Ranko Five days after Ranma left, a meeting was convened of the council. Ranko had been training with Xian Pu every day, and had quickly reached her skill level. Xian Pu could no longer defeat Ranko. Ranko had all the knowledge Ranma had, and had only needed some time in a real body to get used to how to apply it. Now Xian Pu had begun training in ki techniques, and was eager for Ranko to learn with her. But though she was an honorary member, it was a temporary thing only. Her quick ascension in skill had made it painfully clear that whatever they taught her, they taught to Ranma. While Ranko was eager to learn, and quite willing to promise never to teach the technique to an outsider, it was unknown how Ranma would respond. The council debated for two hours, considering whether to even give him the opportunity. Some few felt that teach him would be foolhardy, tantamount to teaching the Musk, their sworn enemy. These were mostly the ones who refused to be impressed by his demonstration, and to believe that the Joketsuzoko had the power to resist him. Others felt that he could be trusted to learn, since he could destroy them anyway, but how could they trust that he would not teach them? If he did, there was nothing they could do about it. So better not to give him the chance. Others were all for it, as a way of giving him more reason to consider an alliance with him. A few more were of the opinion that they should ask him not to teach others, but leave it to his discretion, and teach him regardless, so that any time an enemy faced that that knew the techniques, they could call on him, saying "Here is one that threatens us because of you, so you should defend us." In the end, they agreed to ask him. They asked Ranko to bring him, and were troubled when she said that she could not, that he was not with her. She told them she would summon him, if they convened the council. They convened, and were even more disturbed when he appeared before them, without a body, merely a glowing figure of pure ki. He listened to them, then replied that he would refrain from teaching any technique that he did not already know, and did not learn from another source. It bothered them, but in the end they agreed. They found out why he had given his curious prescription, when Ranko failed to learn the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. She had watched with interest as Kho Lon demonstrated, tossing the chestnuts into the open flames of the small fire she built, then shouted "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN" as her arms blurred, and she held out her hands with all the chestnuts. When Kho Lon tossed them in again, Ranko waited till they opened, and silently grabbed them all from the fire, showing them to Kho Lon, without saying a word, and using only one hand. Kho Lon had stared at her in shock for a long minute, because she had been watching for the signs of ki, and Ranko had not used any, nor needed any. It was nothing special for her, just moving very fast. She could do it, they found, with any part of her body, even her whole body. She could move fast enough to tap every knuckle of each fist on each punch thrown by Kho Lon in the Chestnut Fist. In other words, she could easily, without strain, move five times faster than Kho Lon's Chestnut Fist. After a public demonstration of that, the last grumbles on the council died out. If Ranko could so easily defeat a Matriarch, no one any longer dared doubt that Ranma could destroy them. --- A week after Ranko started sparring with Xian Pu, they were walking near the entrance to the village, when they heard the sounds of laughter and discussion. "They've returned." Xian Pu sighed in disgust. "Who, Xian Pu?" queried Ranko. "Mu Suu and his family," replied Xian Pu, and they both heard an exuberant male voice call out. "Xian Pu! I'm back!" Mu Suu raced down the path, and saw his love before him, and heard her voice. He leapt to glomp her... and to his utter surprise, he actually landed. Usually, she batted him away well before he could reach her. She must really love him! She must have... wait, no, why was she so stiff, and why was she crying? A fist slammed into his head, and he was knocked away, and Elder Kho Lon had grabbed him firmly by the hair, and was dragging him away. "Xian Pu!" he cried out again. "I love you!" Xian Pu held the crying Ranko, and guided her back through the village, shooting sharp glares at anyone who so much as looked twice. She helped the girl inside, and sat her down on the couch. "What's wrong, Ranko? It was just that stupid Mu Suu. He mistook you for me. Stupid blind fool." Xian Pu held Ranko and tried to comfort her. "R-Ranma...," she gasped out, between sobs, "Ranma i-is going to be s-so angry with me... H-he gave me this beautiful body and I c-c-couldn't even defend it. I d-didn't even h-have a c-c-chance to react to the attack. I could have been k-killed." "Ssshh.. It's not like that, Ranko. He wasn't attacking you," Xian Pu said, as she hugged the smaller girl to her, and rocked her back and forth. "He was just... he thought you were me... and he was trying to show me how much he loves me... the fool." "It... it wasn't an attack?" Ranko asked tearfully, yet with a sudden light of hope in her eyes. "No, Ranko-chan. It wasn't an attack. He wouldn't have hurt you," Xian Pu replied. I wouldn't have let him. Stupid blind idiot. She comforted Ranko, holding her until her tears stopped, then wiping them away. "Its