Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Perfume Files ❯ The Perfume Files ( One-Shot )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Two lives that run separate-yet-parallel, destined to one day cross, and with them so much else that forms the basis of the Nabiki 1/2 universe�

Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.03.2005 | Updated On: 03.13.2005 | Pages: 50 | Words: 63.9K | Visits: 3.0K | Status: Completed

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

"Dad…it's me again, your Ucchan…"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone and then the voice of Akira Kuonji asking softly, "Ucchan…what is it? Is there something wrong? You sound so tense…"

"Ah…not wrong, Dad," Ukyo replied nervously, "At least not the way you mean…more like something completely unexpected has happened, and for me that just tops the list of weird occurrences that I've been going through lately."

"Oh?" her father said on the other end of the phone, "Well…perhaps you should take it from the beginning then. Does this concern Ranma Saotome?"

"Um…not directly, no," Ukyo replied, pausing as she felt a hand steady her shoulder and she favored the woman at her side with a grateful look for the support before continuing, "But I guess in a way it is kind of about him and our…continuing engagement. Yeah, that's still on, no problems there…I think. It's…the other matter I've got to tell you about, and as for where to begin…I hardly know where exactly it got started."

She turned to see Perfume smiling at her, and Ukyo felt her heart skip a beat as she found that smile more dazzling than a ray of sunshine on a cloudy morning. The matter was indeed a complicated one, but the point where it all began? Ukyo cast her mind back and wondered at exactly what point her fate was decided and the course of her life began in its curious and strangely wonderful direction…

"Well, Daddy?" a six-year-old Ukyo asked her father anxiously, "How is it?"

"Not too bad," Kuonji Akira replied after sampling a bite full of his daughter's latest attempt at okonomiyaki, "You're getting there, Ukyo. Just keep practicing and you'll make it perfect like your old man."

"You bet," Ukyo replied with childish determination, rolling up her sleeve, "I won't quit until I get it just right, Daddy. You wait and see, I'll make the best okonomiyaki in Japan, maybe even the world!"

"Sure, sure," the elder Kuonji said gruffly, not knowing what else to say to encourage his little girl, who was trying so hard to master the family business. At times he really did not feel cut out for this father business, and little Ucchan was such a handful at times, too damned much like her late mother. It was getting harder to look into her brown eyes without choking up over their loss, but he had to remain strong for her sake.

If only he could have had a son, he thought to himself grimly. Boys were so much easier to raise, you just told them what you wanted to do and did not take any back talk. But Ukyo was so cute sometimes, almost pretty at her tender age, that she could leave him at a loss over what to do or say to curb her childish impulses. She was mastering the family's fighting style with surprising adeptness, and very soon she might even go beyond his skill level, at which point he would have to find instructors to teach her more advanced methods. Already her Shotokan technique was exceptional for her age, and while she was still relatively small she was fast and light and could punch like a kid twice her tender years. Akira was very proud of his daughter…he just wished she were a son sometimes so that he could really feel proud and not so awkward about it…

Ukyo sighed as she saw her father turn away from her latest work. He said it was good, at least that was something. She was improving as a chef and had almost gotten his approval this time with her latest attempt at duplicating his recipe. It was just a matter of using the right ingredients in the proportions and balance outlined in the family's secret cooking scrolls. Maybe someday soon he might even offer her praise at how hard she was working to become just like him. She would show him how good she could be, she would make the best okonomiyaki in the world as she had boasted she would, and then her father would have to acknowledge that his daughter was as good as any son he ever wanted.

Ukyo felt a little sad sometimes when she thought about the last two years living on the road since the death of her mother. It was so much easier to make her father smile when mother was around. The way her father looked at her sometimes…it had to mean that he was disappointed in her over something. If only he would come right out and tell her what she was doing wrong…but now, he had to go into that surly act of his and get all muttery. Her father smiled less often these days and always looked so unhappy…

She sighed, missing her mother very much. Maybe life would have been different if she had a baby brother to play around with, the son her father obviously wanted more than her. No, maybe that wouldn't be such a good thing. A boy might just distract him…but another girl? Perhaps that was what she needed, a sister…or a friend, maybe somebody close to her own age to talk to…but where was she ever going to meet one?

Unbeknownst to her, the answer lay only a short distance away as they pushed their family Yatai along through the park section of Furinkan. Not very far away a girl close to her own age was conferring with the man beside her, seeking to take her mind off the growling of her tummy by direct confrontation of the issue…

"How about it, Pop?" little Nabiki asked of the man beside her, "We gonna find something to eat or not?"

"Call me Uncle," Genma remarked for possibly the thousandth time, "And I'm trying to think of something Nabiki-chan. It just isn't always that easy for a martial artist…"

"Yeah, I know, so you keep saying," Nabiki sounded more than a little impatient, all of seven years old and feeling the pressure to do something significant with her life. Being energetic and of above normal intelligence she had already construed that leaving her fortune in the hands of the man beside her was a bad investment strategy, so she had resolved to take charge of affairs before things settled into a pattern.

What was her father thinking letting her stay with the Saotomes? She could be home enjoying a home cooked meal at the hands of her mother, although in truth her mother had not been doing much cooking lately and had turned a lot of her normal duties over to her big sister Kasumi…

Genma looked forlornly out into space and wondered why the fates would be so cruel as to leave him without means to support himself and the daughter of his best friend. It was much the same as when he had attempted this with his son, Ranma, only to discover the hard way how difficult it was to raise a boy on the road while training him to be a man among men. He had thought to find a solution by fostering the boy with Soun's kids, reasoning that Ranma might prosper in a home family environment while he enjoyed a merry life of freedom for a few years before returning home with his son to Nodoka.

Unfortunately, Soun was not gullible enough to go for the scheme and had insisted that Genma take one of his daughters to train in Ranma's stead. It seemed that Kimiko was feeling poorly and could not keep up with her usual routine of chores, and then Nodoka had started making regular visits to the Tendos to spend time with her old friend and had begun taking up many of Kimiko's duties. So Genma did not dare return home, especially after having made that promise to his wife to retain his freedom.

So Genma was right back where he had started with another mouth to feed, although Nabiki had taken surprisingly well to his training. The little girl was quick and adept at mastering the art behind the moves he was teaching her and could adapt rapidly to surprise attacks as if she were born to it, making it incredibly easy to coach her in new lessons. At the rate she was improving he had no doubt that she would become a great martial artist, it was just the little problem of feeding her growing appetite that was leaving him a little flustered. The child ate like there was no tomorrow and it was a rare sight indeed to find her without something sweet in her mouth to chew upon.

So it was that when the stray breeze carried a delectable aroma their way Genma had a sense that the gods were answering his silent petition. Fresh baked goods always had that effect on him, causing his mouth to water and his stomach to growl like a hungry grizzly. He looked up to see a merchant pushing a yatai their way, with a little boy trotting at his fathers side, and an immediate strategy was revealed to Genma's mind that consisted of acquiring some food without the trifling need to pay for it.

"Nabiki-chan," Genma said softly, "How would you like to learn a new kind of game as a part of your training?"

Nabiki eyed her adopted Uncle with a childishly droll expression, "Oh please…do I look like I'm six or something? You want me to steal food, is that it?"

"Steal?" Genma reacted as if he were being accused of a capital offense, "Certainly not! I just…well…thought maybe you could go over there and ask the nice man if we might…uh…borrow a few free samples…"

Nabiki's grin looked playfully innocent on the surface but there was something beyond her years in the twinkle of her eyes as she replied, "Let me handle this one, Pops. I think I know how we can solve our little problem, just let me do all the talking."

So saying Nabiki trotted ahead of him, skipping and jumping like a playful waif in a faded yellow gi that oddly fit her dainty figure, then she came to stand in the path of the yatai and said, "Oh, please sir, can I see some of that delicious food you have to offer? Okonomiyaki isn't it?"

"Why yes," the man said in surprise, looking down at a brown haired girl with twin pony tails framing an elfin face that held the potential of great mischief, "Show the kid some of our wares, Ukyo. That your father over there trying to look nonchalant?"

"Oh no, sir," Nabiki replied, "That's my uncle. He's taking me to see the Cherry Hill Shrine to visit my cousin and pay our respects to my poor departed grandmother. We don't have a lot of money since the trip here cost us most of what we have…"

"Say no more," the gruff man with the grizzled beard replied, "You can both have free samples, on the house. Ukyo, whip up your specialty and let's see if you can impress the customers with your cooking."

Ukyo had been eyeing the strange girl with suspicion trying to decide if she liked her or if they were simply being hustled, but the thought of her father asking her to cook for strangers was enough to cancel out her apprehension. She grinned with delight and went to work right away as her father sat down to take a smoke on his pipe while she turned on the grill and started whipping up a batch of her latest recipe, being very careful this time to get the right balance to all of the ingredients.

As the elder Kuonji sat to the side he took notice of Genma's hesitant approach and said, "It's all right, you can sit down and enjoy a rest with me. Your niece is very polite, even a bit of a charmer."

"Um…yes, well…" Genma replied nervously, watching how Nabiki was distracting the small boy with idle small talk.

Akira's eyes twinkled as he saw the other man sit down on the grass by his side then said, "You're on a training mission, aren't you? Taking your niece out on the road for a proper education in the arts?"

Genma blinked, "How did you know that? I mean…well, I made a promise to Nabiki's father…"

"You don't remember me, do you?" Akira said with increasing amusement.

Genma blinked, then in even greater nervousness asked, "Uh…should I?"

"It's been a few years," the gruff man beside him snorted, patting his own belly, "We've both put on a bit of weight since then, and I don't always have time to shave, but I thought at least you'd remember me by my cooking."

Genma's eyes went wide, "Kuonji-san? Is that you?"

"Saotome-san," Akira grinned back, then took a long puff on his pipe before adding, "You always were a mendicant. Never much cash to your name, either broke or in trouble and always one step ahead of the posse."

"Surely I'm not that bad," Genma laughed in a way that that was supposed to be dismissive, but before Akira could make a pointed comment their attention was drawn back to the children, who were at that very moment locked in their own very brief scuffle.

Nabiki had attempted to engage the small boy in some friendly conversation, complimenting him for the skill he displayed in working the grill with tiny spatulas designed to fit his small hands. The "boy" had warmed up to the flattery immediately, but then Nabiki said something that seemed to upset him for some reason.

"You're pretty good for a boy. I didn't know boys could be so handy at cooking."

"Boy?" Ukyo had reacted to the comment with annoyance, "I'm not a boy! I'm a girl!"

"A girl?" Nabiki replied with a start, "No way! You're pulling my leg, aren't you? I'd never have figured."

Ukyo bristled, "Just why do you think I'm a boy anyway? Just because of the way I dress?"

"Well, yeah," Nabiki said thoughtfully, "Among other reasons."

"Reasons?" Ukyo growled, "What reasons?"

"Well, y'know," Nabiki shrugged, "Just stuff."

Ukyo was very careful to remove the okonomiyaki from the stove and lay them out on paper plates before turning to face Nabiki with her spatulas at the ready, "Oh yeah! Well you take that back!"

Nabiki raised eyebrows at the implied threat, "What are you getting so upset about? You don't like people calling you a boy, why do you dress like one?"

"Look here," Ukyo growled in tiny rage, "I am one hundred percent girl, you got that? I dress like my dad over there. So what are you, a fashion critic?"

"Look," Nabiki said reasonably, "I just meant you come across like a boy. You behave like one, and with that Kansai accent of yours…"

"That's it!" Ukyo lunged forward, "You've had it!"

Ukyo was not intending to seriously hurt the other girl, just to frighten her with her spatulas and make her back off from her statement, unfortunately the girl was not standing in front of her anymore, and as Ukyo tried to figure out where she had gotten to, something pushed down on her head and she suddenly made close acquaintance with the sidewalk.

Akira sat up from where he watched the other girl alight daintily on her feet while his daughter pushed up from the ground with a very angry expression, "Not bad. She handles herself quite well."

"Ah, I'm sorry about my niece…" Genma started to say, but the other man waved the point away.

"Don't be," Akira said with a curious focus, "I want to see this."

Ukyo could not believe that the other girl had knocked her down with such casual ease. She was further enraged at seeing the cute, smug look that girl was giving her, so when she got back to her feet it was with full intent of fighting in earnest.

"Try that again, you…" she growled when Nabiki side-stepped her lunge and tripped her, then caught her other arm and gave it a tug that sent Ukyo tumbling onto the grass ass over teakettle.

"You were saying?" Nabiki asked with annoying calmness.

"That's it!" Ukyo snarled as she lunged to her feet for the second time, "You've had it!"

Nabiki just stood her ground and waited for the third lunge to be committed, then she caught both of Ukyo's wrists with her free hands and vaulted into the air, dragging the other girl off balance before letting go and planting her feet squarely to the back of her head. Somehow, Nabiki contrived to snatch one of the okonomiyaki off the cart before landing atop of the stunned Ukyo, pinning her to the grass while Nabiki casually took a bite from the Japanese pizza and said, "Hey, this is good! I take it back, you cook lots better than any boy could."

To Ukyo's horrified surprise she heard her father burst out in laughter, then Akira Kuonji came lumbering forward with the other man at his side and said, "Not bad at all! You make one hell of a trainer, Saotome-san. My little Ucchan could learn a lot from your methods, just like this little elfin minx of yours. I take back half of everything I ever said about you."

"Oh…uh…that's good," Genma replied in relief, then his expression became comically delighted as the other hand passed along the second okonomiyaki. Genma wasted no time in making it vanish then said, "Delicious!"

"Isn't it though?" Kuonji senior said, "My little girl cooks the best, almost as good as her mother."

"Girl?" Genma said very faintly.

"Thought she was a boy, huh?" Akira clapped Genma on the shoulder with a hearty laugh, "Lots of people make that mistake, but my Ucchan really is a little charmer if you give her half a chance. I'd even be willing to bet that she hits it off with your niece in no time at all, especially seeing how they have so much in common."

Ukyo could not believe her ears. Her father was praising this other girl for beating her up? And what did he mean they had so much in common? It wasn't right, it wasn't fair! How could he take her side over his own flesh and blood? It was so unfair…!

It's so unfair, thought a miserable Pur-Fum, all of six years old and feeling both cast off and dejected. The other girls were always picking on her because of her…unique problem, as if it were her fault that she had no pain threshold! The least little scratch and she was a ball of tears and weakness. Small wonder even her own mother could barely stand to look on her without shame! Some kind of an Amazon she would make when she got older…why had the Fates cursed her to be such a miserable failure?

"Pur-Fum!"

She shut her eyes and silently cursed the gods that saw fit to answer her silent petition in such a cruel and thoughtless manner. The fates really were having sport at her expense this morning. Of all the people to come and seek to comfort her it would have to be Mu-Tsu! She kept silent where she was and hoped that he would not somehow find her. Unfortunately, her luck was holding true and the half blind fool stumbled on her hiding spot as if guided by a magnet.

"Pur-Fum," the little boy said, as he appeared between the reeds that she was hiding behind, "There you are, why did you run off like that? I know they were being mean to you, but…"

"Go away," Pur-Fum sighed in the vain hope that he would listen. Unfortunately, the little pest was as persistent as he was far sighted.

"You know I can't do that," he said with a "please don't kick the puppy" expression that almost made her regret the fact that she could not return his affections, "I love you, Perfume, and I want to protect you…"

"Protect me?" Pur Fum sputtered, "You're the one who revealed my secret to everybody! If it wasn't for you, they wouldn't know how easy I am to hurt, and they wouldn't be bullying me and taunting me because of my weakness!"

"I'm sorry it happened," Mu-Tsu replied, "But it was an accident, Pur-Fum. Please believe me, I wouldn't do something like that to you deliberately…"

"If you didn't want to cause trouble, then why did you take off your glasses?" Pur Fum sniffed, "You know you can't see three feet in front of your nose without your prescription. You bumped me into that table because you couldn't see where you were going, so now my life is ruined, and all because of you!"

"Is that why you're here, Pur-Fum?" Mu-Tsu said with concern, "Jusenkyo? You know how dangerous it is! The Elders won't let us play here because of all the magic pools…"

"So?" Pur Fum sniffed, "Maybe I'll just throw myself into one of them and get it over with. Whatever I come out as can't be worse than this body! Or maybe I'll get an uncharged pool and just die here, create a whole new Spring of the Drowned Weak Girl. At least that way I won't wind up as such an embarrassment to my family…"

"Don't talk like that!" Mu-Tsu started to move towards her, but Pur-Fum scrambled to her feet and backed away.

"Don't touch me!" she snarled, "I don't want to be touched! Nobody understands what it's like…I didn't ask to be like this!"

"Perfume," Mu Tsu sounded alarmed, "What are you doing?"

"Keep away from me, Mu-Tsu!" she cried as she turned and started running for the cursed springs, "I really will do it, you know that!"

"No!" Mu Tsu cried as he ran after her, "Don't do it, Pur-Fum! This isn't the only way! You don't have to run away from the others. We can make them understand, we…"

"Hah!" Pur Fum shot back, already at the first of the pools as she stayed on the pathways and weaved around them, taunting him as she turned around and braced herself to play a game of dodge if need be, "Now you'd better stay away from me, Mu-Tsu, or you're liable to fall into one of these things and wind up cursed yourself! At least I have nothing to live for…"

"Sure you have something to live for, Pur-Fum," Mu Tsu tried to sound heroic as he added, "You have me!"

"Oh yeah?" Pur Fum called out as she started to turn around, "Well, who says I want you?"

Unfortunately, she did not see where her foot was planted and so she found herself nearly stumbling into one of the springs by accident. Quick wits and phenomenal reflexes saved her at the last moment as she started to recover her balance, but unfortunately for her Mu-Tsu saw her windmilling arms and--as was typical for him--overreacted.

"Pur-Fum!" Mu Tsu called out, then from one sleeve he produced a small chain that he hurled in her direction. He had his glasses on so he was able to see what he was aiming at, but unfortunately the sudden appearance of the chain had a different effect than he had intended. Pur-Fum reacted in surprise, then the pain of the chain wrapping around her all but overwhelmed her other senses so that she lost her balance entirely and went plunging head first into the water.

"Perfume?" Mu Tsu blinked with surprise, then he felt his chain grow slack and reeled it back, only to find it empty, "Pur-Fum!!! I…!"

Whatever heroic declaration he had been about to make was cut off as a creature broke the surface of the water, small and light bodied with long pink fur that darkened along the edges. The cat was struggling frantically to keep its head above the water and just barely managed to reach the bank of the spring in order to climb out, then shake her tiny body to shrug off some of the water.

"Pur-Fum?" Mu Tsu was astonished as the little kitten glanced down at itself, then its eyes grew wide as it examined its own paws, then felt the whiskers that covered her nose. She swished her tail before she was even aware that she had one and looked sourly in Mu-Tsu's direction.

"Ah…" Mu Tsu backed away, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to do that. You forgive me, don't you Perfume?"

A sharp hiss was his reply, and then the kitten sprang at his head and began clawing away trying to scratch up his face. Mu-Tsu cried out in dismay as he sought to dislodge the kitten and started running with it clinging to his shoulders. He lost his glasses rather swiftly, and then his balance as he failed to see which was he was headed. The cat managed to leap clear just in time as Mu-Tsu landed in one of the pools and vanished while Pur-Fum alighted on all fours and looked with some concern over her shoulder.

"Meow?" Pur-Fum asked, wondering what shape would surface from the water.

"Oh my," said a male voice as Pur-Fum turned a guilty start up to see the kindly face of the Jusenkyo tour guide, "What's this? We have someone fall into Maonichuan, the Spring of Drowned Cat? Oh…very tragic legend of cat who drown there long ago. Most unfortunate you fall in there, and--what's this? We have two in one day? Now that very tragic!"

Pur-Fum turned as she heard a form sputtering as it broke the water, and then the small hairy body that was mousse turned large dark eyes her way and made an inquiring noise, "Ook, Ook?"

"Too bad," the guide remarked, "You fall into spring of Drowned Monkey, there very tragic legend of monkey which drown there two thousand eight hundred year ago…"

"OOOK?" Mu Tsu started in reply while Perfume just sniffed her nose at him and decided to start off towards their village. No sense waiting around for the blind fool to find her since he was momentarily without his glasses, and beside…she rather thought his new form suited him rather nicely.

Her only dread on the way home was finding a way to explain this to her mother…that and hot water, provided anyone allowed her near their campfires. In the state of mind that she was in she hardly cared if they drove her away or even killed her. Life just sucked sometimes, and there was no use fighting it, she was twice accursed now, which meant that a reckoning with the Elders would soon be forthcoming…

Ukyo glared resentfully at the girl who was sitting beside her enjoying one of her father's okonomiyaki as if nothing were the matter between them. This Tendo Nabiki had such a smug air of self-confidence around her that it literally begged for a comeuppance. Unfortunately, Ukyo had to be nice and play the hostess while her father and Nabiki's uncle chatted away like old school buddies.

"So," Ukyo said by way of making conversation, "You're in training to be a martial artist."

"That's right," Nabiki replied, licking her fingers clean of sauce before she added, "That's why my father sent me to train with Uncle Genma. He traded me for a boy named Saotome Ranma, Uncle's son, who's gonna marry my little sister Akane some day. Lucky me, huh?"

"You don't want to train with your uncle?" Ukyo asked.

"It's not that," Nabiki replied, "Martial Arts is fun, but I miss having a roof over my head and a bed to sleep on. I even miss school, if you can believe it, and at least if I was home I'd eat regular meals every day and never go hungry."

Ukyo found her resentment easing a little as she sought for something else to say, then studied the other girl a moment before saying, "You're hair's pretty."

"Thanks," Nabiki said as she took one of her pony tails into her small hand and considered it before saying, "But lately I've been thinking of having it cut…"

"Cut?" Ukyo blinked, "Why would you wanna have it cut?"

"'Cause it gets in the way a lot," Nabiki said, "I think short hair's better for martial arts anyway, give somebody else less to grab ahold if in a fight. My big sister Kasumi has nice long hair, but I don't think mine will ever look as good as hers is. Maybe if I have it cut to a nice pageboy style I won't have to keep combing snarls out of it all the time. This life on the road really sucks sometimes, even if we do get to see some pretty interesting places."

"Tell me about it," Ukyo replied, feeling more of her hostility and resentment ebb away from her as she picked up her okonomiyaki and bit into it, relishing the flavor of her father's home-style cooking…

"What have you to say for yourself, Pur Fum?"

"Nothing," Perfume replied, her eyes downcast as she accepted the reprimand of her Elders.

Elder Pao-Dur turned to Elder Be-Dea and said, "This is such a waste…two young people cursed, and at such a young age. Bad enough that one child is already marred by a debilitating disorder…"

"Indeed," Be-Dea remarked, "This is proof again that our village is in desperate need of fresh blood. We are becoming too in-bred, and many of this generation are showing the signs of the slow attenuation of once noble bloodlines."

Elder Lo-Xion eyed her fellow Elders and then turned to regard the six year old child before them, the one who had a rare disorder that left her vulnerable to the ridicule of others, whether they be contentious six year olds or obscenely ancient--assuming one could tell the difference--and was now further weighted down by the curse of Jusenkyo. It seemed too much of a crushing burden for so small and helpless an individual and matters were hardly being helped by all the talk going on as if she were not present.

"I am so sorry that my daughter has been such a trouble for you," said Ker-Chief to the others, "She has tried so very hard to bring honor to this house, but the failing lies with me for not realizing sooner how her condition would impair her ability to achieve full warrior status."

"There is no shame for you that this has occurred," said Be-Dea, "Your child simply was not destined to live up to the standards set by your illustrious ancestor, in whose name she was so honored. The blame lays not with you or her but is the will of the gods."

"If only the Matriarch were here to decide for us what status to give this child now that she is so disqualified for warrior status," Pao-Dur sighed, "Unfortunately, Cologne is tending to some personal difficulties within her own family…that business with the Musk."

"Yes," Elder Kom-Pac noted gravely, "So many incidents where young people have gone against tradition. First that Lao Kane goes and marries a member of the Musk, now a year later she comes home with his blood on her hands, and then she defies our decision to leave the Musk alone, all for the sake of her son…and on top of everything she drags several other of our best young warriors with her into rebellion and exile…shocking."

"Indeed," Be-Dea agreed, "Steps will have to be taken if we are to repair relations with the Musk. The last thing we need at this time is another war with those Creatures. What with the recent troubles in Beijing…"

"Yes," Pao-Dur agreed soberly, "What we do not need is to draw attention from the authorities to this region. We must do something to assure the Musk that we mean to keep the peace that has existed between us for the past two generations. This simply is not like in the old days…"

"Oh yes," Kom-Pac agreed, "Before the Cultural Revolution we would have told their Prince where he could stick his decrees. Lao was clearly provoked into doing what she did, even if it does go against all of our traditions."

