Wheel of Fire Special #7: Hunting Wind 

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NYChotmail.com) 
  www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/ranma/ranff.html 

  Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko 
Takahashi. Proper licenses belong to respective 
properties and characters.  All other material herein 
belongs to the author, and plagiarism of this concept, 
in part or in whole or borrowing, in part or in whole, 
will not only get you my ire but the priceless sight 
of seeing you behind bars. No part of this document 
may be reproduced, retransmitted, or altered, in part 
or in whole, for monetary gain, incidental, 
consequential, directly, or not at all, without 
express permission from the author (if you are unable 
to contact me then that does not grant you these 
rights). Such condition applies to all my works, and 
your ignorance is no excuse, as I reserve the right to 
update this disclaimer, and it stands in whatever 
shape or form it manifests in any work, appearing 
there or not.  

------------------------------------------------ 

The Day After-- Day 1 of Stage Two 

  Nabiki simply did not want to put up with Shion's 
banter on the other end of the connection.  

  For time on end, ever since he got back home from 
the tennis tournament Shion wanted to know everything 
that happened since he left.  Not only did he want 
that, he wanted to know why Nabiki didn't do anything 
about it.  

  The answer, of course, was: "What did you want me 
to do?"  

  Certainly, events didn't go as planned, and Nekurow 
was beaten by the creature sleeping in Shizuka's 
body.  However, neither one of them have been seen in 
town since.  Ziel reported all that transpired in the 
battle, but made no move to discern where Shizuka had 
gone, or where Nekurow could be.  

  Then there was the matter of Ranma.  When he was 
helped home he was broken and beaten.  Early this 
morning, however, he disappeared suddenly, having gone 
on a training journey, Nabiki guessed-- to train alone.  

* * * 

  "Actually," Miranda Kusao said, leaning back in her 
seat with a cup of coffee in hand, "there's only so 
many places you can go if you want to be alone."  

  Akane nodded, seated across the table in the outdoor 
cafe that Miranda frequented every morning before 
school, out of habit.  Although it was a school day, 
Akane was far more interested in what Ranma was up to, 
and, so it seemed, so was Miranda, one of Ranma's few 
rivals remaining in town.  

  News of Ranma's disappearance spread quickly-- 
even though it was only at most three hours since he 
vanished from the Tendo household.  Akane wondered if 
Nabiki was talking, or if her own inquiries were doing 
it.  At any rate, her own search turned-up nothing; no 
hints or any indications of where Ranma could have 
gone, save that he obviously packed for several days.  

  Without many avenues to turn to, she needed help.  

  "So you'll help?" she asked hopefully.  

  Miranda leaned forward, crossing her arms on the 
table.  "You want to narrow it down for me, first?  
I've got fans, you know."  

  "Well, if you're too busy, maybe I'll ask someone 
else," Akane said, getting up to leave.  

  But the other martial artist was quick to stop her.  
"I didn't say I wouldn't.  I mean, the big guys have to 
look after the little guys, right?  You wanna go right 
now?"  

  Akane's eyes narrowed.  "Seriously, or image?"  

* * * 

  "You've been friends with Ranma since you were kids, 
right?" Shion asked over the phone line.  Although 
she hardly knew the guy personally, Ukyo knew this 
he was one of Shizuka's acquaintances.  As to why he 
was interested in Ranma, she was uncertain.  

  "Maybe.  So what is it to you?" the okonomiyaki chef 
replied.  "I don't know where he runs off to."  

  "I wouldn't have tipped you off if I didn't have a 
good idea," the mercenary replied.  "You see, it seems 
someone matching your friend's description bought a 
train ticket out to your neck of the woods early this 
morning... well, not quite, but you're the closest 
person available."  

  "Why are you so interested in him, anyway?" she 
asked, growing suspicious as she paced around the 
mantle where the phone rested in her bedroom.  

  "There are others who have a stake in him," Shion 
admitted.  "I'm not actually getting paid to do this, 
because... I am a concerned person."  

  "I don't think Shizuka will be with him, if that's 
what you're thinking," Ukyo replied, slightly 
amused by the turn of events.  "From what you've told 
me they left at separate times, and in different 
directions."  

  "Things have a tendency to work out," he assured 
her.  "I'll wire you the money in an hour; you don't 
have to go, but if you're his friend...."  

  "Of course I'm going; who do you think I am?  You 
wouldn't have called me otherwise."  

  She heard the mercenary laugh on the other end of 
the line.  "I like you, really.  Very witty."  

  "Don't get too comfortable."  

* * * 

  "Why?" Chika asked her older brother as he cut the 
phone line to his headset.  "Why are you going through 
so much trouble just for one person?"  

  She could not understand Shion's infatuation with 
Shizuka at all; the moment she popped into her 
brother's life Shion stopped paying attention to her 
and devoted more time to thinking about Shizuka.  In 
fact, ever since she entered his life he's been 
seriously thinking about walking away from his secret 
life.  Chika knew Shion loved to do what he did, and 
made a lot of money doing it-- so why would anyone 
throw everything away for one person?  

  Leaning back in the leather pilot chair facing his 
computer, Shion simply answered, "Don't you think it's 
good to have such... good friends?"  

  "Is that all she is to you?" she asked, becoming more 
specific.  

  "Remember when our parents got married?" the 
mercenary king asked, seemingly drifting off on a 
meaningless tangent again.  "I used to look out for 
just myself and Mom.  I didn't want anyone to touch her 
but me; you didn't want anyone to touch your dad.  
Isn't it odd how things turned out like that?"  

  "What?  I'm not jealous of that girl!"  

  "I didn't say you were," Shion said, turning his 
chair to face Chika, a bemused smirk on his face.  "I 
think, if you got to know her better, you'd learn to 
like her."  

  "I've got enough friends," she stammered.  

  "You can never have enough friends."  

* * * 

  "You're early."  

  Kanna Rajura, a large travel bag slung across her 
shoulder, and carrying a long instrumental case that 
obviously hid her death scythe, walked across the 
airport terminal to the one waiting for her.  She 
dropped her luggage, giving Shizuka a friendly 
embrace.  

  "Actually, I'm late," the tactician corrected, 
releasing her embrace.  "Sorry about that.  Flight 
plans never go as planned...."  She laughed at her own 
joke nervously.  

  "It can't be helped now," the priestess of Genbu 
said, reaching down to pick up the scythe's case.  
Unable to lift it in a reasonable amount of time, 
Kanna reached down and picked it up with one hand.  

  Heading toward the exit, Kanna turned to Shizuka.  
"So how come you wanted me to come here instead of 
Tokyo?"  

  "It's too late to go to Tokyo," Shizuka explained, 
her left hand patting her left where her swords used 
to be.  The officials definitely wouldn't allow her 
to pick up Kanna at the airport if she walked in with 
that, or any weapon, for that matter; she felt 
completely naked.  

