Mayako began. "If Noriko and Makiko
would stop whining about how unfair playing defense every time is,
then we could get down to business and win games. They're usually too
busy sulking to stop the ball."

"Well, I agree with you there, Mayako," Reiko replied with her very
low, feminine voice. "But, it really isn't fair that they have to
play it every time."

"But they aren't good for anything else," Mayako protested,
crossing her arms under her breasts. "If they could run quicker, I'd
gladly trade positions with them every now and again."

"Somehow, I doubt that, Mayako," Mai quietly said, giggling at the
twin's expense. "They'll stop whining when the season starts again.
They did last year."

"Last year they weren't on the Varsity team, though," Mayako
said. "We play to win, not to placate babies."

Drawing Kimiko's attention from their argument, she turned to
face Kenichi after he tapped her shoulder once.

"You looked zoned out," he pointed out, leaning towards her.
"They're just talking about the upcoming soccer season. All four of
us were chosen to lead the Furinkan Varsity Soccer team, since we
stomped all competition last year. You play soccer at all?"

"A bit in school," she answered slowly. "What position do you
play?"

"Goalie," he replied, shrugging. "I'm not fast, but I'm good
defending the net. It's not the most exciting thing, but Mayako
bullied me into it. It makes her happy, so I'm okay with it."

"A man of many talents," she said with a bit of envy, exposing a
bit more jealousy than she wished, but he did not seem to notice.

"So, did you do anything else in school? Sports, instrument,
anything?"

Bashfully lowering her head, she replied, "Not really."

"I got it!" Mayako declared, breaking their conversation. With
everyone's attention centered upon her, she continued, "Let's play
truth or dare!"

Both Reiko and Mai replied positively, but Kenichi adamantly voice
his opposition. "No way. That's just your excuse to get me into a
dare to kiss someone or ask me something completely embarrassing. I'm
not going to do it."

"Ah, come on, bro," she whined, pouting. "If you play, I promise
that I won't make you kiss someone if you accept a dare. Please!"
With three girls staring at him, he grudgingly gave in with a
hesitant nod.

"You in, Kimiko?" Reiko asked while seeming to stare through her,
into her soul. Kimiko nervously nodded, though she had no idea how
the game was played. They converged their circle, drawing their bean
bags closer to each other.

"Great," Mayako replied, grinning deviously. She turned to Mai on
her left and asked, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" the part-time waitress answered vigorously.

"I dare you to..." she began, thinking deeply. A grin flashed
upon her face as she ordered, "I dare you to kiss Kenichi!"

"Hey!" the startled boy exclaimed, glaring at his sister. "I
thought you said you weren't going to make me kiss anyone!"

"I said I wouldn't make you kiss anyone, but I didn't say that I
wouldn't make anyone kiss you!" she retorted smugly, sticking her
tongue out at the boy. Smirking, met Kenichi's stare until he rolled
his eyes and drooped his shoulders in defeat.

Kimiko watched quizzically as the other two of the three girls
broke into giggles, while Mai pushed herself into a sitting position
with her face burning bright crimson. Tentatively pitching herself
forward, the girl crawled over to Kenichi, his expressions unreadable
as he indifferently awaited her kiss. Mai leaned over him, meekly
pecking his lips with hers and quickly withdrawing back to her chair.
Kimiko observed Mai as she demurely stared at Kenichi, a bit of
disappointment surfacing before she turned to face Reiko on her left.

"Truth or dare?" she asked the brunette weakly.

"Dare," Reiko replied evenly, her manner mimicking a serious
poker player's.

"I dare you to kiss Mayako!" Mai ordered her, grinning with glee.
"For at least five seconds on her lips!"

"Muhaha!" Kenichi abruptly laughed, nearly choking. "Revenge is
sweet, isn't it, sis?"

"Yack it up," Mayako replied, frowning. "Get this over with,
Rei-chan." Reiko obliged her by crawling to the twin. With her head
tilted slightly, she leaned over her muttering cousin and wrapped her
arms around her in a tight embrace, kissing the startled girl.
"Mmph!" Falling over backwards, Mayako pulled Reiko with her.

"Ahaha!" Kenichi barked out, falling onto his side as the two
girls disentangled themselves from each other. "Oh man, I wish I had
a recorder with me! That was classic!"

"Shut up," Mayako snapped at her brother, wiping her mouth with
her sleeve. "That was gross."

"You bit my tongue," Reiko complained as she scooted back to her
chair, causing Kenichi to renew his laughter tenfold. Mai, no longer
able to hold back, burst into uncontrollable giggles, and she stuffed
her head between her legs to hide it. The innocent smile on Reiko's
face did not change for a moment.

"Well," Mayako began piously. "Only you two are laughing so it
couldn't have been that funny."

"My turn to ask," Reiko interrupted, waiting until she had
everyone's attention. Turning to the silent redhead, she asked,
"Truth or dare, Kimiko?"

Realizing that she still stared with shock, mouth agape, Kimiko
tried to regain her focus. "I'm still tripping over Mai's dare," she
told them, eliciting a few bubbled giggles. "I'll go with a truth."
As Reiko began to consider her question, Kimiko silently wished to
take back her words. She figured that being forced to kiss someone
could not be any worse than being bound to tell something excessively
embarrassing, or potentially hazardous, but it was a little late to
change.

"Tell us about your first kiss," the brunette said calmly,
resting her head in her hands. "And don't leave out a single juicy
detail." Her mouth curved in a smile as she placidly awaited Kimiko's
answer.

The knot in her gut twisted, leaving her to nervously prepare her
answer. Pulling her precarious, at best, memories together in some
semblance of order. After thoroughly grilling her brain, her eyes lit
up as she recalled the moment of her first kiss. The next moment, she
felt ready to throw up; it had been with Mikado Sanzanin.
"It really wasn't much to talk about," she replied in a poor
attempt to avoid the question.

"Come on, Kimiko," Mayako whined, forming her mouth in a small pout.
"Don't leave us high and dry!"

"We won't tell anyone, Kimiko," Mai promised, reassuring her with
an honest smile.

"All right," she unwillingly replied, sighing into her folded
arms. "I was ice skating with a really good friend and she was
showing me how, because I was terrible at that time. She kinda got
side tracked and let go of me, and I lost my balance and started
sliding out of control towards the barrier of the rink. I was ready
to smack into it, when this guy swept me off my feet, literally."

"Oh," Reiko whispered delightedly, dreamily staring at the
redhead. "That's so romantic. Did he kiss you right there?"

"Nah," Kimiko answered, still displeased with herself for
allowing the playboy to kiss her. She still vividly remembered the
shock as their lips touched and the repulsion, thereafter. "After he
helped me regain my balance, he did some maneuvers with his partner."
Her eyes darted around the group, noting their differing expressions.
Kenichi appeared thoughtful with his brows slanted and his lips
pursed, almost as if conflicted with a choice. Mai had laid herself
out on her stomach, resting her upper body on the bean bag, staring
at the wall with a silly expression on her face. Reiko still sat
cross-legged, smiling serenely at her. "So the jerk comes back after
he's done showing off, picks me up -- I was losing my balance again -
and kisses me while I'm not ready."

"Was he cute?" Mayako asked bluntly.

"He was one of those pretty boys," Kimiko said, fighting her
growing urge to scream in frustration. "You know, the type with
dozens of girlfriends."

"At least he was cute," the Mai said coyly.

"If I was there, I would have pounded him for you," Kenichi told
her sincerely.

"I can take care of myself, Kenichi," she curtly replied. "In fact,
afterward, I challenged him and won. They had to carry him out in a
stretcher."



Mayako grinned ominously, nodding her head in respect to the
explosive and charming redheaded girl. Kimiko would definitely make a
great friend, sharing the same ideals as she did. With that and
Kenichi's sincere interest in her, it was truly a shame that she
would be leaving within the week. Giggling as Kimiko finished her
description of her first kiss, Mayako looked over to her love sick
brother, studying him intently. His unfeigned interest and genuine
concern for the redhead struck her as strange, but pleasantly so.