"It does not matter that she had cause," Be-Dea responded harshly, "To murder her own husband in defiance of all tradition is an affront that we cannot ignore. This matter is not only politically sensitive, it risks setting a very bad example to the other warriors of this generation. As such, it cannot be tolerated…"

"True," Pao-Dur cautioned, "But be mindful that many warriors secretly agree with what Lao did and find disfavor in the decisions we have made upon this matter. Now we will be forced to exile those who sided with her overtly, Blo-Sum and Lo-Tus, to make an example of them as well…"

"Let's not forget Cologne's adopted daughter, Soon-Li," Be Dea reminded, "Her part in this was as great as the others…"

"But Soon-Li had already left us when she chose to assist her adopted cousin," Kom-Pac noted, "So exiling her would be moot and most probably reflect poorly on us, maybe even make it seem as if we were being excessive…"

"At this point, no action can be considered excessive with the welfare of our tribe at stake," Be-Dea suddenly took notice of the one member of their quorum who had been silent the whole while, "What say you on this, Lo-Xion?"

Lo-Xion sighed as she regarded her fellow Elders, having spent her time studying the silent child and wondering what thoughts were running through her head since she had been seemingly ignored and all but forgotten during this conversation. She felt the need to intervene on the child's behalf, but what could she say that would convince the adults that the child still had worth to her family and people? That had been troubling her the whole while, which was why she had only half listened in to the chatter of her fellow Elders. Now that attention was focused her way again she looked resolutely into their expressions, having already formulated her reply without real effort.

"The Law does require banishment, and if it is the will of the Council, then banishment it will be," she noted gravely, "But keep in mind that there will be consequences if we do undertake this action. There is justice on Lao's side, even if she did ignore sage advice against marrying the Musk prince named Julep…"

"I never liked that inbred son of a Tiger anyway," Pao-Dur grumbled.

"Granted," Be-Dea said, "But we've already gone over all of that, so it's already been decided. Now…about this child of your House…"

"That, too, has already been decided," a voice they all knew and recognized drew their attention towards the door where Elder Kho-Lon had appeared without notice or warning, "The child will come with me and be trained at the side of my great granddaughter."

Lo-Xion arched her eyebrows, yet her inner senses and a prickling along the base of her spine made her look attentively at her ancient rival, a sure sign that destiny was being decided at that moment.

Pur-Fum looked up, surprised to find that the Matriarch herself had taken an interest in her case, but even more amazed that she would accept Perfume with all her imperfections.

"Elder?" Pur-Fum's mother inquired with a most surprised expression.

"Your daughter will leave your House and become my student," Kho-Lon said softly in a tone that brooked no contradiction, "She will replace the one who was my great granddaughter, she whose name must be stripped from the memory of all Amazons, to nevermore be spoken."

Pur-Fum's eyebrows threatened to disappear into her hairline. She was to be adopted by the Matriarch as well? She was stunned beyond imagining to have her fortunes suddenly reversed in such a manner, with the honor placed upon her far greater than she could believe or credit. Against all tradition she turned to stare at Kho-Lon, who alone of all present was short enough for her to meet at eye level.

"Elder," Pur-Fum's mother said hesitantly, "I would never question your decision, but for what reason have you decided this?"

"Because I believe that your child still has potential to be a great warrior," Cologne said, "And because I do not believe that she will achieve this potential if she remains where she is, an object of ridicule and scorn to your family. Place her in my care and I will do everything to see to it that she never disgraces herself again or brings shame on those who once counted her as family."

"Curious," Be-Dea said, "What is your interest in this girl? You surely don't believe that she could be a proper training companion for your Xian-Pu?"

"And why not?" Kho-Lon replied, "Do you believe that any child who trains under my care could fail to be anything but outstanding? You forget that I have trained the best of our warriors for nearly three centuries of Amazon history…"

"If you believe that this child can be a credit to herself and others, Matriarch," Lo-Xion spoke up, "Then I say that the blessings of the gods have fallen upon her, and far be it from the rest of us mere mortals to second guess them. Let the child train with Xian-Pu, it is certainly no worse a fate than to allow her to suffer the continual taunts of our village."

The other Elders all exchanged looks. Lo-Xion side with the Matriarch? That was exceedingly rare! But no one had an effective rebuttal to that statement, so the matter was decided and Pur-Fum soon found herself walking alongside one who was both the leader of her tribe and their greatest warrior yet living, wondering why she had been so favored to be adopted into her family. Her concerns only worsened when she saw Xian-Pu, who had been waiting in the Matriarch's house and who reacted with immediate dislike upon seeing Pur-Fum's presence.

"What is she doing here?" Xian-Pu said angrily, only to fall silent as the Matriarch reprimanded her with a sharp, "Do not be so quick to judge, let alone criticize. It has come to my attention that you have been slackening in your studies. I have decided to adopt this one to serve as your training companion. You will study together and I will mark your progress by comparing the achievement made by one to the other and thus determine your ultimate threshold…"

"With her?" Xian-Pu said in both disbelief and contempt, no doubt remember their many earlier clashes in the market places where Xian-Pu had been made to feel frustrated, before Pur-Fum's secret had been uncovered by Mu-Tsu, "What has a weak one like her to teach me, Elder? Surely you could have done better!"

"Is that so," the Matriarch said with a crafty smile, "Then perhaps you would care to demonstrate your superiority by striking a blow against this child. One blow should be sufficient to prove whether or not she is worthy of my training."

Pur-Fum reacted to that statement with alarm, but Xian-Pu only smiled and said, "With pleasure!"

As quick as a shot, the purple haired child came charging up at Pur-Fum, who reacted instinctively by dodging to the side and intercepting Xian-Pu's fist before it could reach her, exactly the way her mother had taught her. Xian-Pu's eyes went wide in alarm as their numerous previous clashes was repeated on their living room floor with her landing flat on her back while Pur-Fum stood over her, still holding the wrist she had grasped without thinking.

"You still think she is too weak to train with you?" Cologne's smile was now more relaxed and at ease, her point having been demonstrated, "It is true that Pur Fum lacks your ability to shrug off minor discomforts, but she has compensated for this by developing lightning reflexes to prevent just such an injury. When even a little pain is too great to bear the only choice a warrior has is to strengthen her defenses to where it becomes nearly impossible to touch her. You must learn to develop a stronger attack plan if you plan to penetrate her guard and strike the single blow that you know will end the encounter."

Pur-Fum looked up at the Matriarch in surprise, "Is that why you have adopted me, Elder? To help Xian-Pu become a stronger fighter?"

"Partly yes," Kho Lon replied, "And in part because I believe your own potential has been demonstrated by your ability to hide your weakness from others for so long. Only a blind fool like Mu-Tsu could have exposed the truth by mischance. You are indeed a gifted child in that your perceptions are far more sensitive than that of a normal warrior adept your own age. For example…what are they saying on in the house two rows down from here?"

Pur-Fum blinked, then paused to listen as she picked up the sounds of two voices raised in a shouting match, both heated and angry yet not quite to the level where violence was impending.

"Ro-Lan is browbeating her husband, Kon-Dom, for eating a berry pie that she had intended to share with Po-Lish and her husband," Pur Fum slowly answered, "He says that he was hungry and that she did not tell him in advance who the pie was for. She says he eats too much and will be too fat to perform…I'm not certain if I understand the correct martial arts maneuver she refers to…"

"Never mind," Kho Lon said hastily, "The point is that their voices are clear enough for you to understand their meaning. Can you perceive the same sounds, Great Granddaughter?"

Xian-Pu had regained her footing by this point and was looking at Pur-Fum with very round eyes, but she snapped to attention at the question and said, "No, Elder…they're just noises to me without any meaning."

"And what does your nose tell you, child?" Kho-Lon directed her question back in Pur-Fum's direction.

Pur-Fum sniffed the air then said, "Si-Kle has just walked by, I can tell by the honeysuckle smell she uses in her bath oils."

"Can you smell the same perfume, Xian-Pu?" Kho Lon asked her designated heir.

Xian Pu tried but had to shake her head and said, "No, Elder…no one could smell it on this day of spring. There's too much pollen in the air…"

"What do you say to that, child?" Kho-Lon asked Pur-Fum.

"She's right about the pollen," Pur-Fum said, "I smell six varieties of wildflower and two herbal plants that I recognize, but it's not so bad as on other days. I'm used to dealing with much more pollen than this on really warm days of the summer."

The Matriarch turned her smile towards Xian-Pu and said, "Still willing to call this one weak? In spite of her vulnerability, she has shown remarkable talent. Indeed, I dare say that the two of you constitute the premier talent of this generation, therefore I have decided that you train together, and that is all that will be said on the matter."

Xian-Pu gave a hard look at Pur-Fum but said nothing. Clearly it was not the end of the matter so far as she was concerned, but she would not say so in front of her Elder, especially not in light of having been made to look like a fool. Pur-Fum sighed inwardly, knowing that she would have a hard challenge ahead of her convincing the other girl that she was not her mortal enemy. They would have to build a level of trust if they were to train together, and it was hard to have that trust when all that they so far had was bad blood and some unpleasant moments, obviously a very weak foundation upon which to build a potential friendship…

Nabiki was enjoying the carnival immensely, having cruised by various booths and tables until she settled upon one that most captured her interest. Having borrowed a single hundred yen bill from her Uncle Kuonji she had elected to play the coin toss, sending five-yen coins into small fish bowls, and now she had the proprietor of this booth sweating profusely at the unbelievable "lucky streak" that had earned her more than half his inventory.

Now Nabiki was in the negotiating process, having convinced the man that five thousand-yen was a bargain to reclaim his stock, with the added promise on her end not to tell anybody and thus ruin his reputation. The man concluded the deal thinking he had been conned into believing a midget was actually this cute girl with the bowl haircut, or that he had been stung by a professional and dared not risk exposing this fact as it would call unwanted attention to his operation, so by his lights the five thousand yen was actually a good bargain.

Nabiki collected her money and was about to turn away when she heard Ukyo calling out to her. Giving her new friend her full attention, Nabiki asked her what was up and why did Ukyo appear so angry.

"There's this guy I lost money to!" Ukyo replied, "He plays cards and calls himself the Gambler King, and when I lost to him I got so mad that I bet him all of my spatulas…"

"Gambler King?" Nabiki asked with a puzzled expression, "Ukyo…why did you want to play cards against someone like that? Don't you know gambling's a suckers game unless you know what you're doing?"

"You're saying I don't know what I'm doing?" Ukyo huffed.

Nabiki folded her arms and said, "What all did you lose?"

Ukyo shuffled her feet for a moment before replying, "My father's yatai…"

"I rest my case," Nabiki rolled her eyes, "Ucchan, what were you thinking? Does your father know about this, and how could you bet your family's livelihood? You don't even own it yet…"

"But I will!" Ukyo insisted, "Some day father is going to give me the yatai when he retires, and when it's mine that rotten Gambler King will come to confiscate it, all because I gave him my marker…"

"Marker, eh?" Nabiki smiled, "I'd like to meet this Gambler King fellow and see if he's really all that good. Maybe he can teach me a thing or two about card tricks…"

"You lose," Nabiki crowed in triumph for the fifth consecutive time, relishing the look of stark disbelief on the face of her larger opponent, who could not seem to seriously credit that a seven year old child was able to beat him at card play.

"It can't be!" the Gambler King said in his heavily accented Japanese, "You're cheating!"

"What makes you say that?" Ukyo asked.

"Because he's cheating and I'm still winning," Nabiki said with relish, "Isn't that right, Mister Card-cheat?"

"Cheating?" the Gambler King reacted, "You insult me, lass! What grounds do you have to make such a vile accusation of your elders?"

"Oh, I dunno," Nabiki grinned, then her small hands moved like a blur, catching the man by the sleeve of one arm and yanking hard, tearing it loose to reveal a flurry of cards that tumbled all around them, "How about that for starters?"

The children and their parents who had gathered around to watch the contest between the diminutive Nabiki and the middle aged card player (who did in some odd way resemble the playing card King of Hearts, though not in standards of behavior) all gasped in astonishment at the perfidy in their midst. Ukyo was not the least outraged person present, but she clenched her tiny fists and stamped a foot as she growled, "Why you--Cheater!"

"I watched you play before I placed my own bet," Nabiki smiled, "I knew the sight of a thousand yen bill would get your interest, so I lost the first hand just to see how you managed it. The eye is quicker than the hand here, mister, and now you're exposed for what you are, a miserable card-cheat!"

"Why you…." The large man started to lurch forward, but one glance between two friends and then Ukyo and Nabiki were both hurtling through the air to land solid kicks against the man's chin and chest. He toppled backwards and groaned a bit, as much in pain as surprise, while their Uncle Genma and Kuonji-san approached, attracted by the commotion.

"What's going on here?" Genma asked.

"Oh, nothing, Pops," Nabiki replied, "I was just helping Ukyo expose a guy who was trying to cheat little kids out of their money. The guy's a real softie, glass jaw and everything…"

"What?" Genma was suddenly enraged as he turned towards the Gambler King and hauled the man up off his feet, shaking him until his teeth rattled, "How dare you do such a thing to innocent young children? What kind of a man are you? You ought to be arrested!"

"I think I'll get the authorities myself, "Akira noted, feeling proud of his daughter even though he was reluctant to publicly show it.

"Wow," Ukyo said, greatly impressed, "Uncle Genma sure looks upset."

"Don't look now," Nabiki said at the level of a bare whisper, "But Pops just picked that guy's wallet, not that he doesn't deserve it of course."

"Gee thanks, Nabiki," Ukyo turned in gratitude, "I owe you one for saving face with me and my father."

"Hey, it's what friends do for friends, right?" Nabiki replied in a way that hinted of ulterior motives, "You can owe me one for now. I'm sure we'll find a way you could make it up to me later…"

"What is this?" Pur-Fum asked as she stared at the metal wrist bands that Kho-Lon had just locked about her wrists and ankles.

"These," Kho-Lon replied, "Are a part of your training. You and Xian-Pu will wear these weights and grow accustomed to their encumbrance while I train your minds and bodies. In time, you will know why as you grew stronger in the art. Continue to train together and the both of you will be warriors out of legend. Now…demonstrate to me the basic moves for Fire, Earth, Air, and Water combat."

Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum exchanged glances then silently obeyed their Elder as they practiced side-by-side the motions of the four primal elements that formed the square base of the Pyramid of Light. Each knew the moves by heart, but with the added resistance provided by the weights they found it difficult to manage the pace, and it was much more exhausting as they went from one elemental stance to the next in sequence. By the end of the Water combat motions, each was ready to fall down with exhaustion, but neither would do so as long as the other one remained standing, so instead they remained in their stances of rest while glaring at one another, waiting for the other one to drop first.

Kho-Lon hid her smile of approval. This was indeed working exactly as intended. The two girls already respected each other as combatants, and now a rivalry had begun that was bound to be advantageous in motivating them to perform up to or surpassing the level of the other. As one increased in skill the other would naturally struggle to compensate and exceed them, and so on until each had reached their maximum potential as a fighter.

"Rest a moment, then begin the Three Elements of Ascension," she informed the breathless, panting children, "Iron, Wood and Spirit, and when you have finished that you shall rest again, and then we will begin with animal forms, and you will do them until I am satisfied that you are ready to learn something new."

Pur-Fum and Xian-Pu exchanged another nervous look between them, then resolved themselves to a very grueling practice session. It would be a long time until they reached full warrior status and already they were sweating it out, but neither would yield an inch or concede weakness. They silently began their motions, struggling with the added weight on their arms and legs, unconsciously moving in synchrony with one another like a pair of well balanced six-year old bookends…

"Genma-san, I've got to hand it to you," Akira said over a bottle of sake, "You really know how to train your ward. How did she do that trick with the fishbowls anyway? I hear the proprietor was even willing to pay her a bribe so nobody would find out, but naturally everybody did who was watching…"

"Oh, its nothing really, Kuonji-san," Genma replied as he sipped another cup of sake and relished the burning flavor going down his throat, "Just a matter of learning how to throw something without thinking about it. Thinking's the problem with most people tossing things accurately you know…they get their egos in the way, tell themselves they can't do it, unconsciously mess up the signals from brain to arm…or something like that. The master explained it to me and Soun when we were in training…just a really easy thing, letting your body do all the work for you, from the eye to the arm to the wrist to the fingers. We got amazing brains that can figure out the trajectories and…stuff like that…and if we let them do their job then there's never any problem…"

"But only if the body and mind are as one," Akira noted, "That's the trick I've been trying to teach Ucchan with throwing spatulas…you just gotta let things happen, throw by instinct, feel the target and all that…"

"Yep, that's the key all right," Genma noted, holding out his cup for more sake, which Akira obligingly poured, "It's all instinct and gut-level intuition and…whatever I said. Nabiki picked it all up in just a few weeks of training…she really is amazing, that one."

"Yes, so I've seen," Akira mused, "She's training Ukyo even better than I could. It's so hard knowing how to raise a little girl to be a great martial artist and carry on the family Ryu. I don't know you've managed to do, Genma-san…"

"Oh, no trick to it," Genma replied, "Nabiki takes care of herself most of the time. I just see to it she does her katas and warm-up exercises every morning and she takes care of the rest. She's a strong girl, and very smart, she's be a great martial artist some day. I promised her father I'd see to that…"

"You've shown me you know the way about that," Akira stared into his cup a moment before adding, "Ukyo and Nabiki...they get along pretty good. A pity they're both girls…"

"Oh?" Genma asked, "Why is that?"

Akira sighed, "I won't lie to you, Genma-san…I've not been in the best of health lately. It's getting harder every morning to get up and push the cart around. I've been thinking of taking it easy, maybe buy a shop somewhere and set down roots for a bit. This life on the open road is for a younger man than me…though it seems as if you were born to the life."

"Oh, I just know how to get along," Genma said with false modesty, "And what are you talking about? You look fine in our sparring matches, maybe a little slow with your guard, and you could stand to do more work on your dodging…"

"Exactly," Akira replied, "Which is why I'd consider it a favor it you took Ukyo with you on your training mission…just for a while, long enough for her to learn a little something about Kempo."

"Take her with me?" Genma was almost stunned into sobriety by that statement, "Whatever for? Don't you love your daughter?"

"It's not something I can boast about," Akira said in completely sober terms, "But I do love her…I just don't always know how to show it. I've not been much of a father to her lately…my fault, I suppose, but she can be such a handful always training. I feel it in my bones that she has it in her to be a better chef than I ever was, maybe even a far greater martial artist. If only she had the right trainer, or someone who could keep her on the path of true Martial Arts glory…"

"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me," Genma replied, "But I'm overwhelmed enough just looking after Nabiki."

"Nonsense," Akira waved a hand dismissively, "You just got done saying how easy it was with your niece all but raising herself. Ukyo's the same way, I'm absolutely positive that she'll pull more than her own weight if she travels with you, and with someone close to her own age to train with…"

"Nabiki is one year older," Genma pointed out, "At this age, a single year's more growth is quite an advantage."

"But it won't be one forever," Akira sighed and shook his head, "It's too bad you never had a son, my friend…it would even improve matters…"

"Oh, I have a son," Genma replied, "Didn't I tell you? His name's Ranma and he's currently with his mother at the Tendos."

Akira blinked, "Care to run that by me again? You have a son, but here you are out training Soun's daughter? Why is that?"

"Uh…um…part of the deal we made, really," Genma replied, his befuddled wits made thinking even harder than usual, "We pledged to unite our families, so Ranma's engaged to marry Soun's youngest daughter, Tendo Akane, whose about the same age as my son. They've been together the last few months while I've been looking after Soun's middle child. His wife, you see, has been feeling rather poorly of late and can't afford the strain of looking after three daughters…"

"So you and your wife have nobly stepped in to help out," Akira sounded impressed, "How noble of you, and such a pity, really, your son being betrothed and all that."

"Why so?" Genma asked, having forgotten the original thrust of the conversation.

"Because I've been worried about my Ucchan ever finding a man of her own," Akira replied, "I want my daughter to be happy, but most people tend to think that she's a boy because of the way she dresses and acts. I was thinking maybe if your son and my daughter were engaged that Ukyo's future would be secured and I could finally rest easy."

"But of course that's impossible," Genma noted, "My son is marrying Tendo Akane."

"And such a damn shame that is," Akira said grimly, "After all, part of Ukyo's dowry would be my yatai, and she could practice cooking you meals so that you and Nabiki wouldn't have to go hungry…"

"Sold!" Genma burst out, clasping Akira's hands, "I mean…what a noble offer you have made. I'm truly touched by your plight and have decided to reconsider my position. I just need to consult with Nabiki to let her know that Ukyo will be coming with us."

Akira smiled, his sales pitch having achieved the right objective of swaying Genma's opinion. As much as he liked his old friend he knew all too well that Genma tended to think more with his stomach than his head, so convincing him was just a matter of appealing to his baser instincts. Akira had been meaning to set the yatai aside anyway as his wandering days were surely numbered. Arthritis was making the simple act of walking hurt a lot more these days, so he would use the money he had been quietly salting away for retirement to open his own restaurant. In a way, Genma was doing him a favor to take the cart off his hands, giving Akira the perfect excuse to finally settle.

"The yatai is yours then," Akira replied, pouring more sake so that they could drink about it, each man feeling a rosy glow of brotherly togetherness, though Genma was quick to hide a slight frown as he belatedly realized just what it was he had agreed to.

Some distance away, Ukyo and Nabiki came upon the pair singing to the moon as if they were in a Karaoke bar, and Ukyo murmured, "What do you suppose has them so happy?"

"Who knows?" Nabiki smiled thoughtfully, licking on a Popsicle while forming a typically mischievous expression, "Looks like they'll keep drinking until they pass out, and you know what that means?"

"No," Ukyo asked, intrigued, "What?"

Nabiki allowed her smile to show before answering, "We get a pair of magic markers and doodle over both of their faces."

Ukyo shared her grin as she relished the idea. Why had she never thought about doing that with her father? Nabiki was such a fun person to hang around with, always full of all kinds of neat suggestions…

"What's wrong?" Pur-Fum asked Xian-Pu as she saw her companion frown.

"We are being watched," the other child said.

"Oh," Pur Fum shrugged, "That's just Mu-Tsu. He crept up a little while ago and thinks I didn't hear his approach. Ignore him, he's harmless."

"Harmless?" Xian-Pu said in disbelief, "Wasn't he the one who cursed you?"

Per-Fum growled an unintelligible response to that and went back to practicing with the streamers to get the pattern down exactly as Elder Kho-Lon wanted. After that, she would go to work with the punji sticks and three-sectioned staff, hoping this time to do the motions correctly. Kho-Lon was stingy with praise but liberal when it came to finding fault in one's motions, but it wouldn't be so hard to please her adopted great grandmother so much if it were not for the weighted cloths that Kho-Lon insisted she and Xian-Pu wear in place of lighter clothing.

Xian-Pu sighed and started her own practice motions employing a Chinese straight-edged sword, remarking rather off-handedly, "You know, he wouldn't be bothering you now if you hadn't rescued him from those girls two seasons ago…"

"I know!" Pur-Fum snapped, then glared directly ahead as she added, "I just didn't like the way they were picking on him on account of his eyesight. How was I to know he'd take it the wrong way? I don't like people picking on others who are weaker. What kind of warrior does that? It's hardly a fit test of our combat skills."

Xian-Pu rolled her eyes, "I don't know how you put up with him. If he were coming onto me like that I'd belt him into next Harvest Season. He's so annoying…"

"You've got that right," Pur-Fum rolled her eyes, then redoubled her movements with the streamers, flicking them out to strike at a series of imagined opponents. After she'd worked the edge off her anger, though, she paused to remark, "But in a way I feel sorry for him as well. He puts up with so much taunting from the others, I think I'd explode if I had to take that kind of criticism."

Xian-Pu almost stumbled and lost her balance. She righted herself only to turn and stare with disbelief at her companion, "You have got to be kidding me! Pity Mu-Tsu? That's like feeling pity for a hedgehog!"

"I know he's a lot of trouble, and he can't see three meters ahead of him without those prescription glasses your mother has him wear," Pur-Fum remarked with almost casual disinterest, "And yes he is unbelievably thick headed and occasionally quite stupid, but did he ask for all of that? Was he born accursed of the gods in the same way that I was? Who better to understand what it must be like for him than me? Remember, aside from you, everyone else in this village thinks I'm just some pathetic weak girl who isn't worthy of the Matriarch's training."

Xian-Pu had no response for that. In some ways her friend was appallingly soft-hearted, and in other ways she was incredibly annoying, but Xian-Pu had gotten to know her better after months of intense training side-by-side, and she would have been the last person in their village to concede that Pur-Fum was weak about anything, aside from her hypersensitivity to pain. In some ways she even envied her companion a little for that as it got Pur-Fum out of many painful and exacting exercises that their Great Grandmother insisted on Xian-Pu performing. It would be nice to have an excuse like that to get out of those duties, but then again Pur-Fum was hardly being treated to a light workload…

Xian-Pu just sighed and resumed her training, "You ask me, you're begging for trouble. Mu-Tsu just doesn't understand that you have no feelings for him beyond pity, and if he keeps this up he's going to annoy great grandmother…"

Pur-Fum stopped practicing and signaled to Xian-Pu to fall silent. Both girls paused to listen, then Xian-Pu made out a crackling in the bushes and went on the alert, both girls tensing as if expecting an ambush.