  "I see."  Kanna nodded sagely.  "Explain what 
happened along the way."  

* * * 

  Nekurow never felt so bitter in his life.  

  Certainly, he hated the rogue beasts running loose 
like caged animals infesting Earth.  He definitely 
hated and envied their power.  Yet, that could not top 
being completely humiliated by the creature he sought 
to defeat.  

  Lying in a borrowed bed, staring at the ceiling, 
Nekurow barely remembered how he got there.  He craned 
his neck to the right, and saw his sword lying against 
an open chair, and his coat on a nearby rack, along 
with his hat, and his boots lying on the floor below 
it.  Reaching over his face to rub his eyes, he, for 
the first time since awakening, realized that his 
sunglasses were off, too.  

  "Damn!" he cursed.  

  "I see you are awake," his benefactor said, 
appearing suddenly in the doorframe.  

  Nekurow craned his neck up to see, then immediately 
turned away.  "How can you stand to look at me?"  

  The black hunter's glasses were by no means for 
style; not only did they help enhance his visual 
perception, they also helped conceal his shame.  Three 
large claw marks, given from his initial encounter with 
Zhou Tian-long, passing from his right forehead down 
to his left cheek, barely missing the places where 
his eyes were.  In effect, one slash passed outside 
his right eye, then between both eyes, and the last 
outside his left eye-- it was the price he paid in 
trying to stand up to the human-guised dragon.  

  His family held a shard of the evil woman's Dragon 
Pearl, the tool which a dragon derives its awesome 
magic from.  The disguised dragon first appeared to 
his family as a buyer of such a valuable relic, 
offering untold riches.  However, his parents were too 
hung-up on keeping 'their' family treasure, and 
eventually the young man who would become Nekurow 
would watch as his family was slaughtered.  

  Twenty years ago, give or take a few years, Nekurow 
was the only survivor of his household, left for dead.  
Her supernatural power was ingrained on his memory for 
all eternity, and it inspired him to train in order to 
defeat such beasts.  Yet, his personal desire was to 
prevent such tragedies from ever happening again, and 
that equated into destroying the foreign creatures.  

  "What is your name?" the other asked, curious, as 
she entered the room.  

  "My name...."  He sat up, holding his hand over his 
face.  "My name is shadowed by shame; there is only 
'Nekurow.'"  

  He remembered his vow.  Upon learning Zhou 
Tian-long's real name, Nekurow decided he would never 
again use his true name until his journey was over.  

  "Such an ominous name," the young woman said, taking 
a seat at the bedside, obviously intrigued.  "Such a 
mysterious name for such a strong, handsome man."  

  She pulled away Nekurow's hand gently, and he did 
little to resist, and simply stared at her.  "I'm 
Ayame."  

* * * 

  "What?  Ranma is missing?!"  

  Ryoga listened to Nabiki through the telephone, 
letting all the words sink in.  He barely felt the 
presence of Akari behind him as he balled his free 
hand into a fist, feeling the urge to break something.  

  "Yeah," the middle Tendo sister replied, in her 
usual, bored tone.  "He's got Akane looking for him 
all over the place, asking people if they've seen 
him."  

  "That jerk!" Ryoga cried, seething with anger.  "How 
dare he force Akane to worry like that!"  

  "Akane was just wondering if you kne...."  

  He never gave Nabiki the time to finish her 
sentence, as the receiver banged against the stand 
which the telephone rest on.  Ryoga was already 
planning what he was going to do to Ranma the moment 
he found him, as he headed for his room.  

  "Ryoga?" Akari said, surprised to see him so upset.  

  "Akari, I'm going on a trip," he said, stopping in 
his tracks, and lowering his voice to a more respectful 
tone.  "I've got to help a friend of mine."  

  He looked into her eyes, and knew she understood.  
"I understand," Akari said, adding a smile.  "Say 'hi' 
to Ranma for me."  

  "I'll do more than that!" Ryoga promised, grinding 
his fist into the palm of his hand.  He turned to 
resume his task of gathering his pack together.  

  Smiling to himself, Ryoga added silently, "There's 
no better person to find someone who's lolderhan the 
guy who always gets lost; then I'll teach that Ranma 
a lesson!"  

* * * 

High Priestess' Chamber, Shrine North Tower 

  Mizuki slid the door to the balcony open, taking in 
the view of the seventh floor in silence.  The day 
was still light even as the dinner hour was drawing 
closer-- and in such lateness in the day she hardly 
expected to entertain visitors.  

  "You know," she began, resting her arms on the rim 
of the balcony, speaking to the visitor inside, "I 
used to fight the demons.  I used to have a sword.  I 
used to travel around the country, looking for any of 
those good deeds to do.  I used to be a demon hunter, 
just like the rest of them."  

  Closing her eyes, she shook her head, chuckling to 
herself.  "That was a long time ago, and it wasn't my 
true path.  I don't know why I started; I guess I was 
feeling lonely after losing both parents in a car 
accident.  I did things by myself, and I was by myself, 
even amongst the people here in the Shrine."  

  She opened her eyes, and stared into the clear sky.  
"Then I met people.  I met Shizuka, who was rejected by 
her parents.  I met people in my travels that I like to 
call my friends... my family.  I met my fiancé.  And, 
of course, I met my god.  All of them changed my life, 
and guided my path, and I'm thankful for that."  

  Turning around, Mizuki addressed her guest directly.  
"People who have lost their way usually stop here 
sometime or another.  Did you come to find a new 
path?"  

  "Nah," Ranma answered coolly.  "I'm here to 
reinforce the path I chose, so jerks like Ziel can't 
knock me off it again."  

  "Yet you've left the path to do so," the high 
priestess pointed out, assuming a serious expression.  
"Coming out here, alone; you left your friends and 
family to retrain yourself.  Are you certain this is 
the road you want to walk?"  

  "If I have to, I'll do it," he affirmed.  

  "Then I think you came to the right place," Mizuki 
concluded, folding her arms.  "You won't do battle 
with just anybody; all our trained warriors are very 
reliant on magic to fight."  

  "That's what I'm counting on," Ranma said with a 
proud smirk.  "The only way I can beat a Wind-User 
like Ziel is if I stop thinking in terms of his 
physical prowess and get used to people that fight like 
him."   

* * * 

Mountain Retreat, Undisclosed Location 

  Flames erupted from the summoning circle, and the 
brilliant glow of red and violet bathed the small 
clearing outside the small cabin Shizuka borrowed from 
Mizuki on occasion.  Behind her Kanna stood waiting 
patiently, her arms folded, unimpressed with the 
dance of magical flames.  

  A circular rift opened at the center of the circle, 
and the summoned beast emerged from the Kami Plane 
under the call of three summoning beads.  Bathed in 
flame, the summoned beast was cloaked in an ash cloak, 
and its eyes glowed in a flame that outshone the 
summoning flame.  

