Outside Encounters


Ranma bounded over the trees. He was heading for a mountain that seemed
to stand a bit apart from the others. He would climb it, and exercise
upon its peak, in the rarified air, and see how that changed the way his
body worked. In time, he would have a sufficient understanding to make a
new body for himself. It had been nearly three weeks, and the bodies he
was making were showing definite improvement.

As he bounded up the rocky crags, his mind was focused on his body, and
the changes within it. He spared only enough attention to maintain his
upward motion, and so was completely unaware as he leapt high over traps
and rigged rockfalls, avoiding them by mere instinct.

The Lady Kima, Protector of Saffron, responsible for guarding Pheonix
Mountain, was understandably disturbed at the description of the
tiger-man that was even now reaching the lower levels of the open 
entrances. 

It should have been near impossible to scale the mountain from the
outside, without wings. It was designed to be so, full of traps to deter
even the most skilled. But this beast seemed to move like a mountain
goat, springing from foothold to foothold, avoiding every trap as if he
knew where each one was. 

By the time the guard made her report, and Lady Kima moved to intercept,
the beast had already passed the upper entrances, without seeming to
notice them. She unfurled her wings, and leapt upward. She soared from
the upper entrance, and headed for the top of the mountain. There she
found the man-beast, performing what looked like martial arts exercises,
on the very peak. She stopped within arrowshot of him, and nocked her
bow, before speaking.

"To set foot on Pheonix mountain without the leave of the Lord Saffron
is punishable by death," she stated. The beast paused in its motions,
perfectly balanced and holding what looked like a very painful position,
while it sniffed, and looked about. Spying her, it turned to face her,
and bowed low. 

"Good day, Lady," he said, then paused and looked more closely at her,
"Hmm... I was not aware that there were non-humans living on this
world," he commented, thinking to himself that her appearance would have
fit in well in his Lady's world.

Lady Kima stared, as he made small talk, and bared his teeth at her,
as if smiling. She felt indescribable fury, as he ignored her statement,
and made no comment about the sentence she had declared. How dare this
beast mock her? She let fly, and the arrow landed with a satisfying
thunk, right through the heart of the beast. 

Ranma jerked in pain, staring at her in surprise as he fell. He hadn't
expected so cold-blooded a response. He roared in pain when he crashed
against the mountainside, and rolled, the arrow snapping off in his
wound. 

He focused, and drew on his ki, as he grabbed the arrow and tore it from
his chest. Blackness flickered at the edges of his vision, as he fought
ot hold his concentration, and heal the wound in his heart before his
consciousness faded. He succeeded, his chest was healed and his vision
cleared, even as he slammed to a halt on a ledge. 

He saw the bird-woman flying down towards him, another arrow nocked. She
let fly, and he embraced the Neko-ken, focusing his ki into his limbs,
and snatched the arrow from the air, leaping to his feet. "That hurt!,"
he growled.

He had, on hearing her first words, considered allowing her to kill his
body, while he left it. He had simply not been prepared for her to act
so quickly, and so was unready to leap from his flesh, while that intent
of his had been sufficient that he had not bothered to protect himself
by focusing ki into his body for protection. 

He decided he would still allow her to carry out her sentence, but he
would get some payback first. He roared at her, snatching another arrow
from the air. She had a distinctly annoyed look now, and she slung her
bow onto her back, and pulled out a sword.

He grinned, a feral smile full of sharp teeth and the promise of pain,
and pulled out a deep blue katana, and took a defensive stance. Kima
swooped down, knowing that most humans were very inexperienced in
fighting airborne opponents. She wasn't certain if that would be true
for this tiger, but she would not be surprised if it were.

To her surprise, he leapt, and met her in the air, blade flashing,
ringing against her own. She parried as he fell past her, towards the
wall, and spun to face him, only to parry again in spite of her shock,
as he rebounded well before reaching the wall, changing directions in
mid-air and increasing speed. 

She felt a sudden pulse of fear, as he whipped past her again, moving
ever faster, redirecting his momentum seemingly at will. Her fear eased
and a smirk grew on her face, in spite of her desperate straits as she
frantically parried his blows, when she saw more warriors rising up
about them, bows notched, arrows ready.