The emotional angst Kimiko had expressed while narrating her
story touched Mayako. From her insistence of swearing lack of
interest in the young man, Mayako realized that for her to recall
such an event in front of near strangers must have been harder than
anyone else knew. In every girl's life, the first kiss is a special
event and for it to be wasted on a boy with no class, such as the one
she described, must have hurt.

"It's Kenichi's turn," Reiko reminded the group, gently nudging
Kimiko. "You get to ask."

Turning to the suddenly distraught teenage boy, Kimiko grinned
and asked him, "Truth or dare?"

Kenichi thoughtfully returned her gaze, straightening his
posture. His wide brown eyes blinked once before he answered, "Dare."
"Oh, so bold," Mayako teased but failed to receive any response.
She knew he meant business. "I can lend you some suggestions, if you
need, Kimiko."

"No, thank you, Mayako," Kimiko replied evenly, smiling. "I thought
of something." Addressing the male twin, she stated, "I dare you to
wear Mayako's nightgown for the rest of the evening and to sleep. You
can change in the morning."

The other three girls all erupted into laughter, leaving Kenichi
to stare in shock.

"Wear her night gown? All night?" he asked with dread. "That's no
fair." He shook his head with disdain, folding his arms around his
sides in defiance. "No way."

"But Kenichi," Mayako insisted, readying her arsenal of taunts.
"If you're not man enough to wear a nightgown, just say so and Kimiko
can think of another for you to do." Hoping she had pressed the right
buttons, she watched his shock turn to mild anger.

"What does wearing a nightgown have to do with being a man?" he
demanded.

"If you can't do something simple like that," she said, "Then you
can't be considered very manly, now can you?"

"Yeah, whatever," he replied caustically, rolling his eyes. His
lips curved into a slight frown and his brows arched with
frustration. "I'm still not gonna do it."

Speaking as Mayako opened her mouth in preparation for a retort,
Kimiko asked, "How about just until you go to bed?" Her sultry,
provocative voice, echoing with amusement while not implying any
mocking, caused Mayako to turn to her face the girl with new respect.
Kenichi stopped sulking as he turned to her also with his lips parted
slightly and the tension from his face disintegrated. He was barely
able to nod his assent.

"Great," Mayako piped, quickly standing and rushing to her
dresser. "I have just the thing! It'll look so cute on you, Kenichi."
Sliding open the bottom drawer of her dresser, she procured a garment
that she had refused to wear but stashed it away to not hurt her Aunt
Kasumi's feelings. Bright pink down to the lacy trim, the silk
nightgown was probably very comfortable, but the animals colored in a
bright, hideous yellow completely ruined the whole item. Unfolding
the horribly cute nightgown, she tossed it to her brother. It did not
help that she hated the color pink. "There."

"Oh man," the horrified young man whispered. "You know, I get to
ask you next, Mayako. I thought of something really nice that you can
tell us if you say truth and something horrible if you say dare.
Either way, you will pay for this one."

"Where'd you get that from, Mayako?" Mai asked curiously. "That
thing is just plain ugly!"

"Probably my mom," Reiko answered, biting her lip. "She thinks
all girls under the age of eighteen like lacy stuff with plenty of
animals and bright colors. I bet it's comfortable though, Kenichi."

"Like that makes it okay," he replied, holding the offending
object in front of him. "Oh well, a dare's a dare." Lifting his shirt
from its bottom, he quickly pulled it over his head and tossed it
aside. "Turn around; this isn't a peep show." Politely turning away,
Mayako and the three girls shared snickers as Kenichi shifted into
his new apparel behind them.

"Can we look?" Mai asked impatiently.

"Hai," Kenichi sighed, prompting all four girls to turn.

Utterly and ridiculously hilarious were the only words Mayako
could use to describe her. The pink nightgown fit his muscular body
snugly, but still completely covered him. The sleeves formed to his
arms, ending a bit short of his wrists. The length of the gown
stretched down to his knees, exposing the bottom of his pants. The
humiliation on his face quickly shifted into a glare meant for the
entire group of laughing girls.

"It does look cute on you, but make sure to return it after
tonight," she teased, sticking her tongue out at the boy. "I know how
you like to borrow my dresses for lengthy periods of time."

"Funny," the humiliated youth replied, folding his arms at his
chest. "Truth or dare, Mayako."

Humming with consideration, she rested her chin in her right
hand, glancing between the three girls and Kenichi. She wondered what
devious scheme her brother had cooked up in that saintly brain of
his. The worst dare she had ever had to perform was to strip in front
of a large group of their friends. Unfortunately for Kenichi, it
backfired miserably when she started to remove clothing extremely
close to him, effectively embarrassing him more than it had her,
especially since he was the only boy on the soccer team, and the only
boy in that group. It also gave her the chance to dance in front of
people nude for the first time. Reflecting on it again, she realized
that she had actually enjoyed it, to some extent.

On the other hand, he did pretty much know all of her secrets,
and having to tell those tidbits of information in front of three
people whose ears it should not reach would not be good. Also,
considering the revenge he wanted for her at this moment, she might
be forced to reveal something more embarrassing than she could know.
He would dare her to the best of his ability, but it probably would
not be too evil, or so she hoped.

"Dare."

His lips twisted into a satisfied grin upon the pronunciation of
her fate. He sucked in a deep breath in preparation for his dare. "I
dare you, for the entire time I have to wear this ridiculous
nightgown, to serve us all whatever we want, when we want it, and you
have to act like a perfect servant the whole time. As soon as you
snap at one of us, or don't do what you're supposed to, I get to take
this thing off. Deal?"

Damn, and she had him cornered for a fool in times requiring
cunning. "Oh, all right." What he neglected to realize was that she
was willing to play his game, for the entire night.

"How about we go one more round just asking truths?" Mai offered,
smiling at them. "You can ask me something first, Mayako."

Her offer was simply too much temptation to resist. "You got it,
sister." She grinned while thinking up an appropriate revenge for the
last dare, even though she almost deserved it for making the poor
girl kiss her sister. The simpler the question was, the better. "Who
do you like now?" Mayako knew well enough that she had a crush on
Kenichi, but the girl would never admit it. Kenichi treated Mai like
a little sister whenever they were together, and there was little
chance of getting him to change his mind now since he obviously fell
for Kimiko. Lord knows, she tried many times in the past.

Mai fell silent, her chin locked but she appeared to be ready for
the question. "He's a year older than me and goes to Furinken." Her
eyes looked everywhere, but never once fell on Kenichi. "I've talked
with him a lot; he comes to Ucchan's often. Unfortunately, he doesn't
think of me like that, and he likes this new girl." Her solemn tone
reflected the pain she felt, and everyone else could feel it too. She
opened her mouth to say more, but Reiko interjected.

"You don't have to say anymore, honey," the considerate brunette
told Mai, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll find someone else, Mai-chan," Kenichi reassured,
smiling warmly at her. He continued. "And he'll see you for the
bright, intelligent young girl you are. You'll see." Mayako shook her
head, remarking on how blind that boy could be sometimes. She looked
at Mai again; the girl smiled shyly at her brother.

"I guess its my turn to ask a question, then," Mai whispered
unsteadily. She turned to Reiko. "Give me a second to think."

Mayako looked over at Kimiko who still sat quietly who silently
kept her thoughts to herself. She had been acting similarly through
out the night besides when they spoke to her directly. The poor girl
probably felt out of place. She turned back to look at Mai whose
mouth twisted in consideration.

"Oh, I can't think of anything. Any suggestions?" Mai predictably
looked at her for help, causing Mayako to roll her eyes. "Well, I'd
ask the same thing, but that's not very original."

"Who needs originality?" Mayako smartly replied, smiling wryly.

"How about I tell you all about my last kiss?" Reiko offered
bluntly. The smile on her face never shifted for a moment.

Mayako considered that thoughtfully. Reiko's love life was always
considered non-existent at best, and considering she offered to tell
about her last kiss required a first, second and everything in
between. Perplexing was not quite the word she was looking for.

"Sure," Mai said smiling. Reiko was entirely too infectious with
that happiness of hers.