  In a heartbeat the flames scattered, disappearing 
into nothingness, leaving only the salamander warrior, 
Sokar na Kibarak, retainer of Lord Kolvar, in its 
place.  

  Shizuka bowed in greeting, respectfully.  "Master 
Cinder, it is good to see you again."  

  "Make it quick," the salamander intoned, his voice 
still synthesized by his mechanical implants.  "We move 
to war in the Inferno."  

  "Yes, I know," the priestess said, nodding.  "You've 
ignored summons from any other person... and just about 
every other Infernal is ignoring their calls, too.  I 
tried summoning my other beasts earlier, but they 
didn't come."  

  "The political climate is ever turbulent in such a 
feudal society, huh?" Kanna noted.  

  Cinder nodded, throwing back his hood.  Although it 
has been some time since the one possessed by Suzaku 
walked the earth, he still retained his mechanical 
eye, and the rest of his prosthetics.  For one with 
the Guardian's power it would have been simple to 
remove them, but perhaps it was to the warrior's honor 
that he retains his battle scars.  Shizuka wondered if 
that made him rather popular among the other 
samurai-like salamanders; it was considered a great 
honor among them to be a summoned beast, she knew.  

  "Now that the Star Crusher has ascended to the 
Celestial Temple," he explained, referring to Sypha's 
ominous title among the kami, "chaos reigns in the Kami 
Plane.  She rules in all but name, holding the 
Celestial Emperor hostage with her power-- as his chief 
advisor.  In an unforeseen move to the other Celestials 
and Surfacers she has forged alliance with Infernal 
lords, and the entire world is in war.  My liege has 
allied with the celestial dragon, along with many 
other prominent lords the Star Crusher allied with 
during her stay on Earth.  It is ours to subdue those 
who refuse the New Order; those who enforce it are 
rewarded well."  

  "So the balance of power has shifted out of favor 
with the 'good races,' eh?" Kanna noted, intrigued.  
"Sounds like a real battle; not like those small-fries 
back in China."  

  Bending her knees, Shizuka scooped up a wrapped 
bundle that lay by her side.  "Master Cinder, I know 
you're busy, but I request a favor of you."  Holding 
it out in both arms, she presented it to Cinder.  

  Accepting the bundle, the fire master quickly 
unwrapped it.  Buried within the folds of cloth was 
the hilt, and the broken blade, of Mizuki's sword.  

  "I am no artificer," Cinder admitted.  "I cannot 
repair what you ask."  

  "But surely, in your world," Shizuka continued, 
"you have the finest smiths in the underworld.  
Whether it be among the dead, or your people, surely 
someone there can repair the sword."  

  "Why do you not get another sword?" he asked, eye 
narrowing.  The mechanical eye rotated, focusing in.  

  "This sword is the twin of my other," the priestess 
explained, patting the remaining sword at her side.  
"This sword was a gift into entrance of my lifestyle.  
That one you hold was passed to me by my mentor."  

  "So you wish for me to mend your mentor's honor," 
he noted, neutrally.  

  "I'm not worthy of the sword," Shizuka admitted.  "I 
couldn't live up to the promise of keeping her family 
relics.  I will gladly bestow the blade on you, if only 
you repair it."  

  "I have no use for such a blade," Cinder replied.  
"However, I will take your request into consideration.  
I will not promise to devote all my time to this."  

  "You're saying that, after all she's done for you?" 
Kanna balked.  

  "Hold your tongue, human!" the salamander snarled.  

  "You wouldn't even have the luxury of being home if 
it wasn't for Shizuka!" she continued.  "If she didn't 
bring you back to the Shrine, you wouldn't have become 
Suzaku, and you wouldn't have been in the position of 
going home."  

  "I could have done it myself eventually."  

  "Kanna, shut up," Shizuka said, agreeing with the 
salamander.  "Things don't work that way with the 
spirit folk and the like; it's not the same with 
manipulating humans."  

  "I don't care if Cinder's human or a toad," Kanna 
shot back, angered.  "When people do favors for each 
other, they don't ask questions-- they do it, or they 
don't do it.  And besides, this is Earth, not the Kami 
Plane, so our rules apply."  

  "If we went by that logic, then we wouldn't be 
summoning Cinder, huh?" countered the priestess.  "I 
should've been burned at the stake already."  

  "If our business is concluded," Cinder interrupted, 
"then I shall take my leave."  

  "Of course, Master Cinder," Shizuka said.  

  A new rift opened beneath the salamander's feet, and 
flames rose to consume him.  The flaming form sunk into 
the rift, and vanished from sight, leaving the two 
girls alone.  

  Turning back toward the cabin-- rather, a full- 
fledged house that looked like a dinky cabin-- Shizuka 
added, "And you can insult other people for speaking 
out of turn, too.  Isn't that great?"  

  "Stupid etiquette... that's what I think," Kanna 
said, shaking her head and falling in behind Shizuka.  
"Now that business is taken care of, let's say we get 
started early tomorrow, eh?"  

* * * 

  "Look," Ziel yelled into the payphone's receiver, 
standing in the crowded subway station in downtown, 
"I don't know where the hell she went, okay?  I know 
I'm supposed to watch her, but I wasn't going to get 
that close to Deathclaw.  You didn't even tell me what 
that... that... thing could do!"  

  He switched hands, placing the receiver on his 
other ear.  "Do better research!  That breath weapon 
ages things at a hyper-accelerated rate!  What makes 
you think I'm getting any closer to her with that guy 
around?"  

  Ziel turned, his back to the people, and faced the 
wall, planting his free hand against it and lowering 
his head.  "What do you think I'm doing?  I'm laying 
low; two girls are going around town asking about 
Ranma Saotome, who's also turned up missing.  Everybody 
disappeared after the fight but me, and you know 
someone's going to ask questions.  I didn't do 
anything; that's the problem!"  

  "Yeah, I'll see you later."  He slammed the receiver 
back, cutting the connection.  

  Sighing wearily, Ziel Kagura whipped open his fan, 
and ran air in circulation to his head.  There was 
something about yesterday's events that was causing 
him a lot of stress-- in combination, of actually 
beating the renowned martial artist Ranma Saotome, to 
losing track of Shizukauett Nekurow, and almost 
getting a taste of Deathclaw's deadly blast of wind 
that, thanks to Ziel's own wind, nearly got circulated 
past its concentrated area.  It was all he could do to 
keep it confined in the park once it began, and even 
then he was at risk of getting exposed himself.  Not to 
mention at least four guys who realized he beat Ranma 
wanted to make names for themselves by beating the one 
who beat Ranma, particularly since all of them 
perceived Ziel a frail loser.  