Instead, the small body that fell out from the bushes and made a startled gasp hardly seemed all that threatening, especially with Mu-Tsu hovering over it with a menacing expression.

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, "And why are you stalking Pur-Fum?"

"Please!" the small girl whimpered, "I didn't mean any harm! I was just watching them practice…"

Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum each blinked their eyes at the sight of a girl about their own ages cowering under Mu-Tsu, who had a chain wrapped around her small body. Mu-Tsu looked uncertain about what he had caught himself, but the boy was not ready to lower his guard so easy and said, "You were spying on them? Were you hoping to discover something about their training methods to help you defeat them in the contests?"

"No!" the girl pleaded, "It was nothing like that! You have to understand, I was not watching them from any intended malice…"

"Mu-Tsu," Xian-Pu called to the boy, "Let her go this instant!"

"But she could be a spy or…" Mu-Tsu started to protest, but Pur-Fum more gently cut him off.

"We won't know if you don't let her up for us to question. She doesn't seem all that threatening to me, and I, for one, would like to know who she is before you pound her."

The boy relented, seeing the hard look Pur-Fum gave him. His glasses fogged over as he thought about being even momentarily the center of her attention, so he did not notice when the child he had cornered slipped out from his chain and got to her feet to put a few meters distance between them.

"Who are you?" Pur-Fum asked the nervous child, who had bright blue hair and astonishing pink eyes with distinctive Amazon features that made her seem quite pretty for her tender age. There was something about the girl that made Pur-Fum suddenly want to protect her.

"Lo-Xion," the child replied, quietly adding, "The younger."

Xian-Pu reacted to the name, "You're the great granddaughter of Lore Master Lo-Xion, cousin to Ka-Chu, a warrior I once fought against…"

"Y-Yes," the girl replied timidly, "I'm sorry I was spying on you…I wanted to see you practice. You two are the best in our village and…I…well…I just wanted to watch."

"To spy you mean," Mu-Tsu persisted, "What were you going to do, tell your cousin about the special training techniques of the Matriarch?"

"No!" the girl all but shouted, "I just wanted to watch! I'm…I'm sorry. Let me go home, I won't tell anyone what I've seen…"

"Why did you want to watch us train?" Pur-Fum inquired, "Did you hope to gain any pointers?"

The blue haired girl just looked down and said, "Please…please don't tell my mother…"

Xian-Pu frowned and said, "Your mother is Balm, correct? Why isn't she out training you?"

"My mother has patrol duty," Lo-Xion replied, "I was with my Aunt Silk, who's consulting with the Matriarch, when I discovered you two were training together and…well…I was curious. You two are so good. I wish I was half as good a warrior as you are."

"Silk is studying to be a Lore Master, right?" Pur-Fum exchanged looks with Xian-Pu, "I guess you didn't mean us any harm. I'm sorry if Mu-Tsu overreacted…"

"He tends to do that a lot," Xian-Pu noted.

"Hey!" Mu-Tsu immediately protested, when another voice cut into their conversation.

"There you are, I thought I told you not to wander off like that."

Lo-Xion winced and said, "I'm sorry, Aunt Silk. I was just curious…I didn't mean to cause trouble…"

"Of course you didn't, child," said a kindly brown haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties, "I just worry that you might be disturbing the Matriarch's great granddaughters while they are working out. I'm so sorry about this, Xian-Pu, Pur-Fum, please forgive the interruption."

"Oh, it was no problem, Auntie," Xian-Pu replied to one whom she knew of only as best friend to her mother, "It was really Mu-Tsu who was being disruptive."

"Hey!" Mu-Tsu protested once again.

"She's right, boy," the Matriarch said as she joined in the conversation, "You shouldn't be hanging around bothering my students like this. Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum are more than capable of looking out for themselves. And you two…get back to your training!"

"Yes, Great Grandmother," both Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum said in chorus, though each shot a coy look towards Lo-Xion, whom they saw was smiling shyly in their direction, much to the amusement of her Aunt and the annoyance of both Mu-Tsu and their elder…

Genma had thought long and hard over what to do before taking decisive action to head of what he thought would be a potential problem in the making. It had been an agonizing choice to make, yet what else could he do? He had made an honorable agreement with Kuonji-san that could not be honored, not if his promise to Soun Tendo were to be upheld. After all, it wasn't like the boy could marry two iinazuke…

If Ranma were with him he could offer the boy a choice, but in the end it all came down to Genma's pledge to Soun that their families would be united. So he had chosen to remove himself from Kuonji's presence, taking the yatai cart with him in the dead of night after insuring that Akira had drunk more than Genma the night before and would be likely to sleep longer and wake up with more of a headache. That would discourage all thought of pursuit and give Genma enough of a head start to avoid a messy altercation.

His one problem, of course, was convincing his niece of the necessity behind his actions. Genma had already learned the hard way just how difficult it was to deceive this child, who tended to question everything and take nothing on assumption. He had worked out his plan very carefully by insuring that she would be tired from a long workout and sleep longer and more soundly than usual, then he had placed her in the yatai with sufficient blankets to muffle any bumps and jarring from that might disturb her rest and stated out with the hope that she would not wake up until they were a good long ways away from their previous campsite.

Of course, Nabiki was a very sound sleeper, so when she got up it was almost daybreak, and what she found was that she was inside the enclosed area formed when the roof of the yatai was retracted for easy transport. The sound of the cart's wheels against smooth asphalt, coupled with the slight jarring sensation of movement, told her that they were moving down the road at a steady pace, so she got up and knocked on the hatch to get someone's attention, intending to ask her uncle Kuonji just why she was sleeping over the grill heavily swaddled in blankets.

The cart ceased moving, then a moment later the roof was lifted up as her uncle Genma looked down with a guilty smile that was obviously hiding something.

"Sleep well, Nabiki-chan?" he asked in a much too casual manner.

"Uncle Genma?" Nabiki rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sought to extricate herself from the blankets, "Where are we? What's going on? Where are uncle Kuonji and Ucchan?"

"Nabiki-chan," Genma said tentatively, "I have something that I need to explain to you…"

Nabiki shot the man a sharp-eyed glance and said, "You stole their yatai?"

"No!" Genma insisted, reaching into his gi to pull out a folded slip of paper, "I didn't steal it, Kuonji-san gave it to me for a present so that you and I would not be hungry. You see? I have the marker you won back from the Gambler King and it even has Kuonji-san's signature on it…"

"So you stole that from him too?" Nabiki said in growing agitation.

"I didn't steal it!" Genma insisted, "I'm just…holding onto it until we both can find lodgings to settle down during your training. The Yatai will help to feed us, then when we're done with it I'm giving it back to Kuonji."

"Oh really?" Nabiki jumped down from the cart and looked up at the burly man whom she knew could not be trusted any farther than she could throw him, "I don't suppose you'd care to let me hear that from their own lips, would you? Why don't we go find uncle Kuonji and Ucchan and ask if they know that you have their yatai?"

"Uh…we can't," Genma winced nervously, "They took off while you were resting. You had such a busy day you slept right through our good-byes…"

Nabiki sighed. Her uncle Genma was such a terrible liar! She would have to work on him to make him less of a liability in the future. In the meantime, there was the problem posed by the yatai, which was probably stolen goods and likely to get them both into trouble, especially since she knew her uncle Genma was a lousy cook, and Nabiki had never even thought about cooking her own supper.

She would have to do something about it, most probably sell it or give it away somewhere and find another way of earning their meals. They had managed to put together some money under her careful management schemes but it was pitiful compared to what they would need for months of open travel, not made any easier by Genma's avarice and clumsiness at money management. No way could she trust her future to this idiot, whose only skill lay in martial arts. Nabiki would have to be the brains for their outfit and keep a close eye on uncle Genma to avoid more entanglements like this business with the yatai.

She only hoped that--wherever Ukyo was--her friend would somehow find it in her heart to one day forgive this…

"Dad!" Ukyo all but screeched, "The yatai's gone! Somebody took it, and I can't find Nabiki or Uncle Genma anywhere…?"

"Huh?" Kuonji-senior said gruffly, his mouth full of cotton and his head three sizes larger than normal, "Wuzzat? Oh…the yatai…guess that's not too surprising…"

"What?" Ukyo said, "What do you mean it's not surprising? The yatai's gone…"

"Not gone," Akira snorted, half-burying his face in the pillow he carried with his portable futon, "Genma probably took it…"

"What?" Ukyo reacted, "But…why?"

Akira sighed. His tongue really did taste like old shoe leather. He should have guessed the reason for Genma being so generous the last night with the sake…

"Calm down, kid," he tried to sound reasonable, "I made an agreement with Genma, that's all, in exchange for the yatai…"

"WHAT?" if anything Ukyo's voice sounded angrier than ever, "You what? But…that was our livelihood! How are we going to support ourselves? What were you thinking, Dad?"

Akira gave a tired grunt, muttering soft curses into his pillow for Genma not taking the kid with him as promised. Now he would have to explain things to his daughter, and he really hated having to play the scolding father…

"Ucchan," he replied, turning his face from the pillow to address her, "We don't need to worry about anything. I've already put money down on a new place where we'll be staying…"

"For how long?" Ukyo asked with suspicion.

"Hopefully quite a while," Akira replied, "You see, we're starting up a restaurant, so the yatai is no longer needed…"

"N-Nani?" Ukyo blinked, "Wait a minute…you bought a restaurant and you didn't tell me, Dad? But…that yatai is for me! You promised I could have it when I got older…"

"And you will," Kuonji said, "It's your dowry, after all…"

"My what?" Ukyo looked stunned.

"You'll get the cart back when you marry Genma's son," Akira replied, "It's already been decided between us that when you grow up you'll marry a boy named Ranma…"

"Ranma?" Ukyo reacted, "You're engaging me to a horse? Dad, how could you? Have you even seen what this boy looks like?"

"Doesn't matter," Akira replied, "All that matters is you'll have a husband who's a strong fighter and can help you look out for things when I'm no longer around. I'm only thinking of your future, Ucchan…"

"My future???" Ukyo raged, balling her fists as she cried, "YOU JACKASS!!!"

"Ucchan--!" Akira started to call out, only to see his little girl go storming away in a cloud of anger. He started to get up only to think better of the idea when a throbbing at his temples proved the more convincing argument. With a sigh he resolved to drink a whole pot of coffee before he explained things to her again in terms that he hoped she would understand better.

"Could have gone better," he sighed as he pried himself out of his bedroll…

"How could he! How could he? HOW COULD HE!?!" Ukyo stormed as she fought her way to the top of a nearby hill, then planted herself down on a rock to brood about the cruelty of her only living parent. It was just so like her Dad to do something like this behind her back, and to say it was for her own welfare! Just what kind of daughter did he think she was? The tame, obedient kind who blithely did what she was told and never complained about his decisions?

She shut her eyes against the tears she swore that she would not shed and brooded some more. It was just so damned UNFAIR! The yatai belonged to her, it was for her to claim when she was old enough to take the business up from her father. She had tried so hard to prove to him that she was worthy of his trust, and she had made such progress lately as a chef, and Nab-chan had even complimented her for the way that she was improving…

Nab-chan! She was in on this! Surely Genma was not smart enough to pull something like this off without her knowledge and tacit approval! Some friend she turned out to be! If she met Nabiki again she was going to pound that girl senseless…

It was because Nabiki was a better fighter, more feminine, right? Yeah, that had to be it. Her father was disappointed in her because she was a girl, but she wasn't girl enough to impress him when a real girl with charm happened by, so naturally Ukyo had looked bad by comparison. It wasn't her fault that she was so un-feminine! Ukyo never had anyone to teach her what being a girl meant! Nabiki at least had spent more time with her mother and was better able to project her feminine wiles, but Ukyo…all she knew how to do was imitate a boy in the hopes of attracting her father's approval!

Well then, if a boy was what her father wanted, a boy was what she would be! Ukyo silently vowed that she would become the son her father could be proud of, that she would never reveal her true sex to anyone, and that she would demonstrate to her stupid old man that she could handle herself without needing any boy to look after her. She would take over his business by proving to him that she was more than capable of managing by herself! Her father would even come to believe that he had a fine son that he could be proud of, and then she would show him just how independent she was by hunting down this Saotome Ranma and defeating him in combat, along with Nabiki and her idiot uncle!

"I'll show them!" Ukyo cried as she leaped to her feet and waved tiny fists at the heaven, "I'll prove it to them all! You'll see how good I can be, father, if it kills me!"

When she calmed down enough she said a silent prayer to the memory of her mother, then clapped her hands and said goodbye to her femininity forever. From that moment on she would be a boy in mind, body and spirit, and she would train as hard as she could to master her family's Ryu, mixing their Shotokan in with some basic Kempo so that Nabiki would not enjoy any advantages in their next meeting.

She started back down the hill, grim, set and determined to practice. Let her father's doubts be cast where they would, she would prove herself to him if it was the last thing she did before going on to greet her ancestors…

Pur-Fum stared down at the fallen girl and could hardly believe that anyone could be so clumsy. Without thinking about it, she offered Lo-Xion a hand, which the other girl accepted shyly, smiling up at Pur-Fum in a way that made her feel strangely uneasy.

"I'm sorry," Lo-Xion said softly, "I'm such a clumsy cow, I can't do this right without falling."

"You have to be more patient with yourself," said Xian-Pu very softly, "This movement requires that you relax and take things easy, move slowly and feel your way from one motion to the next. Don't think about it at all, just let your body glide, let your feet find their place and concentrate upon your center."

"You two are so good to me," Lo-Xion said, almost crying, "I don't deserve to have friends like you. I know that I'll never be half as good a warrior as the other girls. They tease me all the time, you know, and Mu-Tsu…"

Perfume's hands tensed upon the axes clutched in her hands, the ones she was training with in spite of their poor balance. Looking on the hapless girl in front of her she felt a sudden desire to punish anyone who would take advantage of her weakness.

"You need to take it easy on yourself," Pur-Fum said gruffly, wishing she had Xian-Pu's talent for soothing the girl's nerves with reassuring words, "Just be as good a warrior as you know how to be, don't worry about being the best. Xian-Pu here is worth ten other warriors, so you can't really compare yourself to her…"

"Or you," Lo-Xion said shyly with a smile that made Pur Fum's stomach feel funny, "You're just as good as she is, and everyone is afraid of you. They say you'll become the next tribal enforcer…"

"But I'm not good enough to be our champion," Pur-Fum wondered why Lo-Xion always affected her this way, and when she caught Xian-Pu's own smile towards their hapless friend it made her feel an unaccountable twinge of resentment.

"That doesn't matter," Lo-Xion said, looking from one girl to the other, "You two belong together as the right and left hand of our future. The Matriarch herself has said that you're destined to be the best warriors our village has ever produced, while I'm probably the worst warrior who has ever lived. My own mother thinks I'm little more than a burden to our clan…"

"You mustn't let her get to you this way," Xian-Pu laid a gentle hand on Lo-Xion's shoulder, only to have the girl wince sharply and recoil from the contact. Xian-Pu was as puzzled as Pur-Fum by this reaction and said, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Uh…it's nothing…" Lo-Xion replied evasively, "I'm just so clumsy, I sort-of wrenched my shoulder the other day and…"

Pur-Fum's eyes widened, then with a quick step forward she seized hold of the girl's shirt and yanked it down suddenly, turning Lo Xion around so as to expose her backside to full view. Xian-Pu gasped in astonishment, though what they saw only confirmed Pur-Fum's worst suspicions. Lo-Xion had bruises all up and down her body, ugly red and purple marks, some recent others slowly healing and quite obviously much older.

"Who did this?" Pur-Fum's own harsh voice surprised even her, but one glance at Lo-Xion's body was enough to give her sympathetic twinges of mental anguish as her own frail nervous system could not have endured even one of those terrible bruises.

"Whoever did this is dead," Xian-Pu said simply in the manner of a blood oath.

"N-No," Lo Xion shuddered, "It wasn't her fault, it was mine! I'm such a disappointment to her, she's really so embarrassed…"

"She…is embarrassed?" Xian-Pu slowly exchanged looks with Pur-Fum, and though they were only nine seasons old they already knew the significance of those bruises.

"Your mother did this to you?" Pur-Fum asked, though it was not really a question. Balm had made no secret of her displeasure in her own child and it would hardly be surprising that she would express this in private. Pur-Fum's own memories of her mother as much as confirmed that it could have been her who was now cowering before herself and Xian-Pu, and in silent acknowledgement the two friends agreed on what steps should be taken.

"We must inform great grandmother," Xian Pu said softly…

Ukyo cried out in rage as she swung an ordinary wooden baker's peel about her head, lashing out with her anger turned against the raging sea as she stood against the incoming tide, smashing against the waves and venting her anger.

How dare he treat her this way, she fumed, how could her father do this to her? She had to show him that she could cook for the customers, that she was good enough to work in his restaurant in spite of being only nine years old. Her cooking skills were improving every day, along with her martial arts, so why couldn't he see it, and why did nothing ever seem to please him?

A hard wave shot up as Ukyo braced her small sandaled feet against the coral rock and met its oncoming fury. The baker's peel shot forward in her hands and slapped the wave, backed by all the power of her arms, and the wooden handle snapped in twain as Ukyo uttered a startled oath and was swept off her feet by the power of the briny water.

She sputtered as she came back to the surface, then stood up as the tide pulled out again, her feet sinking into the sand as she stared at the broken handle that she was holding. She was almost shaking with anger and in surprise at her upset. Obviously she was going to have to use sturdier materials if she was to train under these conditions. She gave the wooden handle an accusing glare then casually tossed it over her shoulder.

Her father's cry caught her attention and as she glanced back to shore she saw him standing there looking at her with an anxious expression. Ukyo trudged back to join him on dry land, ignoring the surf that washed about her feet until it nearly stole one of her sandals, then she hopped the last few feet and stood glaring resolutely up at her father.

"What are you doing, Ucchan?" her father wondered.

"I'm training, Dad," Ukyo folded her arms and pouted, "What does it look like?"

"Training?" Akira lifted an eyebrow, glancing back towards the rocky outcrop that she had been standing upon a few moments ago.

"Against the raging seas, of course," Ukyo replied as if the matter were too obvious to bear pointing out, "I'm trying to become a better cook and martial artist."

"Against the sea?" Akira replied, "Isn't that kind of pointless?"

"Of course it's pointless, Dad," Ukyo huffed as she trudged on past him, "Haven't you ever seen Samurai Movies?"

She half expected to be cuffed for the rudeness of that remark, but instead her father said, "Perhaps it would help if you had better materials for training."

"What?" Ukyo halted in mid-stride and turned a questioning look towards her father.

"Come with me," he indicated, and soon they arrived back at the restaurant, which was closed for the holiday. Akira led his daughter to the back of the shop then opened the store room and went inside for a moment. He emerged a minute later holding up an object for Ukyo's immediate inspection.

Ukyo gasped as her small hands closed upon the haft of a heavy iron baker's peel, her family heirloom, which she thought had been lost along with the yatai. How her father had come upon it she did not know, but Ukyo handled the thing, feeling its weight and slowly smiling as she felt its great age and long history in her grasp. There was much tradition in this simple implement of cooking, which had been with the Kuonjis as far back as anyone could remember.

"It's yours to train with, Ucchan," her father said simply, "A weapon that will not snap or fail you when you need it. Treat it well, treat it with respect, but above all use it only in a just cause. Some days it may be your only friend."

"Thank you, father," Ukyo smiled, then moved out into a clear space to begin practicing with the weapon. For a nine-year-old she handled it pretty well, and Akira only smiled. If he couldn't outright say how he felt about Ukyo and her intense dedication to her studies he could at least demonstrate it in little ways. Besides, watching her use the peel as she was reminded him very much of her mother, who was also lithe and skilled in her own way. His late wife would have been proud of their daughter's progress, and as he thought this he felt a tell-tale twinge in his side that had been occurring more and more of late, a sure sign of his own mortality as he sought for ways of preparing Ukyo for her future…

Kho-Lon's sigh contained much sadness as she confronted her fellow elder. For once Lo-Xion the Lore Master did not have her smug, confident air of all-knowing sagaciousness about her. No one could feel proud having to face up to something of this serious a nature.

"It is my fault," Lo-Xion the Elder said softly, "My granddaughter has been out of control for some time and it was my place to see it. Silk warmed me that Balm was losing patience with the child, but I never thought she would react with such severity…"

"No," Kho-Lon said just as sadly, "We never see it when it's in our own midst, only when others point it out to us, in this case by my great granddaughters. I have examined the child for myself and can only conclude that affairs have gone beyond intolerable. For her own sake your great granddaughter must be removed from her mother's house and fostered elsewhere."

"You know I don't have a problem with that," Lo-Xion said soberly, "But Balm will be another matter. She will not take kindly to the implied criticism in her parental skills, one reason that I have been reluctant to intervene in the past. It is, as you say, beyond intolerable and so for her own sake as well as my namesake I must now intervene and place her with my other Granddaughter. Silk adores the child and considers her very quick witted and talented, if not warrior material, or even quite suited to the craft of Lore Mastery."

"You have an alternative suggestion for her training?" Kho-Lon asked.

"It is my belief that she could make an excellent Healer," Lo-Xion replied, "She has the touch and the patience, and given time to recover from her injuries she may be able to achieve the mental focus that will be required to follow in your Granddaughter's footsteps. I would apprentice her now, but Comb is very busy tending to not just our village but others…"

"Quite so," Kho-Lon agreed, "Silk would have more patience for the child anyway and she could learn many useful domestic skills. As our granddaughters are already good friends it would serve our interests to allow Comb to train her when she is in the village and at other times leave her in Silk's care. A fine resolution to this problem…the only question is what shall be done about Balm? She needs to be counseled to overcome this problem that she has developed…"

"That, too, is something that I must attend to, Matriarch," Lo-Xion replied, "I will see to it that Balm is redeemed back into our society, provided word of this unfortunate matter does not gain wider circulation. I trust that I may rely upon the discretion of your two wards?"

"Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum will remain silent if I instruct them to do so," Kho-Lon said gravely, then a frown creased her brow as she added, "They are both enormously fond of your great granddaughter. It was because they were trying to privately school her in the warrior arts that they were able to uncover this…unfortunate situation."

The Lore Master gave her Matriarch a sly look and said, "Don't tell me you disapprove of their interest? They are young, Kho-Lon, and innocent of heart. Surely you don't mean to tell me that if something were to occur between them in a few years it would offend your sensibilities?"

"I do not wish my heirs to be distracted in their training," Kho-Lon said gruffly, "When the time is right and they are ready to assume their positions in our tribe of Champion and Enforcer, then they may dilly dally and think of romantic notions of that nature, though it is just as likely that they shall both have husbands. Until then, it is unthinkable that they should invest any of their time in arts other than those that they will need to defend the interests of our people…"

"And if those interests do not include love and affection, then what good are warrior arts?" Lo-Xion countered, "There will come a time when you must relax and allow them to get on with their lives, Matriarch, to do otherwise would jeopardize the very thing you are seeking to accomplish."

"Perhaps," Kho-Lon replied, "Just the same I would rather that the child were not so close to my great granddaughters. There will be trouble over this, mark me well, and if it were possible at this time then I would send her away to be trained in another village."

"The Matriarch will forgive me for saying that you are sounding unusually paranoid this evening?" Lo-Xion tried to make her jab sound teasing but a curious prickling sensation warned her that Kho-Lon's words were not to be dismissed so lightly…

Ukyo smiled to the customer as she served another okonomiyaki, easily flipping it onto his plate before beginning two others. That customer and the others all reacted with approving surprise as her hands dexterously worked her spatulas over the grill, churning out another masterpiece with a speed that simply defied description.

Her father nodded with tacit approval as he watched his Ukyo charm the customers with a friendly disposition that she seldom demonstrated in private. Ukyo was turning into a real crowd pleaser, and at the age of twelve she had already surpassed anything that he might have to teach her. The day was rapidly arriving when he could turn over the running of the restaurant to her care. Their first Okonomiyaki shop had proven so successful that it had expanded into two others, and now Akira had a chain of stores working under the company logo of Kuonji's. Business had been very good and Akira no longer had to struggle with money just to make the mortgage payments.

He put a hand to his chest and winced, hoping Ukyo would not notice, but her attention was on the customers so she failed to perceive the way his face was contorted with barely restrained agony, his complexion unusually pale as he fought his way through the by-now familiar spasms.