"Well," the brunette began, looking past them in thought. The
smile from her face slowly faded and she appeared to be considering
her answer thoroughly. "Last week, when the Akinawas were in town,
Shoichi asked me out on a date. I told him yes, and the next day we
went and had lunch in the park. Well, I spilled a little juice on my
lip, and instead of pointing it out, he licked it off." By the time
she told her story that far, she had everyone's complete attention.
Mayako was still stunned about Shoichi Asakawa, of all people, asking
her cousin out on a date. Granted he was handsome, that young man
seemed disinterested in women all together, preferring the call of
the family business to the company of a female. Reiko continued. "It
caught me off guard at first, but when I looked into his eyes, I knew
he felt the same about me as I felt for him. That's when we kissed."
She paused for a second, but the smile on her face was already firmly
in place by the time she spoke again. "I believe it's your turn,
Kimiko."

"Oh, um, what do you want to know?" the redhead asked, her
silence broken. Mayako glanced over at her. The girl appeared to be
more comfortable in their presence than she had at first.

Mai whispered something in Reiko's ear that Mayako failed to
overhear and Reiko nodded, her demeanor changing subtly. Mayako
frowned, hating to not know what was going on.

"Where'd you learn the Anything Goes style of Martial Arts? And
tell us a little about your martial arts past." Mai appeared just as
Reiko sounded, and Mayako was completely baffled by the question. How
on earth would either of them know about Kimiko's experience in
Martial arts was questionable, but the fact that they figured Kimiko
knew the Anything Goes School was stranger. Mayako turn to watch the
redhead who appeared to be just as startled by the question as she
herself was.

Kimiko took a deep breath, grasping her knees with her arms.
"What part do you want to hear? There's lots of it." The tone of her
voice sounded very defensive, and Mayako wondered if they had pried
somewhere they should not have.

"Well, when you fought Shoji and his cronies today, your style
was undeniably similar to the Anything Goes style," Mai explained.
"It took me a bit after our lunch to piece it together. So, how'd you
learn to fight like that? I don't remember any masters of the
Anything Goes School crossing the Pacific."

A couple seconds of silence passed before Kimiko answered. "My
father wasn't a master, but he was an adequate teacher. My brother is
a much competent teacher than him, and I guess I'm a decent student.
Between the two of them, I learned quite a bit. I also picked up a
few moves here and there from various masters of different styles. I
guess my brother and father knew some Anything Goes."

Something about her explanation nagged at Mayako, but she
disregarded it. Somehow, both she and her brother had not picked out
any signs of Anything Goes from her fighting style. It did not really
matter, though. She realized just who Kimiko had made enemies with
and opened her eyes wide. "You took on Shoji and his friends?"

"She didn't only take them on," Mai began. "But she beat the hell
out of all of them. She moped the floor with Michio, Masami and
Seiko. They didn't stand a chance."

"Ryosei helped," Kimiko informed them modestly.

"About enough not to get himself killed," Mai responded, smiling.
"He barely beat Shoji after Kimiko distracted him some. Your father
must have been an incredible martial artist."

"Who is your father?" Kenichi asked, inquiring further and
leaning forward to put himself closer to the redhead..

"My adopted father was Nobukazu Nishiyama. He died little over a
year ago." Kimiko's blue eyes could not have been any colder. They
had definitely tread where they should not have.

"I'm sorry," Kenichi apologized, but Kimiko waved him off.

"I remember Nobukazu-san," Reiko said slowly, hanging her head
low. "He was very kind, and I feel your loss, Kimiko." Mayako and Mai
nodded with her statement. "I don't remember seeing you at his
funeral." Mayako did not either, but she almost winced when Reiko
said it.

The look on Kimiko's face was all that was needed in reply. She
looked pale and dazed, staring at nothing. "I was unavailable." Her
words sounded empty, but they reminded her of what Kimiko had told
them yesterday. She had stated that she was recovering from an
accident, though she did not further explain -- probably the same
accident that her step-father perished in.

"Let's move on," Mayako offered, and everyone agreed. Kimiko did
not appear to be ready to ask anyone anything, so Mayako took the
chance to ask her brother first. "So, Kenichi, tell the truth now."
She rubbed her hands together, grinning at him. "What really did
happen between you and Ayame that night a couple months ago?" His
eyes widened slightly and he swallowed. "No escaping the question
this time, brother."

Grimacing, he whispered, "What Ayame would we be talking about?"

"The only one we know, silly! Ayame Asakawa, of course." As
Mayako finished, she noticed his face had already began taking a
suspicious shade of red, and she prepared for him to dodge the
question. "We're waiting."

"Nothing serious," he replied quietly, obviously lying.

"Of course, Kenichi," Reiko said, glaring at him. "That's why you
returned with lipstick all over your face. Silly me." Mayako nodded
and looked to Mai who looked like she did not want to be here at the
moment. Kimiko appeared thoughtful, though she still appeared to be
reeling from the earlier questioning.

"Oh, all right," he responded in a whispered sigh. "You better
not tell anyone. And like I said, it really wasn't that serious."
Scratching the back of his hand, he took a deep breath. "Well, after
we set down camp Ayame said she had something to tell me after
dinner. When we finished eating, she dragged me a few meters away
from the camp, and we talked for a few minutes. I can't tell you what
she said, because I promised that I wouldn't, but you can probably
guess." His mood seemed to be severely drowned from its original
vitality. "We started kissing, but it just didn't feel right to me.
When I told her that, she tried to reassure me, but I sort of
panicked and went back to camp, forgetting about the lipstick on my
face." He looked up at them, apparently gauging each person's
reactions. Mayako just stared at him incredulously. "So, now I told
you. Don't tell anyone else."

"I had no idea Ayame had a thing for you," Reiko stated slowly,
almost thoughtfully, rather than her usual cheerfulness. "You are a
true heart-breaker, Kenichi Tendo. I wonder what the tally is now?"

"That really isn't fair, Rei-chan," Mai blurted in Kenichi's
defense. "It's not like he asked for anyone to come after him."

Reiko looked her friend squarely in the eyes, dead calm. "He did
nothing to discourage any of them until they figured he had similar
feelings for them, though."

With her mind frantically piecing all the strangeness together,
Mayako looked over to Kimiko. Her blue eyes seemed trained on
Kenichi, but they did not appear jealous, angry or even sad, just
thoughtful and even a bit interested, which was much different from
her demeanor minutes ago. She still sat in silence, though, and
Mayako could think of little to help the girl out of her shell. She
looked at her brother once more, but he held his eyes shut with his
palms, the grimace still present on his face.

"There's nothing I can do about it now," he whispered to the
arguing girls. "Let's move on again, please?" He removed his hands
from his face and peered over to Mayako. "Just say something
embarrassing; I don't feel like thinking right now."

Mayako grinned in her victory, thinking about something she could
tell them. Afterall, they had revealed some very juicy tidbits of
themselves. Was it not only fair to share one of hers?

"Last time I've been out with a guy was two years ago," she
admitted, sticking her tongue out at her brother. "Good enough?" The
dry look on his face definitely replied for him in the negative. "Oh,
okay, I guess that wasn't embarrassing enough for you? Well, last
soccer season, when I made the winning score at our last game, before
I kicked the ball, the elastic on my shorts snapped causing them to
fall around my ankles. I stumbled and fell forward, accidentally
colliding with the ball and knocking it in." Everyone in the room
laughed, excluding the story teller. "No one even seemed to notice
when the hoisted me in the air. I did manage to pull my shorts up
though."

"No way," Kenichi replied after he caught his breath.

"I remember that!" Mai nearly yelled, though she still giggled.
"It's true Kenichi. I kicked her the pass and watched her fall into line
with the ball perfectly. I almost laughed then, but I was too caught
up in winning."

"I have to admit, that was a good story," Kimiko told her. "I
think I can match it, but I don't think I'd want to." Looking at the
clock above Mayako's dresser, Kimiko said, "It's almost six now."

"Why don't we watch a movie now?" Reiko asked with her usual
tranquillity. "It will be getting late soon, so when your mom brings
home some food, we can eat it while watching. I'm sure she wouldn't
mind."