  He hated being in the enclosed subway; it was no 
box, but it seemed just as confining.  Ziel knew Shion 
knew he had a slight claustrophobia, and purposefully 
put his typical connection line in the subway station.  
It was, as Shion told him, a good way to keep the 
Wind-User alert through his arrogance.  

  The bastard was clever-- for a human.  Ziel Kagura, 
having come from a family descended from demons living 
at least four-hundred years ago, inherited the Wind 
Power, and such made him feel spt
-l.  Superior, even, 
to regular, lowborn humans.  Those that knew of his 
lineage, and misunderstood, thought he was a bastard 
from a bastard family... but each of them soon learned 
the error of their ways.  Ziel Kagura was simply 
superior to them, and he knew it.  He just had to make 
sure everybody else knew it.  

  Few earned the Wind-User's respect, much less 
attention.  As one of the founding members of the 
Inner Circle, the underworld organization of cyber- 
mercenaries and general no-do-wellers, Ziel had deep 
respect for both Shion Kagami and Kanna Rajura, the two 
other main founders.  Both of them were smart, and good 
at what they did; Shion had vision, and Kanna cunning, 
with both tempered by Ziel's gift.  He held a bit more 
respect for Kanna, in her ability to fight, but her 
earth-based techniques seemed limited in his eyes.  Of 
course, that was a simple mistake he made early on in 
their first formal battle, as Kanna's lack of 
technique was certainly made up by her tactical 
genius and planning; she was certainly fond of traps.  

  He first met Shizuka a lot sooner than the current 
job he was contracted for; Shion introduced her to the 
rest of the Inner Circle, and demanded that they give 
her the same treatment as they would give him.  The 
girl, of course, didn't want any of it, but she got it 
anyway, being the boss's girl.  It was well-known that 
she flat-out rejected joining the organization, as she 
preferred to work alone, and didn't appreciate the 
subterfuge involved.  

  Shizuka's arrogance proved to be an attractive point, 
after a fashion; Ziel and the priestess initially hated 
each other.  They hated each other for quite some time, 
as either saw the other as arrogant and stuck-up.  The 
turning point of all that turned out to be something 
unexpected-- the Shadow Weaver Hokuto  appeared and 
switched Shizuka's personality with that of a 
subconscious one, which was far nicer and pleasant to 
be around... yet, at the same time, scary.  Although it 
was the first time he understood that yes, she is a 
girl, Ziel also found that it was simply... not right.  
Of course, the switch was soon undone, and Shizuka was 
back to being ruthless as ever, but Ziel did take the 
effect to heart.  

  So much, in fact, because he himself felt the draw 
of another side of him, and it scared him.  The 
construct he put up for himself was one of order and 
control, whereas the other was a foundry of chaos and 
ruin.  Ziel heard tales of his ancestors-- more 
blooded that he is-- losing control of their Wind 
Power to their demonic blood.  Such was not an 
uncommon problem, Shizuka explained to him, as others 
with similar lineage have that type of problem.  Each 
one of them feared the other, more dangerous, 
subconscious personality.  

  Everyone was just fortunate that a full human like 
Shizuka had an incredibly stupid, if somewhat alluring, 
'other half.'  Shizuka not so affectionately calls it 
'Seraph,' because, oddly enough, she thinks she's 
evil.  

  He had no idea why he told her; it was, perhaps, his 
greatest secret, and perhaps his greatest weakness 
which nobody other than Kanna and Shion knew.  It was, 
however, something Shizuka understood completely, and 
Ziel kind of expected it.  She didn't laugh at him, 
nor did she blabber it to others; Shizuka merely 
patted him on the shoulder, told him, "I understand," 
and walked away quietly, as her name says.  He looked 
into her eyes for the first time that day, and knew 
that she shouldered a lot of ugly truths in her mind, 
yet remained her 'elegant self.'  Ziel didn't know what 
kind of crap she knew, but he was certain most people 
would have gone mad knowing what she knows.  

  Maybe that was why Shion was so obsessed over her.  

  Snapping his fan shut, Ziel looked for the nearest 
exit, and hoped those snooping girls won't find him.  

* * * 

Day 2 of Stage Two 

  Mousse found it exceedingly annoying to find one 
person.  

  H in,ng a road map of Japan out in front of him the 
Chinese martial artist stood in front of the entrance 
of the airport terminal, with Shampoo standing behind 
him, her arms folded, tapping her foot impatiently.  
It took the two of them quite some time to run across 
the length of China, then scrounge up enough money to 
get themselves to Tokyo from the mainland, and neither 
were looking forward to scrounging up the money for the 
trip back.  

  "What's taking so long?" Shampoo asked impatiently, 
trying her best not to seize the map from Mousse.  

  Adjusting his glasses nervously Mousse lost hold of 
part of the map, and quickly snapped it back before 
it fell too far.  "I told you we should've figured out 
the directions while we were on the airplane!"  

  Of course, he knew that was a useless suggestion; 
both martial artists slept the entire flight, having 
left in the middle of the night in order to get to 
Japan that morning.  That fault was partly his own, in 
his haste to chase down his quarry.  

  Mousse never felt the exhilaration since chasing 
Shampoo to Japan the first time; he was risking 
everything-- particularly his pride-- on chasing after 
a girl.  He wasn't certain as to what his feelings 
were this time, but the exhilaration was the same-- he 
enjoyed the hunt as much as achieving the prize.  

  Kanna Rajura served as an advisor to the amazon 
tribe during her stay in China, and her advice was very 
useful in keeping the village in one piece, what with 
the free-for-all going on in the Valley.  She took 
time-off from college in order to play out her 
fantasies, but, despite living in the middle of 
nowhere, she still brought along modern conveniences 
with her-- particularly a rather expensive-looking 
portable computer to keep connected with her friends 
back in Japan.  

  It was not that she was unadjusted to living a less- 
sophisticated lifestyle; Kanna 'adjusted well' after a 
few days of awkwardness.  Mousse himself knew she spent 
quite a bit of time to herself studying or writing 
home.  She never complained, nor asked for anything in 
return, but helped nevertheless.  She never complained 
of being homesick.  So it came to a surprise to him 
that Kanna suddenly disappeared from the village five 
days ago.  

  Kanna left, taking her belongings with her-- probably 
slipping out late in the night, or early in the 
morning.  No matter; she left a brief note at her bed 
with the contents: "Forgive me for leaving so suddenly; 
I must return home immediately.  You have very capable 
people here, and I'm thankful for your hospitality 
during my stay.  You guys can take care of yourselves 
from here on if you follow my previous suggestions.  
Thanks for everything.  Kanna."  

  Cologne understood the contents of the notes 
precisely, and advised Mousse not to go after her.  
Yet, moving against her wishes, he went after her 
anyway, unsure as to why himself.  The old hag sent 
Shampoo along to look after him, but Shampoo didn't 
seem to mind... too much.  