alright... shhh... that's right... don't worry... Kho Lon has him... he'll never touch you like that again..." Ranko finally fell asleep in her arms. Xian Pu lifted her gently, and took her upstairs. She put her in bed, pulling the blankets up around her, and then just watched for a minute, smiling as the pain and fear faded, and her face was again innocent and happy in sleep. Meanwhile, Kho Lon had dragged Mu Suu into an empty practice hall, and flung him to the floor. "You fool! You complete imbecile! What were you thinking? What could you have been thinking?" Mu Suu tried to respond, only to get rapped on the head by her staff. "Silence, male! You listen to me, and you listen well!" Her voice grew hard and cold, and it was tinged by a fear Mu Suu had never heard in her voice before. "You may just doomed all the Joketsuzoku, you fool. We have put up with your foolish pursuit of Xian Pu for too long! She does not want you, and you know that. Yet still you chase after her." Kho Lon was pacing back and forth in front of him now. He pulled himself up to a sitting position, and folded his legs beneath him, keeping his head downcast to avoid her anger. He had never heard her so furious, but it was the tinge of fear that lurked in her words that struck him with a force nothing else had ever done. "Now, in your endless pursuit of Xian Pu, you may have condemned her to death! Can you understand that, boy? Is any of this getting through your thick head?" She rapped him again. "That little girl that you glomped is the beloved sister of the most powerful man I have ever seen. That little girl is faster than I, a Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku! She can move faster than my Amaguriken! And she is but a shadow of the might of her brother." Her voice was hard but low now. "The only reason she did not destroy you out of hand, boy, is the kindness of her heart. Her brother shares that kindness, boy. BUT! But, his kindness is overwhelmed by his love for his sister. If she comes to harm while she's here, he will destroy us all! Do you understand me, boy?!" He bowed deeply before her. "Yes, Honored Elder. Forgive me... I thought she was Xian Pu..." "Silence! Do you think that can excuse you? Who will be there to forgive you, when Xian Pu and the rest of the Jokesuzoku are DEAD because of you? You don't seem to comprehend the magnitude of what you have done. That little girl, is the sister of Lord Fey. He is a stronger martial artist than anyone here, the founder and grandmaster of his own school or martial arts, an archmage, and beloved of a dragon. He could destroy us out of hand, you stupid sniveling fool! If you love Xian Pu, you will stay far away from Ranko, and you will stay away from Xian Pu. I think that you have been reprieved, this time, boy. If she had gone crying to Ranma, we would already be dead. So you have a chance to redeem yourself. Do NOTHING to hurt her, boy. Attack NO ONE! Do you understand me? Ranma won't care that you didn't know it was her when you hurt her, Mu Suu. He will see her hurt, and he will destroy us. You will stay away from Ranko, and you will stay away from Xian Pu! Now, stay here until nightfall, boy, and think of how close you came to killing Xian Pu today, you who claim to love her." She spat this last in his face, and turned and stomped out. --- Ranko awoke, wondering why she was in her bed. She didn't remember going to sleep... then she remembered Mu Suu's return. She slipped out of bed, and down the stairs, pausing to listen to Kho Lon and Xian Pu. "Yes, great-grandmother, Ranko was very upset. She didn't stop crying until she was exhausted. I put her to bed upstairs. She seemed to think that Ranma would be very angry..." Ranko heard Kho Lon's frightened gasp. "at her." "At her?," Kho Lon interrupted, "Why on earth would he be angry at her?" "I'm not sure, I think because Ranko thought it was an attack, and she didn't defend herself. I managed to convince her that it wasn't an attack. That damned sightless fool." "Yes, he nearly killed us all. But I had a long talk with him. He won't come near her again, and I told him in clear terms to stay away from you as well." "Oh, thank you, great-grandmother. The last thing I need is for Ranma to come, and see that fool hanging on me. Unless you think he would be jealous?" There was a hopeful tinge to the last question. "No. Until he frees the Lady Alana, I don't think he will even notice. The boy has an iron will, a control like I've never seen before." Their voices faded, and Ranko heard the front door open, and close behind them. She slipped down, and out the back door, and went in search of Mu Suu. It sounded like they had been terribly angry with him. But he hadn't attacked her. He had thought she was Xian Pu, and was being happy. Now he must feel terribly alone and sad... She reached out with her aura, and felt among the auras around her, until she found one tinged with a deep depression. She followed it, finally finding it in an otherwise empty training hall. She slipped in, and heard Mu Suu's gasp of surprise. She walked quickly over to him, and knelt down before him. Mu Suu said nothing after that first gasp. His glasses were straight again, and though blurry, he could see the fiery red of her hair, and knew that somehow, he had already failed Kho Lon, and come near her. He wanted to hate her, wanted to hit her, destroy her, for coming between him and his lovely Xian Pu. But he held himself