He snarled, "Playtime's over, little birdy," and she felt a stunning
blow on her back, right between her wings, and she hit the ground hard.
She was shocked to realize that she hadn't even seen him move... from
the speaking, which was done as he passed in front of her, to his blow,
only the merest instant had passed, and she hadn't seen him move.

She heard the twanging of bows from all around, and realized that he had
made a fatal mistake by getting her out of the way. She rolled over, and
was surprised when her body responded. She had, though she was trying
not to think too much about, half-expected to be unable to feel anything
below her shoulders. Hadn't he struck her with that katana? 

She was even more shocked to see that only about a quarter of the arrows
had hit their mark... the rest were collected in his hands, though there
was still a look of startled surprise on his face... as if he had
expected to catch them all. He faltered, and collapsed, falling from the
air to smash heavily into the ground. 

Ranma suppressed his ki as best he could, and pulled out of the dying
body, then, as soon as he was beyond the ring of warriors, called up the
blue flame to incinerate the body. He smirked, enjoying the startled
expressions on the warriors, but most of all, on the Lady who had first
attacked him. 

---

Ranko and Xian Pu pulled Ukyou into Xian Pu's room, and Ranko shut the
door behind her. 

"Wha.. what are you doing?," protested Ukyou, as Xian Pu started
unbuttoning her shirt.

"Told you. Man's clothes not right for you now. You must dress as woman
now." With that, she pulled Ukyou's shirt off of her. Ranko started
unwrapping her breast bindings, while Xian Pu unfastened her pants, and
pulled them down. 

"Boxers?," Xian Pu snorted when she got Ukyou's pants off. Then she
looked up, as Ranko undid the last wrap, and freed Ukyou's
breasts completely. 

"Good. Is bad to hide such beauty. Women are stronger, anyway." Xian Pu
looked at her speculatively, then down at herself. She turned and
fumbled in a drawer, before pulling out a long cloth measuring tape, and
wrapping it about Ukyou. "Hmmm... Wait here, I go borrow a bra right
size. Be right back!" She bounced out of the room.

Ranko turned to Ukyou, who had sat down on the bed, her head awhirl, and
handed her a pair of pink silk panties. "Here, try these."

Ukyou took them, and blushed. She was almost naked... it wasn't that she
was embarrassed, they were all girls... But from what Xian Pu said,
Ranko really WAS Ranma, in a peculiar way, and the thought of being
naked with Ranma was doing interesting things to her body. She hoped
Ranko thought her nipples were just stiff from the cold, as she quickly
shucked the boxers, and pulled up the panties, which fit reasonably
well. 

Xian Pu bounded back in a few minutes later. "Why Ryouga fall over when
I came back?," she asked, and Ukyou blushed again, as Xian Pu held out a
lacy black bra. 

"Probably because you were carrying this," she replied, taking it from
Xian Pu. "He's rather shy about stuff like that." She put the bra on. It
felt rather good against her skin. She had never had an opportunity to
wear such things, and when a few minutes later she was wearing a tight
fitting blue cheongsam, she felt wonderful.

She let them lead her downstairs, and was gratified when Ryouga got a
nosebleed and passed out upon seeing her. 

"Wow, he must really like you," Xian Pu said, "He your boyfriend, yes?"

"Huh? What? Ryouga? Uh... no, not really." Ukyou looked down at him,
stunned. She realized suddenly that she didn't really look much
different from Ranko or Xian Pu at the moment... and he hadn't passed
out when he saw them. Was it possible... did Ryouga really like her, as
more than just a friend? 

---

Meanwhile, the Council of the other Amazon village, the Kunichiezu, met,
and deliberated long into the night. When the assembled elders heard the
story of the younger women, they were dismissed, to await the decision
with the rest of the village. 

Inside, the two elders who had led the morning's sortie described the
scene at the pool. The other elders listened in wonder, then finally one
spoke.