  He wondered why, exactly, she would want to come.  

  Shampoo's patience wore out at that moment, and 
Mousse realized the map was no longer in his hands.  

  She pointed her index finger away from the airport.  
"We're going that way!"  

* * * 

Mountain Retreat, Undisclosed Location 

  Kanna felt at peace with herself as she felt the 
rush of water over her head and shoulders.  She kept 
her eyes shut to the dawning day as the unpolluted 
mountain stream washed over her from over the side of 
a crag.  

  Her thoughts never drifted far when Shizuka beside 
her suddenly pulled herself from under the waterfall, 
yelling and screaming about the temperature.  

  Annoyed, the strategist opened her eyes to see the 
priestess knocking the water out of her soaked training 
gi uselessly-- it was a silly human habit.  The other 
girl shook her arms of water, then her head, probably 
with more incentive to get warm after the ice-cold 
mornin.. oower.  

  "So much for discipline," Kanna snorted, relaxing a 
bit in her seated position.  

  "It's COLD!" Shizuka complained, her voice echoing 
off in the distance.  Kanna was certain that roused a 
few animals that had not awakened yet.  

  "I can see why you need my help," the tactician 
noted.  "I can also see why you never succeeded your 
mentor's technique, and broke her sword."  

  "It's too much hard work," Shizuka said, folding 
her arms, and lowering her tone a notch.  "I'm too 
weak to fight like that."  

  "Then why are you trying?"  

  "Because if he can do it, so can I!"  

  "What kind of reasoning is that?!" Kanna asked, 
growing more annoyed.  "Most fighters don't ever fight 
on an even playing field!"  

  "They should!" the stubborn priestess replied.  "This 
is nothing like Chess."  

  "Of course it's not like Chess; Chess makes all sides 
even, giving the same pieces to each side.  Chess is a 
poor simulation of real battles, because nobody ever 
fights with the same exact pieces each time.  You're 
supposed to use what you have, and THEN win.  Plan 
ahead!"  

  "A lot of help that's going to do!" Shizuka cried.  

  Rising to a standing position, the falling water 
barely fazing her, Kanna sighed.  "You've got focus, 
and you've got your code of honor.  Of course, both of 
those mean nothing right now, because you lack any 
sort of discipline.  If you studied under my family's 
school, you would've quit the first day."  

  "I'm not a martial artist."  

  "Then STOP trying to fight like one!" Kanna yelled, 
her pent-up annoyance given life.  "Right now your code 
and focus are working against you.  You have a strong 
desire for an even match, and are so fixated on that 
you don't see any other options.  You asked me to kick 
the stool out from under you, so that's what I'm 
doing.  I didn't fly all the way out here to help just 
anybody; I came here because I want to help a friend 
that's dear to me."  

  She pointed to the position next to her, where 
Shizuka sat earlier.  "Now shut up, sit down, and 
think about what else you can do."  

  Shizuka grumbled to herself, staring at Kanna for 
several moments.  Uncertain as to what the priestess 
would do next, Kanna shrugged, and resumed her seated 
position.  Closing her eyes, she felt the other girl 
move to take back her position under the waterfall 
again.  

  "We both know that's a lie," the priestess said, 
settling in, "so there's no use maintaining such a 
pretense."  

  This is definitely going to take a while, she 
decided, talking to herself.  Shizuka is strong; I 
know it.  Her sharp tongue and mind are proof enough of 
that; she has all the puzzle pieces in front of her.  
It is only a matter of time before she figures it out 
on her own.  She's just too fixated on her self-image 
of weakness to realize it.  Until she can stop thinking 
of herself like that, she'll never beat anybody.  

* * * 

Courtyard, Shrine of the Four Gods 

 paidKanna was stressing-out over training Shizuka, 
Mizuki was having her own problems dealing with Ranma.  

  She watched as the martial artist attacked one of 
her juniors, Reiko Shiwasu, in vain.  Long before the 
mock battle began the younger priestess erected an 
energy field around herself, and for that Mizuki was 
pleased.  A good defense was critical for those who 
could not take much punishment.  

  Yet, that hardly seemed to dawn on Ranma, who got 
electrocuted by the egg-shaped field around the girl, 
then sent flying back several meters.  He entered into 
an attack with punches, kicks, body slams, and even 
threw a chunk of rock from around one of the craters 
he made in the courtyard.  The rock even bounced off 
the shield and nearly beaned him, too.  

  This was how Ranma wanted it; he said Ziel's air 
shield possessed such qualities... save for the shock 
field.  Mizuki devised the shock field on her own, 
observing that smart creatures usually don't like 
touching the field on purpose.  

  She began to doubt the young man had any.  

  "Are we done yet?" Reiko asked, bored.  "I've got to 
feed my gerbil."  

  Mizuki winced, reminded that Shizuka's boa 
constrictor ate the girl's last pet when Thanatos let 
himself out of Shizuka's room.  In fact, said snake was 
in Mizuki's room right now, and she began to wonder if 
the escape artist was going to work again.  Thanatos 
somehow managed to slide doors open and break open 
locked cages easily, but so far, nobody knew how he did 
it.  

  She hoped he wasn't planning on eating the gerbil; 
Reiko wanted to flay the snake alive enough as is, and 
Mizuki didn't know how much longer she could keep 
Thanatos out of trouble while Shizuka was gone.  

  "No," Ranma said, getting back to his feet for the 
umpteenth time that morning, wiping his chin with the 
back of his hand.  "No one's gettin' breakfast until I 
get through!"  

  Mizuki held out her left wrist, and pulled back her 
sleeve.  "Speaking of breakfast, I think it's time to 
take a break.  Fast."  

  "Can't you guys give me a hint?" Ranma complained.  
"I mean, if your shields were this good, shouldn't 
there be more of you guys running around?"  

  "Very good," the high priestess said, nodding.  "You 
did notice something after all.  Of course, you still 
haven't figured out what."  

  "Yeah, that's right," he remembered.  "I don't need 
any hints."  

  "Make up your mind already!" the junior priestess 
moaned, stomping in place as if she needed to pee 
badly.  

  Ranma smirked, cupping his arms in front of him.  
"Heh, well, maybe if physical attacks don't work so 
well, how about...."  Throwing his arms out, he cried, 
"Moko Takabisha!"  

  That was more than enough to have Reiko running for 
cover, as the energy ball, although small in size, 
rocketed toward her.  The junior priestess threw 
herself onto the ground, the solid air projectile 
rushing overhead, continuing until it slammed into the 
opposing wall of the courtyard Ranma faced.  

  And yet, even though he missed, Ranma seemed to gain 
a bit of confidence.  

  "Well, now we're gettin' somewhere!" he proclaimed.  