still, knowing that to touch her, to hit her, even to frighten her, might make Ranma hurt his Xian Pu. While he only wanted to hate Ranko, he did hate Ranma. Ranko was only a danger to him because of Ranma. It was Ranma who stood between him and his Xian Pu. Ranma who blocked him, hiding behind this small fiery girl. How dare he! How dare he hide behind a woman, and take his Xian Pu from him! Ranma must want Xian Pu for himself. He shuddered in rage, then barely muffled a gasp, as his attention was brought back to the present, by the tender, innocent touch of Ranko's delicate fingers, as she took off his glasses and set them aside. He shivered as she ran her fingers lightly over his eyes, and he felt the unbelievably powerful touch of her ki, tinged with sadness, but bursting with hope, as she peered into his eyes. "Poor Mu Suu," she said, and he cringed at the pitying words, before realizing suddenly that there was no pity in her tones, only sympathy. "Your eyes have been growing worse, haven't they?" He nodded slowly. "Yes... there is... an illness in your eyes, Mu Suu. This is not natural, not normal blindness. I can help you, I think," she smiled at him, and he felt the darkness of the room fade, and it was like he was lying in a field, soaking in the sunshine. "Will you let me help you, Mu Suu?" she asked, softly. He nodded again, not daring to speak. Was it possible? The village healers and the western doctors had agreed, nothing could be done about his eyes. Could this little girl, so innocent, really be able to help him? Why would she want to, after what he had done to her? She did not notice his confusion, only his assent, and laid her fingers on his eyes again, closing them. He felt the touch of her ki again, and then suddenly a blinding, burning sensation in his eyes, and he scrambled backward and away from her, shivering in fear. Red light swam before his eyes... he dreaded opening them. Somehow he felt sure that she had tried and failed, and now he would be truly blind, unable to ever see his Xian Pu again. Then she was before him again, and he cringed back. But he was in a corner, and couldn't escape... he could, but he'd have to hurt her, and that would mean his Xian Pu's death, and so he held still before the little monster who had taken his sight, shivering in fear. Wasn't it enough? Wasn't it enough that she had stolen his sight? How far would her retribution go, what more could she take from him? He felt her light touch on his face again, and heard her soft voice. "Mu Suu, please... open your eyes." Slowly, ever so slowly he did as she asked... he saw her, with perfect clarity, her beautiful face, her sad, deep blue eyes, her glorious fiery hair, her beautiful figure and taut wiry strength visible beneath her tight black shirt... and he gaped in awe. He could see! He could see perfectly, and he wasn't wearing glasses! He pulled himself quickly to his knees, and dropped his head to the floor. "Thank you, oh goddess, thank you. Thank you." He was crying tears of joy, and they fell from his perfect eyes on to her bare feet. She giggled, then, and grabbing his shoulders, pulled him up. "Stand up, silly," and she stood, lifting him easily to his feet, as though he weighed nothing at all. She grabbed his hand, laughing delightedly, as she pulled him to the door. She crushed his glasses beneath her feet. "You won't need those anymore." He gasped... mustn't let her get hurt, and she stepped on his glasses, her foot would be cut... and gasped again, as she pulled him forward, and as her foot came up, and he could see the bottom, soft and uncalloused, and completely uninjured. A goddess. She was definitely a goddess. She had come to him, after he had hurt her, and she had helped him, for no reason he could see, given him perfect eyes, and been happy to do so, without asking anything of him. He could not hate her... he could not even be indifferent to her. He could only love her. He felt his rage and hatred to the unknown Ranma fade away as well. What kind of man would he be, if he did not do all he could to protect this goddess? Ranma made perfect sense to him now. He followed her out the door and down the steps, not even considering or realizing that he was breaking Kho Lon's command to him. His goddess wanted him to follow her, and he could do no less. Kho Lon was still discussing what to do with Xian Pu, when they fell silent, noticing Ranko and Mu Suu leaving the training hall. "Oh, no..." Kho Lon groaned. They ran towards them, desperate to... then they both slowed together, and stared with a puzzled gaze at each other. Mu Suu and Ranko both looked... happy? They watched bemused, as Ranko walked towards them, smile shining on her face. Kho Lon noted with some concern, that Mu Suu was not wearing his glasses. "Boy," she barked at him, "Where are your glasses?" He smiled in the face of her anger, "I don't need them anymore, Elder. Ranko healed my eyes." Kho Lon smiled then. Such a beauty the little darling was. After crying herself to sleep because Mu Suu had thrown himself on her, she had sought him out just to heal his eyes? Amazing. Then she noticed something even more disturbing... with proper vision, she expected him to be filling his vision with his Xian Pu... but he spared her hardly a glance. His eyes were fixed firmly on Ranko, and his face held a look of adoration. This definitely bore watching. If the fool started chasing Ranko the way he had chased Xian Pu, they might all be