"If he is so powerful as to awaken a water spirit, and arouse its 
desire, and yet the water spirit dares not take what she wants, then can
we truly think to prevail against it?"

"You speak truth. Remember, all, what happened to the Linichiezu, after
they challenged a water spirit? Nothing would grow for them, and when
they tried to irrigate, the river flooded, and washed the village away.
We cannot fight that kind of power."

There was some minor dispute of her words, but in the end they agreed.
They were powerless to face it. "The only choice then, to save the
village, is for warriors to volunteer, as was done in the long past with
dragons, and we must pray he does not need too many, to do what he
wishes."

There was furious dissension, and in the end nothing was decided. They
met again the next night, and then sent another sortie to watch. The
reports only continued to confound them.

The arguments lasted for nearly three weeks, before finally, in the end,
they had to accept it. Their careful vigil told them how close he was to
perfecting the male body, and if they did not act soon, he might move
first, and that would be disastrous. Even at the end, there were
vociferous arguments over whether they should take volunteers or
hold a contest of arms. Finally, it was accepted that they would
follow the laws written long ago for the appeasing of dragons. It had
long been accepted that there would be times that a few would need to
be sacrificed for the many, and these were laws written for just such
times.

When they finally agreed, they broke the news to the village. It was the
young warrior, who had been with the first group to see him, who
volunteered to be first, for it had been her reaction, she felt, that
had confirmed their presence to the tiger-spirit.

---

When Ranma awoke the next morning, he sniffed critically at the morning
air. He smelled an unusual scent... he looked around, and was quite
startled to see the young Amazon, sleeping nearby under a thin blanket,
smelling of jasmine.

He worried over what it might mean, but decided that all he could do was
wait till the girl woke up, and try to find out from her what the 
Amazons wanted, and why they hadn't left him alone. At least they didn't
seem to be hunting him, anymore. She didn't look like she had any
weapons... unless she were the bait for a trap? He stretched out his
senses... no, she was the only one nearby.

He built a quick fire, and retrieved his metal platform. Then, as he had
all those years before, when traveling with the Lady, he pulled out his
mat, and set about cooking a meal. He was just stuffing the dove into
the quail, both well worked over with spices, when he realized the girl
had sat up, and was staring at him. He grinned at her, and she cringed
away. Sighing, he continued, stuffing the quail in the pheasant. He
didn't realize that she had never seen such a thing before... and
watching him pull the skeleton from each bird in turn had put her in
mind of him doing that to her...

She watched in wonder as he pulled vegetables and fruit from nowhere,
washed them in water, and sliced them expertly. He finally looked up,
after having set out the meal, and two places, on a low table. He saw
her, still sitting where she had slept, watching with wide fearful eyes.
"Come," he said, gesturing to the table, "eat with me."

She crept slowly to the table, and pulled herself up to sit on the
cushion, then watched, silent and wide-eyed, as he pulled the wakizashi
from nowhere, and making it into a large knife, carved the birds, then
handed her a plate piled with meat and salad. She didn't start eating,
until he had made himself a plate, and begun eating it, himself. She had
feared he might have been... fattening her up.

Several times he tried to ask her why she was there, but each time he
did so, she pictured him breaking open her chest, and pulling out her
heart and eating it, and went white. She never said a word. 

He stood then, and she cowered, but he simply turned, and leapt over the
water to land lightly on the large stone, where he settled in lotus
postion. She watched, wide-eyed, as the neriad swam up, to rest her arms
on the rock, as she listened to him play for her. 

Then he stood, as she watched, bobbing back to lie in the water, resting
her head on the surface like a pillow. He began his kata, and the young
girl sitting on the grass at the waterside felt sudden desire swell up
in her again, as she watched his graceful motions. She stifled a gasp,
when he leapt from the rock, until to bounce lightly off the surface
of the water several times, before landing again on the rock.

Finally, he stopped, and bowed to the neriad, saying something in a
voice like water rushing around stones in a narrow passage, before
turning to look at her, then leaping away into the forest. The neriad
turned to look at her, and beckoned. 