  "Are you certain?" questioned Mizuki, taking 
deliberate steps toward the martial artist.  "Perhaps 
Reiko was simply scared of your unforeseen attack.  
Perhaps the shock made her waver in her position."  

  "Or perhaps it can pass through the field," Ranma 
chipped in.  "C'mon, people who routinely use fields 
like that know their limits.  She was afraid of solid 
air," he added, jabbing a thumb at Reiko.  "So maybe 
I'm on the right track."  

  "Maybe," Mizuki conceded, unwilling to encourage the 
young Saotome further at the moment.  "Perhaps you can 
think about it... over breakfast."  

  "Breakfast sounds nice," another said, butting into 
the conversation.  

  Both Mizuki and Ranma's attentions were fixed on the 
newcomer.  

  "Hey," Ranma said, his voice betraying both surprise 
and elation, "what are you doing here?"  

  Ukyo Kuonji smiled in her infectious manner-- the 
one Mizuki remembered from their previous encounter-- 
and folded her hands behind her back, behind the large 
spatula slung over her shoulder.  "Nice seeing you 
again, Ranchan."  

  "I was unaware you were expecting guests," Mizuki 
said, directing her comments toward Ranma.  "I thought 
you didn't want to be disturbed by your friends."  

  But he was already at Ukyo's side, leading her by 
her left arm.  "How about some breakfast?  I've worked 
up an appetite...."  

  "You look kind of beat up," Ukyo said, sounding a bit 
concerned.  "Everybody's been looking for you."  

  "Eh, I've been training, that's all," he replied, 
shrugging.  "I'm sure they'll understand."  

  Mizuki sighed, falling in behind the two friends as 
they lead her to the eating section.  She looked back 
in Reiko's direction, but she was already headed back 
to the North Tower to check on her gerbil... or regain 
her composure.  

* * * 

  "I'm the only one that knows you're here," Ukyo 
explained at the table, watching Ranma eat his second 
helping.  She glanced in Mizuki's direction.  "Well, 
except you guys, of course."  

  "Of course," the high priestess replied neutrally.  

  "Just so long as Akane doesn't know," Ranma said, 
stuffing his face.  "This stuff is so good...."  

  "Why's that so much of a problem?" the okonomiyaki 
chef asked, her expression betraying confusion.  "I 
thought you two were past those things."  

  "It's just I don't want to drag her into this," Ranma 
answered.  "I've got to show everybody that I can do 
things by myself, and I can still win."  

  Ukyo nodded, remembering that Ranma lost his last 
two formal duels with Kanna and Miranda.  Although 
Kanna didn't see hers a victory, either, Ranma was 
counted as having lost.  It didn't help that Miranda, 
the other opponent, was lording over her victory.  In 
the following events Ranma wasn't given time to 
challenge Kanna a second time before she left the 
country, and last she heard Miranda refused to battle, 
feeling too good about herself to risk losing.  The 
issue was most definitely pride.  

  If pride was a sin, then Ukyo herself was a glaring 
beacon of it.  There wasn't anything wrong with having 
some kind of pride....  

  "I won't get in your way," she promised.  "If it's 
really that important to you, I won't tell the 
others where you are."  

  "You don't have to go away," Ranma said quickly, 
forcing down the contents of his mouth to make himself 
clear.  "I mean, you came out this far... so you may 
as well stay."  

  "Is that all?" Ukyo replied with a sly smile.  "I 
thought maybe it was because of my cooking."  

  "Umm... that, too," he admitted.  

* * * 

  Mizuki folded her arms as she leaned against the 
doorframe, with Ukyo standing beside her.  Both watched 
Ranma rush out back into the courtyard, testing for 
himself on how large he could make his energy bullet 
ats in moment.  For all the high priestess knew he was 
trying to make it bigger.  

  "So who told you?" she asked finally, having noted 
that Ranma never asked the question himself.  

  "Shion did," Ukyo answered quickly.  Shrugging, she 
added, "I don't know why I trusted him, but I guess it 
paid off."  

  "I'm not surprised," Mizuki said, nodding.  "Shion 
certainly does have a way of getting information."  

  "He's also looking for Shizuka, who also disappeared 
the day before Ranma," the okonomiyaki chef added.  
"So, do you know where she is?"  

  "That would be telling," came the canned response.  

  "So you're not going to tell me."  

  "Nope."  

  Ukyo sighed.  "It's not just him, you know.  Lots of 
people in Tokyo are looking for Ranma.  I heard from 
Shion that Akane's been recruiting help in her search, 
because she doesn't know where to look."  

  "It's only a matter of time," Mizuki said.  "I hope 
Ranma is finished before Akane finds him."  

  "Why?"  

  "Ranma's thoughts always go back to Akane," she 
explained.  "In effect, it's somewhat of a distraction 
to him.  All of you people are, actually, which is why 
he wants to get away.  He believes he lost his recent 
duels because he relied too much on others to 
supplement his fighting abilities, and now Ranma wants 
to be able to stand on his own again.  Kanna and 
Miranda were within his reach, but Ziel was far beyond 
his current ability.  He needs a few days to catch-up 
for the rematch."  

  "I don't remember him doing that for a long time," 
Ukyo noted, impressed by her old friend.  "I always 
thought, in the past months, Ranma's been losing his 
touch, but the more I see him today, the more I 
remember how it used to be that first year I stayed in 
Tokyo."  

  "Ranma needs strong opponents like this Ziel," she 
continued.  "I think, if it wasn't for people like us, 
and maybe a few others along the way, Ranma wouldn't be 
what he is right now.  Martial arts is what he truly 
excels at."  

  "It will take more than drive for Ranma to beat 
someone like Ziel," Mizuki countered.  "From what I 
heard about him he won without contest, and has a far 
greater range of abilities than most of the training 
magicians here have."  

  "Except for Shizuka?" Ukyo asked.  She wondered if 
the girl that hated her guts meant anything in the 
big picture.  

  "Shizuka has her own problems," Mizuki stated.  "Her 
problems are far different from Ranma's.  She is very 
able, but doesn't know how to apply herself.  The god 
Genbu wants her, but Shizuka herself isn't ready."  

  Ukyo nodded silently.  Gaining the power of a kami 
lord such as Genbu was the primary reason Shizuka was 
jealous of her.  It was demonstrated to all that Ukyo 
could easily attain the dragon god Seiryu's Guardian 
power, as Cinder had done with Suzaku, but it was not 
apparent if Shizuka herself could achieve such power.  
Therefore, she was extremely jealous-- to the point 
where Shizuka would attack or insult Ukyo on the 
basis of a possibility.  

  Yet, Mizuki seemed to know it was fact, and Ukyo 
realized she was entrusted with crucial information 
that Shizuka wasn't supposed to know.  At least, not 
yet; Shizuka is literally a storehouse of truths once 
she learns of them, and often behaves strangely because 
of it.  If she knew ahead of time she would definitely 
succeed in the Guardian power, there was no telling 
how it would affect her.  