"Good idea, Rei," Kenichi agreed, smiling sinuously at his
sister. "Why don't you go and tell mom, sis? I'm sure you don't
mind."

Rolling her eyes at his remark, Mayako slowly pushed herself off
the floor and stood. Insolently resting her hands on her hips, she
peered down at her comically dressed brother. "Of course, I don't
mind, little brother. I'll go right away." If he thought he had won
this match, he was so wrong.

* * *

The distinguished men eagerly entered the small establishment,
immediately scanning their surroundings. A thick wave of stuffy air
washed over them as they walked in. Dim lamplight lit the room from
side to side, casting shadows across the wood tiled floor. The bar
lay on the far side of room directly across from them with more than
a dozen tables each with four chairs in between. Only a few patrons
sat on the stools at the bar due to the time of day and not a soul
occupied a single table. No more than twenty years of age, a young
woman, dressed very scantily in a short light yellow skirt and a
white blouse, happily approached the two men, regarding their apparel
with a raised eyebrow.

"Please have a seat gentlemen," she welcomed in a warm voice,
handing them menus. "I'll be right with you."

"There will be another joining us," the taller of the two men
with long graying black hair informed, smiling affectionately.
"Of course," she replied, giving him another menu. "Can I get you
some water to start with?"

"Hai," the shorter man, a kerchief covering his bald head,
answered. "Thank you, miss."

The waitress nodded, weaving through the tables towards the bar.
"So, Saotome," Soun said as he pulled up a chair at a table
against the right wall. "This weekend may prove to be most
interesting." Wearily sitting himself, he smiled at his friend.

"Indeed, Tendo," Genma replied, pulling up a chair and sitting
also. "This girl that you said looks like my son. Are you sure that
you saw her right? I mean, it has been what, eighteen years since
we've last seen or heard from him?"

"I did friend," Soun answered as he opened his menu to the lunch
section. "Akane saw her this morning before I departed from the
house. You should have seen her face. It looked like she had seen a
ghost, and I'm not so sure that she didn't."

Humming in thought, Genma weakly pried apart his menu but he did
not look inside. "Could it be his daughter or the boy himself in his
cursed form? Or maybe his offspring bare the sex changing curse as
well?"

"I believe that it is his daughter," Soun whispered, searching
the text for an appetizing item. "Shampoo's, Mousse's and your
children were not cursed in birth, and I doubt that his children have
either."

Nodding vigorously, Genma agreed. "Good thinking, Tendo. I myself
am not thinking quite straight this morning. To think that there is a
chance to see my son, or his daughter. Oh, Tendo, I have missed the
boy so."

Pausing for a moment, Soun reflected over the matter. "As have I,
Saotome. As have I. It simply has not been the same without him."
Turning his head towards the entrance of the restaurant, he solemnly
took a deep breath. "You should have seen the girl fight though,
Saotome. I only witnessed but a part of her spar with my
grandchildren, and I must say that she is one of the most gifted
fighters that I have ever seen since your son."

Genma drew within himself as the waitress arrived and left behind
two glasses of water, but neither of the two noticed her. His hunger
for food had long since past, but his need for his son replaced it,
that burning ache to see how Ranma turned out. His eyes threatened to
fill with tears, but he pushed them aside. "I'm glad he did not slack
in the training of his children."

Soun nodded in agreement, having found a suitable item to order.
He folded the menu up and placed it at the side of the table. "You
are not angry at the boy for leaving so brashly? If he were to show
his face, that is."

Genma looked up at his friend, considering for a moment. "No,
Tendo." He drooped his head sorrowfully, allowing a single tear to
slide down his rough cheeks. "How could I be angry at my son? I lost
all anger for him years ago. If he were to return, I would not even
ask why he left, if he did not volunteer the information. I've missed
him so. For all my horrible treatment of him, I'm surprised that he
did not run away earlier. Oh, Tendo, it is all my fault."

Soun watched solemnly, but he, too, knew in his heart that part
of the blame lay on his shoulders. If they had not pushed the
children so hard, if they had not...oh, it was hopeless. "Please,
Saotome," he implored, observing his melancholy friend. "What is
past, is past. Let us live in the present." He rubbed his hands
against the smooth surface of the table, carefully trying to raise
his friend's spirits. "Let us be strong for now, and consider what
might have driven him away. In all seriousness, I do not think we
were the final force behind it." Genma raised his head, listening
intently to the words. "We might have only been part, while something
became the catalyst on that night he disappeared. Do you have any
idea what could have happened to the boy that would scare him enough
to run away?" When Genma seemed about to protest that his son was not
afraid of anything -- excluding cats of course -- Soun added, "It
would have had to be something extreme to do that to him. Ranma would
not run away from responsibility unless something greater was at
stake."

The waitress returned again, took their orders and left after
they reminded her again that they would be having company, so to
bring all of the food upon his arrival and order. In the mean time,
Genma reflected deeply on Soun's question, mulling over the
possibilities. He needed to consider all of the facts before going
into tangents. Eighteen years might have been spent since that day,
but he still remembered the weeks of searching for his only child as
if they were yesterday.

He thoughtfully sipped his water. "He must have been very drunk,
as his friends were." Soun nodded to this and took a long drink from
his glass. "Ryouga told us afterward that he was taking Ranma home
and that Ranma gained enough consciousness to resist and try to find
his own way home. I can see that, if Ranma were drunk."

"True," Soun replied softly. "But we are missing something. I
know it. Then Ryouga followed, but got lost on the way. That is
certainly believable."

Genma sighed to himself and went to lift the glass, bumping it
clumsily with his right hand, almost knocking it over. It rolled over
on its base a few times before settling in place. The old man's eyes
lit with a thought. "Tendo, my friend. I believe I remembered
something that may help unwrap this mystery."

"Do tell, Saotome," Soun said, mildly interested.

"It was raining very hard that night," Genma said with conviction
as if that would solve the entire problem. When Soun raised an
eyebrow in confusion, he clarified. "My boy would have been a girl."

"How would that change anything?" Soun asked, still unsure of his
friend's message. "It used to rain a lot in those days."

"It makes a world of difference, Tendo," he answered,
concentrating on the solution. "Young women who have had far too much
to drink are much more vulnerable than men in the same position.
Think, Tendo. What do you think happened after he left Ryouga? He had
passed out at the bar, as the bartender told us. Something horrible
enough to warrant his proceeding actions."

"You don't think?" Soun gasped, putting a hand to his mouth. He
asked again, this time with more hushed tones. "You don't think that
your son might have been..."

Genma nodded solemnly, gritting his teeth. "That is the
conclusion I came up with. He was so ashamed with himself that he
fled so that shame would not spread to his family."

"Oh, God," Soun whispered in quiet horror. "I never even
considered the possibility."

With his eyes downcast, Genma took a deep breath. "As much as I
want to believe that he made the right choice, I cannot console
myself on that fact. I would have accepted him back, son or daughter,
in the end. Whether Kimiko is his daughter by seed or womb, I would
accept them both back into the family, if they were to return. No
questions asked."

"As I would welcome him back to my home, if he were to need
shelter," Soun replied adamantly.

"Thank you, Tendo."

Soun smiled warmly and reached across the table to pat Genma on
the shoulder. Genma returned it half-hearted, but his spirits felt
raised by ever so much more than he wanted to admit. The sound of the
door opening stole their attention from the plight and caused them to
rise from their seats.

After immediately examining the youth approaching them, Soun's
smile broadened. The boy seemed to carry with him his father's
arrogance, and his father's pride as he strode forward. With his
dress jacket rested over his shoulder and his black slacks neatly
ironed, he waved one hand before he stood close enough to bow. His
hard, steel-gray eyes regarded them warmly and the smile on his face
did not appear faked. His long black hair dangling slightly past his
shoulders and his dazzlingly handsome face made him a heart throb for
young women. The casual grace with which he moved and his height,
nearly six foot, was even more impressive. And Soun already knew this
one to be very bright.

"It is good to see the both of you again," the youth admitted
after they bowed to each other. "It has been a long time."