She shook her head, fearful, mindful of the stories she had heard, of
neriads luring people to them, only to drown them in their waters. But
the Lady beckoned again, and said something in a soft voice like the
babbling of a brook in the warmth of the summer sun, and she felt her
desire for the tiger crest, and crash over her like a wave, and she
stumbled, panting, to the edge of the water. 

The neriad came to her there, and took her in strong wet arms, and
kissed her on the lips. Then she lifted her head, and spoke again, and
this time the girl understood, though the voice was as before. "Now you
can understand me child. I feel your desire for him, for I share it.
Come, assuage your desire with me." She took the girl up in her arms,
and carried her behind the waterfall, and stripping her of her clothes,
made slow love to her, as the water cascaded down upon them.

---

Ranma headed for a different mountain this time, and stayed on the lower
slopes. It was thus, as he danced amongst the boulders, slashing at
them, slowly carving one into his form, and one into the form of Ranko,
that the Lady Kima, flying a long search pattern, sighted him.

She flew down to land upon a stone near where he danced, and tucked her
wings behind her. "You tricked me," she called out. He stopped and
looked up at her. It was then that she finally realized that he had not
merely been slashing the stone... two of the stones were beginning to
take on definite, almost human forms.

"You again. I did not trick you. That which set foot on your mountain is
dead, ashes now. I have no feet, no body at all, so I cannot be in
violation of your law, and this body I am wearing has not touched your
mountain."

She felt a sudden strong fear, realizing that if he took offense at
her actions, and attacked... well, she had not her support troops
now, nor had they in fact suceeded in killing him the first time.
Firming her resolve, and recognizing that had he intended to kill
her, he could have done so when first they met, she leapt lightly down
to stand before him. 

He was tall, ten feet at least, and strongly muscled. He stood still, as
she walked about him, looking him over. "You look as you did before. If
you are a spirit, as you imply, taking and using this body, then why is
this body identical to the last one?"

"I did not take the body, Lady, I made it."

"A pity you did not give it wings, then. So beautiful a body to be
landbound."

"I am not landbound, Lady, wings or no. But if you prefer wings..." The
creature collapsed forward, and yet it still stood before her, a glowing
thing now. She could feel it... it was ki, pure ki. It stepped back, and
then suddenly grew in height, and became solid. She stepped back, gaping
in awe. 

It was fifteen foot tall, even more heavily muscled, and its skin was
scaly. Its head was reptilian... draconic, really... It spread its
wings... They were five feet from shoulder to the first joint, and
fifteen feet from the first joint to the tip. When furled behind him,
they reached two feet over his head, and when fully extended, as now,
they stretched an awesome forty feet.

"Lady Kima," a rich baritone drawled. "I thought you told me you don't
consort with dragon kind?" Prince Herb of the Musk leapt from a rock
above them, to land before the beast. "Greetings, brother," he said to
it, bowing. 

"Brother?," asked Ranma, curiously. His voice was much deeper than even
his cat's voice, and it had a strange echo to it, that made it seem to
resonate with power.

"This is Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty. He is descended from a 
dragon," Kima interjected. She had been flying about because he had been
reported in the area.

"That does not make us brothers," Ranma replied. "There is no dragon
blood in me."

Prince Herb stared at him. "But... but... you're clearly half-dragon, at
least!"

"No. This is not my true form. This is... I think this is the ultimate
expression of the Neko-ken. It is a martial arts technique."

Both of the other two just gaped at him. This massive beast was claiming
to be nothing more than a martial artist.

"I was raised by a dragon, though," he continued, and their mouths
dropped. 

"But... but there aren't any dragons in the world right now," protested
Herb.

"I wasn't raised on this world," Ranma replied, and their jaws dropped
further. He turned to the Lady. "Well, Lady Kima. Do your laws still say
you have to kill me?" She shook her head, numbly.

Finally she found her voice. "If... If this isn't your real body... then
where is it?"

"My sister is using it, until I finish making her one. I never really
realized before how complex a human body is."

"You're... you're making a body for your sister?" Prince Herb was having
difficulty grasping this. Ranma reached down with a massive claw, and
gripped the shoulder of his cat body, and held it up. 