The doctors had given him another five years, possibly more than that, just enough time to maybe see his little girl graduate high school and barely enough time to teach her everything he had learned about managing a business. He hoped that he would live long enough to retire into that temple he had always dreamed of joining when he was younger. He could have savored the life of a monk, away from the stresses of daily living, if only he had not met Ukyo's blessed mother…

Ukyo happened to look up just then, so Akira bravely smiled at her and nodded back as if to say through gesture the words he found difficult to utter. He wanted her to know how proud he was of what she had already accomplished. She was more than the son he had wanted, much more than he had dared hope for in a daughter…

Akira frowned as Ukyo looked away. His daughter. For a time he had all but forgotten her true gender, having grown used to Ukyo's preferred imposture of a boy her own age, the way she tried to act more like a son, to make it easy on him as he fought to raise her properly. Ukyo was now as much a boy as if she were born one, and hardly anyone suspected the truth even after a close inspection.

But it wasn't right. Akira had never intended to make his daughter renounce her own gender. It was his pride as much as his incapacity as a parent that had encouraged her to behave like this. Ukyo must have thought he wanted a son so much that she would become one in all but the biological sense. She really was a quite amazing person, but it was wrong to deny her womanhood. Soon enough, she would be a woman and would have to adjust to that fact and all that it entailed.

Kuonji's frown became internal. He would have to make it up to her in some way. Ukyo should marry and have children, to raise a family of her own so that a part of Akira would live on in his grandkids. Ukyo needed to be reminded of her true sex, and the only way that he could think of doing this was to remind her of her looming engagement.

He had detectives seeking out the Saotomes. So far Genma had eluded his notice, though he had traced down the location of the yatai without informing Ukyo of this fact. He had a lead on a family known as the Tendos that had a Saotome Ranma living there with his mother, Nodoka, but so far, Genma's travels ranged from one end of Japan to the other, so the errant thief himself had not yet been isolated.

Time was fast approaching when a reckoning would be made, but Akira knew it would not be up to him to claim the prize in all of this. The challenge belonged to Ukyo alone to find and confront Genma and his son and press her claims to the marriage arrangement. Unfortunately, Ukyo had pledged that she would as soon brain the boy as marry him when they met, so Akira decided to be a little more patient and hope nature would win her over her own pride. If not, then the family of Kuonji would perish without issue and Akira would have to confront the judgement of his ancestors when his time came to join them…an appointment that could not be delayed forever…

Ukyo saw her father's smile and felt it warm her insides as she handled the crowd and managed the counter, collecting their money and tips while being careful to the last yen piece. His smile meant more to her than all the praise he never gave her, it meant he was at last recognizing her proficiency and might someday entrust her with greater responsibility. It was a singular accomplishment, and it merely came at the cost of her feminine gender.

The wrap she was wearing to bind her budding breasts was more than slightly constricting, but Ukyo had grown accustomed to the hugging sensation. She was training every day to become more proficient with her weapons and she was already good enough to beat her father in practice. Over the counter hung the ancient iron baker's peel that was her weapon of choice. It was heavy in her hands but she was more than strong enough to manage it now and could employ it like a broad axe.

She had trained every day since that terrible moment when her innocence had been taken from her six years before. Ukyo was growing more proficient every day, and part of the secret behind her focus was that she always imagined Saotome Genma standing square in her sights. She fanaticized about beating him senseless, of making him pay for humiliating her, for stealing her livelihood, her…dowry, or so her father kept insisting.

Her father may have engaged her to a boy--and of late he had been reminding her of this a little too much--but she was her own woman…even if she did pretend to be a boy, dressing like one and acting the part as well. She would not be dictated to or have her life be decided by men. She enrolling in a middle school next semester and would carry on her pretense, but mainly because a boy was granted more liberties and accorded more respect. She was one of the gang whenever other boys were gathered together, and girls were the implacable enemy. What did she need other girls for anyway? They were mostly gossipy, tittering, fashion crazed ninnies, as much a mystery to her as to the boys she palled around with.

Of course, try as she might, Ukyo had not totally escaped the significance of being female, especially when she had started to bleed one evening, which gave her a panic as she was reminded of her father coughing up blood that one night, and the time he spent with the doctors getting better. Her physician had explained the meaning of her bleeding, which both alarmed and relieved her and had forced her to begin wearing absorbent padding.

If only there were some way to become a boy completely, Ukyo mused, but that was, of course, a silly notion. She did not really want to be a boy that badly, even if sometimes the thought of waving a magic wand and changing sex was more than a little appealing. She did not believe in miracles anyway, so why fanaticize over what could never be? She had a restaurant to manage, and a father who depended on her to do everything just right, so what was the use of daydreaming anyway? She could handle things as well as any boy, and that was all that was really important…

Pur-Fum concentrated on the target that was in front of her, then with a flick of her wrists she sent her twin axes hurtling forward to strike the target and annihilate it. Her axes continued on well past the exploded target that had formerly been a clay urn, arcing about in twin boomerang curves that brought them eventually back her way so that she could pluck them out of the air as easily as she had thrown them.

Pur-Fum slipped her axes through the twin slots in the harness that she wore about her body then regarded her accomplishment, replaying every aspect in her mind to insure that her performance had been flawless. Kho-Lon would accept nothing less than perfection in her students, and Pur-Fum had practiced too long and hard to get the technique just right, so the only result that would be permitted her was perfection.

Satisfied that she had done as well as could be expected, she started to turn away when she heard a pair of voices advancing towards the clearing…Xian-Pu and Lo-Xion if she gauged correctly. Without hardly a sound Pur-Fum faded away into the bushes, taking shelter as she watched the pair proceed into the clearing, chattering softly in meaningless conversation that seemed very round about to her ears and was quite obviously dodging the thing of greatest interest.

"I don't see why you're not happy," Xian-Pu was saying as the two girls came into full view, "Great Grandmother says that my mother is proud of the progress that you are making. She says that you will make a fine healer in a few more years, and surely that is an honorable accomplishment…"

"Oh yes," Lo-Xion said anxiously, her body language even more shy than was usual in the blue haired girl, by Pur-Fum's estimation, "Your mother is a wonderful teacher, very patient with me, and very knowledgeable about healing. It's just…"

"Yes?" Xian Pu asked.

"Why do you never speak to her yourself?" Lo-Xion asked, then tensed as if expecting her companion to get angry. When no response came from the purple haired warrior, she said, "Forgive me for asking, but I've noticed that you always seem tense whenever your mother's name comes up. Is there some kind of problem between you?"

"No," Xian-Pu replied a bit hastily, then added, "Mother and I…we don't see each other very much. She is always so busy…always going to help people in other villages. Sometimes I wonder if she even knows that I exist…" she paused a moment, then said, "I suppose that is silly, but mother always seems so sad when I am around. I can never get Great Grandmother to tell me why…"

"I'm sure she's proud of you, Xian-Pu," Lo-Xion assured her, "Everyone knows that you are the best warrior of our generation, and soon you will be old enough to compete with the adults. A year or two from now you'll be the champion of our village…"

"More than that, I'm afraid," Xian-Pu said soberly, "Great Grandmother thinks I still have a ways to go before I reach my full potential. I'm thirteen seasons old, Lo-Xion, there is still time for me to train and become more ready…"

"You are ready right now," Lo-Xion said, "You and Pur-Fum are as good as any of the adults, except for the Elders. I believe in you anyway, and I think you're very special."

"Lo-Xion…" Xian-Pu began to say when the other girl stopped her with a finger.

"Xian-Pu," she murmured softly, looking down before raising her eyes as if to gather her courage, "We've been friends for many years, you, me and Pur-Fum. I want to know…do you like me?"

"Like you?" Xian-Pu sounded puzzled, "Of course I like you…you're my friend…"

"No," Lo-Xion seemed to be struggling for the words, "Not just like me…do you really care about me…as someone special? Because I care for you as someone special…I…I want to know first how you feel…"

"How I feel…about what?" Xian-Pu said in growing confusion.

Lo-Xion's answer was non-verbal. She leaned forward and brought her mouth up to Xian-Pu's own lips before the taller girl had time to react, and then their faces merged together for a long, lingering moment while Lo-Xion slipped her arms around Xian-Pu's waist and held her closely.

From where she stood watching the whole affair, Pur-Fum felt her mouth go dry and her body turn rigid. Her fists clenched on empty air while her eyes got round and her pupils dilated. She stood that way until her two friends finally broke contact and stood gasping in mutual surprise. Xian-Pu looked stunned while Lo-Xion, overcome by her own boldness, ducked her head and ran off, her face a scarlet crimson.

Xian-Pu stood where she was for a very long time, staring at nothing until she finally placed a hand up to her lips and touched them with a finger, then turned to glance in the direction where Lo-Xion had vanished.

And somewhere farther beyond the edge of the clearing, Kho-Lon watched it all and gently heaved a sigh that even Pur-Fum's sharp ears could not have perceived. She had been afraid of this from the very beginning, and now that it was finally upon them she did not know what to do to rectify matters. As she gauged the situation she knew that her wards were heading for an eminent conflict, and if she did not take steps to intervene in time, then it was very likely that one of them might not survive it…

Juban/Crossroads Middle School. Ukyo read the bronze placard outside of the school building and squared her shoulders as she prepared to go into "The Act" once again. This one was coeducational, not single sex like the all boy's school she had attended last time, so she would have to get used to fooling both genders and not just take advantage of the tendency of boys to take appearances for granted. Girls tended to be a little more on the ball when it came to picking up on certain traces, so her disguise would take more concentration to get right. It would take a while before she was able to adopt the right pattern of behavior so that her act would once again become second nature as far as it concerned her fellow students.

The teachers would be easier to fool, of course. They hardly ever looked beyond the official records that listed her a boy on attendance sheets, and as long as Ukyo stuck to the program they would not be inclined to question her too closely. Her only problem would be the PE coach, who might not accept her excuse of a rare skin disorder that required her to dress and shower separately from the other students…

"Out of the way, I'm late!" a voice called out one second before Ukyo's battle reflexes warned her of an oncoming collision. She barely had time to twist her body to one side before a blonde streak bowled her over, the tri-colored uniform forming a blur before her eyes as Ukyo staggered and fell down, catching herself at the last second with a handspring that righted her on her feet an instant later.

"Are you all right?" a voice called out to her, and Ukyo turned around, only to find her gaze going up a bit higher than intended. She blinked her eyes as she found a brown haired girl with bright green eyes and a non-regulation school outfit looking down at her with concern, to which Ukyo could only frame the coherent reply, "Nani?"

"Sorry about that," the stranger said, "That Usagi never watches where she's going when she's in a hurry. My name's Kino Makoto, though some people call me Lita. And you are?"

"Kuonji," Ukyo recovered herself, remembering to rough up her voice a little, "Kuonji Ukyo, Freshman class B…"

"Nice to meet you, Kuonji-san," Makoto smiled at her, "I haven't seen you around here before, are you new to Crossroads?"

"It's my first day," Ukyo replied, "Are you a student here? Your uniform…"

"Oh that?" Makoto sniffed, glancing down at herself, "It's from my last school the previous semester. They don't have any uniforms here that are quite my size, I'm afraid. Say, would you like to have somebody show you around this place? I know how hard it is to find your way on the first day…"

"Um…won't you be late to your first class?" Ukyo asked her.

"Oh, it's not a problem," Makoto assured her, "Unlike Serena I don't mind a little detention. It gives me time to do more homework so I've got more time to party after class. Besides, you don't want to be late to your first class, do you?"

"I guess not," Ukyo smiled, "Thanks. I'll owe you one for this."

"I'm just glad to help," Makoto replied with a dreamy expression, thinking quietly to herself, [He looks just like my old boyfriend!…]

"What's wrong?" Xian-Pu asked Pur-Fum as the two began their daily sparring match.

"Nothing's wrong," Pur-Fum snapped, striking with her axes against the twin bonbori spheres wielded by her opponent.

Xian-Pu sighed, hardly fooled by her friend's tone as she replied, "I've done something that upsets you, I know that look…"

"You're imagining things," Pur-Fum said flatly, "Defend yourself! Your defenses are pathetic!"

"My defenses are just fine," Xian-Pu said firmly and to prove her point she fended off another series of rapid attacks from her well-coordinated opponent, "It's you who looks angry. What have I supposedly done to piss you off this time?"

Pur-Fum paused to size up her sparring partner, breathing in and out the way she had been taught, opening her mind to the flow of the energy in the air all around them to keep her Chi Levels at maximum, then softly she said, "I think you should stay away from Am-Burgis. That one is nothing but trouble."

"Am-Bur?" Xian-Pu blinked, "Why? What has she done to you?"

"Nothing," Pur-Fum said as she launched another attack that pressed Xian-Pu hard until the purple haired girl could mount an effective counter attack, then Pur-Fum vaulted out of the way and said, "She just came to me the other day and offered to spar with me. Naturally I beat her."

Xian-Pu blinked, "So? Why does that bother you?"

"It was the way I beat her that concerns me," Pur-Fum said while not relaxing her posture, "She was not really trying very hard. I got the impression that she was more intent on studying my attack style and was merely testing my defenses."

"So she plans to challenge you again?" Xian-Pu asked as she balanced on one foot, "Why should that put a burr under your halter?"

"It's not me she intends to challenge," Pur-Fum replied, "It's you she's interested in. After all, you're ranked as the best warrior in our age class."

"You're being paranoid again," Xian-Pu launched her attack, coming in at Pur-Fum with bonbori spheres ready to meet the counter of Pur-Fum's axes. It was a full minute later before they stood away again and Xian-Pu could continue her thought, "Am-Bur and I are just friends, that's all. You don't mind me having another friend, do you? After all, there's you and Lo-Xion…"

Pur-Fum snarled and threw herself into another attack that had all the savage fury of a wild beast behind it, driving Xian-Pu back to the edge of the clearing before the latter managed to rally her defenses enough to mount a counter-attack to drive Pur-Fum back a few paces.

"What in the name of the Gods?" Xian-Pu blinked as she breathed heavily, "What brought that on all of a sudden?"

"Nothing!" Pur-Fum snapped, "You're getting careless and sloppy! If Great Grandmother saw you just now she'd have the both of us running laps from here to Jusenkyo!"

"I don't understand," Xian-Pu scowled, "Why don't you like Am-Bur?"

"Because she's a cunning, conniving, self-important pretender, that's why!" Pur-Fum growled, "I did some checking around and it seems that she has a habit of sizing up her opponents by pretending friendship towards them then learning all she can about their fighting methods. She uses this knowledge to defeat them in challenge matches. Mark me well, she'll be coming after you one day. She doesn't know how to have friends, let alone be one, and if you leave your back unguarded around her she'll waste no time checking for places to put her dagger."

"She's not like that," Xian-Pu said somewhat defensively.

"Oh, she is," Pur-Fum almost bitterly laughed at the other girl's naivete, "Trust me on this, you would be better off placing your faith in a member of the Musk Clan then trusting yourself around Whale Puke."

Xian-Pu blinked and said, "Since when have you resorted to name-calling…"

"Xian-Pu!"

Pur-Fum tensed as Xian-Pu turned around in time to see Lo-Xion come rushing up to embrace her, completely ignoring the fact that a serious training match was in session. Xian-Pu naturally let go of her bonbori and returned the other girl's embrace as Lo-Xion kissed her with enthusiasm, a kiss that Xian-Pu naturally returned with equal passion.

Pur-Fum turned away, her face clenched tightly with emotions that she did not want to divulge in front of the others. She looked away feeling a raw tightness in her throat as her eyes felt sore around the edges, a sure sign that she had to walk away from there before she betrayed herself in front of the two girls who were hardly paying her any notice.

In the beginning their displays of affection had consisted mostly of light kisses, little gestures and the harmless exploration of each other's bodies, but of late, Xian-Pu and Lo-Xion had been growing more and more daring, their private trysts no longer even a secret among their own age group. It was not that uncommon for two girls to form deep attachments during training, but the way these two carried on was enough to be a scandal. They had become more experimental in their intimate moments together, discovering levels of mutual affection that even adults would have found shocking.

Pur-Fum knew all about it, of course, having tortured herself by spying on the two young lovers on more occasions than she cared to remember. At first she had told herself that it was simple curiosity, and to make certain that the two were not attacked while their minds were on other business, but lately it had been harder and harder to escape the admission of her jealousy. Pur-Fum was like someone with a fever, longing to join the pair in their fun and games, feeling like an outsider and basically too shy to make any advances. These two were her friends, the only friends she had in all the world, so it should not have bothered her to much that they were intimate together, but…

But Pur-Fum wanted more than to be an outsider, and that was why she had become so angry at Xian-Pu when the latter had mentioned Lo-Xion's name during their practice together. It was all that she could to restrain herself from deliberately inflicting an injury on Xian-Pu's person. Everything always came too easily for Xian-Pu! She had the admiration of the elders, the respect of their peers, while Pur-Fum had none of that, was the outcast thrown out of her own clan, the weak girl that no one had wanted…

Pur-Fum stared down at one of her clenched fists, forcing that hand to unclench as she dropped the ax that she had been holding and gazed at the palm, so smooth and hard with heavy calluses. It had taken a long time to condition her body to tolerate the discomforts that came with rigorous training, but still she lacked the common ability to block out actual pain. She turned the hand around to study it, then took note of the fact that her fingernails had grown long again and would need trimming.

On impulse she turned the hand around and stared at the palm again, then slowly closed her fist, deliberately pressing her nails against the skin and squeezing…

The pain that shot up her arm was enough to make Pur-Fum gasp and almost double over, her whole arm going numb with shock as she hastily unclenched the hand, seeing the welts of blood well up as she clenched her wrist with her other hand, trying to use the pain to focus her mind as she slowly adjusted to the screams of her nervous system.

She closed her eyes and shed the tears she did not dare to show before others. The pain was a familiar enemy, one she could neither defeat nor entirely banish. It was more than she could endure to think of the sort of pain that Lo-Xion had withstood when she had still been at the mercy of her mother. Now that the girl was in training to be a Healer she no longer had to put up with the sort of ridicule that had been the bane of her existence. Lo-Xion had slowly blossomed into a happy, outgoing spirit very free in her expressions and always kindly disposed to Pur-Fum, but when she was with Xian-Pu…

Pur-Fum straightened out, staring off into the forest as the tears flowed freely now while she conjured the image of Lo-Xion in her mind, seeing her smile and the dazzling sparkle of her eyes and wishing more than any words could convey that those eyes would be turned in Pur-Fum's direction with the same passionate ardor. Pur-Fum could not describe even to herself the feelings evoked in her whenever she saw Lo-Xion and Xian-Pu together. It was like being possessed by a demon of rage, lust and indescribable longing. She wondered if she might indeed be under the spell of a forest spirit and briefly considered seeking out Lo-Xion's abrasive cousin, Ka-Chu, to receive an exorcism…

Pur-Fum tensed, hearing the slight snap of a leaf as she cocked her head to one side and forced her tone to be gruff, "What do you want now, Mu-Tsu?"

"Per-Fum?" he gasped, "What's wrong, are you crying?"

"Don't be stupid," Pur-Fum sniffed, "I just got clumsy and cut myself, it's not that big a deal…"

"You cut yourself?" the boy approached her, "Let me see…"

"Go away!" Pur-Fum turned her back to him as he sought to circle around her, "I don't need you here, Mu-Tsu. Go back to the village."

"But I want to help," Mu-Tsu insisted, "Why won't you let me help you, Pur-Fum? You know I love you and I only want to protect you…"

"Protect me?" Pur-Fum said incredulously as she slowly turned around to confront him, "You must be joking! How can you protect me? Are you a god? Can you wave a hand and make me like other girls, able to withstand pain? You know one scratch is enough to disable me! How can you stand there offering to help when you don't even know what it is I really want? Not that you'd ever listen if I told you…"

"I know you're angry at Xian-Pu for some reason," Mu-Tsu replied, "She's been ignoring you a lot since she met Am-Burgis. It must be hard if the only time you see her is in training…hey! That's it! You can train with me, Pur-Fum! I'd love to practice with you…"

Pur-Fum made a strangling noise before glaring at him, "Do you think I'm that stupid? You just want a chance to beat me and become my husband! You think I'll lower my guard during practice and you can get a lucky strike and then run to the Elders and proclaim that I have to marry you! Well nothing doing!"

"Pur-Fum?" Mu Tsu gasped without comprehending the cause of her anger.

Pur-Fum sighed. She was so tired of yelling at Mu-Tsu, and it never did any good anyway, he just would not listen. She had tried reasoning with him, pleading, yelling, even calling him cruel names. She had even sometimes tried being nice to him to get him to lower his guard so that he might actually listen, but none of it had any effect on his impervious ego. Mu-Tsu was determined to wear her down by his persistence, and while there had been occasions when he had made himself useful, it was beginning to cause her to strain just to hold back her temper.

"Mu-Tsu," she tried more calmly, "You have to forget about me, find someone else who can be your wife. I know that there are other girls who would find you much more interesting, but if you keep chasing after me you're just going to get hurt, and I don't want that on my conscious."

"I'll never give up on you, Pur-Fum," Mu-Tsu swore, "One day you'll see that I'm the man for you and then you'll be happy that I never gave up."

"You're not listening!" Pur-Fum threw her hands up in exasperation, "Do you think I'm going to suddenly decide that I love you because you chase me around and keep other boys from spending any time around me, that you practically have staked me out as your personal property and won't let anyone get too close without you challenging them! You may be the best male warrior of our tribe but that doesn't mean you're the best man for where I'm standing."

"Then I'll just have to make myself a better man for your sake," Mu-Tsu insisted, "You'll see that I am the best one day, I swear it…"

Pur-Fum turned away and started walking back to wards the village, pausing to pick up her axes and slip them into their special place of concealment beneath the sleeves of her shirt. Yelling at Mu-Tsu was getting her no where, and she was suddenly suffering a very bad headache and would need to seek out one of her adopted Elder's special medicines. She heard Mu-Tsu fall into step beside her and resolved to permit it, though the temptation to lash out at him was overwhelming…

Ukyo surveyed her homeroom as the teacher called out her name. Having already prepared for the moment in advance with a portable grill she had installed at the teacher's permission she began whipping out her spatulas and batter and proceeded to whip up a set of fresh okonomiyaki samples that she expertly aimed to land on paper plates that deposited themselves like magic on the desks of every student.

"Ukyo's the name," she said, using her practiced line for the business, "Okonomiyaki is the game. Try it, you'll like it, compliments of Kuonji enterprises."

One student tensed as she heard that name, looking up from her desk with a puzzled expression. She picked up the okonomiyaki and bit into it, confirmation from her senses briefly overwhelming any doubt. She smiled to herself and softly murmured, "Ucchan."

Ukyo was troubled by a sense of familiarity. She caught one girl looking at her and frowned, her expression briefly puzzled before her eyes went wide with recognition. She recovered a few seconds later while other girls in the class turned annoyed glances in the direction of that particular female student. The moment was brief, of course, as the teacher then called the class to attention and began referring to their lessons, but while Ukyo found a seat near the front row she could not help glancing back at the cocky smile that was all too familiar.

As soon as class was called to lunch recess she and the other girl sought each other out, and then Ukyo glared at this familiar-looking girl and said, "Well, well…Tendo Nabiki, as I live and breathe."

"Ucchan," Nabiki smiled without guile, "Nice to see you again. Still pretending to be a boy?"

"Yeah," Ukyo said slowly, "And how about you…still following that bald fat man?"

"Oh yes," Nabiki rolled her eyes, "The training mission isn't over yet. We don't spend a lot of time in any one place, but lately I've been insisting on keeping up with my studies."

Ukyo's smile carried something more than friendly warmth as she started to reach up for her giant spatula when three other students approached their desk, all smiling at Nabiki.

"Hey, Nabiki," said one of this trio, a slender redhead with long braided hair that extended down her back in a pig-tail, "You know this stud?"

"Sure do, Keiko-chan," Nabiki replied, "Meet Kuonji Ukyo, Kansai chef extraordinaire and somebody I met several years ago when I was just starting out on my training. Ukyo, meet my friends, Arigami Keiko, Hibiki Ryoga and Kurusawa Sakura."

"Charmed," Ukyo said with a nod in their direction, a nod returned by the other students, who each seemed to stand out in some way from most of the rest of their contemporaries.

The redhead had a brazen, tomboyish look about her that belied her schoolgirl uniform, her blue eyes implying a mischievous streak a mile long, if not longer. The chocolate brown haired Sakura also wore a regulation school dress but her hair was wildly uncombed and spiky, belying her otherwise normal appearance. Ryoga wore a boy's school uniform, just like Ukyo herself, and while he appeared normal enough on the outside Ukyo could not help noticing that when he smiled he showed off a wicked pair of canines that gave him a more bestial appearance.