"That it has, Nishiyama-san," Soun replied.

"Please, call me Kiyoshi," he returned as they all sat across
from one another. "It feels like it's been much longer than two years
since the last shareholders meeting I attended with you. But a lot
has changed since then." The two older men whispered their agreement
as he continued. "Please forgive my tardiness. I was in a meeting
with some of my associates. They were rather enthusiastic and I was
forced to talk with each one of them about possible projects. Your
daughter, Nabiki, is a most impressive business woman, Tendo-san. I
am proud to have her on my staff."

"And I am proud to have her for my daughter," Soun replied a
grin. "How have you been fairing, Kiyoshi? We have heard so little of
you since your father died."

"Busy," Kiyoshi answered, smiling half-heartedly. "Busy, but well
enough, I suppose." He beamed at the waitress an absentminded smile
as she dreamily placed a tall glass of water in front of him. Soun
watched amused as she giggled and left, mumbling about returning with
their food.

"That is no more than one can hope to claim," Genma sagely
stated, breaking his self-imposed silence.

"Too true, Saotome," Soun agreed, sipping at his water. His mind
floated back to his earlier conversation, though he tried not to
ponder the dark subject to intently. A blade of curiosity kept up its
vicious assault, until he could not bare to remain silent on the
subject. "The other day, my grandson met a bright young lady by the
name of Kimiko Nishiyama." After pausing to watch Kiyoshi's stagnant
expression, he continued. "It would not have occurred to me that you
might be related, but I happened to witness her amazing fighting
skills today. Only one from your father's line could have taught her
some of those brilliant moves since neither of ours could have."

With a mirthful chuckle, Kiyoshi lifted the glass of water to his
lips. He took a deep sip, his eyes closed, the bemused expression
still burning on his face. As he set the glass on the table, he met
Soun's eye. "Short, bright red hair and a personality that matches
her fiery mane? I believe you are speaking of my sister."

With a half-smile, Soun nodded. "We are thinking of the same
young woman." He briefly glanced at Genma, but the other's face was
bound with heavy thought and betrayed no emotions. "I have to warn
you, though," he began telling Kiyoshi. "My grandson, Kenichi, has
become enamored by your sister."

"Is that so?" the young man asked, questioning himself more than
Soun, but the elder nodded anyway. "It is really too bad that we have
to leave soon."

"Where are you off to?" Genma asked inquisitively.
Kiyoshi lifted his glass to take another sip, but stopped and
began staring at the clear water inside. "China." His voice sounded
drawn out, tired. Genma shifted in his seat slightly. "We'll be doing
a little training here and there. I heard that its been quite chaotic
there since the government fell."

"Besides a noticeable increase in bandits and the lack of a
communist government, it's fairing better recently than it has in the
last few years," Genma told him evenly. "Each of the cities has their
own militia and seem to keep things relatively peaceful. That's what
the news reports, anyway." Kiyoshi nodded and finally pressed the
glass to his lips, taking a long sip. "I'd still be on guard if I
were you though."

"Always am," Kiyoshi replied stoically, placing his finished
glass of water on the table. His looked up, past Soun who turned to
see the waitress bringing them their food. "Eat well, gentlemen."

* * *

As the lights dimmed, the large screen dangling from the ceiling
lit with a multitude of brilliant colors. Rumbling in accordance to
the picture, the speakers vibrated. Words formed on the screen,
displaying the opening credits of the movie now in progress. The
viewers kept silent in anticipation, though one angrily carried a
tray of food.

Kimiko passively thanked Mayako for bringing snacks, gluing her
eyes to the screen as the opening scene unfolded before them. She
leaned back to rest up against the wall, having sat there purposely.
Reiko quietly whispered to Mai, both sitting underneath the scene,
laying on their backs. Kenichi sat to her right, idly sipping the
soda in his hands. A light fragrance of soap drifted from him, since
he had recently taken a shower.

She reached out and grabbed a soda and a bag of chips from the
silver tray, grinning at Kenichi as he snagged the last bag, though
he already had one.

"Hey, Mayako!" he called out as his sister began to sit in
preparation to watch the movie. "We're out of chips." Her returned
glare brought a chuckle from him.

"Oh, I didn't get any either," Reiko sighed, frowning slightly.
"I'm sure you wouldn't mind getting some more?"

Grumbling, Mayako quickly stood up, brushed herself off and left
the room, slamming the door on her way out. Everyone but Reiko
giggled before returning their attention to the movie. Mayako
returned swiftly with a large pile of snacks and even a few bowls of
rice, one of which Kimiko happily snagged.

After the movie had progressed for over a half an hour, Kimiko
slapped herself lightly across the face to try and stay awake. Reiko
simply had no taste in movies. Turning to Kenichi she was about comment
when she noticed that he slumbered soundly. His chest rose and fell in
a deep sleep, though he still sat fairly straight. She returned to
watching the dull movie, even as her eyelids slowly slid shut. The next
minute, she joined Kenichi in dreamland.



A light rap at the door drew Mayako's attention from Reiko's
favorite, and her second favorite, movie, a romantic flick about two
star-crossed lovers -- or something like that. It was an oldie, but a
goodie, in her opinion. The strange dialogue did take getting used to
though.

She rose to her feet, stretching her arms out wearily and then
crossed the floor of her bedroom. Opening the door a few inches, she
peeked out.

"This better be good, Eiji," she whispered to her little brother.
"And if you're lost, too bad."

He shook his head vigorously, pointing towards the stairway end
of the hall. "Grandpa says Kimiko needs to come down stairs. Says
someone's here to pick her up."

"Really?" she asked curiously, opening the door enough to edge
her way out. After she shut the door, she asked, "Did you see the
person that's picking her up?"

Eiji nodded enthusiastically, pointing towards the stairs again.
"He's a really tall man with long hair. I like him! He said I would
be the bestest fighter! He said it too!"

"That's nice, Eiji," she replied. "He's in the family room with
Grandfather?"

"Hai!"

"All right, lead the way, little man," she whispered to him,
following the energetic child as he bounced across the hall and
hopped down the stairs. She stopped him at the base of the stairs and
quietly told him to stay put.

Sneaking to the edge of the hall of the family room, she peered
across the house at the three men and her mother sitting at the
table. She easily recognized her grandfather's thin form and long
gray hair, and her Uncle Genma's bald, scarf covered head and his
pear-shaped figure, but the third man at the far end of the table was
a complete stranger. Though he sat a distance away, she could easily
identify him as a quite young and very handsome man. His long black
hair rested on his shoulders somewhat like her grandfather's, but
thick bangs curved at the ends towards his face. Broad shoulders and
corded neck muscles were discernible, punctuating his physique. At
one moment it appeared that he looked up and saw her, but his
attention seemed to be absorbed by his hosts. Sucking in a deep
breath, she released her grip on the ends of her shirt, since her
knuckles turning white. She wondered if this could be the brother
Kimiko spoke of earlier.

"I'm in love," she whispered to herself.

"In love with who?" Eiji whispered in reply, peeking past her
legs in the same manner she had been.

Mayako nearly yelped in surprise, but she quickly pulled together
her wits and said, "No one, Eiji-chan. Go and tell Grandfather Soun
that Kimiko will be right down, okay love?"

"Okay," Eiji agreed, nodding. After she turned him in the right
direction and gave him a gentle push towards the right direction, he
bounded off to repeat the message.

She stared at the young man for a few more seconds before turning
around a climbing back up the stairs. Sprinting to her room, she
brutally opened the door, spilling light into the dark room.

"Hey!" Reiko protested, glaring at the intrusion. "You know
better manners than that, Mayako."

"Close it quick!" Mai exclaimed, not turning her head from the
screen. "He's about to kiss her!"

"Commercial break," she replied sternly, flipping on the lights.
Reiko pressed a button on the projector and folded her arms under her
breasts. When Mai started giggling hysterically, both Reiko and
Mayako turned to her quizzically. Reiko turned towards the wall, her
lips curving into a grin.