"Yeah, like I made this one. This is the lesser final stage of the
Neko-ken. I think it has to do with yin/yang. You know, the tiger and
dragon motif?"

"Uh... yeah...," Herb said, staring at the massively muscled body being
held up before him. "You made that, too?"

"Yes. Making these two bodies is easy though, compared to making a human
body." He shucked the dragon body, suddenly, and Herb gasped, as he felt
the sheer power of the being of pure ki standing before him, as it drew
the cat body on like clothing. The cat walked over to the two partial
statues, stepping on the dragon body to do so. He glanced down at it,
and suddenly, it stood up again, and moved back out of the way.
"Better," he muttered to himself. 

Suddenly, he turned into a blur of orange and black and blue streaks,
and the stone seemed to melt away to reveal a boy and girl, who looked,
in the stone, almost like twins, though the girl was near a foot 
shorter. He drew back and stilled, as the dust cloud kicked up by his
motions settled slowly about the statues. 

"She's beautiful," Prince Herb said quietly, staring at the stone that
seemed so real it might come to life any moment. Lady Kima gazed at the
statue of the boy, surprised to feel a stir of desire. She had never
felt that humans were beautiful, but this boy was. "Is that your
sister?," Herb asked.

"Yes," he replied, and then pointed at the boy, "and that's me."

"You're human?" they both asked together, equally startled. 

"Heh, yeah, sorry, I should have introduced myself, since you both did.
I'm Fey Ranma, the Lord of Fey Castle, Founder of the Fey Musabetso
Kakuto Ryuu."

He bowed to them, then continued, "Well, its been a pleasure, but I
gotta get back. I need to feed that Amazon before she wanders off." 

They both looked startled at his words, and were even more startled when
the cat sprang into the air, and disappeared with a sharp crack. Then
their attention was grabbed by the half-dragon, as it snapped its legs,
launching itself into the air, lifting higher with a lazy flap from
massive wings, before sailing off to the south.

They stared at each other for a long, long minute.

---

Silk, the young Amazon, was sitting on the shore by a fire. The
water-spirit had disappeared shortly after their tryst, leaving her to
her own devices. She hadn't been permitted to bring any weapons, lest
the tiger-spirit get the idea they were hunting him, so she made a fire,
and kept it going, so she would have a defense if some wild animal
decided she looked tasty. The fire the tiger-spirit had made had gone
out while she was... busy... with the neriad.

The sun had passed mid-sky, and she was beginning to feel hungry, when
the tiger-spirit fell from the sky to land lightly near her. She leapt
away, startled by his sudden appearance. She had just begun to wonder
when he would get around to eating her... waiting was rather boring. But
his sudden appearance made her realize she didn't really mind waiting.
Not that much, anyway.

He didn't look at her, just watched the sky expectantly. Soon she was
cowering in a little ball by the edge of the forest, as a truly massive
dragon-man swooped down, his huge wings reaching nearly from the edge
of the forest on one side, to dip into the water on the other. As soon
as it had settled, and firmed its stance, it drew its wings in. The
tiger walked over to stand in front of it, and the dragon reached out,
taking the tiger's shoulders in its huge claws, and lifted... leaving
the tiger-spirit glowing blue beneath it. The tiger-spirit stepped away,
and the dragon sat heavily, curling its tail about it, as it pulled its
heavy legs in. 

She jerked in shock, as the discarded tiger body proceeded to sit up,
and fold its own legs, sitting atop the dragon's legs. The tiger-spirit
seemed to nod at them, and turn away, and as he did so, he fell into a
much smaller form. He firmed suddenly, and Silk's mouth went dry with
desire at the beautiful hunk of nude male flesh, before the tiger
reached out and pulled the body up off the spirit, who swelled again to
tiger form. Once again the discarded body seemed to suddenly reanimate,
and it walked over to stand by the dragon. 