  Knowing such things ahead of time could alter the 
outcome, Ukyo knew, having actively resisted the 
opportunity to take Seiryu's power for her own.  

* * * 

Inner Circle 

  It felt good to be in his own office.  Shion moved 
his base of operations out of his bedroom only weeks 
earlier, as he was sick of having his mother complain 
about him, a college student, lacking any discernable 
source of income.  The master of the Inner Circle 
claimed to have the option of 'working at home,' but 
she didn't believe him when Shion cher n't come up 
with a 'big name' company.  Only Chika in his familial 
unit was privy to Shion's private company, and source 
of income; he was uncertain as to what his mother and 
step-father would think about it.  

  In any case it now appeared that he wasn't shutting 
himself out of the world; moving the office gave the 
impression that Shion had a life outside his computer.  

  Leaning back in his favorite leather captain's chair 
Shion lazily rolled the mouse on the desk, and opened 
his primary tools that contained the information that 
would dictate the schedule of the day.  

  He found many reports waiting for him on minor 
tidbits on the 'Search for Ranma Saotome,' along with 
three job offers, a status report on a side project, 
and a number of warning flags of other people trying to 
hack into his network, with none of them getting past 
the first router in Paris.  

  Shion fondly remembered one fool managed to get 
through to the third router, who eventually became oneand f his agents.  He appreciated inventive initiative 
out of his co-workers, as the same fool's purpose is to 
help keep other such fools out of the Inner Circle's 
private network.  Such inventiveness brought people 
such as Nabiki Tendo into the fold as well, although 
Chika entered more by accident than anything.  

  Amidst the reported multiple inquiries as to the 
whereabouts of one Ranma Saotome all over Tokyo, Shion 
caught wind of a more important piece of information.  

  Some time ago two Chinese people appeared at Kanna's 
apartment that she lived in while attending school; she 
did earn enough money to afford living beyond the 
dorms, after all.  Of course, neither one was met with 
any sort of response, as the house was empty ever since 
Kanna went on extended leave to China.  It was up to 
Shion to watch over the house while she was gone, and 
his installed monitoring equipment alerted him of the 
two Chinese that should have been with Kanna in the 
first place.  

  Beside visual confirmation, he also picked up an 
audio sample from her front door; it was definitely 
Mousse, who specified that he had no clue as to where 
Kanna could be, if she wasn't home.  The martial artist 
theorized she could have gone to her parents, but the 
other, Shampoo, refused to believe it, citing that 
Kanna did buy tickets for Tokyo, as Kanna's parents 
lived elsewhere.  

  It was worth knowing that Shampoo and Mousse were 
back in town, but Shion found it puzzling that Kanna 
was back in Japan, too.  His quick check of the 
records at the airport indicated that no one under 
Kanna's name, or any of her usual aliases, arrived on 
any flight over the past ten days.  Shion considered 
going back farther, or extending his search to other 
airports in other cities, finally considering looking 
for her point of origin instead.  

  There could be a number of places Kanna could have 
gone to, but there was only so many places she could 
have taken off from.  That was assuming, of course, she 
was even in Japan, but those two martial artists were 
good enough reason to believe that she was indeed in 
the country.  Although their tribe appears rather 
primitive by today's standards, Shampoo and Mousse did 
have some uncanny knack at getting around when they 
wanted to.  

  He had to give their tracking ability some credit, 
too; it sounded similar to the tale of Shampoo's first 
trip to Japan.  Shion paused to consider if such an odd 
tale had truth to it, after all.  

  Discarding such thoughts the master of the Inner 
Circle sat up in his captain's chair, and cracked his 
knuckles over the keyboard.  It was time to hack into 
the records of Chinese airports.  If Kanna was intended 
to go to Tokyo, but, for some reason or another 
changed plans, then the answer would likely be at the 
point of departure.  

  Shion hoped he didn't have to dig very far, or this 
side-project would detract from finding Shizuka, or 
ditching the people after Ziel for him.  

* * * 

Front Door, Tendo Household 

  "So I asked a friend of mine," Miranda explained, 
standing just outside the door speaking with Akane.  
"Supposedly some guy matching the description of your 
friend took off on a west-bound train."  

  "And?"  Akane hardly saw what was so significant 
about the information, since Tokyo was as far east in 
the country as you could go.  

  "He bought a ticket heading out for Kyoto," the 
martial artist explained.  "Unless you can think of a 
place where your hubby likes hanging out over there, I 
can only think of one place out there."  

  "Which is?" she asked anxiously.  

  "There's a mountain retreat out there I used to go 
to," Miranda continued.  "You know... one of those old 
Shinto shrines out in the middle of nowhere.  Only 
crazy people go out to places like that these days, so 
it's relatively quiet and nobody's there to bother 
you.  I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."  

  Akane looked back inside, considering.  Although 
school was still in session and she was ready to go to 
class when Miranda arrived the thought of seeing Ranma 
again interested her more.  She already had her 
decision made a day ago, after all.  

  "Well, what're we waiting for?" she answered, 
knowing it would only take a few seconds to get her 
pre-prepared travel gear ready.  

  Miranda smiled, amused.  "I thought you'd say that."  

* * * 

  "I'm sorry," Kasumi said, standing in the same place 
where Akane was before while she was entertaining 
Miranda earlier that morning, "but Ranma isn't here.  
You just missed Akane, too."  

  "I see," Mousse said, discouraged.  

  Beside him, Shampoo maintained her composure.  "Where 
did they go?"  

  Kasumi shook her head.  "I don't know.  You know how 
younger people are these days."  

  Glad that he was wearing his glasses, Mousse's eyes 
narrowed, with the self-imagined concealment of 
contempt from the young woman standing in the door.  
"Right...."  

  "If Ranmate tAkane come back," the other Chinese 
warrior said, "let us know."  She handed Kasumi a 
folded piece of paper, which Mousse knew contained 
the location of their current rented rooms.  

  "Sorry to bother you," he added, waving as he turned 
to leave.  

  Mousse sighed, knowing he was running out of options 
in his search.  For whatever reason Ranma and Akane 
were not available to help him; it seemed as if either 
nobody saw Kanna ever since she left for China, or the 
people he turned to for help were vanishing as well; 
Mousse wasn't desperate enough to contact the Kunos or 
Kusao-- the only other big martial artists left in 
town-- just yet.  Something was definitely happening, 
to say the least.  

  It was only a matter of time before he would become 
a part of it, he knew.  

* * * 

Mishima Estate, Guest Room 

  For a long while, Nekurow thought it was a dream, 
but the freshly-prepared meal on the dining cart beside 
his bead was real.  