"What?" Mayako asked, turning to her side to witness the scene
before her. Though she quickly pressed her left hand to her mouth, a
muted bubble of laughter escaped as she walked up to the sleepers.
Having fallen over from his sitting, her brother lay on his right
side, resting his head on his arms. His body still adorned the
ridiculous pink nightgown, clinging to the shape of his well
proportioned body. On the other hand, Kimiko lay sprawled out with
her upper torso clenched to Kenichi, her head positioned on his side
and her arms wrapped around his waist. Her jaw hung slightly ajar,
snoring in sound slumber.

With no intentions of embarrassing Kimiko any more than she had
to, Mayako knelt and gently nudged her. The girl turned her head away
from Mayako, pushing Kenichi away from the wall slightly and shifting
herself behind him like a blanket to block out the light. Unlike her
friends who were giggling uncontrollably behind her, she held back
laughter.



Morning light shown down on her face harshly, tearing at her
eyes. Shifting in her bed, Kimiko felt another gentle nudge trying to
awaken her. Refusing to yield a single precious moment of rest, she
wrapped her arms around her pillow tighter, drawing herself nearer.

"Kimiko!"

She attempted to open her eyes, but the felt sealed shut. "Just a
few more minutes, Kiyoshi. I'm still tired." Knowing that her excuse
would not work with her persistent master, she yawned. Another gentle
shake finished waking her and she tried to sit up, but the crimp in
her back and her unusual position restrained her. "I'm awake
already."

Drawing in a deep breath, the pleasant scent of soap filled her
nostrils. As her senses were slowly restored to her body and mind,
the strangeness of her situation began to seep in. She focused her
eyes upon the figure kneeling next to her. Shoulder length black hair
brushed against the person's face as hands lifted themselves from her
shoulder. The startling part was the position her body. Inviting
warmth radiated from the body underneath her and she nearly cried out
in surprise.

"What?" she murmured, pushing herself off of Kenichi. The
realization of her position dawned upon her and the deep shade of
crimson that her face assumed failed to hide it. "It's not what it
looks like."

"Huh, what?" Kenichi sputtered, pressing his hand over his mouth
to stifle a yawn. "Movie over already?"

Kimiko rolled to her feet quickly, frowning as she straightened
her tangled clothing. Reiko and Mai exchanged knowing glances with
her before she turned away from their smirking faces. At least,
Mayako seemed stoic about it.

"Someone's here for you, Kimiko," Mayako told her solemnly. "I
think it's your brother."

Her previous embarrassment washed out of her and the color slowly
drained from her cheeks. Her brother had promised to stay out of her
business and he had never broken his word before. There had to be a
reason for his presence today.

"Come on, I'll show you to him," Mayako offered, taking Kimiko's
hand. "I think he's been waiting a while."

"Okay," she replied, allowing the girl to lead her downstairs.
Nearly falling when Mayako leapt the last few steps, Kimiko held her
hand tightly. As they began to pass through the hallway to the family
room, they abruptly stopped, causing Kimiko to slide into Mayako.

Facing the adults seated around the table, Kimiko's heart leapt.
Stepping out from behind her friend, she stood, facing figures all
too familiar. Light reflected off of Genma's thin, dark-framed
glasses just as it would off his bald head if he did not wear a
kerchief to cover it. His eyes returned her nervous stare, but she
did not turn away quickly. Slowly glancing to the next individual,
her brother, she leveled a glare at him. The whole group remained
silent until Akane spoke.

"Would you like some tea, girls?"

Mayako replied before Kimiko had the chance to. "No thank you,
mother. We just had drinks up stairs." Kimiko turned to face her
right side to look at Mayako. She smiled warmly at the adults, but
looked as nervous as Kimiko felt.

"No thank you, Akane-san," Kimiko replied anyway, facing her
brother again. "Was there a problem, brother?"

A smile touched his cynical lips and he stood suddenly, brushing
slacks. "No, Kimiko. Nothing is the matter. I just figured since I
was here, I might as well take you back to the hotel now and save on
cab fare." Before she could reply, he addressed his hosts with his
charming and pleasant voice, bowing. "I'm afraid I have to leave all
of you now."

"It was good seeing you again, Kiyoshi," Soun said, standing
briefly to return the bow. Akane and Genma did likewise before
Kiyoshi silently stepped around them and walked towards the girls.

"You have not been introduced to my daughter yet, Nishiyama-san,"
Akane told him. "Kiyoshi Nishiyama, this is my daughter, Mayako
Tendo. Mayako this is Kiyoshi."

"It is good to meet you, Nishiyama-san," the girl greeted, bowing
very low.

"It is my pleasure," he replied smoothly, bowing to her. "Kimiko
did not tell me her friends were so beautiful." He smiled warmly when
Mayako's face turned deep scarlet. He twisted around, turning his
back to the girls when he spoke again. "Have you met my sister yet,
Saotome-san?"

"No, I have not," he replied. "I am Genma Saotome, young one.
Your brother did tell us of your beauty, though his words were sorely
understated."

Nervously bowing, Kimiko took a deep breath before responding. "I
thank you, Saotome-san." She twisted her head slightly when her
brother placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for everything,
Mayako." Kiyoshi squeezed her shoulder once before releasing it and
walking down the hall. She turned to follow, but Mayako grabbed her
wrist.

"I thought you were going to stay the night?" she whispered
urgently.

"I can?" Kimiko whispered back.

"Of course, silly!" Mayako exlaimed with hushed tones. "Please
stay."

Kimiko nodded solemnly and turned to see her brother waiting at
the door. Slowly crossing the floor, she stood a few feet from him
and asked, "Would it be all right if I stayed here for the night?"

"As long as you stay out of trouble," he told her. Quietly, he
whispered, "And be careful." He paused, looking out the open front
door. "You might wish to collect some extra clothes at the hotel."
Stepping out the door, he calmly strode down the brick walkway
towards the gate.

"That mean you can stay?" Mayako asked, standing beside Kimiko.

"Hai," she replied, beginning to follow her brother. "I gotta
pick up some clothes at my room. I'll be back within an hour."

Keeping pace with her, Mayako skipped to keep up. She smiled at
Kimiko before asking, "Mind if tag along?"

Tugging her crimson hair in a ponytail, the redhead pulled a hair
tie from her pocket, binding it back to keep her bangs from swaying
in her face. Twisting sideways, she returned Mayako's carefree smile.
"I'm sure Kiyoshi won't care. Your mother doesn't mind if you come
with us?" Mayako shrugged stoically as they passed through the gates
and onto the sidewalk.

"That your car?" the raven haired girl asked, pointing at the
black Mercedes Benz parked in front of the house. Kiyoshi walked to
the driver's seat door and retrieved his keys from his pocket.

"Nah, that's just a rental," Kimiko explained with her hands on
the handle.

"Oh," Mayako replied, sliding into the car after Kimiko.

* * *

After their silent journey across town, they arrived at the
Hilton. Kiyoshi led the two girls towards the tall building which
shined down upon them as they exited the car and made their way up
to his room. Kiyoshi amusedly watched Mayako's startled face as they
finally reached their destination. Slipping the room key into the
door, it unlocked with a solid click and opened. Light from the hall
filtered into the dark room, revealing its red carpeting.

"Lights," he uttered, and a half of a dozen lights lit at once,
illuminating the entire room which appeared to be much more than that
from its size. On his immediate left, a short, tiled hall led to the
kitchen and further into a restroom. The floors shined with a
recently polished luster, reflecting the glow from the light above.
The closed door on the right remained shut and locked, though it was
no more than a maid's storage room. Followed by the two teenagers, he
crossed the hallway leading into a huge entertainment room, filled
with stereo equipment, a very large video screen and a wide couch
with a coffee table stretching its length. Red blinds against the far
wall concealed a wide window that overlooked the city. Two doors led
from this room into separate bedrooms, each with its own restroom.
Kimiko had been surprised at the size of the king sized beds when
they first arrived, but he had seen enough of these suites to not be.
This would be the last luxury they would receive before China, and he
meant to remember it.