The spirit then turned to look at her. She knew, it was her time now.
Well, frightened though she was, she would face her end like a true
Amazon. She stood, burying her fear, and walked, face held high, to
stand before the ten foot tall transparent blue figure. It seemed to
regard her for a moment, then pointed to the tiger figure. She looked up
at the tiger, confused, and the nude male body came to stand beside her.
It took her hand, and she glanced at its face. She was deeply shaken by
the empty look of the face. There was simply nothing there, no emotion,
no awareness, no life, just emptiness.

The body stepped up to stand on the dragon's knee, still holding her
hand, and pulled her up. It sat her on the tiger's lap, arranged her,
then stepped back down, and walked over to the spirit, who put the body
on, like putting on clothing. She shivered. 

The boy stood before her, then glanced down, and suddenly it was clothed
in black silk. It looked at her, and now its face was alive, its eyes
were vibrant, a deep, brilliant blue.

"You would not answer me, this morning. Will you do so now?" His voice
was much softer in this form, much more human. "Why are you here?"

She screwed up her courage to reply. Hopefully she would not anger it...
if she said the wrong thing, and it killed her from anger, then she
would be dooming another of her friends from the village to death. "We
know we cannot stop you. So as with the dragons in the long past, a few
will be sacrificed for the many."

"They made you come here?" he asked, gently.

"I chose. I volunteered."

He sighed. "I did not want this... but you could be of use to me. But I
think your people have misunderstood me. I need kill no-one, to do what
I am doing, and have killed no-one in doing it. This body, that your
people have, I assume, seen me cut and eat, is my own, a creation I
made in mimicry of my body. It has no life apart from me. But if you are
willing to help me, then you need do no more than sit there, and wait,
and watch. I will not hurt you, nor will you die."

She sat, looking in silence at the boy. She was terribly confused, but
refused to allow herself to hope. She had given up her life, she would
not embarrass herself or her people for pleading for it.

He sat before her, and blue flames began to flicker about him as he
stared at her, with flames visible in his blue eyes. She shivered as his
eyes seemed to see right through her clothes, indeed, right through her
skin. She felt like he could see her heart, her innermost thoughts and
desires. Still she faced him, head held proud. She would not shame her
people by showing her fear.

Finally, as he stared at her, the body of the boy stood, and walked to
the side of the dragon, leaving the tiger-spirit in boy form, sitting,
staring at her. Slowly the spirit shifted, until she was looking on a
transparent blue young woman, who suddenly became real. When it did,
Silk gasped. It was like she was staring at herself in a mirror! Other
than the complete lack of clothing, of course. 

She watched, as if in a dream, as she rose from the ground, and looked
down at herself. She placed a hand on her own breast, over her heart,
and Silk felt a moment of disorientation when she didn't feel a
heartbeat. It took several moments for her to tear her eyes away from
herself, to look down, and realize that she wasn't touching her own
breast... her hands were lying still on her thighs. She looked up again,
to see the boy walk out to stand before her. Then she watched herself
reach out, to place a second hand on the boy's chest. It was as if, she
thought, the tiger spirit were comparing heartbeats. 

Her eyes met her eyes, and she beckoned to herself, and so she climbed
down to stand before herself. She reached out to herself, and placed her
hand on her breast so she could feel both heartbeats, but she didn't
feel anything in her hands, because her hands were still by her side,
though she felt the hand on her breast. She smiled suddenly, and wrapped
herself in a hug, and felt her breasts against her own. The boy reached
out from behind her, and held her, and the naked her slumped, face going
frighteningly dead, as the boy's face suddenly came back to life. 

He lifted her naked body easily in his hands, and handed it to the
tiger, who cradled it against him. He turned to look at her, with those
amazingly vivid blue eyes. "Thank you. You have given me the key." That
beautiful body collapsed, and the transparent blue boy looked down at
it, his feet still within it, and it burst into blue flames so hot she
was forced to leap backwards. Just as suddenly, the boy was back, real,
and standing nude before her, before becoming clothed in an instant. 

He smiled at her. "You have done what you were asked to do. I have
accomplished my goal, thanks to you. I would give a gift, ere you go.
What would you ask of me?"

She shook her head sadly, looking at him. 

"If you insist. You are free to go, Lady." He turned to look at the
tiger, and it leapt down, and loped over to him. He stood, looking at
the nude body. "Now what am I going to with this? Hmm..."