Once introductions were concluded, Nabiki stood to her feet and invited Ukyo to tag along as she and her friends as they went to their lockers to stash their textbooks while fetching their bento lunch boxes. As they walked the corridor together, Ukyo was trying to make sense of Nabiki's odd behavior. Her once-friend was not acting like someone with a guilty conscience, after all, so in passing Ukyo brought up the subject of the yatai just to gauge the other girl's reactions.

To her surprise she heard Nabiki heave an exasperated sigh and said, "Oh…that. Let me guess, Uncle stole that cart. He told me your father gave it to him, but I never did believe it."

"You didn't?" Ukyo said in surprise.

"He showed me that marker that we won back from the Gambler King," Nabiki said, "Even had your father's signature and everything, though at the time I thought it looked awfully blurred, which still made it too good for Uncle Genma to forge. Probably got your father drunk when he signed it."

"Oh," Ukyo replied, realizing that it was a probable explanation…

"Nab-chan," Ryoga spoke up, "Your uncle stole a yatai that belonged to Kuonji-san's father? That's dishonorable…"

"Sounds like your uncle, though," Keiko remarked, "No offense to you, Nab-chan, but Genma's hardly the most honorable guy who ever drew breath."

"You're telling me?" Nabiki groaned, "Pops is always getting both of us into one kind of trouble or the other. It's not his fault that he's so pathologically stupid."

"Not to mention has the moral fiber of a squirrel," Sakura snorted, "Which still puts him on a level above my old man. I don't know why you put up with him, though, Nab-chan. You say you have family living in Nerima, why not go live with them instead of having to put up with the old man's antics?"

"Uncle has an agreement with my father," Nabiki said, "So until he says that I'm ready to return home I have to keep training with Pops and learn everything I can about the martial arts. It's got something to do with family pride and all that…besides, at least I know how to manipulate my uncle. My dad…well, ever since Mom died I understand that he's just gone all to pieces…"

"Your mother is dead?" Ukyo said in surprise.

"Five years ago," Nabiki said tightly, "Not too long after we parted company. Ovarian Cancer. I got to attend her funeral and…well…I just haven't felt the need to go back home since then…"

"I'm sorry," Ukyo murmured faintly, then added, "I hardly even remember my mother…"

"Hey, are we gonna get all maudlin about this?" Keiko spoke up, "This should be a happy reunion, you and your old buddy, the stud muffin…"

"The what?" Ukyo blinked.

Keiko flashed a grin, her blue eyes showing mischievous intent as she replied, "C'mon, Nab-chan never said she had such a handsome guy for her old buddy. Bet you'll be the talk around the school campus with half the student body eager to date you."

"Uh…" Ukyo remarked, "Well…"

"Kei-chan's right," grinned Sakura, "That's all most girls seem to do around here is moon about their boyfriends. Bet you'll have lots of 'em lining up around the block to get the inside word on you, cute stuff. You might even become as popular here as Ryoga-kun."

"I--what?" Ryoga halted in mid-step, only to be dragged back into motion by the redhead and Sakura.

"Now that you mention it," Nabiki smiled, "Having so many of our fellow students interested in learning about you could be very advantageous…very profitable even, if we play our cards just right."

"Oh, uh…yeah?" Ukyo said nervously, only to react when she heard her name called out. She turned to see the tall girl she had met before waving to her with a very friendly smile, to which Ukyo reluctantly waved back as they passed each other in the hallway, "Oh, high Makoto."

The others in her group all halted to look at her, then Sakura broke the silence by saying, "You're friends with Kino Makoto?"

"Uh…we just met," Ukyo said, "Why? Is there something wrong…?"

"Oh no," Nabiki assured her, "Nothing wrong about that, it's just…very odd, that's all."

"Makoto is pretty exclusive about who her friends are," Keiko explained, "She's a transfer student who got kicked out of her last school for fighting in the hallways. She's Captain of our school Karate Club, got the job by beating up all the other students, both male and female."

"Really?" Ukyo marveled, "Why aren't you Captain, Nabiki-chan?"

"I really don't have the time for that many extracurricular affairs," Nabiki replied, "My interests are primarily in business, and besides, I'm studying Kempo, not Karate. Structured combat systems are of very little use to the Anything Goes school of fighting."

"And I'm into Kickboxing myself," said Keiko, "While Ryo-chan here mostly trains with his mother…"

"When he can find his way home," Sakura smiled, "Usually we have to walk him."

"Hey!" Ryoga protested, "I'm not that bad!"

"Says the guy who can't tell a closet from our home room," Keiko sniffed, "But we like you anyway, Ryo-chan, even if you are sometimes clueless."

"I'm also on the Karate club and I've fought with Makoto," Sakura remarked, "She's pretty good, but one of these days I'm going to be a whole lot better. I'm studying to be just like my idol Ryu-chan. Of course Nabiki's the best fighter in our school, she just won't do it unless there's money involved…"

"I'm entitled to some compensation after all," Nabiki insisted, "My time is very valuable."

"Ah," Ukyo decided that she had allowed herself to be led off the subject long enough and deliberately steered the conversation back to her own personal interests, "About the Yatai…do you still have it?"

"Nope," Nabiki replied, "We sold it a long time ago, but I can tell you where that was if you want me to help find it for you. I really am sorry about what we did back then, Ucchan. I never intended to cause you any trouble, and I think in his own way Pops was just being thoughtless and never really intended you any harm."

"I see," Ukyo mused, "So it really was the old man's fault after all. That's very…interesting," and in that moment Ukyo decided that her earlier anger had been misdirected and that she should bide her time until she had the chance to strike at Saotome Genma, the true miscreant behind her suffering. No need to make Nabiki a target after all, so she began to relax a little and went into his boy act, intending to provide a convincing distraction until she knew the situation a whole lot better…

"Pur-Fum--wait up!"

Pur-Fum hardly acknowledged Xian-Pu's shout, her eyes intent on the trail ahead of her and nothing else as she the stalked the trail in search of her quarry. Xian-Pu did not make matters easy since she was stomping like a bull elephant in heat with a voice loud enough to be heard in three counties.

"Pur-Fum," Xian-Pu finally lost all patience with her friend and threw herself directly into the other girl's path then said, "Why weren't you at the tournament today? I took first prize in our age group…"

"Good for you," Pur-Fum said, trying to go around the purple haired girl but without much success as Xian-Pu moved to counter her attempts, "Get out of my way! I'm stalking a snow leopard who has been preying on our flocks and I really don't have time to deal with your nonsense…"

"Would you please tell me why you're so angry with me?" Xian-Pu asked, "I wanted to say that you were right about Am-Bur. She challenged me after defeating all of her other opponents and she tried to use things that she learned from our sparring matches…"

"Good," Pur-Fum snorted, "Maybe next time you'll listen when I give you a warning."

"Is that what has you so upset?" Xian-Pu asked, "I know I should have paid more attention to your warnings, but I never expected her to betray me like that. I just kept staring at her while she was trying to defeat me with that Naginata of hers, and I wouldn't back down, and I think I must have rattled her because she didn't fight as well with me as she had against the others…"

"You're learning how to intimidate your foes," Pur-Fum snorted derisively, "That's an improvement."

Xian-Pu looked down at her feet, "Well, maybe I shouldn't have let myself get so angry at the end of our match. I…think I hurt her pretty bad. She went running off by herself and wouldn't answer either my calls or Lo-Xion's..."

Pur-Fum could not help bristling as she growled, "Is there a point to all of this?"

Xian-Pu looked up into her friend's eyes, unable to comprehend what she saw there. The anger that was smoldering in those sapphire eyes was unmistakable, and without meaning to she took a step back and said, "What did I do now? Pur-Fum…"

"You can be so dense sometimes," Pur-Fum advanced on the other girl a half-step, "You have no idea…you don't know anything! That's why I'm so angry! Do you delight in tormenting me with the fact that you're so popular with the others while I'm the hated outcast…"

"What?" Xian-Pu blinked, "But I…"

"Oh yes," Pur-Fum came on relentlessly, feeling the words spill out of her without her normal restraint, "The others fear and resent you because you are so much better than they are, but deep down they admire you and consider you our best and brightest! Me…they all spit on my name, call me a coward and a weakling because Great Grandmother will not allow me to complete alongside them! You're the one everyone hails as our champion while I'm…I'm not even worth mentioning in the same sentence."

"Pur-Fum…what are you babbling about?" Xian-Pu said somewhat defensively as she backed away from her friend's anger.

"Babbling?" Pur-Fum snarled, "Of course it's all nonsense to you! You never think about what I have to go through living in your shadow! You never think about me at all! Some friend you are!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Xian-Pu replied defensively, "I'd never do anything to you to make you this angry! Why are you blaming me for the way other people treat you. We've been companions for so long…"

"But does that make us friends?" Pur-Fum challenged, "We share everything alike, yes? But there are some things we can't share, ever! You can't share the normality that you were born with, just as I can't share with you the agony that I live with almost constantly, the knowledge that one scratch, one tiny little pinprick can leave me totally paralyzed, while you can hit your head against a rock all day! Do you know what the Bakusai Tenketsu took for me to master? I didn't even have to swing from a rope! Mere contact with the boulder was enough to send me into screaming anguish!"

"Pur-Fum…" Xian-Pu tried to say, but her friend continued to advance and would not allow her to finish forming the question.

"But that wasn't the worst of it, no! No, you have to come between me and the one thing I desire for myself in the entire world! You have to come between me and Lo-Xion, and that's an agony I can no longer endure!"

"Lo-Xion?" Xian-Pu said in confusion, "What about you and Lo-Xion…?"

"I love her!" Pur-Fum cried, almost shouting in Xian-Pu's face as the other girl staggered backwards, reacting as if verbally stung or expecting to be struck a blow though none was needed or intended.

"You…?" Xian-Pu gasped, astonished at the heat in her companion's declaration.

"Yes!" Pur-Fum snapped, and then she paused as if her own words were only just catching up with her and she more calmly declared, "Yes…I have been for some time…maybe even as long as you have, but I never could say the words until now. You are so dense or besotted with your own desires or you might have noticed it before now. I love her, but she turned to you for love, you…with your beauty and your strength, and not me, who nobody can love, because I'm weak and flawed while you're so damned perfect!"

Pur-Fum tapped Xian-Pu on her chest, a light contact that was meant to convey her emotions with a physical gesture that for her would have been the equivalent of a hard slap, but in doing so she underestimated the effect that it would have on Xian-Pu's balance. The ground that they were standing upon was not stable, being composed mainly of decaying wet leaves that hid the unevenness of the terrain and made footing treacherous for even a careful person. Xian-Pu put her foot back too far and lost her footing as well as her balance, sliding off the shoulder of the path they were on and tumbling into a small ravine that hid her from immediate view.

Pur-Fum, of course, knew the lay of the land quite well but in her rage she had forgotten that Xian-Pu's senses were not as acute as her own. All at once she saw Xian-Pu tumbling back and was momentarily overcome with surprise, a paralysis that only lasted a few seconds but was long enough for her to see Xian Pu disappear from sight with a splashing noise following shortly thereafter.

"Xian-Pu?" Pur-Fum murmured faintly, and when no one answered she cried out, "Xian-Pu!" and lurched forward, heedless that the ground might give way under her feet, trusting in her phenomenal sense of balance to keep her steady as she raced to the edge to see what had become of her friend. At first her efforts were not rewarded, but then her sensitive ears picked up the sounds of Xian-Pu's heartbeat.

It took only moments for her to find her way down to where she found Xian-Pu laying face down on the bank of a narrow stream, her clothing being tugged on by the current that was attempting to drag her out to deeper water. Xian-Pu seemed unconscious, most probably stunned by the fall, and she might drown in another minute if Pur-Fum could not drag her back on shore. As Kho-Lon had often warned them, it only took a few inches of water to obstruct breathing in even the best of fighters…

Without hesitation, Pur-Fum jumped into the water, feeling the shock of contact through the soles of her slippers as she felt the hated transformation start to take her. She had less than a second before it would take full effect, so she acted quickly to grasp Xian-Pu by the waist and collar of her shirt and heaved her out of the water with all the strength that she could muster. Mid-way to doing this she felt her body begin to shrink and collapse inward, but she had succeeded in getting Xian-Pu out of the water. Pur-Fum saw her companion's body arc towards dry land before her vision was obscured by the weight of her silk garments closing in around her, weighing her down as the concealed harness that served to brace her axes behind her back became an enclosure in which her small cat body was entrapped a second later.

Pur-Fum struggled to free herself of this prison as the silks became soaked through and took on added weight, threatening to drag her down into the very water that was soaking her fur with the chill of recently melted icewater. In growing panic she cried out in protest of such an ignoble end to a warrior's career, only to feel the bundle surrounding her being yanked up and deposited on dry land. A moment later, a pair of hands freed her from the wet silks and she was lifted into the arms of Xian-Pu, who tightly embraced her.

"I'm sorry!" Xian-Pu cried as the mutual warmth of both of their bodies slowly replaced the chill they each felt, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know, I never meant to hurt you! Please forgive me, Pur-Fum! Please…forgive me!"

It was a first for both of them, Xian-Pu apologizing and Pur-Fum tacitly acknowledging her own error. The moment of rage and madness had passed her, leaving a clarity that was born of a mutual brush with near death, repairing the rift that had been growing between them. Afterwards, not a word would be exchanged over the incident, but everything had changed for both of them. They understood each other better now, had more respect for the others position and had demonstrated a selfless loyalty that transcended all other considerations.

The issue of Lo-Xion remained, but somehow the incident had done much to relieve the jealousy that Pur-Fum had been feeling for so long that it had felt like ages. Xian-Pu now had to reevaluate her relationship in the light of Pur-Fum's admission and resolved to see what Lo-Xion herself thought about partaking of a threesome.

One who was not so sanguine about the resolution of this matter was Kho-Lon herself, who saw instead the confirmation of her worst anxieties. She resolved to be the first one to confront Lo-Xion, only what she had to say would not lead to such a happy accommodation…

"Here it is," said Ryoga, "This is the place, home sweet home. Thanks for helping me to find it again, guys."

"It's what friends are for, Ryo-chan," Nabiki replied, "Maybe your mother will be home this time. Do you think she might invite us in?"

"I don't know," Ryoga said, walking up to his front porch, "I can go inside and ask. Wait here and I'll go have a look." He moved in past the front door, having removed his shoes first, then called out, "Hey, Mom, are you home? Mother?"

"So this is Ryoga's place, huh?" Ukyo looked around at what they could see of the place from the outside, "Not much to look at. There are weeds everywhere…are you sure that somebody actually lives here?"

"Well, this is the place where we pick up Ryoga ever morning on the way to school," Sakura shrugged, "Don't let appearances fool you, Mrs. Hibiki doesn't do any housework, and Mister Hibiki is supposed to have the family curse of having no sense of direction. I guess he can't find the place, which must make it pretty interesting since somebody has to be paying for the rent and utilities here."

"Weird," Ukyo shook her head in disbelief.

"You get used to weird at our school," Keiko said brightly, "Weird stuff is happening all the time, like Youma showing up, people behaving strangely for no apparent reason, the Sailor Senshi making regular appearances…"

"The Sailor Senshi?" Ukyo frowned, "I've heard of them. Are they some kind of promotional media group helping to market the new Sailor V II video game release?"

"Nope," Sakura said, "They're for real all right, only they kind of show up whenever we have a major crisis brewing then disappear without a trace after the excitement is over, real mysterious, huh?"

"Superheroes are for real," Keiko flashed Sakura a meaningful smirk, "Virginity…that's a myth."

"I thought a myth was a female moth," Sakura shot back, her own smirk redoubling Keiko's ulterior meaning.

Ukyo glanced at the two then shook her head in mild incredulity. It had not taken very long for her to discern that the two girls were involved in something that went well beyond the normal definitions of friendship, while Ryoga seemed only to have eyes for Nabiki. Ukyo had caught the lost boy mooning over the shorthaired martial artist and wondered briefly if Nabiki had any clue to the boy's feelings or if Ryoga's infatuation were merely one-sided.

For a certainty the boy had been sending Ukyo some not-so-subtle glances of warning as though suspecting her of harboring intentions on the girl who held his interest and because Ukyo was still playing the boy--and Nabiki had agreed to keep her gender a secret--she could not correct him on his misassumption.

"It's all right," Ryoga called out, "You can come inside. Mom's not here but she left a note that said it was all right for me to have guests over. It's been hanging there for a month, so I guess it's pretty recent…"

"Over a month old, Ryoga-kun?" Nabiki could not keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Well, Mom's not always here," Ryoga said with a shrug, "The note said that she was off to the store to buy some milk so I shouldn't expect her back for a couple of weeks at the least."

"Your mother's got a problem with directions, too?" Sakura remarked in surprise.

"Gee, what are the odds of that?" Keiko seconded her opinion.

"Well, It's kind of like a curse that runs in my family," Ryoga felt along the back of his head and made a funny high-pitched laugh that sounded entirely too nervous.

"I guess," Ukyo remarked as she observed that there was dust everywhere in the room with a musty smell in the air that suggested that the place needed to be aired out rather badly.

"So, Ryo-chan," Nabiki mused, "What's your mother like? I've only seen her a couple of times at a distance, and I rarely hear you even make mention of your father…"

"Well," Ryoga said nervously, twilling his fingers together while avoiding looking directly at Nabiki, "Mom's very pretty, and she's a great fighter who's taught me a lot about Martial Arts…but Dad, well…I don't see him all that often. In fact, it's been some time since I've seen him at all. He got lost some time ago before I started going to public school…"

"Huh?" Ukyo reacted, "At what level?"

"Uh…" Ryoga said somewhat sheepishly, "First or second grade…I think."

"Oh," Sakura said knowingly, "Wandered off and left you, you mean, just like your old man, en Keiko-chan?"

"No way!" Keiko insisted, "My Dad's serving with the UN as a Lieutenant Colonel on a peacekeeping mission to some place called Shadaloo. He never abandoned me, he was called away on duty."

"You sound very proud of your father," Ukyo noted.

"You bet!" Keiko crowed, waving a small fist as if to challenge the heavens, "My Dad's the best fighter in the world, and I'm gonna be just like him some day! That's why I'm studying Mu Tai to get really strong and learn how to fight like him. My Dad knows Tai Boxing, Wu Shu, Shotokan Karate, Korean Mu Du Kwan and Hapkaido…"

"Sounds like a pretty well rounded guy," Nabiki mused, "I think I'd like to meet him."

"Bet he couldn't take Ryu," Sakura grinned, "I hear they're both into Street Fighting, the real stuff and not that fancy tournament fighting with rules and referees."

"Oh yeah?" Keiko challenged, "Well my Dad is huge! He's got muscles like tree trunks and arms so big he can squeeze boulders to powder…"

"When's the last time you saw your Dad?" Ukyo asked, hoping to head off another periodic squabble by her two new friends, who seemed to spend as much time arguing and teasing one another as they did with hugging and kissing.

"Ah…" Keiko hesitated, "About maybe…six or seven years…"

"Right," Nabiki mused, "Well, consider your proportions slightly altered by perspective, but I'll allow your father must be pretty good if he taught you enough by age seven to give you a jump ahead of your peer group. Doesn't look like anybody's been home in a while Ryoga. Guess we'll have to come back another time. You want to stay here or come over to my place? I think Mrs. Yamaguchi is serving Cantonese fried noodles…"

"Uh, well…thanks," Ryoga said with even greater nervousness than before, "But I think I'd better just hang around here in case my mother shows up. See you again tomorrow at school?"

"Sure thing, Ryo-chan," Sakura said, "Pick you up again at the usual time."

"Take care of yourself, Stud Muffin," Keiko teased as she and Sakura headed towards the door together, resuming their petty argument over their favorite adult fighters with comradely banter.

"You sure you're going to be okay, Ryoga-kun?" Ukyo asked, finding the boy likeable if a little slow upstairs and surprisingly quite honest.

"I'll manage," Ryoga sounded slightly depressed, "I'm used to eating alone, and Mom stocks up on a lot of food stuffs that I can prepare for myself if she doesn't make it back in time to make dinner. See you around, Ukyo-kun."

"Sure thing, Sugar," Ukyo replied, thinking to herself, [And I thought I had parent troubles…]

"May I be permitted to enter, Child?"

Lo-Xion the younger blinked her eyes before hastily stepping back from the doorway, "Of course, Elder, my home is your home. I'm afraid Aunt Silk is away at the moment…"

"It was not your aunt whom I wished to address," Kho-Lon noted gravely once she was inside the small house that Silk shared with her grandmother and daughter, both of whom she also knew to be away on other business, "It is you with whom I need to speak concerning my two great granddaughters."

"Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum?" Lo Xion became suddenly quite nervous, "If it is about the time we spend together…"

Kho-Lon sighed, "In a way it is. Understand, child, that I have nothing personally against you, and I am not so ancient that I have forgotten what it is to be young while experiencing your first taste of passion. I have abstained from making comment about the affair between you and Xian-Pu out of respect for your privacy…however…matters have deteriorated to the point where I can no longer remain idle."

"Oh?" Lo-Xion asked with deceptive calm, but inwardly she was twittering with anxiety, afraid of what she knew must be the purpose behind the Matriarch's visit.

"Were it simply a matter of you distracting Xian-Pu from her studies then I might counsel you finding a more discrete way of expressing your ardor, but there is another involved here whom your activities have been affecting, and not for the better. Are you aware that Pur-Fum has also expressed an interest in you for more than simple companionship?"

"Pur-Fum?" Lo-Xion could not conceal her surprise, "I…I did not know she felt that way…I have always…valued her friendship very deeply…"

"Perhaps you should have said so sooner," Kho-Lon replied, "I would have far less issue if you had chosen to experiment with Pur-Fum rather than Xian-Pu. My adopted great granddaughter is not in line to become the next tribal Matriarch, she is not even properly classed as a true warrior due to her unfortunate condition. When she becomes the next tribal Enforcer she will need all the love and support that she can find to cope with the awesome responsibility that she will have to endure and you could have been a valuable support in her efforts. These is no requirement that either of you bear children, as Xian-Pu must if she is to continue our family line into the next generation. I would even overlook the amount of time that you would distract her from her duties if only you had not chosen Xian-Pu first, and now both girls are in rivalry to court you."

"I…don't understand…" Lo-Xion started to say when Kho-Lon fixed her with a hard gaze that caused her to fall silent.

"Pur-Fum challenged Xian-Pu over you not two hours ago," Kho Lon revealed, "It wasn't a formal challenge, more like a very short brawl that resulted in the both of them receiving only minor injuries. The experience has left them both quite shaken, and you can imagine the self-recriminations that they are feeling over this incident. The each feel…very badly about what happened."

The blue haired girl's mouth hung open for a moment, and then Lo-Xion gasped, "I didn't know! On my word, by the name of all my ancestors, I did not know! I would never have…"

"I know you would not have come between them deliberately," Kho-Lon waved a hand to dismiss the point, "The fact remains that they each could have died had the fight become serious. I'm afraid that I simply cannot allow this situation to continue. Xian-Pu will be Tribal Champion in another season or two, and Pur-Fum will be our Enforcer, and that is all that may be said upon that matter. They will need to depend on one another, to establish bonds of trust that are unbreakable so that they may guide the future of all the Joketsuzoku. I simply cannot have a third party coming between them and disrupting that relationship, therefore I have decided that your association with my great granddaughters must be terminated."

"Terminated?" Lo-Xion felt as though her whole world were crumbling around her on just that once pronouncement, "But I…"

"I know what you would say," Kho-Lon replied, waving the protest to one side, "You love both of my great granddaughters very much and would do anything to help them achieve their destinies. That is why I have decided to send you for further training at the village of Kappa Springs. You can study with their village Healer and learn something about Western Medical techniques in their local clinic. It is several days away from here and I have already made the necessary arrangements. You will leave early tomorrow after saying your good byes to my great granddaughters, after which you are forbidden to have any relations with them for the next three seasons. I will permit periodic correspondences by mail but that is all that I will tolerate. Pack your things and get an early rest, I will arrive tomorrow to consult with your Elders."

So saying, the old woman turned and left the house of her rival, the Elder Lo-Xion, steeling her ancient heart against the sobs that soon echoed from within, followed by a low, whining keen as a young girl's heart was tragically broken…

"Hello, Nabiki-chan," smiled Genma as he encountered his niece while walking home from the market, "How was school today?"

"Hello, Pops," Nabiki smiled her usual sly smile and eyed the man whom she had known for seven years as her legal guardian and sensei, "School was fine, I learned a lot. I've been practicing those new Katas you've been teaching me, care to see?"

"Anytime you feel lucky," Genma smiled in anticipation.

Of a sudden Nabiki launched herself into a flying backward kick, which Genma easily dodged, but Nabiki spun around while still in mid-leap and lashed out with her other foot, which came closer to connecting and forced Genma to take a back-step while raising his defenses. He barely got his guard up in time to meet the side-kick that followed her landing, then Nabiki rapidly shot three round house kicks to his groin, solar plexus and chin in the space of one second, all of which the larger man met and countered before signifying a time-out.