"Cool," Mayako whispered as they entered the spacious room. "This
place is huge!" She snuck around his sister and haphazardly fell onto
the couch, resting her arms around its cushins. She smiled at his
sister who stood at his side. He turned to look at the crimson-haired
girl who faintly returned Mayako's smile.

Though he had noticed it when he had first seen her sneaking a
peek at him from around the hall back at the Tendo's, he still
remarked at how closely Mayako resembled her mother. He still had yet
to see her twin, but he supposed that the boy would appear much the
same. It was no small wonder how Kimiko easily became friends with
the two. He looked at Mayako on the couch conversing Kimiko with low
tones.

Twisting his wrist watch in its proper position on his wrist, he
read, "5:36," to himself quietly. The weight of responsibility
re-attached itself to his shoulders as he remembered the duties he
had put off for this night. He walked across the room to the wall and
opened the blinds. Hundreds of feet below, the twinkle of the city
shone up at him as the fiery reds and oranges of sunset lit the
seemingly endless expanse of buildings. Clouds covered the horizon in
their misty sprawl across the sky, but that only amplified the beauty
before him. He closed his eyes warily as the two girls behind him
chattered, their voices sweet to his ears. He needed to remember to
take them to a karioke bar before he left to China.

"You two can do whatever, just keep the noise level down. I have
to make some calls." Kimiko turned and nodded to him.

The door to his room opened and closed swiftly, and he quickly
found his black leather briefcase, sealed as he had left it before
and still laid upon his bed. When he placed his thumb against the
strip of plastic underneath its handle, it snapped open, revealing an
unsorted pile of papers and his black cellular phone. He retrieved
the phone and placed it beside the briefcase. Next to join the
phone, his stack of papers were gently laid in a neat pile. He peered
into the darkness of the leather briefcase and slid his hand to the
bottom of its unusually warm surface, digging under the folds. His
fingers gingerly caressed the object of his search within, folding
around it and finally grasping it. The warmth it radiated felt
strangely comfortable against the skin of his hands, its hard, smooth
surface slipping around the third finger of his right hand. It would
be safest there, for now.

Like a jolt of adrenaline, he felt his chi surge through him as
he summoned it. A bubble of violet energy crackled to life around
him, surrounding his body in a protective sphere of pure,
unadulterated chi energy with the essence of life coursing through
his veins. He had no need to stand. The magic of his life force could
do that for him, and it did, lifting him off the bed to leave him
hovering in mid-air. While straining to hold onto his tentative
control, he floated towards the window which took the entire wall. He
gazed at the city below through a brilliant purple filter, but
instead of hampering his vision, it amplified it tenfold. Details of
the people walking on the dirtied streets focused clearly. Cars
rushing by at high speeds slowed to a crawl and each passenger of
each vehicle became easily discernible. Like a wraith, he floated
through the surface of the glass and concentrated his energies on a
different sense. His hawk-like vision fled his eyes instantly,
replaced by the chattering of the people conversing, the swish of
cars whizzing by, the shouts of angry pedestrians and a hundred other
unique sounds. He could concentrate on a single noise, silencing all
others, but he did not. Though his eyes no longer glowed with the
power of his chi, it was still greatly enhanced along with every
other sense, but nothing entered the violet shield of energy
crackling around his body, not even air. His body simply had no need
while in this state.

A knock on his door drew him from the ecstasy of the energy
coursing through him, and he returned to the room faster than the eye
could detect, faster than a bullet fired from its chamber, nearly
breaching the speed of light. For a few vital seconds as the sun
finished setting over the horizon, he struggled against the need to
gather more chi, to surround himself with as much as he could hold,
and maybe a bit more. He forced the power back to his body, returning
him to normal. Though spectacular, he had only used a scant amount of
energy to power his actions, leaving him plenty to hold onto
consciousness. If he had used too much, he would have fallen into a
deep slumber. If he had used it all, he would be dead. He slipped the
ring from his finger and into his pocket.

Another couple knocks echoed into the room, and this time he
stood unsteadily and walked to unlock it. He cracked open the door an
inch, enough to peer at Kimiko's patient face.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice betraying the weariness he
felt.

"I need to talk to you for a second," she whispered, staring back
into his eyes. When he failed to answer her, her brows slanted and
her lips curved into a frown. "Please?"

"Sure," he replied, opening the door to allow her entry.

"Thanks." She sauntered into the room, hands clasped in front of
her. She hesitated but he nodded for her to sit. Avoiding the mess he
had left from his empty briefcase, she hopped onto the wide mattress,
bouncing a few times while shifting to sit cross-legged.

He turned and dragged a padded wooden chair from its place in
the corner to face her, concern etched into his posture. "What's
bothering you?"

Her lids shut and she turned away, showing the strain in her
face. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what I was doing at the
Tendos."

The worry faded from him and he smiled. "It's your business,
Kimchan. I knew that you would tell me when you felt right about it,
but if not that would have been fine too." He stood and knelt in front of
her. Gently, he twisted her head to face him. "I'm the one who should
be sorry."

"No," she retorted, glaring down at him. "I should have told you
right away. They were as much a part of your life as they were mine."
Her eyes glistened, but she did not cry. "We're both outcasts." The
blank look in her face concerned him, and he gingerly held her chin.

"That's barely a part of what's troubling you." His challenging
stare caused her to turn, but he did not let her. "Look at me,
Kimchan. Tell me what's wrong."

Her lips parted slightly as she grit her teeth. A tear spilled
onto her cheek. "You were there; you saw her too." She gasped for a
breath quietly with a hurt look painted onto her face. Her jaw
quivered; she was on the verge of crying. "She's happy, she's
married, and she has kids."

"I know," he whispered, releasing her chin.

"Why?" she asked, looking at him earnestly.

"I don't have that answer, love." He wiped the wetness from her
cheek.

"A part of me is glad that she's happy," she whispered turning to
stare at the door. "And another part is jealous and wants her back.
I'm not a stupid child anymore." A moment of silence drowned out all
noise, until she spoke again. "I've had to learn that the hard way.
Nothing will ever be the same, and being here proves that." She had
her emotions under control again, and she returned his look.

"When I walked into Tendo's house, I realized that it wasn't home
anymore. Though living in California was strange, I liked it a lot
better than I do here." Drawing in a deep breath, she sighed.

"Do you want to go home, then?" he asked calmly. "Or straight to
China. I could get us a flight early tomorrow morning, or afternoon
to either destination."

Consideration lit her eyes for a moment, but she shook her head.
"There is a reason why I stay, though."

"The twins, right?" She nodded demurely in reply. "Is it because
they look like Akane?"

"At first, yes," she admitted solemnly. "But I think I really
like them. Mayako is so full of life, so vibrant. She fights much
better than I did at her age, and she's her own person. I really
admire her." She sniffed once, before continuing. "And Kenichi is so
different, but I think I like him a little bit more. He's even-
tempered and kind, if a bit dreamy-eyed. He really seemed to care. And
last night before the cab picked me up, I really felt connected to
him. If I was staying her longer, he'd definitely be my prime choice
for a best friend."

"What's keeping you then?" he inquired, trying to understand her.
The look in her eyes answered for him. "It hurts to be around Akane,
doesn't it?" She nodded, closing her eyes. "If you ever change your
mind, I could easily get you a place to stay near the Tendos, or even
at their house if you wanted." He put his hand on her right knee.
"Don't answer, just keep it in mind."

"Okay," she whispered almost inaudibly. "There's another thing,
too." She paused resting both of her hands atop of his. "I wasn't
going to say it you, or anyone, but I have to get it off my
shoulders. Remember how you said Jusenkyo changed you?" After he
nodded, she continued. "Well, it changed me too. A lot. And I'm
scared that I'm going to lose myself because of it."

Placing his other hand atop hers, he held them in front of them.
"Do you feel different inside now?"

"Hai," she replied, turning her hand around to gently squeeze
his.

"What do you think changed inside of you?" he asked curiously.
The red shade her face assumed caused him to add, "You don't have to
tell me if you don't feel comfortable."

Her lids closed shut again, but she shook her head. "I have to
tell someone." Silence descended upon them again, and it took her
nearly two minutes for her to find her confidence. "I'm not attracted
to women anymore." She opened her blue eyes to stare at him.