in trouble. But he didn't seem to be... he was just watching her. Ah well, it was all to the good if it got him to leave Xian Pu alone to chase Ranma. He really was a strong fighter... if his problems with his eyes, which had been steadily worsening since childhood, were finally gone, and he was over his silly infatuation with Xian Pu, then he would be a legitimately nice catch for one of the younger girls. If he caught Ranko, then Ranma might be more willing to consider Xian Pu... This could turn out very well indeed. --- Ranko also surprised them by spending much of her time with the Healer, learning her art. It was clear to those who watched her spar that she did not learn this for herself. Any injury received, any cut or bruise, was healed by the time the next punch was thrown by her opponent, even before she started studying with the healer. A few days later, Xian Pu began to understand why. Ranko started sparring with much more of her capacity. Xian Pu was getting hit harder, and thrown farther, yet by the time she landed, or the next punch she was thrown, her injury was healed. Their sparring matches became real spectacles, going on for hours. Xian Pu knew it was Ranko, because when she sparred with others, her bruises stayed with her, and she could last no longer than normal. --- Ukyou looked at the sign, then at the booklet in her hand again. "Yep, this is the place." "All these pools," Ryouga said, looking out over the hundreds of small pools, bamboo poles rising from them, "are supposed to be cursed?" "Yep. Look, I bet that's the guide's hut, over there. Let's see if he's seen them. I still can't understand why every place we go to, they only remember Genma. That postcard we intercepted clearly said Ranma was with him." Ukyou shook off her confusion, and strode to the guide's hut. She rapped on the door, then stepped back waiting. She heard a man's voice, some distance away, and turned to look. A rather ordinary looking fellow with glasses was coming towards them, picking a careful path amongst the pools. She waited in silence for his approach. He stood before them, bowing politely, and saying something in a language she didn't understand. She shook her head, and he said several more things, before finally saying in Japanese, "Honored Customers understand tongue of land of Wa, yes?" "Yes, we speak Japanese. We are seeking information." "Ah, Honored Customers, Jusenkyou Guide has much information. Pools very dangerous. You stay away, please?" He about swallowed his tongue when they nodded. This was almost as weird... no, even weirder than that young man. Not only did they listen, but they actually agreed to stay away from the pools? He led them into the hut. He listened politely, as Ukyou described Genma. Then he nodded vigorously. "Stupid man, not listen, turn into panda." Ryouga choked with laughter. "He looking for son." Ryouga shut up, suddenly listening with an almost frightening intensity. "I not find that out till later. He leave, go away. Young man appear, dressed in black silk. Ask for Nyannichuan. I try to warn him, he say he know, make me take him there. He go in pool, come out a girl, very pretty, red hair. She come to hut, act weird, draw circles on floor, fall over. I put in bed, old man come back, describe young man. I tell him about girl, he go nuts. Girl wake up, think she is cat, go chase him after he turn into panda. Finally girl come back, carrying old man, and go with Elder to Joketsuzoku village. Not know where now." Ukyou choked when the guide mentioned the Nyannichaun, and turned pale when he described the girl Ranma had become, but thanked him when he finished, and gave him several coins in return for a map to the village. --- Some time later, they were approaching the village, when they heard a voice call out ahead of them, in an unfamiliar language. They followed the voice, and stepped into a clearing. Across from them, watching them warily, was a young girl, with brilliant red hair, dressed in a tight black silk shirt, and loose black silk pants. Ryouga, noticing that the girl was not wearing a bra, pinched his nose, trying to concentrate on the fact that this was Ranma, Ukyou's enemy, not a beautiful young girl. She said something again, in a demanding tone, her gaze worried and suspicious, though still in a language they did not know. "I am Kuonji Ukyou, and I've come to challenge you, Ranma. FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME, DIE!!" Ukyou whipped out her spatula, and leapt to the attack. Ranko pulled a golden katana from nowhere. She too leapt forward, parrying Ukyou's attack. "You lie!" she shouted in Japanese, tears starting to run down her face. "What did you do to Ucchan?! You think I wouldn't remember my best friend was a boy?!?" Ukyou found herself suddenly on the defensive, as Ranko's sword pressed forward. The girl's face was set in a look of rage, but tears poured down her cheeks. Ryouga finally mastered himself, and seeing Ukyou pressed back, tiny cuts starting to appear in her clothes, forgot his promise, and leapt to her defense, raising his heavy metal umbrella like a sword. They were both pressed back, helpless against the fury of her assault. Ryouga was shocked at the degree to which he was overmastered. He was nowhere near Ranma's skill level, he realized with despair. He and Ukyou were going to die here. But the girl collapsed suddenly, leaning on her sword, sobbing deeply. "What did you do to him? What did you