"Very good, Nabiki-chan!" Genma smiled, "You pulled that off like an expert. Still need to work a bit on your power, but your kicks have better reach and are coming closer to connecting. You learned that maneuver working out with your friend Keiko, right?"

"Sure did," Nabiki said brightly as she assumed a cute-girl pose and beamed a cherubic smile that would have done justice to an angel, "Keiko's got real powerful kicks and it's fun to train with her and Sakura."

"What about your other friend, Ryoga?" Genma asked, "He seems like a very fine young man, and not all that bad in martial arts either."

"Maybe so," Nabiki resumed her forward walk as Genma fell into stride alongside her, "But he doesn't fight with us girls, seems to think it's dishonorable or some such nonsense. He works out with his mother all the time, but he says his Ryu is too powerful to use on other kids our age. You know he's pretty strong for a boy, maybe even stronger than you…fights a little like us, too."

"That's not very likely," Genma replied, "Saotome Ryu is freeform style, we don't adhere to one simple school or discipline, so the possibility of another school matching our form is very unlikely."

"What about my Father's Ryu?" Nabiki asked, "Isn't Tendo school the same as Saotome?"

"They're closely related, but your father and I developed very different attack styles," Genma explained, "When we were training with our master we would practice on each other all the time, but gradually our styles began to vary until you could see distinctive differences between us. I prefer to use aerial attacks to overcome an opponent's size and reach, and attacking like a bird of prey gives you a height advantage, not to mention adds the power of the Earth to our downward movements."

"You mean gravity?" Nabiki asked.

"More than that," Genma replied, "There's leverage and balance, of course, but it's an elemental attack, becoming one with the clouds enveloping the mountain. You'll understand more of the philosophy behind it in good time. Truth is you already know more than I did when I was your age, and at the rate you're progressing you've very soon be as good as I promised your father I'd make you."

"Well, I still think Ryoga's Ryu is pretty close to being like ours," Nabiki said, "He can attack from the air almost as good as me, and he moves about the same, given that he's a boy and all of that. I think he calls his style The One Righteous Fist Ryu, or something like that…"

"What?" Genma halted in his tracks, looking astonished, "N-Nani?"

"What's wrong?" Nabiki turned around, "You know that system?"

Genma knelt down and laid his hands on her upper arms, "Nabiki…it's very important that you tell me something…what is the name of Ryoga's mother?"

"Her name?" Nabiki blinked, "I don't think he's ever mentioned it…wait! I think I did scan the name off the mailbox at his house. I think…Atsuko…yes, that was it! Atsuko and Hiroshi Hibiki, those are the names of Ryoga's parents."

"Hiroshi Hibiki?" Genma blinked, then looked away and murmured softly under his breath, "Maybe she re-married…yes, that has to be it. Someone else Atsuko fell for…I just hope he was worthy. Funny that he took her surname, though…oh well," he shrugged, "I guess it's not all that important after all."

Nabiki was eyeing her strangely, perceiving that there was some connection between her uncle and Ryoga's mother. Deciding to play on her hunch she tried a roundabout tactic and said, "Speaking of blasts from the past, you'll never guess who enrolled at Furinkan earlier this week. Does the name Kuonji ring any bells?"

"Kuonji?" Genma frowned, and then his face betrayed surprise and recognition, "Kuonji Ukyo? She's here at Juban? What's she doing in Tokyo? "

"Looking for us, apparently," Nabiki folded her arms over her chest, "Funny thing, she pretty much confirms what I've long suspected about you stealing her father's Yatai cart…"

"I tell you it wasn't stolen," Genma said both defensively and with a hint of exasperation over what was an old argument between them, "It was a gift!"

"Not according to Ukyo it wasn't," Nabiki glowered, "I told her where we sold the cart so maybe she can find it and restore at least some of the damage you caused her all those years ago. Honestly, Pops, what were you thinking? We'll be lucky if her father doesn't sue us for a lot of money!"

Genma's expression surprisingly hardened and he said, "I can't explain it to you, Nabiki, but I swear to you that I did not steal that yatai. Now, not another word on the subject. We're marching home now and packing our belongings."

"What?" Nabiki blinked, "But…"

"I said not to argue with me," Genma was already moving forwards, "It's for your own good, not to mention both our families. I'll explain some day when you're old enough to appreciate the sacrifices that a father must make for his children. All I can tell you at this time is that we have to move on again, so I'm afraid you won't get to finish this semester…"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Nabiki all but shouted, "They held me back a year after missing the last one! Do you have any idea what your constantly moving us from one place to another is doing to my grade point level?"

"I'm sorry, but it's necessary," Genma replied, "I'll make it up to you, I swear!"

"So…where are we headed this time?" Nabiki glowered, knowing she was in no position to refuse Genma's decisions, not with so much of her moneyed interests tied up in joint accounts that required his adult signature.

"I have no idea just yet," Genma replied, "But I will think of something."

Nabiki saw an opening and took advantage, "Then you wouldn't mind if I helped you out in making plans? I have a few suggestions for places we could go, you can even make it a part of our training mission."

"That's fine by me," Genma replied with a distracted air. It was indeed all right if Nabiki helped out with the planning phase since she was remarkably clever and had always in the past more than adequately handled their travel arrangements. All that was important to him was putting as much distance as he could between themselves and the dangerous combination of Kuonji Ukyo and Hibiki Atsuko.

Nabiki smiled. This was perfect! With Genma so clearly taken up with the many crimes of his past he would be in a fit mood for her not-too-subtle powers of manipulation. Aloud she purred, "Well then, how do you feel about taking a trip out of the country? Travel abroad supposedly expands the mind, and I know some dandy places that could also greatly expand the size of our wallets…"

"You can't be serious, Great Grandmother," Xian-Pu managed to stammer. Their Elder could not be so cruel! Forcing Lo-Xion to leave while the issue between them and Pur-Fum was unresolved? It was unthinkable! Obscene...

"The matter is decided," Kho Lon declared, "I will brook no argument from either of you. Be glad that I permit you to exchange these parting words after the way the both of you have behaved of late. Say your good-byes and let your lover go. She will train with another village and learn modern healing methods to accompany her Amazon arts, while you will both return to your studies with no further distractions."

Pur-Fum just stared at the Elder without comprehension. Lo-Xion was leaving? But it could not be! She had been a part of their lives for so long…why was the Matriarch forcing this to happen? It was unfair! And she still had not managed to find the words to confess her unrequited longing!

Lo-Xion was in her travel gear with her belonging already packed and at her side. She was looking at them both with sad eyes and a face set with barely contained emotions, yet she was trying to be brave, for all their sakes, not the least for the sake of their Elders. The Matriarch had left her little choice in the matter, and the knowledge that she had caused a rift between Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum was enough to decide for her that this was probably the wisest (if least pleasant) course of action.

"Xian-Pu," she said bravely, "Pur-Fum, it's all right. I'm doing what's best for all of us. I really don't want to go, you both mean so much to me…" she fought for control before she managed to continue, "But the Elder is right, I have been very selfish. I've taken you away from your studies and interfered with your destiny for too long. Now it's time to move on with our lives…but I will miss you both very much."

Her voice shook as she said this but she managed not to cry, which caused Silk to smile at her niece in sad appreciation. That little speech had cost Lo-Xion more than she could dare to reveal. It was like parting with her left and right arm, the only two friends she had in all the world, and who both loved her with equal intensity, if Silk was any judge at reading the clues all three were giving. One did not need to be a Lore Master to perceive that it was only the presence of the Matriarch that kept them from rushing into an embrace that would convey their true feelings more than any words that would ever be spoken.

At Silk's other side was her daughter, Ka Chu, who was glaring angrily at everybody, ready to snap out that the whole matter was stupid without proper regard for what the Matriarch might think of a seventeen year old girl questioning her opinions. Ka Chu was in training to become the tribe's resident Exorcist, but she had never managed to overcome the demons of anger and resentment that had caused her to lose her Warrior's status two seasons back. Silk knew that her daughter regarded Lo-Xion like a little sister, which was why she was overly protective of the girl and filled with resentment towards anyone who might threaten Lo-Xion's happiness. Although no true friend of either Xian-Pu or Pur-Fum, she respected them and knew of Lo-Xion's feelings towards the former, so this decision to part ways was--in her eyes--a mistake, and it was only the Matriarch's presence that prevented her from saying so outright.

Lo-Xion the Elder just sighed, knowing in her heart that Kho-Lon was wrong to separate the child from her two friends, that this matter could only end badly, and having once tasted the folly that their Matriarch was capable of aspiring to she had made her opinions on this subject well known the night before. To no avail, of course, but in fairness to her great granddaughter she had felt compelled to say it.

Lo-Xion clasped hands with Xian-Pu and looked into her eyes for a very long time before parting with a kiss that the others politely ignored, but then she came to stand before Pur-Fum and her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper.

"Pur-Fum," Lo-Xion said softly, "My good friend…how have I wronged you? I never knew your true feelings for me…in a way I wish I had turned to you first. I have always trusted and respected your wisdom, and I've cherished our time together. I hope someday you'll find it in your heart to forgive me, but for now, please forgive Xian-Pu. She needs your strength, your place is beside her."

And then she surprised Pur-Fum by moving forward until their mouths were close enough for a kiss, and that simple gesture left Pur-Fum's head swimming as unvoiced possibilities briefly flirted through her mind, to be banished at once as the reality of the moment intruded on her consciousness. The Lo-Xion broke the kiss and stepped away, turning without another word and heading towards the open road leading away from their village.

It took every ounce of self-control to remain where she was as the girl she loved walked out of her life to an unknown destiny. Xian-Pu spoke Lo-Xion's name as if to call her back but Kho-Lon intervened and said, "Let her go. She must make this journey on her own, Xian-Pu. You cannot walk her path for her, Lo-Xion must earn her way in life as a true Amazon. She will return one day a much stronger person."

Pur-Fum did not care about any of that, all she wanted was to run after Lo-Xion and join her in semi-exile. Instead, she watched her leave, knowing a part of her own life was leaving, and what could ever fill the void created by her absence? That was a question for which even the Elders could have no answer…

"She's what?" Ukyo asked.

"Nabiki's gone," Sakura replied, "Her uncle pulled her out of classes and the two of them are no longer living with the Yamaguchis. Apparently they left early this morning before Keiko and me stopped by to walk her to classes."

"This is really weird," Keiko shook her head in disbelief, "It's totally unlike the Nabiki we know! She's never been the impulsive sort, she's always been a planner. I'm sure she would have told us if she was going anywhere…"

"Genma," Ukyo growled, "This is his doing, I'd bet any amount of money! He must have heard that I was in town and the coward didn't want to face the music! And after what he did to me…"

"Yeah, we know," Sakura replied, then paused to add, "The one I feel sorry for is Ryoga."

"No fooling," Keiko sniffed, "He's real broken up about it. You know what a thing he has for Nab-chan, even if she never recognized it. Her total disappearance has left him devastated! I don't think he said a word all the way to class this morning, he just kept staring at the fence that Nabiki usually walks on as if expecting her to be there!"

Ukyo had privately noticed that Nabiki was in the habit of walking along the tops of fences and other hazardous surfaces as a means of practicing her phenomenal balance but had learned to adjust to this after the first couple of days the same as the others. Her private estimate was that Nabiki had improved a thousandfold in her martial arts from the time that they were children, and if anything she was even more cunning and manipulative than ever. It was difficult to credit the idea that Genma could put anything over on her or allow herself to get dragged around without her consent. Either Genma was more cunning than Ukyo remembered or there was more to the story than could be discerned from the evidence on hand.

One surprising discovery had been the fact that Nabiki seemed to possess some rudimentary code of honor in spite of her notorious amorality. This was plain in the fact that she had freely consented to Ukyo's request that she not reveal her true sex before others. Keiko and Sakura still treated Ukyo as if she were a boy, which it was doubtful that Ryoga would even have noticed her gender with his eyes turned towards Nabiki, and those occasional looks of warning he would give her way whenever he suspected Ukyo might be making overtures towards "his" girlfriend.

Ukyo sighed as she regarded her three friends. Sakura and Keiko weren't interested, and while Ryoga certainly had his attractive qualities it was plain that he had accepted Ukyo as a boy and that was all he would notice on the subject. For the first time in her life she considered what it might be like to have a boyfriend, assuming she could ever find one who would overlook her masculine qualities and behavior. Technically she had an iinazuke out there named Saotome Ranma, but since he was the son of Saotome Genma. Ukyo did not hold out much hope that he would be any better than his father.

Ukyo was about to ask her friends if there were some way that the three of them could cheer up Ryoga when she heard a voice calling out to her, then turned around and saw her friend Makoto approaching. The taller girl came up to her with a happy smile and asked, "Hey, Ukyo-kun…would you like to go out to a movie?"

"I…" Ukyo started to reply when she was beaten to the punch.

"What time do you want him to pick you up?" Sakura asked for her.

"Sakura?" Ukyo said in surprise and exasperation.

"Hey, be a man, show her a good time, Ucchan," Keiko grinned.

"But…!" Ukyo started to say, then stopped herself. She did not want to give her big secret away, and a date with another girl might be a harmless way to throw her off the trail…

"How about six?" Makoto asked with a happy grin, "Unless you'd rather wait until the weekend when they're showing matinee."

"Um…six sounds just fine," Ukyo shrugged, thinking ["Why not? Makoto is certainly a lot of fun to be with].

"Great! See you then!" Makoto said as she turned around and began almost to float from the schoolyard on a cloud from seventh heaven, her feet skipping with joy as she contemplated a date with her dreamboy lover.

"Wow!" Keiko remarked, "You sure worked some kind of charm over her. It's a pretty rare day when Makoto hangs out with somebody who isn't a member of the Cherry Hill Mafia…"

"The what?" Ukyo asked.

"That gang of really close friends of hers who always seem to collect around the Shrine on Cherry Hill," Sakura answered, "Lots of guys talk about it around here, like they're in some really weird cult, or a private club or something. Two of the girls don't even go to this school, can you believe that?"

"Yeah, and one of them's a Shrine Maiden," Keiko agreed, "Talk about your really weird choice in playmates…"

"Anyway," Sakura resumed, "Makoto's chased after a lot of guys in the past, but she hardly ever gets to first base with them on account of how tall she is and the way she beats people up when she gets mad. Most guys are intimidated by that."

"Yeah, go figure," Keiko chuckled, "The little boys can't take the idea of some girl being tougher than they are. At least you don't seem to be like that, Ukyo. In a lot of ways you kind of remind me of Ryoga."

"Oh?" Ukyo asked, "Why is that?"

"Because you're both clueless," Sakura teased, but Keiko shook her head.

"No, it's something else," Keiko remarked, "I can't put my finger on it but I think you and him have a lot of things in common. Maybe because you're different from the other guys, you don't hit on us or treat us like we got a fatal illness or something, and you're…nice, in a quiet, unassuming kind of way."

"You know, you're right," Sakura agreed, giving Ukyo a sly appraisal, "And with those rakish good looks of yours I'll bet lots of girls are gonna hit on you big time. Better get ready for it, stud, you're bound to Johnny Depp 'em."

"Oh great," Ukyo rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, [That's all I need, to be real popular with the ladies…]

In spite of her brave words, Lo-Xion could not keep from breaking down and crying her first half day away from the Amazon village. It was just too painful to think that she might not see Pur-Fum or Xian-Pu again for several years, and who knew what sorts of changes they would undergo in that time. It was cruelty beyond measure to say good bye to the two people who meant the most to her in all the world, and with so much left unresolved, now that she knew how Pur-Fum had felt towards her…

Still, she knew that she had to be strong, to go on in spite of the agony of this separation. She could not remain if she was the cause of trouble between her friends, and she did not want to be an obstacle to their achieving the positions within the tribe that they had struggled so long and hard for. Somehow she would have to get by, to finish her own training, to become a Healer, which would show everyone who had ever doubted her--from her mother to the other warrior children who constantly taunted her--that her life did have some meaning, that she was not clumsy and worthless. It was not just for Pur-Fum and Xian-Pu's sake, it was to prove to herself that her existence held some value.

Odd how much she already missed the smell of her Aunt's cooking, and there was even regret about parting ways with Ka-Chu, who might be hard to get along with at times but was near enough to being her big sister, a familiar presence in her life that she had learned somehow to cherish. Of course there was the agony of physical withdrawal from the intimacies that she and Xian-Pu had been sharing, but she would content herself with the memory of what they had and hope that it would sustain her on lonely evenings…

Lo-Xion tensed suddenly as the sun began to set and she came at last to a rope bridge spanning a waterfall that would carry her to the next county. Some lingering sense from her warrior training was warning her that she was not alone in this wilderness. She paused to glance back over her shoulder, then thought that maybe she was either imagining things or there were people following her. That was enough to make her hold her position and slow her breathing to allow her ears to perceive any trace of telltale movement.

She very briefly entertained the hope that it was Xian-Pu or Pur-Fum who had followed her this far to the edge of Nyanichiczu territory, but she dismissed that almost at once as she knew neither warrior would ever be careless enough to give away their position. Someone else then, and with warrior training. Lo Xion could feel the hostility like a scent in the air, so again she tensed, having a sinking sensation that she knew which warriors had come along to taunt her.

All at once she heard movement from directly ahead of her and turned with a gasp to see someone standing on the other side of the Rope Bridge. The shock of long pink hair that was combed to hide one side of that warrior's face was distinctive even in the failing light. Lo-Xion would recognize her even in the dead of night…Am-Burgis, complete with her Naginata.

"Come on ahead over to my side," she said very slowly, speaking carefully to be overheard over the rushing water, "Don't look back and I promise that I won't hurt you."

Those words were spoken with calm and sober purpose, but Lo-Xion was afraid just the same for she had watched Xian-Pu's fight with Am-Bur and had been a first-hand witness of its resolution. She knew why the pink haired girl was hiding the right side of her face from view with the angry scar that Xian-Pu had given her. She had also seen the fury in Xian-Pu's eyes when she had done it, marking her opponent deliberately in the red haze of outrage at Am-Bur's betrayal of their friendship. At the moment, Lo-Xion could think of only one reason for her presence: to get even with Xian-Pu. What better way to achieve this end than by striking at her rival's only serious weakness, Lo-Xion herself? These thoughts flashed through her mind as she remained rooted where she was, gauging the heartbeats she would last if she turned and ran away, forcing Am-Bur to chase her.

But then the noises made by other warriors detaching themselves from the bushes cut off all thought of fleeing back the way she came. Lo-Xion slowly turned around to mark three Amazons standing athwart the trail, each wearing ugly expressions of cruelty and contempt that sized Lo-Xion up as one might a helpless rabbit about to become their dinner.

Of course, Lo-Xion assumed that these three were with Am-Bur, but the first words spoken by one of the girls put that thought to rest and threw her utterly into confusion.

"Nihao, Am-Bur," that worthy--whose name was Tei-Bel--said with a silky smile, "Are you out hunting the same game as the rest of us?"

"Hardly," Am-Bur replied, "I've been following this one for my own personal reasons when I saw you three picking up her trail and decided to investigate. What business have you with Lo-Xion?"

"What business do you have?" Tei-Bel shot back, "We know that she's the bed-mate of Xian-Pu, the same as you do. We owe Xian-Pu almost as much as you from the way she beat us in competition."

"Why don't we join causes, then?" said another warrior named Her-Sprei, "You hold her off from your end, we'll take him from ours."

"And do what?" Am-Bur's tone held a note of challenge, "Do you intend to do her harm?"

"No," replied the third of the trio, whose name was As-Prin, "We just want to have some fun is all, find out what makes her so special that Xian-Pu spends so much time with this weak one. She's such a joke as a fighter, it wouldn't be any sort at all for us to issue a challenge."

"You are aware that the Matriarch herself has said that no one is to lay hand upon this girl," Am-Bur noted in a tone that could have as easily been discussing the weather, "She is to be a healer, after all, which is why they're sending her away for special training."

"What of it?" Tei-Bel asked, "Are you afraid of angering the Matriarch?"

"Of course," Am-Bur answered, "What fool wouldn't be afraid of her wrath? Not that it has an importance to me since I am leaving the Joketsuzoku to study abroad, but I was curious if you three were brave enough to disobey her."

"We're not going to hurt her," Tei-Bel said, leering at Lo-Xion in a way that made the other girl tremble with fear, "We just want to have some fun with this girl-lover…see what she's got that we lack."

"You don't suppose she's hiding something between her legs, do you?" Her-Sprei suggested to her companions, "Maybe that's why Xian-Pu finds her special."

"How about it, Lo-Xion," As-Prin called out, "Are you a male down below? Or are you one of those who have both genders?"

"Maybe she doesn't need a male to give her pleasure," Her-Sprei chortled at her own jest, "Maybe she wouldn't mind sharing?"

"How about it, Lo-Xion," Tei-Bel said suggestively, "You want to share with us?"

Very calmly Am-Bur said, "Walk over to me now, Lo-Xion. Cross the bridge and I will allow you to reach the other side without harm."

Lo-Xion felt her fear creeping up her spine until it was nearly overwhelming. The three warriors clearly intended to do her mischief. She knew them to be of that minority among Amazons who found the idea of two women laying together demeaning, rendering one woman as low as a male in copulation. She had no doubt that they held her to be in very low esteem, which in their eyes entitled them to do whatever they liked for their own gratification.

On the other hand, Am-Bur was a more puzzling enigma. Her tone was hardly friendly, and there was pain in her expression, not to mention a great deal of personal anger. Could she trust such a one with her welfare while turning her back upon these others? Am-Bur was good enough to fall all three of the other girls without effort on her part, being good enough to have stood up to Xian-Pu in an ordinary challenge match, but was Lo-Xion any better off placing herself in the pink haired warrior's custody? She might decide to kidnap Lo-Xion and use her for revenge. There was no telling what such a one as her was capable of, having betrayed Xian-Pu's confidence once already. Faced by these two options, Lo-Xion's prospects did not seem all that appealing.

"Please," she said to the girls behind her, "Let me pass. I'm no threat to you…"

Tei-Bel's laugh was scornful, "You've got that right. What about it, Am-Bur, are you with us, or against us?"

Am-Bur's single visible eye regarded the three warriors with thinly disguised contempt, then she favored her Naginata and said, "Call me selfish, but I prefer not to share this time. I'm only after the girl, so you can leave now while you're able."

"Now that sounded like a threat," said As-Prin, who drew out a matching pair of bolos that she began to spin in both hands while Her-Sprei's hands flashed with throwing knives and Tei-Bel drew a pair of butterfly knives and crossed them with purpose.

"Please," Lo-Xion tried again, backing away from the bridge and looking for a path up the cliff face that she could use for escape.

"I will say it one last time," said Am-Bur very clearly, just audible above the sound of the waterfall beneath her, "Leave now or face the consequences."

The other three warriors fanned out as much as they could on the narrow shoulder, confident that there was not enough room for Am-Bur to make full effective use of the Naginata. Lo-Xion backed away, only to find her foot encountering reduced resistance. She hastily moved back from the edge, her heart in her hands at the near tumble she had almost taken. She missed the opening volley as As-Prin and Her-Sprei made the first attack, only to see Am-Bur wave her Naginata in a rapid, complex pattern weaving in the air and knocking aside both the knives and bolos. As-Prin flicked her wrists, tugging on the cords connected to the bolos to retract them, only to have one go wild as a consequence of the Naginata. Lo-Xion turned just in time to see that bolo spinning rapidly at her head, and before she could even think to duck the metal spheres struck her a glancing blow and knocked her unconscious.

"No!" Am-Bur cried as she saw the girl tumble off the cliff towards the waterfall. At the last second she hurled her Naginata in an attempt to snag Lo-Xion's clothing to prevent her fall, but she missed her target by a hair and Lo-Xion continued her plunge all the way down to vanish seconds later into the foaming waters at the base two hundred feet below them.

A deathly silence fell over everyone as the three warriors rushed to the edge and stared down in dawning horror at what they had accidentally caused to happen. It took several long seconds before any of them registered the fact that Am-Bur had spoken to them again, then the words she spoke penetrated, "I suggest you three go into hiding."

With that, the pink haired warrior jumped up onto one of the ropes supporting the bridge then executed a perfect dive, landing close to where Lo Xion had vanished in the lake while the three warriors stood their ground and held their breath for a full minute. Then by mutual consent they turned around and started running…

"Lo-Xion!" Xian-Pu cried out in her sleep, disturbing Pur-Fum out of her efforts at meditation.

Pur-Fum had been standing early watch as she sun painted long shadows among the trees, unable to share her friend's need for sleep in spite of the intense training session Kho-Lon had insisted on putting them through. Try as she might, Pur-Fum could not get Lo-Xion out of her mind, so her first impulse was to regard Xian-Pu's outburst as the product of their joint nightmare, but one second later her friend sat bolt erect and cried out, "Lo-Xion! Something has happened!"