"And you're attracted to men, now," he finished for her, feeling
her pain, her fear of rejection. She sniffed, nodding again. This was
dangerous territory to tread and he knew it, but if he was to help
her, he would have to jump into the fire. "You shouldn't be ashamed
of yourself." The questioning look in her eyes began to border a
threat, but he continued. "You don't have to like it, but you should
accept it. If you can't accept yourself for who you are, no one else
can either." He delicately squeezed her hands to show his support.

The searching look in her eyes showed something still bothered
her, but he would not pry into it any further tonight.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly with strained breathing. "I
don't want to know who you were, but who you are. You definitely are
not Happosai. I don't understand you." He could hear the solid
determination in her voice, the essence of who she was, the will to
never give up. "Happosai was a spiteful, perverted old man who cared
for no one but himself. But you, you're so different. You cared for
me even though we were enemies before, and you didn't even try
anything like I expected you to. Why? Did you wake up different one
day, or what?"

"It wasn't an over night change," he replied, sitting back in the
wooden chair. He folded his arms atop his chest. "It took me one
instant to realize who I was, and I didn't like it. I found myself
reviled and hated by everyone around me. I found myself alone for the
second time in a small prison cell, changed down like a caged animal.
Armed guards had weapons trained on my prone figure. I was well over
a hundred years old and found myself lacking something, and it wasn't
women's undergarments. It didn't even have anything to do with
women." He paused and looked away, holding his sorrow back. "I was
dead to the world, and to myself.

"That was about when Jusenkyo's magics started affecting me, so I
escaped jail and found a Buddhist temple in China where I could stay.
It took one moment to realize I needed the change, and three years to
undergo it. From that point on, I took control of my life, but I
still felt empty and alone. That's when you woke up."

Standing straight, Kiyoshi pushed the chair into the corner of
the room. He smiled warmly at her before moving to clean the mess on
his bed. "All I needed was a little happiness, a little complication
in my life and it felt that much more rewarding, to live."

"There is one thing on my mind, Kimiko," he whispered. She nodded
for him to continue. "What are you going to tell everyone about
yourself? Will you tell them your true identity, or something else?
Your father and Soun are already investigating your connection to
Ranma, and if you're not careful they could find out the truth."

Her pause was enough of an answer, but she spoke anyway. "I don't
really know." With her eyes closed, she took in a deep breath and
released it slowly. "Each time I go there, I feel the need to tell
everyone, but I'm scared how they'll react. What if they don't want
me around? I know that I'd be mad at me if I were Akane. And what if
they don't believe me? I can't change like I used to be able to. If
they thought I was a liar, I'd never be able to see Akane or anyone
again. They'd just think me a horrible person for lying like that."
She paused again, considering her answer. "You know what I mean?"

"Hai," he replied softly. "It would be best to take your time,
but do not take too much; otherwise, it may fall down on top of you."

She stood and walked to the door, opening it. "Thanks, Kiyoshi."

"Anytime," he replied. "Tell your friend that we're going back in
a few minutes. I hope you gathered some stuff?"

"Hai." She paused at the door for a moment before walking out.

* * *

The three climbed into the Mercedes, but this time Mayako sat in
the passenger seat. Kimiko silently stared out the window as her
brother turned on the engine. The streets were bustling with activity
at this time of night and there were many pedestrians on the walks,
but her mind was elsewhere. Her talk with her brother stirred a lot
of dormant emotions, pain most of all. All of the pain she
experienced from waking in the strange hospital bed to now seemed to
have been collecting, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to
ignore.

She idly listened to Mayako as she talked with her brother, but
with no enthusiasm. The girl's earlier modesty seemed to have
evaporated.

"How old are you?" she asked bluntly.

"Older than you," he quipped slowing the car to allow a few
pedestrians cross the road. While his response was meant to quench
any probing questions, it had little effect.

"Where do you work?"

He took a moment to answer, but did none-the-less. "I own
Nishiyama Inc. and a couple dozen other corporations world wide."
As they pulled onto the highway, Kimiko's eyes slowly slid shut
as the background blurred hypnotically.

"So, you live in the States?"

"Hai, on the west coast."

Her head slid against the cold glass and the vibrations of the
car stoked her sleepiness.

"I heard it's warm there, unlike here. It seems to be cold all
the time now."

"Actually, the weather is pretty much the same as here."
Her mouth slid open and she sucked in the cold air, barely
conscious as the car hummed steadily.

"I don't mean to pry, but do you have a girlfriend?"

"Why, are you offering?"

A sudden bump in the road jolted the car enough to cause Kimiko's
head to bounce against the window, but she hardly noticed.

"No, no, I was just curious."

"Not at the moment, no."

Her eyes eased open slightly and she looked at Mayako briefly
before shutting them again.

"Hey, we're just about there."

* * *

Inky darkness consumed her as her lungs screamed for oxygen. She
frantically swam upwards, straining to hold herself from taking a
breath. As the cold seeped into her body, her eyes searched for
light, but found none. She wanted to cry, she wanted to see, she
wanted to live, but she was trapped in her prison and there were no
walls, no dimensions, nothing to hold onto and no sound to hear.

She grew more frantic as another moment passed without gaining
any ground. A numbness began to settle over her, starting with her
feet, and reaching up towards her ankles, gaining speed until it
reached her knees.

Realization began to dawn upon her and she closed her eyes,
feeling with her mind instead of her fingers. She looked with a
thought rather than an eye. She focused all of her remaining energy,
every ounce, praying that it was enough to pull through the madness.

A light, no bigger than a single grain of sand, shown upon her
and she reached for it, grabbing it. Instantly, warmth spread down
her body and the nourishing air forced itself into her lungs. Relief,
unparalleled to any she might have experience before, calmed her,
filled her, saturating her entire being. She slightly loosened her
grip, and fell into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

They had all decided to go to bed and placed out there blankets
and pillows on the living room floor. After a bit of arguing,
everyone agreed to let Mai use the couch, while the other four found
places near it. At first, Kenichi thought his choice to sleep next to
Kimiko was a good one, though he later realized with her so close it
was impossible to sleep. Now it was well past one in the morning and
he was not even remotely tired. From the sound of everyone else's
breathing, they were sleeping.

He tried to close his eyes to sleep, but light from the digital
clock on the VCR cast just enough light to make Kimiko's face
visible. There was something about her that drew him like a moth to a
flame. From the subtle curves of her cheekbone, to the small point of
her nose, he marveled at how perfect she appeared to him. He sighed
deeply, and closed his eyes.

She stirred slightly with a soft whimper and his eyes snapped
open. Instead of lying on her back, she now faced him on her side.
Less than a foot separated them now. His heart leapt as he reached
his hand out, brushing her left cheek. She felt like ice against his
finger, and he began to draw it back when both of her hands darted
out, snagging his within them. Her hands chilled his, but he barely
felt it. Her eyes still remained shut and her cute pout shifted and
her teeth began to chatter.

Spotting the problem, he reached down to her feet with his free
hand and covered her with her discarded blanket. He laid himself down
again, still watching her attentively. The smile on her face showed her
relief, bringing one to his. She still gripped his hand, but not as
tightly. It did not take him long to find sleep thereafter.
___________________________________________________________ __________

Nothing but the cold and rain welcomed Kimiko home, but her new
friends seem to fill in the gaps with their childish humor and light
demeanors. The day ended, bringing to light in the eyes of her new
friends the agony tearing her asunder. Kimiko's old friend's are
gathering, and she may find herself the star again, the object of
everyone's attention. The dawn of a new day approaches, a life
renewed. But the darkness is also gathering, bringing with it a
tempest of destruction. Two figures, both evil bound with good
intentions, and one of pure dark will soon find the target of their
wrath. Her new friends may prove invaluable when it arrives, but their
forms are deceptive. Until next time friends, in Misery Loves Company,
Farewell.


Ryan Erik
ICQ: 2561463
ryanerik@tendodojo.com
http://www.geocities.com/ryanerik99< br>