do to Ucchan?" She looked up at them, her face lined with pain. "What did he ever do to you?" She stumbled to her feet, stepping back away from them. Ukyou was still trying to recover her breath, and Ryouga was desperately trying to figure out what was going on. "And why do you want to kill Ranma? He never did anything to Ucchan. I'd know, I'd remember, if he had." Ukyou just stared at her. "R-Ranma?" It was obvious, he really had absolutely no idea that Ukyou was a girl. That meant that his stupid father had never told him about the engagement. Her heart soared for a brief moment. "You... you didn't reject me?" Before the girl could answer, the forest about them erupted, and they were instantly surrounded by women wielding weapons. Swords were held at both their throats before they could react. An ugly, wrinkled old crone bounded into the clearing on a staff. She looked pale, and afraid, and angry. She bounced directly to the red-haired girl. "Ranko, are you all right, my child?," she asked gently. Again the two travelers were unable to understand her words. "Yes, great-grandmother... but they did something terrible to Ucchan, I know it," she said, in Japanese, between sobs. She pointed her sword at Ukyou. "She said she was Ukyou, and then she attacked me." "Who was Ukyou, Ranko?," the crone said, responding in Japanese, to the traveler's relief, eyeing Ukyou, noting the missing Adam's apple, and the other subtle clues that said this was a girl. "He... He was Ranma's best friend, when he was five," Ranko responded, tearfully. Ukyou was seriously disturbed now. The old crone had called the girl Ranko, and the girl was talking as if Ranma was someone else. Had they made a terrible mistake? She fit the guide's description. "She... she called me Ranma..." The crone turned to face the two, who stood with swords against their throats. "Understand this. This child is under the protection of the Joketsuzoku. By attacking her, you have attacked us. The sentence for attacking us is death." "No, Great-Grandmother. Please... at least, at least not until we find out what they did to Ucchan. I..." She stared up at the girl. "Did you fall in the Nyannichuan?" Her voice was quiet, strained. "I was born a girl." "You..." Ranko stepped closer, touched her cheek. "You look like Ucchan...," she said, almost with regret. She looked deeply into Ukyou's brown eyes, and Ukyou found herself lost in Ranko's blue eyes, so like Ranma's as she remembered them. Ranko reached out gingerly, and felt Ukyou's aura. She felt no deceit. Fear, anger, love... "Ucchan... you're.. you're a girl?" Ranko reached up and pushed aside the sword at Ukyou's throat. "You were a girl? But... but why do you want to kill Ranma? You were his best friend." She looked terribly confused, Ukyou thought. "Our fathers decided to engage us, Ranchan and I. The yatai was my dowry..." She gasped when Ranko suddenly flared with blue light, flames that seemed to flicker about her without burning. She turned to the old crone, and said, in a flat hard voice. "Bring Papa-san here, please, Kho Lon." Ukyou stared, eyes wide, when she realized she could see long blue blades flickering in the air beyond Ranko's fingers as they twitched. She looked about her, and all the faces of the women about them seemed frightened. Ukyou realized then, for perhaps the first time, how truly close she had come to dying. This girl had truly believed that Ukyou was a boy, and that therefore she, Ukyou, must be an imposter, and must have done something terrible to her Ucchan... and even worse, the girl was really good enough to have killed her. She had been beating both Ukyou and Ryouga together before she stopped. Ryouga stared at the girl. He knew that she was glowing with ki. He had not yet begun to try to master his ki, and she had ki enough to burn? No wonder everyone looked afraid of her. He realized again how hopelessly overmatched he and Ukyou had been. Even as she fought them, she had been holding back because she wanted to know what they had done to her friend... If she hadn't, he and Ukyou would have been dead in seconds. Soon two women entered the circle, dragging a man Ukyou recognized between them. "Genma-san," Ranko said, and he sagged, realizing that somehow, he had just lost Ranko too. She had called him Genma-san... not Papa-san. She hated him, just like Ranma. Tears sprang to his eyes, but did not fall. He realized only then how much it had meant to him to have her affection. He had thought she was nothing more to him than a pawn to manipulate his son, but the pain he felt when she spoke to him in that harsh voice told him that he was fooling himself. The women who held him pulled him forward to stand before her. "Look at me, Genma-san." Her voice held a strong tone of command now, and though directed at Genma, it caught every eye in the place and held it to her. "You remember Ukyou don't you, Genma-san?" He shivered at her hard tone. "Did you engage Ranma to Ukyou, Genma-san?" "No, no," he protested immediately, "the yatai was a gift, a gift." She snarled at him, a menacing sound like a large cat, and he wilted. "Yes." "How could you do that, Genma-san? Ukyou was a boy." "What? No, she wasn't. You never realized?" He looked up at her in surprise. She snarled again, and slashed her hand across his chest. Ukyou gasped, as his chest was opened by four deep cuts. Genma screamed in pain, but even more, he screamed in anguish. His little baby girl... hated him enough