"What's wrong?" Pur-Fum was at her adopted cousin's side, alarmed to see that Xian-Pu was shaking like a leaf and sweating profusely, though only her sensitive nostrils could have picked that up in the dim light of their dying campfire.

"I-I dreamed about Lo-Xion," Xian-Pu sought Pur-Fum out with her hands and fumbled until she was able to close her own about those callused fingers, "She was falling to her death and her head was bleeding…I felt her losing consciousness--oh, Cousin! Something terrible has happened to her!"

Pur-Fum might have dismissed Xian-Pu's words as the product of their mutual distress, save that she felt a cold dread pass down her spine as the images they conjured conveyed all sorts of hideous suspicions. Lo-Xion was not a popular girl in their village, and there had been those who often muttered dire thoughts regarding her when they did not think Pur-Fum could hear them. What if some of those took the opportunity of her leaving as a pretext to carry out their awful schemes?

"Dress yourself," Pur-Fum said in as steady a voice as she could manage, trying to calm her own fears with the steely discipline that she normally used to shield her mind against even the most minor of discomforts. She did not have to repeat the words as Xian-Pu was already on her feet reaching for her belongings.

Two hours later they were at the waterfall, having run the entire way in spite of the approach of night making the way treacherous for even a careful tracker. Neither one of them had been willing to take the easy approach, their mutual dread forcing them on beyond the needs of their bodies. Pur-Fum had led the way with her unerring sense of direction, guided by little clues that told her which path Lo-Xion had taken.

Once they reached the waterfall, however, it was Xian-Pu who had taken the lead, coming up to the edge of the cliff besides the rope bridge where Pur-Fum detected the signs of a brief scuffle. Xian Pu stood staring at the waterfall, then turned to gaze below at the tumbling water. Pur-Fum knelt down as a smell attracted her attention, and with careful probing of her fingers she found the traces of dried blood that she knew to be recent.

"This is where it happened," Xian-Pu's voice sounded hollow over the much louder noise of the waterfall, "This is where she fell…this is where she died!"

Pur-Fum could not help but take note of the rising tone of her companion and at once leaped up to throw her arms around Xian-Pu to discourage her from what she knew she had been contemplating. With a frantic cry of, "No, Xian-Pu, don't! You can't help her that way!"

"Indeed," a third voice said, "Neither one of you is helping matters by carrying on this way. I suggest you calm yourselves and think rationally about this whole matter."

"Elder?" Pur-Fum could barely make out the form of the Elder Lo-Xion, but then the tip of the ancient woman's staff began to glow, providing enough illumination for them to see each other's faces. For Pur-Fum it also seemed as if the ancient Lore Master had appeared out of thin air, her senses having failed to detect the Elder beforehand.

"Xian-Pu," the Lore Master said with a firm tone, "Do not let your fears become your master. I want you to calm yourself for now and take the time to assess matters with your head as well as your heart. You cannot serve my great granddaughter by going to pieces now of all times, when she may still need you."

Xian-Pu was still looking at the cliff, but Pur-Fum felt her resistance ebbing and she let go of her companion, letting Xian-Pu stand on her own power as one factor of the crisis appeared to be momentarily averted.

"Elder," Pur-Fum said, forcing the words past her own trembling lips, "You already know…"

"I was drawn by the same vision that guided the both of you," the Lore Master replied, "My great granddaughter was projecting the sensation of falling. Of course I came at once to learn for myself of her fate, but I'm not surprised to find that you somehow managed to arrive here before me. Your bonds to my granddaughter's child are quite extraordinary, and perhaps you may help me determine if Lo-Xion lives or not…"

"You don't know?" Xian-Pu's voice showed the strain of her emotions.

"I am far from Omniscient, nor am I infallible, child," the Elder said grimly, "Neither can I trust myself to be as objective as I must be to discern Lo-Xion's fate. I do not sense her, but that does not necessarily mean that she is dead. There are many possibilities to consider…"

"She's dead," Xian Pu said quietly, so faint that only Pur-Fum's ears could discern those words, "She's gone…I've killed her…"

"What?" Pur-Fum wondered if her cousin's mind had snapped. The words made little sense to her, but then…if what Xian-Pu said was true…then nothing made any sense any more. The chill of realization was damning…Lo-Xion was gone…not merely banished but utterly and forever gone from both of their lives!

Somehow the Elder knew what Xian-Pu was murmuring so faintly and said, "Nonsense…you did not cause this to happen. The fault lies with others, the both of you are blameless."

Pur-Fum lowered her head and said, "With all respect, Elder, you are wrong, and so is Xian-Pu. You did not kill her, cousin…I did, with my jealousy, my anger and greed. I was the one who caused the trouble that made great grandmother order her to leave…"

"If anyone is at fault here it is the Matriarch herself," the Elder snapped, "She handled the matter badly, the both of you are the victims of her meddling."

"That may be as it will, Elder," Pur-Fum looked up, and suddenly her face was set and determined, "But someone else is responsible, and if we discover that they caused Lo-Xion to fall, then their lives are forfeit. I will learn who they are and I will punish them for what they've done…"

"I have no doubt that you are capable of this," the Elder replied, "But consider what you intend to do before it is too late. Lo-Xion would not be honored by the deliberate spilling of blood, nor would my great granddaughter have wished the deaths of those who sought to torment her. I sense that what happened here was an accident, not the deliberate intent of your quarry…"

"What happens to them will be no accident," Pur-Fum said as she started forwards.

"Pur-Fum?" Xian-Pu asked in obvious concern.

"Don't worry," Pur Fum's own voice carried back to them with a ghostly edge that was drained of all emotions, "I will not seek their lives…I don't intend to be that merciful. Wait here, I will be back by morning…"

"All right, Sugar, talk," Ukyo growled, surprising Ryoga, who had been sitting and moping in protracted silence for the past several hours.

"Uh…what about?" the dark haired boy asked in evident confusion.

Ukyo sat next to him on the wall and settled herself into a comfortable posture as she said, "Whatever's got you in such a blue funk is what. You've been like this ever since Nabiki disappeared. Keiko and Sakura say you've not been eating or sleeping much and they're starting to worry."

"Oh," Ryoga replied, then fell silent as he seemed to be taking his time thinking about it.

"Oh what?" Ukyo asked.

"Uh…" Ryoga looked down and heaved a sigh before concluding, "Maybe I just haven't felt like doing much since she left. I...It's a little hard to explain, Ukyo...I just feel so empty..."

"It's your own fault you know," Ukyo remarked, "You could have told her how you feel while she was still around."

"Hah?" Ryoga had that look you might see in a deer caught in the headlights, "But I…I couldn't…I mean…Nabiki never…well…I don't know if she really liked me…"

"What's not to like?" Ukyo patted the boy on his shoulder and marveled at the solidness she encountered there, "You're a nice guy, Ryoga-kun, and I know Nabiki valued your friendship. What would it have cost you to tell her how you feel? She might have rejected you, or she might have responded in a way that would have surprised you. You're never going to know just sitting here on your ass. If you really like her you ought to be out there doing something about it."

"Like what?" Ryoga asked with a hopeful expression.

"Like finding her and telling her, you Jackass," Ukyo rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Honestly, you're a nice guy, but you can be so incredibly dense sometimes. What good is it doing you to sit here and mope about it? Either get on with your life or go after her, but don't starve yourself to death doing nothing!"

"You're right," Ryoga sat upright and stared off into space, "I have been doing nothing. It just never occurred to me…I can still find Nabiki and tell her how I feel. But…are you sure it would be the right thing to do?"

"It's what I'd do," Ukyo said honestly, "If I had a reason to chase after her, you bet I'd do it."

"Then what am I waiting around here for?" Ryoga jumped off the wall and started running, calling out over his shoulder, "Thanks, Ukyo! I'll never forget this!"

Ukyo smiled, "That boy's got it bad…"

"You, Ucchan!" a voice hailed her, causing Ukyo to turn to see Keiko and Sakura approaching, "What did you say to Ryoga to get him out of the doldrums?"

"I just said he ought to go after his dream," Ukyo smiled, "He's gonna try and find Nabiki to tell him about his feelings."

"Uh oh," Sakura warned, "You shouldn't have done that! Now we may never see him again for the remainder of the semester!"

"What do you mean?" Ukyo blinked, "His problem with directions…?"

"Not just a problem," Keiko said, "If Ryoga fixes his mind on something he can be pretty relentless, so he'll keep on chasing after Nab-chan until he finds her, only that won't be any time shortly."

"We've told you about his problem, Ucchan," Sakura resumed, "That boy simply can't find his way from point A to B without meandering all over the alphabet. You mark my words, as soon as he gets lost he won't find his way again except by accident, and even then he needs to be incredibly lucky."

"He once got lost looking for home room and instead found his way to the girl's lockers by mistake," Keiko explained, "If Sakura and me hadn't come to his aid as the last second he would have been trampled to death by our vengeful classmates."

"So, In other words he's pretty much hopeless as well as clueless?" Ukyo remarked, "Too bad, he's such a nice guy."

"Yeah," Sakura sniffed, "And we could sure use a few more like that around here, or you for that matter."

"Me?" Ukyo blinked.

"Sure" Sakura grinned, "You're a pretty nice guy yourself, Ucchan, and I hear you and Makoto-chan had a nice date together. Care to give us the dirty details?"

"Ah…" Ukyo winced and began to perspire slightly, wondering how she could answer that query. The truth as that she and Makoto had spent an enjoyable evening together, if not quite as romantic from her perspective and it might have seemed to Makoto. Makoto was fun to be with, even if she did give Ukyo those funny looks and insisted on holding her hand all through the movie. Ukyo had even accepted a light kiss on the cheek after walking her friend home, sort of a farewell peck, and that had felt…really odd…but nothing more had come from it, though she did worry that she might be leading her friend on by not telling her the truth and spoiling Makoto's illusions.

Aloud to her two friends what she said was, "I'd…prefer to keep a few things private, if you don't mind. We had a good time, so let's leave it at that."

"Hah," Keiko snorted, "You're such a typical guy, Ucchan! Makoto looked like she was walking on air when she came to class this morning. If I were you I'd start thinking up places to take her on your next date…"

"Next date?" Ukyo reacted with her voice pitched so high that she was afraid it would almost give away her true gender.

"Sure thing, Stud," Keiko leered, "You didn't plan on just dumping her after the first one, did you? A girl deserves better treatment than that, and you don't want to make Mako-chan mad at you, right?"

To that, Ukyo could only manage a weak smile, feeling very much on the spot as she wondered how exactly she had gotten herself into this crazy situation…

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost," Tei-Bel replied uncertainly, "At least I think this is the way. Hard to say in this light, but I'm pretty sure we're almost back at the village."

"We ought to stop and make camp," Her-Sprei muttered, "You can't see ten paces ahead on this trail, even with the moonlight to help us."

"If we're late back from patrol we'll all catch it from the Elders," As-Prin complained as she batted a branch out of her face while hoping like mad that they WERE going in the right direction.

"Remember," Tei-Bel cautioned for the fifth straight time, "We don't know anything about what happened back at that bridge, we haven't heard about any accident and as far as any of us know Lo-Xion is on her way to another village…"

"Yeah, yeah," Her- Sprei growled, "You've told us that about a dozen times already. We're not dumb enough to draw attention to ourselves, you know…"

"Then how dumb are you?"

"Huh?" Her-Sprei turned to glare at the woman beside her, "Just what do you mean by that?"

"I didn't say anything!" As-Prin protested.

"Then who did…?" Her-Sprei was about to ask when all of a sudden the tree directly ahead of them exploded into a hail of splinters.

All three young warriors staggered back in shock and surprise as the dust settled all around them and a dark figure took form before their eyes in the moonlight.

"Who's there?" Tei-Bel cried as she drew her Butterfly Knives and assumed a fighting crouch while Her- Sprei drew her throwing daggers and As-Prin produced her bolos.

The figure said nothing as visibility improved somewhat, but then she lifted a pair of double bladed broad axes and held them in such a way that her face became illuminated by reflected moonlight.

"You?" Tei-Bel was openly scornful, "What do you want, Pur-Fum. We haven't any time for nonsense…"

Pur-Fum's only response was to suddenly hurl her axes forward, whipping them out with such speed that the three warriors had hardly any time to blink before they were well beyond them. Tei-Bel froze as she felt the wind kicked up in their passage brush so near to her face that there was scarcely a hairswidth separation between blade and skin, then curved around in matching arcs to boomerang back towards Perfume, who casually caught the twin blades without shifting her posture.

It was with some surprise that Tei-Bel suddenly felt a breeze to either side of her nape, and with perfect clarity she became aware that her Odangos were falling away, sheered cleanly off as if to deny her warrior status.

As-Prin and Her-Sprei took this as a sign that they should fan out and put distance between them and their nominal leader. They flanked the silent Pur-Fum, who seemed to take no notice of their movements. Tei-Bel was still in shock but managed to work her mouth a little, then finally gasped, "What…?"

"Did you know," Pur-Fum said in a flat tone devoid of emotion, "That the heal of your left shoe is slightly deeper than your right heel, and that you walk with a distinctive measure to your stride very different from that of the others."

As-Prin began twirling her bolos to create a distraction while Her-Sprei readied two handfuls of throwing knives while slowly easing one foot out of her left shoe so as to slide another set of knives that she kept hidden up her right pantleg.

"And you," Pur-Fum moved her eyes but no other part of her face as she regarded Her-Sprei, who froze in one-legged posture, "Are very careless. You left one of your trademark daggers by the bridge at the waterfall crossing. While your bolos smell of blood…"

Without needing to glance at one another for any signal, both warriors unleashed their weapons at the same time, hoping to coordinate their attacks in the belief that the girl that they had long considered a weakling could not possibly avoid or deflect all of their weapons.

But Pur-Fum launched into a sudden blur as she cried out, "Steel Storm!" with both axes weaving in a complex pattern that created an impenetrable barrier of steel. Her-Sprei's knives were each caught and returned back at her while the bolos that sought to close on Pur Fum were sheered clean of the mini-chains that she often used to retract them. Her-Sprei found herself ducking a barrage from her own weapons while Pur-Fum clasped both axes in one hand and plucked the twirling bolos out of the air, then hurled them back at As-Prin with a flick of her wrist. As-Prin fell back clutching at her neck where one bolo had wrapped itself around her wind pipe, the other trapping her legs together so that she could not maintain her balance.

Pur-Fum stood to relaxed attention and said in deathly calm, "I have come to make you pay for what you have done. It is useless to resist me, it is suicide to attack, but by all means…try me. You like picking on the weak so much, try your luck with me."

Her-Sprei licked her lips and considered her options, then started to edge away when Pur-Fum caught the motion and casually hurled one of her axes, arcing it just so that it missed the other warrior by scarcely a heartbeat, the sound of the blade slicing air having the quality of a hissing cobra before it curved back and returned to the outstretched hand of its mistress.

Her-Sprei stood her ground, looking bewildered for a moment before she felt the top of her shirt begin to slide down, exposing her upper body. That snapped her out of her daze so that she snarled in fury at being mocked and tried to hurl another volley of knives at Pur-Fum, only to discover that the other Amazon was already in motion, rushing at her with a leaping kick that forced Her-Sprei to duck back in dismay. Pur-Fum wasted no time pivoting on one foot as she whirled around and brought the flat of both her axes up to catch the other girl between their grip, then with a single kick she sent the girl tumbling off into dream land. Meanwhile, As-Prin was fighting for air while attempting to remove her own constricting bolos.

That was all Tei-Bel could stand for one night. Without a further second of thought she whirled around and started running, fleeing back down the trail in the direction they had come from, forgetting all else in her need to put distance between herself and her assailant.

Pur-Fum did not bother to hide the contempt she expressed at this display of cowardice, but she waited a few moments before starting out in pursuit, deliberately choosing a different path so that she could pace Tei-Bel without the other being the wiser.

Tei-Bel was running blindly in the dark with branches and brambles scraping and clawing at the exposed areas of her skin like a thousand hungry creatures, heedless of everything but her need to escape the madwoman who had beaten her two friends with such ridiculous ease. Never in her wildest nightmares had she imagined that the girl that she had always believed a weakling due to her double curses could prove so deadly and formidable. It was not even as if Pur-Fum was trying very hard to show them up, it was more like they were being toyed with by a predator who was in no great hurry to finish the matter.

Yet while she scrambled in the futile hope of sanctuary, Pur-Fum was finding it very easy to keep pace with Tei-Bel. To her eyes, the dim moonlight was as bright as a halogen lamp illuminating her path, and she moved with great ease slipping through the veldt without hardly stirring a leaf or blade of grass in passage. She could smell the fear mixed with the scent of her quarry, hear the pounding of Tei-Bel's heart and could have ended the chase at any moment. Instead, she waited until the moment of terror was greatest for her prey, then she cast one of her axes in a toss that deliberately missed Ta Bel but caused her to stumble and falter.

The sound of that axe was enough to make Tei-Bel's heart lurch in her mouth as she tried to orient towards its point of origin. Pur-Fum took advantage of her opponent's disorientation to close the distance between them without giving away her position.

In a few quick leaping strides Pur-Fum came hurtling out of the forest with both arms extended, using her metal bracers to catch Tei-Bel by surprise and knock her sprawling. Pur-Fum came up in a roll and stood erect in time to meet the return arc of her broad axe, snatching it out of the air before assuming a fighting crouch as she studied the terrified girl before her.

To her credit, Tei-Bel chose to make a last desperate stand, drawing her butterfly knives while facing off against the other girl, who was two years her junior. She had the advantage of reach and maturity on her side, but Pur-Fum proved quick and clever when she attacked and drove Tei-Bel back to the very edge of the clearing. The fight between them was drawn out but never in doubt. Pur-Fum was a blur in Tei-Bel's vision as she felt herself be disarmed by those deadly axes. Pur-Fum was not content to stop there, however, and proceeded to slice away Tei-Bel's clothing until she was nude, then next she went to work chopping away at the other girl's hair until Tei-Bel was nearly bald, and only then did she knock the girl to her knees and press one axe to her throat. A single slice and it would all be over.

"P-Please!" Tei-Bel gasped, finally losing all pretence of courage as the prospect of dying became evident. It was the final humiliation for any warrior to suffer, being reduced to begging for her life, but Tei-Bel was well beyond any hope of dignity now, not that she expected her plea to be heeded.

For a long time neither girl moved as Pur-Fum remained where she was, holding the axe up to the throat of the other girl, knowing how easy it would be to give into her lust for vengeance. In her eyes Tei-Bel and her friends deserved to die, were already as good as dead, their lives being forfeit to Pur-Fum the instant that she made them. None of them had been in her class as a fighter, her skills overmastered theirs by such a degree that they were barely even worthy of her notice. The tribe would be better off without such scum, and she doubted very much if the Elders would find fault with her actions. This was what she had been trained for, and to claim their lives would only be simple justice.

What stopped her in the end was not considerations of mercy or even pity, it was contempt mixed with curiosity and the realization that she had broken Tei-Bel as a fighter. To sully her axes now would be a poor tribute to the memory of Lo-Xion, who might not have approved such bloodshed. Pur-Fum might have bloodied them anyway, but instead she asked one question, "Why? Why did you do it?"

Tei-Bel gasped as she felt the press of the blade against her neck, so she said, "We just wanted to have some fun…we never meant any harm! We didn't mean to cause her to fall…it was an accident, it just happened!"

"Just…happened," Pur-Fum repeated, but now the beserker madness was draining away from her, leaving cool reason in its place, along with a hollow feeling that could never be filled without Lo-Xion. With great effort she forced herself to move away from the cowering girl, then said with forced calm, "You will return with me to the village and confess what you did to the Elders. You will tell everyone what you did to Lo-Xion, and why, and beg the forgiveness of her family. They will decide your fate, not me, not unless you refuse to agree this instant. Swear that you will do this and I will permit you to live…or else…"

"I swear!" Tei-Bel cried as one who was drowning might grasp for any means of keeping afloat. The loss of face and prestige would be inconvenient, and the pride of her family might suffer, but at least Tei-Bel would still have a head to hang in shame. She had no doubt in the slightest that she would lose her head if she showed any hesitation to comply at this point. No way did she want to spend one minute longer than she had to in the presence of this madwoman!

"Then move," Pur-Fum said coldly, not even caring how the other girl shivered in the night air as she staggered to her feet, then stumbled back along the trail to rejoin the others, who would in turn be given the same option…

Lo-Xion coughed, then felt her temples as she groaned aloud, wondering why her head ached so much, not to mention other parts of her body…

"Lie still," a voice said, "You may have a minor concussion."

Lo-Xion opened her eyes as she recognized that voice, then slowly turned her head to see the other girl bent over by the campfire cooking trout that had been impaled on roasting sticks. The face of her companion was turned away at the moment, but there was no mistaking the pink coloration of her hair, or the Naginata that had somehow been retrieved and was laying within easy handsreach.

"Am-Bur?" she gasped in confusion.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," the other girl said without turning around, "You had me worried for a while there."

"What…happened?" Lo-Xion asked, searching her recent memories in hopes of a reference.

"Other than the fact that you were hit on the head, fell seventy-two meters into a waterfall and were swept six kilometers downstream before I was able to reach you?" Am-Bur asked, then answered "Not much, other than the fact that we're now in Musk-controlled territory, which is why I've banked the fire so low so as not to attract the notice of one of their patrols."

"You saved me?" Lo-Xion gasped.

"That pretty much seems to be it," Am-Bur replied, "And you're welcome."

"Um…thanks," Lo-Xion said, "Uh…please don't get me wrong, but…why did you do it?"

Am-Bur seemed to consider the point for a time before she said, "Seemed like a good idea at the time, though I don't blame you for asking."

Lo-Xion felt awkward at being indebted to the other girl. One the one hand she knew that Am-Bur must be in incredible pain from the wound she had received at Xian-Pu's hand and therefore could not harbor good intentions towards someone whom Xian-Pu favored, on the other hand she could recall Am-Bur posing as a friend and accompanying the both of them on several adventures, and during that time she had never sensed ill intent in the pink haired warrior, which was partly why her betrayal at the tournament had come as such a great shock.

Lo-Xion could also remember vividly how hurt and angry Xian-Pu was at the time, and she had been firsthand witness to what her lover had done to Am-Bur in retaliation. There was a very good reason why Am-Bur was keeping her face averted at the moment and had combed her hair to cover her right portion.

Lo-Xion took a moment to glance down at the parts of her body that she could see that weren't presently covered by a blanket. She had bruises and bandages enough to tell her about the narrow escape that she had just come through. If it was not for Am-Bur…

"You are also wondering why I challenged Xian-Pu at the tournament," Am-Bur suddenly, "Which she took for betrayal, which is why she chose to scar me."

Lo-Xion felt awkward but managed to reply, "No…Pur-Fum warned us both that it was your habit to get to know your opponents before challenging them. Xian-Pu did not believe you would do such a thing to her, and then your challenge arrived and we realized that you would be facing her in tournament. It was quite a surprise to us both, but I guess it should have been expected."

Am-Bur gave a short, bitter snort that could have been the beginning of a laugh and said, "I never led either of you on that I was going to challenge her. Why do you think I chose to spar with her in practice? I would have done the same with Pur-Fum, but your other friend denied me the privilege."

"Her great grandmother, the Matriarch, would have forbidden it too," Lo-Xion replied, "Pur-Fum's training is a guarded secret that only Xian-Pu and I have been allowed to witness. Everyone thinks she is weak, but she is very, very strong, much stronger than you could imagine."

"I suppose I'll have to take your word on it, then," Am-Bur sniffed, "I won't be returning to our homeland, not for quite a while. I'm done with this village, it's time to move on and learn what the world has to teach me."

Lo-Xion gazed at the one called Am-Burgis in curiosity before forming her next question, "Just why were you at the Waterfall Bridge, Am-Bur? You were intending to do something with me, weren't you?"

"I will not deny it," Am-Bur stared into the fire for a moment before continuing, "I thought of the pain that losing you would cause Xian-Pu and it gave me ideas. Ever since I was little and had to endure my mother's brow beatings whenever I failed to live up to her standards I have always sought to learn the weaknesses of those I challenge so that I can exploit them to my own advantage. I had some thoughts about kidnapping you to lure Xian-Pu into a trap so that I could have my vengeance."

"But instead you saved my life," Lo-Xion said softly, "So what changed your mind?"

"Those three I saw following you had almost the exact same idea," Am Bur sighed, "It made me feel…petty…spiteful, almost like a willful child. I'm better than that, or so I've always believed. It decided my course of action, especially when I saw you falling towards your doom in the water."

"I'm grateful," Lo-Xion replied, "It can't have been an easy decision with what you've suffered."

Am-Bur stiffened slightly, "What do you know about what I've suffered?"