He heard a soft voice behind him. "Can... Can I have her?" He turned to
see the young girl, looking intently at her own nude body. 

"It has no mind," he said. 

"Can't you give it one?" she asked him.

"Not really... I could... I could give it a cat-like mind... but not one
of a human level."

"A cat would be perfect," she said, clapping her hands. He looked at
her, and sighed. 

"A cat wouldn't be really happy in this body... would you object if I
gave her cat ears, whiskers, and a tail? It would make her happier..."

"Sure!"

He sighed again. 'I can't believe I'm agreeing to do this... but I can
at least make it happy with itself... and I did basically offer to give 
her whatever she asked for...' He pulled the magic up, changing the
body, and then gave it a tiger striped pant-suit, before giving it a
mind, and a love for the other girl, to make sure it didn't hurt her
unintentionally. Neko-Silk looked up, purring, and leapt down, rubbing
her head against Silk's leg. Silk looked delighted, and ran off, chased
by Neko-Silk. Ranma watched them go. 

"I hope that doesn't get her in trouble. But at least it got rid of the
body. I really didn't like the idea of eating her body... or even
hurting it. Its not the same as when it was just my body I was doing
those things to... but it definitely made all the difference to have a
human body to look at as I made a new one. Comparing my body with the
tiger body was nice and all, but they aren't really built quite the
same."

---

Ranko looked around the breakfast table that morning, at her two new
friends, and Xian Pu, and came to a sudden decision. "Its been three
weeks... I want to see how he's doing. Xian Pu, feel like making a
little trip?"

Xian Pu looked up, a cat-like smile appearing on her soft lips. "To
surprise Ranma? Oh, yes... definitely."

"Ukyou should certainly get a chance to meet the real thing... make sure
she doesn't really want to kill him..." Ranko grinned at her, letting
her know she wasn't worried. "Kho Lon, is it ok with you, if we go to
visit Ranma?"

Kho Lon considered it for a long minute. It would be risking Ranko...
but then, there was very little she couldn't handle, and Xian Pu would
be with them, but still... "You may go, child... if you take Mu Suu with
you."

"Wonderful! I'll go find Mu Suu. Xian Pu, start packing, ok?" Without
waiting for Xian Pu's nod, Ranko leapt from the table, and was out the
door.

A short while later, the five travelers set out. Ranko led them first to
the grove where she had last seen Ranma. Ryouga was the first to spot
the exploded stone and circle of char. "What happened here?"

"Oh," Ranko replied, "Nothing much. That was a power stone. I stored as
much ki in it as my body normally holds, then when I was full again,
Ranma tore it from me, and possessed it. Then I released the ki in the
stone, and reabsorbed it. That's how he got his ki body."

Mu Suu examined the stone, but made no comment. Ranko pointed out the
direction Ranma had taken, and after thinking for a while, Xian Pu
decided they should go to the Amazon village that was in that general
direction, and see if they had seen any signs of him.

---

They stood in the Amazon village, facing two wrinkled old women. "You
are serious, young ones? You seek the tiger spirit? We know where he is,
indeed, but he is very dangerous. You should keep away. Angering the
spirits is very bad."

Ranko laughed. "He won't be mad. He's my brother." 

The old ladies turned white. They drew Xian Pu aside, and spoke in
quiet Cantonese. "Is what she says true? She is the sister of the tiger
spirit?"

"It is."

"But the tiger spirit said he is making a body for his sister. What is
wrong with hers?"

"Nothing. That's not her body, its his."

"That doesn't look like a man's body to me."

"Jusenkyou."

"Oh." They told her where he was, and how to get there, but weren't done
dispensing their warnings. "Be careful child. We sent one of our
warriors there. When she returned, there were two of her." They pointed
to two young warriors, who looked identical, except that one had a long
furry tail, and was acting like a cat. "Also, there is a water spirit
near him. He has some agreement with it, but avoid angering her. They
can be deadly enemies."

Xian Pu assured them that they would be cautious, and they set off
again.