to kill him! Ranko banished her aura, and put her hand on the wounds, and they knitted back together. She spoke again, as they faded to thin scars. "A reminder, Genma-san. Never, ever do anything to hurt my brother again." Genma stared, wide-eyed, fearful, and realizing suddenly that she was definitely no-one's pawn. Kho Lon watched, shivering. She realized finally that there was much less difference between the two than she had thought. It wasn't that Ranko was less powerful... it was just that neither responded with anger or even grave concern to a threat against themselves. But a threat against the other... and they were ready to kill, even their own family. Ranko turned, smiling happily as she bounced over to Ukyou, giving Ryouga a nose-bleed. She hugged Ukyou tightly. The Amazons backed off, raising their spears and lowering other weapons. "Hi, Ucchan. I'm sorry about that. Stupid Papa-san." Genma's head jerked up at that... his baby girl was gone... replaced by this hard cold woman... and then suddenly she was back? He felt a deep fear, as he wondered what damage he had done to his child in the name of honor, for that stupid seppuku pledge. Had he driven his child insane? Ukyou felt a warm glow spread through her, and the little cuts on her closed and faded. "Who's your friend?" She turned to Ryouga, putting a hand on his shoulder. He was about to jerk away, having just seen those same delicate fingers open a man's chest, but a soothing warmth spread through him, and he felt his wounds healing. "This is Ryouga. He's been with me since middle school." "Cool," she grinned, then her face turned suddenly hard as her gaze shot to Kho Lon, and her voice was cold, "These are _my_ friends, now. They're under my protection. No challenges." Kho Lon nodded slowly. Ranko smiled happily. "Come on, Ucchan, Ryouga, let me show you the village." She grabbed Ukyou's hand, and Ukyou grabbed Ryouga's sleeve, as she pulled them from the circle. The warriors just looked on, bemused. --- Ukyou and Ryouga were sitting, finally, on the couch in Kho Lon's home, having just been dragged all over the village, introduced to hundreds of people, and shown dozens of places that they couldn't find again if their lives depended on it. Ranko's indefatigable enthusiasm had exhausted them. "So, Ranko, how come the Guide at Jusenkyou told us Genma was looking for Ranma? We intercepted a postcard a year ago that said Ranma was training with him. The Guide seemed to think he had been looking for Ranma for a long time before he finally found him there." "Cause Papa-san was lying. He was sending those postcards home so Mama-san wouldn't realize that he'd lost Ranma." "So... when did Genma lose him?" "When Ranma was seven." "And he just found him again, at sixteen? Wow! So where's he been for the last nine years?" "On another world." Ukyou and Ryouga's jaws dropped. "Huh?" said Ryouga. "Say again?" was Ukyou's response. "He got summoned. Papa-san had driven him insane by wrapping him in fish stuff and throwing him in a pit of starving cats again and again, and so he fit the bill for what this one guy was trying to summon, and got taken there." "Genma did WHAT?!? Where is he, I'll kill him!" Ukyou shouted. "Ucchan, no, please calm down. It turned out for the best, no thanks to Papa-san. We ended up getting raised by a dragon, and we learned magic as well as martial arts." "You... you know magic? Like... real magic?" "Sure. Only, we're each kinda only good at half of it. That's why he had to come here. He had to free Dragon-Mama-san from a spell, but he couldn't do it alone. It nearly killed him, when he tried. So he had to come here, and let me out. He's in the mountains right now, working on making a body for me, so we can go back and free Dragon-Mama-san." Ryouga was having difficulty understanding most of this, but he wasn't really dumb, just not quick at putting things together, and he had gotten the idea that Ranko was Ranma's female form from the Jusenkyou curse. So he actually managed to ask an intelligent question. "You two only have the one body between you right? So if you're here, and he's up in the mountains, making a new body for you... What body is he in?" "Oh... Well, he isn't. He's inhabiting our ki aura... Although I suppose he might have made himself a body by now." "Oh. Uhm... is he as good at martial arts as you are?" "Oh, no. He's much better. I'm still trying to learn how to do the stuff I picked up from him." This basically blew Ryouga's mind out, and he sat silent for a while. Ukyou, on the other hand, was rather curious about one particular bit. "So you two share the same body... and its right here, not up there. Does that mean... uhm... could you... uh... could you show me what..." "You want to see what he looks like after so long, huh? "Yeah. If you don't mind. Should I get some hot water?" "No need, Ranma figured out how to control the curse with ki the first day." Otoko-Ranko said. Ukyou studied him, as did Ryouga. He was tall, taller than either had expected, well-built, muscular but in the lean sense of an athlete, not a body-builder, and trim, with no extra fat anywhere. Ryouga was surprised to notice that his hands were smooth, with none of the visible scarring, roughness, or oversized knuckles that usually went along with the martial arts. Then she shifted back, and was Ranko again. Ryouga, his mind back on track again, commented, "Not so bad having a curse if you can control it. Being able to