"I know that we're the same deep down," Lo Xion replied, "We've both had to endure the abuse of adults who have demanded too much from us, or more than we are able to give. We know what it's like to be considered outsiders, not well liked and barely tolerated by others…"

Am-Bur moved with incredible speed to close the distance between them, and suddenly she was poised above Lo-Xion, glaring down at the smaller girl as she exposed the right side of her face to full view and said, "What WE have suffered? Look at me! I'll bear this scar for life! I'm hideous now, and all because of your precious Xian-Pu! Don't talk to me about being the same, we're nothing alike! You're Xian-Pu's precious darling while I'm a side show freak! I might as well call myself Cain or wear a mask over my head! People will look at me and point their fingers and say, 'Isn't it a pity? She could be so cute if it wasn't for that one little deformity…"

Lo-Xion stared at the wicked gash that was exposed to the dim light of the campfire which had somehow just missed the eye beginning above the right eyebrow and extending down the side of the cheek, held in place by stitches yet still so fresh that its angry red glare still looked moist around the center. She could not repress a slight shudder as she thought of the pain that the other girl was enduring.

"You see?" Am-Bur said more softly, "This is what I have to look forward to, thanks to Xian-Pu and her pride, so don't tell me that you know what suffering means because mine has only just begun, and somehow or other I will be avenged on Xian-Pu for her having done this!"

Lo-Xion considered what words she might use to appease the other girl's wrath and could think of nothing, but now that she had the opportunity to study Am-Bur's wound more closely the clinical part of her mind that was the trained Healer came into play. That cut would leave an angry scar, of course, unless…

Lo-Xion freed both of her hands from the blanket then began to reach up towards Am-Bur, who recoiled slightly at the promised contact until the smaller girl said, "Hold still…this isn't going to hurt you."

"W-What are you trying to do?" Am Bur asked, "I've already been to see a Healer…"

"Not my Aunt Comb," Lo-Xion said as her fingers lightly traced the scar, probing around the stitches without making contact, "This looks more like Tal-Kum's doing. At least he had sense enough to use sutchers instead of silk thread, that will make this much easier."

Lo-Xion closed her eyes and thought of her aunt Comb, recalled their lessons together when she had been studying the more advanced arts of the true adept Healer. Silk had discovered that Lo-Xion had a hidden talent that was well suited to a Healer and had encouraged Comb to concentrate on that aspect of her training. She imagined the ball of energy that she had been taught to create between her hands, visualizing the bright sunlight gold coloration of the healing energy of her Chi, drawn from her immediate surroundings as she opened her mind and visualized each one of her Chakra centers opening in sequence.

The energy began to flow through her small body, drawn in through the pores of her skin as she rechanneled it through the contact point of her hands. Am-Bur gasped slightly but then started to relax as the Chi energy touched her and caused a pleasant warmth to fill her body. It only lasted for a few seconds, and then it was gone. Lo-Xion withdrew her hands and Am-Bur felt along the edges of her face, tracing the line that was no longer hurting.

"Now it won't be so obvious," Lo-Xion sighed as she lay back in her blankets, feeling the exhaustion that always came on her with the use of the power, "You'll still have a faint scar, but it won't be all that visible in certain lighting. Now you don't have any reason to go after Xian-Pu…now you won't need to claim vengeance," she yawned, unable to keep her eyelids from closing, "Excuse me…I need to sleep now…"

Am-Bur watched the blue haired girl succumb to her exhaustion, still touching the right side of her face where it was no longer hurting. Of a sudden she wanted to get a mirror to examine herself, but she had smashed the only one she possessed on the day she took her vow to quit herself of their village.

Lo-Xion had just done her a favor, she realized that without knowing exactly how or why she had done it. Even the sutchers were gone, dissolved or absorbed into the skin thanks to Lo-Xion's healing magic. Overwhelmed at the kindness that had just been done to her, Am-Bur sat back and stared down at the peaceful, reposed face of the young beauty whom she had rescued.

It was a very long time before Am-Bur moved again, returning to the faint embers of their fire so that she could coax it back to a small blaze and finish cooking their dinner. She had to think what she was going to do now, assuming they could avoid the Musk patrols and make it back into friendly territory. Going back to Joketsuzoku was not even an option, and Lo-Xion had her own destination in one of the villages with whom the Amazons had a friendly alliance. It seemed sensible that they stay together at least as far as Kappa Springs, and from there…who could say? Maybe hang around a few days to be sure that Lo-Xion was truly feeling better.

An odd thought crossed Am-Bur's mind as she recalled what she had been planning to do to Lo-Xion before changing her mind at the last minute. Those three warriors had been crude enough to hint at what they intended, but none of them had the imagination to carry it out the way Am-Bur had contemplated. It sickened her now to think that she would have so used someone as innocent as Lo-Xion in her personal quest for vengeance, but now that they were each indebted to each other…

Am-Bur smiled, this time favoring Lo-Xion with a look very different from the kind of bitter, twisted scowls she had been employing all evening. The girl was certainly a charmer, and she had a way of making it seem perfectly natural that one would want to be with her. She was clever and imaginative, and in many respects would make a very fine traveling companion. Perhaps there were even things they could each one another, having shared—as Am-Bur now admitted—a checkered past full of much sorrow and hardship at the hands of those they had loved and trusted.

There was more than one way to take revenge on somebody, and Xian-Pu might not learn the truth for many years. In a way, that would satisfy Am-Bur's need for vengeance, and without turning Lo-Xion into a victim of cruel excesses.

Time enough to see if her new plan had any merit. For now, her fish was starting to smolder over the fire, so it was time to retrieve her supper while hoping Lo-Xion would recover shortly to share her own well-earned portion…

At that moment, many miles away in the village, Lo-Xion the Elder's eyes flew open as she came out of her meditational trance and said, "She lives! My great granddaughter yet lives! I must see Kho-Lon at once…"

Gathering herself up she left her house, limping on her staff as she sought out Kho-Lon, whom she found standing outside the main gates to Joketsuzoku as the sun was rising, attended by a good portion of the villages population. Lo-Xion's excitement was such that she ignored the crowd and went straight to the Matriarch to say, "Good news…I've just made contact with my great granddaughter…"

"Hold that news for the moment," Kho-Lon instructed the ancient Lore Master, "See who has returned from a successful hunt, and with her quarry in tow no less."

Lo-Xion turned to see what had attracted so much notice and at once caught sight of Pur-Fum herding three near-naked Amazons with her axes, the lead of whom had her hair cut so short that she was practically hairless. All three girls shivered in the pre-dawn chill of early morning, yet being Amazons they were trained to ignore minor physical discomforts and seemed more preoccupied with keeping their distance from the one who stalked them.

Xian-Pu was standing next to Kho-Lon with rounded eyes as Pur-Fum ordered her prisoners to kneel down and accept the judgement of their Elders. Pur-Fum looked expectantly at Kho-Lon as other members of the Council arrived to investigate the matter. Kho-Lon waited until a sufficient number were gathered before asking aloud, "Why do you come here before us in this manner, Pur-Fum? What have these three done that you would present them to us for judgement?"

"Elder," Pur-Fum's voice held the same flat tone that she had used before, "I bring before you three warriors who have shamed themselves in the eyes of our ancestors. They were the ones who caused Lo-Xion to fall to her death near the Waterfall Bridge. They have confessed their crime to me and will now do so before all present. They await your judgement, as do I," and she made a saluting motion with her axes before causing them to disappear into their special place of holding.

Xian-Pu looked stunned, and then her eyes blazed with anger as she turned to the three who cowered before her and snarled, "Let me deal with them, Great Grandmother! I will see to it that they are punished for their crimes!"

"Stay your hand, Xian-Pu," Kho-Lon ordered, "I would hear this from their own lips. Do you three confess to the crime that you are charged with? Speak truthfully, you are in the presence of Elders who will know if you are lying."

The three shivering girls all as one turned from the angry, crimson gaze of Xian-Pu to the more neutral expression of the Matriarch, then Her-Sprei cried out, "We didn't mean to hurt her! We were only going to have a little fun…"

"It was Whale Puke who did it!" As-Prin suddenly cried as if inspired by terror, "She was there and challenged us, and when the fight broke out Lo-Xion was hurt by accident…"

"Whale Puke?" Xian-Pu grit out the words with an especially vicious tone, her hands clenched as if gripping the handles of her Bonbori with the obvious intent of smashing the three before her like insects.

"That's right," Tei-Bel shivered, "Am-Burgis was there! She's more responsible than us for what happened! You should blame her, not us!"

"Am-Burgis," Pur-Fum said the word with distaste, "I would have guessed her involvement. Elders, there is one who has not yet been brought to justice, I will seek her out and bring her back to face judgement…"

"Not just yet," Kho-Lon said, "First tell us why you chose to bring these three back for judgement when you could have as easily taken their lives when you found them?"

"I had considered it, Elder," Pur-Fum replied, regarding the cowering trio with open contempt, "But there would be little point and small satisfaction from taking the lives of warriors who have dishonored themselves so badly."

"Why not?" Be-Dea asked, "No one here would judge you at fault if you had chosen to exercise your right as the victor."

"But it is not what she would have wanted, "Pur-Fum said softly, "Lo-Xion was the kindest, gentlest person I have ever known, worth ten such as these! She wouldn't want her memory to be bloodshed, and to kill them in battle would preserve their names and integrity as warriors."

"Yet you show mercy to those who caused her death," said Pao Dur.

"Perhaps the Elder might instruct me in what way I have done this," Pur-Fum said coldly, "Let them live with their shame, or whatever penalty you judge for their actions. They now stand condemned in their own words, in the eyes of their families, and if they are ever to reclaim warrior status again they will have to demonstrate their worth in the eyes of our people. This would please Lo-Xion and serve the interests of the Nyanichiczu."

"Well spoken," Kho-Lon said with approval, then she lifted her voice and called out, "Hear me! It is my judgement that these three be stripped of rank and forced to labor in the fields for three seasons until they have proven to their Elders that they are warriors again. I also declare that Pur-Fum is the new Enforcer for our village. She has proven that she can carry out the will of the Council, so let all beware of her wrath. Do any here dispute my judgement?"

No one did, so by the consent of all the Elders present Pur-Fum was acknowledged Enforcer while the mothers of the three Amazons she had defeated came to claim their charges to a fate that was far less pleasant. Pur-Fum did not allow herself to show emotions, but she saw her own mother among those who were enthusiastically hailing her name. She took what small comfort she could in this, but her eyes sought out Xian-Pu, who only looked sadly at her cousin, the grief they each shared far outweighing any sense of vindication.

Lo-Xion tried again to get her message through, but before she could speak Kho-Lon murmured a sharp, "Say nothing. We will talk in private."

Lo-Xion closed her mouth and eyed the Matriarch with suspicion. Kho-Lon was up to something devious and even without the senses of a Lore Master, Lo-Xion could tell that it was not something she would hear gladly…

"I wanted to tell you something, Makoto," Ukyo said nervously, "It's very important that you listen, I know it will come as something of a shock, but I never meant to lead you on or hurt you…"

Ukyo made an exasperated sound as she stared at the bathroom mirror. It was the male bathrooms, of course, and no one was present to eavesdrop (she had double-checked to make absolutely certain of that), so she had some assurance of privacy as she tried to rehearse what she was going to say to her friend when she next saw her.

"Makoto," she tried again, "I think you're a wonderful person, a great cook, and you've got a wonderful sense of humor. You're smart, you're pretty, a very loyal friend and you're even a good fighter, so I don't want you to think this has any reflection on you--AAARRRGGGHHH!" she threw up her hands in despair, "That sounds so lame! When I tell her the truth she's going to cry, if she doesn't outright kill me…"

"Relationship problems?"

Ukyo froze, looking at the mirror, then past her shoulders, turning slowly around as she tried to discern where those words had originated.

"Who said that?" she asked, a hand reaching up to the handle of her baker's peel. A lot of very strange things were always happing at Crossroads, so hearing a disembodied voice was not as strange as it might sound and the thought that it might be one of those accursed Youma briefly crossed her mind as she considered battle tactics for dealing with hostile extradimensional spirits.

The peel was polished iron and she had learned first-hand that it could be effective against hostile spirits, but when she saw movement coming from the wastebasket near the sink she almost jumped out of her skin, then a human form detached itself and turned to look at her with a friendly expression.

"Don't look at me like that," said the figure who brushed rolled up paper cloths off his (or her?) person, "I'm human, not some Youma you need to bash around. My name's Tsubasa, Kurenai Tsubasa, and I'm sorry if I eavesdropped on your little rehearsal, but you kind of walked in on me while I was practicing one of my disguises."

"Disguises?" Ukyo repeated, observing that the figure who presented itself before her had long light brown hair and--at first glance--appeared effeminate until Ukyo looked more closely and determined that he was male and not female.

"Sure," Tsubasa smiled, "That's my art, I'm a master of disguise. Don't be ashamed that you never saw me coming, nobody ever does," he said with a slightly smug expression.

"Oh," Ukyo decided to take the matter in stride, "I'm…"

"Kuonji Ukyo, I know," the effeminate boy said as he finished straightening out his school uniform, "Everybody knows who you are. I've seen you around with that Makoto you were talking about right now. She's the tall girl who hangs out with Ami and Usagi in my homeroom."

"Um…forgive my asking," Ukyo said uncertainly, "But why were you…?"

"Hiding out in the garbage?" Tsubasa replied, "Beats disguising myself as one of the urinals. I've noticed you several times come in here and avoid using the stand up stalls, you always use a booth, and you never show yourself in front of the guys…"

"I'm…a very private person," Ukyo hesitated, then added, "Not that it's any of your business…"

"That you're really a girl and not a guy?" Tsubasa asked, then smiled when Ukyo gave him an astonished look, "Hey, you think your disguise could fool me? I saw right through you the first day, which is why I've kind of have been keeping tabs on you on the sly. You're more interesting than other girls. I'll bet the reason you hide your sex has got something to do with your parents, am I right?"

"How did you guess?" Ukyo said non-committally, wondering where she had slipped up to let this Tsubasa character in on her great secret.

"Why do you think I'm so much into disguises?" Tsubasa studied himself in the mirror, then pulled out an elastic band and started to fix his long hair up into a ponytail, "Parents have a way of driving all of us to distraction. Sometimes it pays to make yourself invisible, to fit right in with the background. It's the only way to cope when stuff gets too much for us to deal with, take it from an expert."

"Okay," Ukyo said slowly, wondering if she really wanted to know what all of that meant. Tsubasa was a very small, slight boy, and it might have been to escape from the harassment of larger students that he evolved his chameleon talent.

"Tell me something, if you don't mind me asking," Tsubasa glanced at her reflection in the mirror, "Are you planning on breaking up with Makoto?"

"Uh…no," Ukyo said, "More like I wanted to tell her the truth about me…"

"You're not lesbian, are you?" Tsubasa asked, startling Ukyo with the 'out of the blue' question.

"What?" she reacted in surprise, completely taken off balance.

"Because if you are it's cool with me," Tsubasa hastily assured her, "I'm not into judging other people for their particular likes or dislikes, I just wondered if maybe you wanted to find out if Makoto was also into girls, and like that might be why you want to tell her…"

"No!" Ukyo reacted, "I mean…that's not why I want to tell her! I just want to be honest before things go any farther. I'm afraid she's going to accuse me of deliberately deceiving her, so I thought it was time to get it off my chest…"

"If you're not lesbian, then why did you date her?" Tsubasa calmly persisted.

"I…" Ukyo faltered, "I don't know…I let myself get talked into it by some friends. I did it mostly so people wouldn't think I was strange or…gay…but I never meant to give Makoto the idea that it was anything serious…"

"You know what I think?" Tsubasa asked, then continued without waiting for her to answer, "You ought to try going to Haruka and asking her for advice…"

"HER?" Ukyo started, recalling the tall, cool, handsome looking boy with short blond hair who had only just arrived on campus and already was stirring the hearts of half the student body.

"Yeah," Tsubasa flashed another smile her way, "Like I said, I can see right through disguises. Haruka's a girl, just like you, dressing up like a boy, only in her case there's not question about which sex she goes for. You see the way she's been making eyes at Michiru?"

"Ah…" Ukyo had indeed noticed the way the blonde boy--or make that girl--had been coyly studying the transfer student named Michiru, who had foam green hair and a major passion for music. She had even felt an unfamiliar tugging that could have been construed as jealousy, thinking what a shame it would be that she could not reveal herself to the handsome Haruka…

"Well, I just thought you ought to know," Tsubasa shrugged, "No sense stumbling blind into these things and getting a major case of disappointment…"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Ukyo said with a queasy expression, "Um…look, I've gotta go now. I'm meeting Makoto on the track field. Thanks for the advice and the info, maybe see you around?"

"Odds are I'll see you before you see me," Tsubasa smiled as he watched Ukyo slip back out into the halls, then once he was certain that he was alone the effeminate boy smiled at his own reflection and said, "Perfect…"

"Matriarch…" Lo-Xion began when she and her fellow Elder were alone and far removed from the hearing of others.

"You were about to tell me the fate of your great granddaughter," Kho-Lon said softly, adopting a neutral expression.

"She lives," Lo Xion replied, "She was rescued by Am-Bur, or so I was able to glean from her thoughts when I was in meditation. They are in Musk territory but will be seeking to return to friendlier soil as soon as she is well enough to travel…"

"That is good news," Kho-Lon replied, but her expression was thoughtful, "I rejoice that we have not lost such a promising young healer, but I am concerned of what effect this news may have upon my great granddaughters."

"I would think that they would be overjoyed by the news," Lo-Xion said as she studied the Elder before her before saying, "They were both so deeply affected by the news of her possible death…"

"So I noticed," Kho-Lon replied, "And what affect will this news have on them?"

"They will be relieved and overjoyed of course…"

"And they will seek her out to confirm for themselves that she is well," Kho-Lon said gravely, "And then it will become harder than ever to separate them. It is possible we might even lose one or both of them to voluntary exile."

The Lore Master eyed the other ancient woman before saying, "You don't intend to tell them the truth, do you? You would prefer to keep them ignorant…"

"At least for now," Kho-Lon replied, "I would rather have them grieve her loss then have them renew their bonds of affection. It would jeopardize everything that I have been trying to accomplish and undo the achievement Pur-Fum has earned for herself by avenging the loss of one she so cared for. Unrequited love has completed the task I began, and now Pur-Fum is finally ready to take her place in our society as she was always meant to."

"You've been meaning to turn her into a ruthless killing machine?" Lo-Xion asked.

"I've been seeking to make her into the Enforcement Arm for the will of the Council," Kho-Lon replied, "You saw how she performed out there…she was magnificent! Cool, relentless, efficient like a great cat and precisely controlled in the use of her power. Many doubted that I could turn one with her deficits into such a warrior as she is, but now my will has been vindicated! So too it must also be for Xian-Pu, who is not yet ready to take her place as Champion of our village. All her life I have been grooming her to become my eventual successor, to earn a place upon the Council where her voice will be heard and her wisdom will be heeded…"

"Matriarch, I protest!" Lo-Xion emphasized the word to give it special meaning, "You cannot simply shape these two into a reflection of your desires! It is against our principles to deny young ones their own freedom of choice…"

"A sacrifice that is necessary to the greater good of our people," Kho-Lon replied, "I am not cruel to wish this for my great granddaughters. It is much the same as when the boy Mu-Tsu left us, an impediment that needs be removed if they are to fulfill their role among the Nyanchiczu. One day they must have husbands of their own, or Xian-Pu at least must be given the right to pass on our noble birthright…"

"This isn't about the Joketsuzoku," Lo Xion glared, "This is your own pride leading you astray! You want what is good for your clan, not our tribe and certainly not Xian-Pu and Pur-Fum…"

"That will be enough!" Kho-Lon said harshly, then in more level tones, "You may think what you will about me, but you will obey my directive. Tell no one what you know regarding your great granddaughter and her continual survival. I will take the responsibility for this on my own shoulders…"

"Like you did with your true great granddaughter?" Lo-Xion said softly, "Or a certain male I once loved but you forbade taking as my husband?"

"I said that will be all," Kho-Lon said coldly, "Do not cross me on this, I warn you. I would be well within my rights to ask that you be removed from the Council for disobeying a direct order. Unless you are prepared to challenge me for supremacy over our people…"

"You know that is forbidden to me," Lo-Xion growled softly, "Lore Masters advise, they do not assume power over others."

"Then there is nothing further to be said on the matter," Kho-Lon said quietly, then began to turn away.

"There is one thing," Lo-Xion said darkly, "A prediction. By this action, you risk alienating yourself to both of your charges, and one-day you will have cause to regret not heeding my warning. Think well on that, Matriarch, before you condemn us all to your pride. By denying our heirs their right to mutual happiness you set unforeseen things into motion, and some day you will be forced to deal with the consequences."

"That may be as it will," Kho-Lon replied without turning around, "But the future is not certain. Do I have your assurances that you will maintain your silence?"

Lo-Xion bowed her head and replied, "As you say, it is not my place to go against your decisions, but I would be failing the Joketsuzoku if I did not tell you that what you seek is folly."

"Then there is no more to be said," Kho-Lon replied, "The subject is closed as of this moment. You may maintain communication with your great granddaughter, but by no means are you to permit her return until after she has become a full healer."

The Matriarch existed the clearing, leaving her Lore Master to sigh, feeling more than slightly depressed as she added, "Perhaps I should turn this business over to Silk to handle. She needs experience, but only a younger soul could hope to keep up with Kho-Lon and steer her away from her own folly…"

"Xian-Pu?" Pur-Fum asked as she hesitantly approached her adopted cousin, whom she found kneeling over the edge of their village, weeping tears where no one else could see them.

"I can't believe that she is gone," Xian-Pu said quietly, "It seems so impossible, like a walking nightmare…"

"I know," Pur-Fum sat down beside her friend and contemplated the ground with a sad expression, "I can't quite convince myself of it either. She was so full of life…and now…I never got to tell her…"

Xian-Pu looked over at Pur-Fum, then on impulse reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. Pur-Fum looked at her with tears forming in her own eyes, and by mutual consent they began hugging one another, weeping softly without shame, heedless of the world and its opinions.

"Pur-Fum," Xian-Pu whispered, "My good friend…please…let us never quarrel again…"

"On my oath," Pur-Fum said softly, "It will never happen."

And so it would be between them in the following years as the two matured rapidly. Xian-Pu would learn to smile and even laugh again, but Pur-Fum would always harbor great sadness. Years later when Pur-Fum learned that a male had defeated her friend then abandoned Xian-Pu on the day after her wedding, she would be filled with rage and thoughts of betrayal. No one could be allowed to harm a friend of hers, and Pur-Fum would always defend those who were in need of her strength. She was Enforcer of the Joketsuzoku, the right hand of the Matriarch and avenger of the people. Her heart was closed to thoughts of her own need…until the day she met one who would become her chosen soul mate…

"…And that's like it is, Dad," Ukyo concluded, "I'm gonna have a baby, and no, Ranma isn't the father, Perfume is. Don't ask me to explain how, except that it involves some weird kind of magic like what Nabiki goes through…yes, I'm sure it's her. Who else did you think I've been sleeping with! Ranma? Don't worry about Ranchan…he's being very supportive, and I'm gonna owe it to him big time. You know I always collect on my debts, right? Then trust me…everything will work out just fine, Dad, I promise."

Perfume listened in with her acute hearing, able to hear Kuonji Akira reply, "You know you're going to drive your old man to an early grave if you keep it up with these surprises, but…you've always know what you wanted, Ucchan, so…I guess I can trust you…for now. Just be sure you do marry that Saotome boy, even if this five way deal you've got does sound positively loopy."

"You're telling me?" Ukyo chuckled.

"So then," Akira said, "Any ideas what you're going to name the baby?"

"Dad!" Ukyo growled while Perfume just smiled, thinking to herself that some things, like Parents and Elders, were Universal.

Ukyo finally hung up the phone, then heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That went better than I thought I would. Sometimes Dad worries me. I thought at least he'd put up more of a fuss, even shouted a little."

"You'd rather he shouted at you?" Perfume asked with lifted eyebrows.

"Probably not," Ukyo chuckled, then turned to regard her Amazon bride before murmuring softly, "I'm just glad he isn't protesting the baby. So…what are we going to call it?"

Perfume shrugged as if to say, "How should I know?" but what she said aloud was, "Whatever we call her, she will be ours, and that is what matters."

Ukyo cupped the other girl's chin and peered into her eyes before grinning slightly, "Oh…I don't know…I can think of something else that matters, if you're in the mood for it?"

Perfume raised eyebrows again, "Have you ever known me to refuse?"

"Nope," Ukyo took her wife's hand and urged her towards the nearest exit, "And that's just one of many things I like about you, Per-chan, you've got the mating instincts of a cat."

"And my bite is worse than my bark," Perfume grinned, purring slightly.

"Tease," Ukyo murmured, smiling even as she said it…

Continued

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