suddenly be somebody else and all. Pretty cool." "Well, yeah, I guess. But he didn't take the curse for that. He took the curse to make me more comfortable. If he just wanted to change forms, well, he's been able to do that since he was nine. But you can't change sex that way, not really change... just the outward appearance. But he learned how to be a snake, or a lizard, or a cat, or a bird, and so forth." This reminded Ukyou of what she had been thinking about before he had asked about Ranma's body. "Could you show us some magic, Ranko?" "Uhm... sure... what do you want to see?" "Oh! I don't know... maybe what you just said? Could you turn into a cat?" Ranko didn't reply, just shrank, until she was a black cat, with white socks, and a red tipped tail, and red ears. "Merrowww?" She jumped onto Ukyou's lap, and rubbed against her, purring. "Oh! Oh, wow, sugar, that's really cool." Ukyou petted her, scratching behind her ears, delighting in the way she reacted, purring, and pushing up against the caress. Then Ranko hopped down, and back up to where she had been sitting, and swelled back into the beautiful redhead again. The front door opened, and Xian Pu bounced in, calling out her greetings. Thankfully, she had seen Kho Lon first, and knew to speak Japanese, though she wasn't great at it. "Nihao, Ranko, Xian Pu is home. Great-Grandmother say you have new friends, yes?" Ranko introduced her to Ukyou and Ryouga. Xian Pu eyed Ukyou, "Kho Lon says you after Ranma too?" "Huh? Oh! Uhm... well... His father engaged me to him when we were both five, and then stole my dowry. I've been... ummm... training to get my revenge ever since. I was supposed to exact in in blood from Genma, and either get it in blood from Ranma, or get him to accept me again. But I found out from Ranko that Genma never told him. He doesn't even know I'm a... a girl!" Tears sprang into her eyes at the last. "Too too bad," Xian Pu looked at Ranko, "Kho Lon told me what you did to Panda-man. Good good thing. Let me beat him up, next? Please?" "No, Xian Pu. You know Ranma would be unhappy if I let you do that." "Why? Ranma do it too, when he get back." Then she looked at Ukyou. "But he no be happy to hear this. Too too bad story. He already say, he accept no tie, until he free his Lady." Ukyou looked up. "Free his lady? He's already got a girlfriend?" Ranko was quick to step in. "No, no, she's talking about Dragon-Mama-san. She is bound by a terrible spell put on her by the man she loved, who betrayed her. Ranma won't even think about any other obligation until he's freed her." "That not true," Xian Pu protested, "he put one even before her!" Ranko looked at her. "Huh? Who? No, he doesn't. Nothing is more important to him than freeing her. Its what he's been working to his whole life." Xian Pu looked at her a bit sadly. "You not understand him as good as you think. There is another, even more important. He working to free her right now, not go back to the Lady until he do." Ranko just looked confused. "What are you talking about, Xian Pu? He isn't working to free anybody right now, he's just busy making... making... Oh..." Her eyes grew very wide as she contemplated the implications of this. "That right. You, Ranko, you more important to Ranma than anyone. Today, Kho Lon say, she see no-one more important to you than Ranma, too. Neither of you ever want kill anybody, ever even want hurt anybody... But both of you willing to kill if someone hurts other one." Ukyou looked up. "He'd... he'd kill for you? Wow..." Xian Pu looked at her, and laughed shortly. "He do more than that. Kho Lon say he scare Council bad, say anybody hurt Ranko, he wipe Joketsuzoku off map, hunt down every last child. Then you come, threaten Ranko, scare Kho Lon very bad. If Ranko not ask for you life, you be very dead." Ukyou turned green, and Ryouga looked a little pale. "Ranma do it too, or Council not be scared. They see through empty threat. This not empty threat. Ranma not only have power to do, would do. If Ranko hurt, Nichiezu will be no more. Ranko killed, and Xian Pu think China, and maybe whole world be gone." Ryouga turned a bit green at that thought. He protested, "He can't be that powerful. Its not possible." "Is possible!," Xian Pu retorted. "Kho Lon find way talk to Dragon Lady. She give us history of Ranma." Ranko stared at her. They had talked to Lady Alana? "Listen to what he do, for woman he never know before. Just after he meet her, he go away and master more than ten weapon styles in three months, then go and face whole army, beat the champion of a kingdom, at seven, then come back, learn Tai Chi Chuan to grandmaster level in three months, then go blind for three months, then go with Lady to face a dragon, and defeat a powerful evil sorcerer just cause get in way. Face dragon, then face greatest fear. You know about cat fist? How Genma wrap Ranma in fish sausage, throw in pit of cats? It so bad, he look at cat, and go mad. But for the Lady, who he not even really know, to free her, Ranma go and live with a pack of lions for a month." Tears were running down Ukyou and Ranko's faces, as Xian Pu continued her fiercely passionate if crudely worded account, and Ryouga was turning steadily paler. "Every day for nine years, he dedicate his life to freeing this Lady. What is so so terribly bad about her chains, that he must spend his life for her? She is spelled to have to love him and be near him. It not hurt her, she happy. All this he do, just because she is in chains. When he try the last time to free her, he already know he no can do it, but he give everything he has, he nearly die, he try to die, because he know that if he die, she will be free. Then, after all this, she finally tell him why he cannot free her." She took a deep breath, then continued. "She finally tell him, is like he has a sister, and she is trapped in his mind. All this he has done, to free a lady who knew she wore chains, and was happy about it, nine years he has spent every day trying to free her, and he holds his own sister in chains in his mind. But no no, Lady say, she is sleeping, and you can awaken and then free her. But you have to give up your manhood, and become a woman to do it. And he does! No objection, no second thought, no but I am a man. He go, and he do it. And he go to wake her, and he learn that she been awake, trapped in his mind, for all those nine years. Now you think what will he not do for her? Think of what he did for the Lady, who was held prisoner because of him, but not by him, and what will he not do for his own flesh and blood, held prisoner BY him for nine years?" She took another deep breath. "But no, you not say he won't. You say he can't, not strong enough. You listen then. He strong enough. When he seven, he face down powerful sorcerer, and free the bonds of his magic, which not even the archmages could do. Same day, same day mind, he twice create a crystal rose, something which took the man who trapped the dragon lady, who most powerful man on world before he die, a month, and leave him weak, Ranma do twice in one day, after facing maybe third most powerful man already same day. That when he seven! And every day after that was dedicated to getting stronger, so he one day be strong enough to free the Lady. When he eight, he create a whole new race, dragon lizards, by accident. He master the Neko-ken, and go beyond it, turn into tiger, then turn into dragon. He as close to Kami as any man can be." Ukyou and Ryouga just sat in stunned silence. Xian Pu turned, and took Ranko into her arms, rocking her softly. "Xian Pu sorry to remind you of bad things, Ranko, but must make outsiders understand. Anyone ever hurt either of you, end of world maybe." She dropped back into Mandarin. She hated talking Japanese, knowing that she sounded stupid, and uneducated. "I'm really sorry, Ranko, but I had to make them understand. I was afraid that when that boy saw Ranma, he'd go nuts like Mu Suu used to. I think he likes Ukyou, a lot. If he's been following her for a long time, and she's been focused on revenge, he's probably been building up a picture of Ranma and how terrible he is in his mind. If he lost control... well, it wouldn't be pretty, and nobody would be happy then." Ranko looked up at her, and hugged her, hard. "I know, Xian Pu. I thought the same things. But I couldn't bring myself to talk about it... it hurts too much. And it hurts me terribly to think how much it hurts him to think of how he hurt me." "Ow," Xian Pu rapped her on the head lightly, playfully, "Stop that. Twisty words, making my head hurt. I know... you're both hurting so much. But he'll come back, and you'll be free, and then you'll go free the Lady. Maybe then, you can both finally have a real life, without all the pain and misery. I hope so." 'And maybe I can finally have my strong man...' She kissed the top of Ranko's hair, twirling her fingers idly in the fiery strands. "I wonder if Ukyou knows Ryouga thinks about her like that? I doubt it... she's probably been terribly focused. I know how revenge can be... I've seen what it can do to people." Ranko looked up at her again, smiling now. "We'll just have to help her see, then won't we?" They both turned then, to grin cat-like smiles, full of feral promise, on Ukyou. Ukyou and Ryouga had not understood a word of the last several minutes, though they could see that Xian Pu was comforting her. Ryouga had wanted to do the same for Ukyou, but held back, until she moved over to put her head on his shoulder, crying. He had held her then, loosely around the shoulder, trying to be comforting, though he didn't really know what to do. She finally stopped sniffling, and sat up with a weak smile at him, and turned to look, just as Ranko and Xian Pu gave her those feral grins. She gasped, looking a bit frightened. Ranko whispered, in Mandarin, "Tickle attack?" Xian Pu nodded, and they both lunged for the girl, knocking the couch over. Ryouga was sent sprawling, and leapt back to his feet, scared out of his wits at the sudden attack, but paused when he saw Ukyou writhing, laughing helplessly under the pair's talented fingers. Finally, they stopped, and pulled Ukyou up. "Ukyou not hunting revenge anymore, right?" Xian Pu asked. When Ukyou nodded, slowly, she continued firmly, "Then not need dress like boy anymore." She fixed a stern glare on Ryouga. "You stay down here. Not go outside, unless you want to be married or killed." He nodded, mystified, as Ranko and Xian Pu picked Ukyou up bodily, and carried her upstairs. Ryouga looked up as the door opened again, and the withered old crone bounced in. She looked around. "Where'd the girls go?," she asked, in perfect Japanese. "Upstairs." She nodded. "You play chess, boy?" "No, ma'am." "You'll learn. The board and pieces are in that box. Well, hurry up, I haven't got all day." Ryouga went to get the box, as directed, and wondered sourly if all the women in this village were this bossy.