  He could not recall whenof hwas brought in, yet the 
dark hunter remembered that girl-- Ayame-- bringing 
it in only moments before.  Yes, she was real, too.  

  It was breakfast, of course.  Nekurow could not 
recall the last time someone made him breakfast.  

  Sitting up in bed, he saw that his clothes, gear, and 
sword, were in the same place as before.  The morning 
sunlight was peaking through curtains nearly shut 
tight over a window, illuminating the room slowly.  

  Nekurow tensed in alertness when the door opened.  
Instinctively, he reached to his side, but realized 
too late that his sword was very out of reach.  

  That girl-- Ayame-- peeked inside.  "Oh, you're 
awake?"  

  She stared Nekurow, seemingly waiting for a response.  
Remaining cold-faced, he said nothing to the newcomer.  

  Letting herself inside, the girl, dressed in a 
long-skirt sailor suit school uniform, held her book 
bag out in front of her with both hands nervously.  Her 
eyes darted toward the sword, as if she expected it to 
leap out at her.  She introduced herself, "I just 
wanted to see how you were before I went to school."  

  "I'm... fine."  

  "I... I'm glad to hear that," she replied nervously.  
"You were pretty beat-up when I found you."  

  "You found me?"  

  "Yeah.  You broke through three walls, you know."  

  "It doesn't hurt," he assured her.  

  "Just rest and relax, okay?" Ayame suggested.  
"You don't have to tell me what happened; I get beat 
up all the time.  I won't tell anybody."  

  The girl's words reminded Nekurow of his mission.  
"Does anybody beside you and your friend know that I'm 
here?" he asked, fearing that the Wind-User might 
capitalize on his momentary weakness.  

  "Well... just my friends," Ayame answered.  "Nobody's 
said anything about you, really."  

  Her eyes passed down to the dining cart.  "I think 
you'd better finish that, 'kay?"  

  Nekurow tore his eyes off the girl, and down to the 
dining cart.  "How immediate are your needs to be in 
school?"  

  "Huh?"  

  "If you're not in a hurry, stay freely.  I don't 
have company often."  

  "Umm... are you sure?" she asked, becoming far more 
nervous than before.  "I'm not really into older 
guys... I'm just concerned...."  

  "I just want company," he assured her.  "I've eaten 
alone every day for as long as I care to remember.  
No strings attached."  

  That seemed to calm her down a bit.  Ayame walked 
over to the chair near the Orochi Sword, and put her 
book bag down.  "Well... okay, but no funny stuff, you 
hear?  I'm a whiz at Martial Arts Rhythmic 
Gymnastics.  Kodachi's training me personally."  

  "I see," Nekurow said.  "Then why do you fear being 
'beat up?'"  

  "Oh."  That seemed to stop Ayame in her tracks.  
"Well... she and the other big martial artists can 
still beat me up when they want to.  Miranda does it 
all the time.  I'm still better than most of my team, 
though."  

  "Congratulations," he replied.  "You've taken the 
first withs to rectifying your mistakes.  Yet, you're 
still making a critical mistake."  

  "Huh?  What mistakes?"  

  "What is good is that you're trying to make up for 
your weakness.  What is wrong is you're still getting 
into fights you know you will lose."  

  "It's not like I choose when she beats me up!" Ayame 
complained.  

  "And why would this Miranda want to fight you?"  

  "Because Kodachi's teaching me how to fight, and I'm 
her friend.  Miranda is one of Kodachi's oldest 
enemies."  

  "Guilt by association," Nekurow noted.  "There is no 
avoiding it."  

  "But, thing is, she always tries to pick me off 
while I'm by myself," Ayame added, looking away.  "I 
mean, if one of my other friends jumps in, too, Miranda 
runs off and waits until I'm alone again.  She does 
this to Kodachi, too... and this way she never finishes 
her fights."  

  "Miranda sounds like someone I know," the hunter 
said neutrally.  "A warrior with a burning passion 
for what she does, and the ability to do it."  

  "But it's not fun being beat on all the time," 
Ayame pointed out.  "It's almost like a game now; I 
don't think even Miranda remembers why she's doing it.  
I know Kodachi doesn't know.  It's so ancient history 
to both of them that they could be friends if they 
weren't enemies.  It's like they're enemies solely for 
the sheer heck of it."  

* * * 

Waterfall, Mountain Retreat 

  Kanna held her double-bladed polearm ready as she 
waited for Shizuka to initiate her attack.  The cool 
stream leading away from the cascading falls nearby 
ran up to her ankles-- a condition which hampered 
movement slightly, but one which Kanna was used to.  

  Shizuka held her remaining Viper sword with both 
hands, holding the weapon low as she took hardened 
breaths.  She raised the blade, letting out a war cry, 
and kicked up water as she charged toward Kanna.  

  Raising up the length of the metal pole to block 
Kanna easily parried the overhead strike, leaving the 
blades extended at each end.  Although the death scythe 
had a built-in mechanism that allowed both blades to 
curl into scythe positions, and it would make short 
work of Shizuka's failed attack, such was not the 
purpose of the exercise.  

  "You hit like a girl," the tactician noted, sounding 
bored.  

  "Shut up!" the priestess seethed.  "Stop holding 
back on me!  I can beat you whenever I want!"  

  "Then stop saying you'll beat me and BEAT ME!"  Kanna 
roared, heaving Shizuka back and away with the force 
behind her polearm.  

  The priestess of Genbu staggered back several steps, 
then fell over backward into the stream, losing her 
grip on her sword.  The cool water washed away beads of 
sweat pouring down the girl's face as she sat up, and 
reached for her submerged weapon.  

  "Don't bother," Kanna told her, "we're done for now."  

  As she turned to leave, Shizuka shouted, "Get back 
here!  I'm not through with you yet!"  

  Glancing over her shoulder, the tactici toodded, 
"Maybe if you spent less time talking and more time 
practicing maybe you could beat me.  Maybe.  It would 
take someone like you years to best someone like me."  

  "I don't have ten years," Shizuka hissed, standing 
on her knees.  "And beside that, talking is what I 
do."  

  "Yes, I know," she replied, nodding.  "All talk and 
no technique."  

  "Fuck it!" the priestess yelled, flipping the birdie.  
"You're not helping me at all!  You're ENJOYING this!"  

  "To an extent, yes.  But you're just pathetic.  I 
don't know why I'm trying to train you.  It hasn't 
been a week and you're already throwing the towel."  

  "Yeah, you just walk away!  I'll wipe that smirk off 
your face and show you how bad I really am!"  

  "Emphasize 'bad' more."  

  Turning away, Kanna heard Shizuka slam a fist back 
into the water angrily.  Shouldering her death scythe 
she left Shizuka to wallow in her self-pity, heading 
back to the cabin.  

  What in hell does she think this is? a m wondered.  
Shizuka's definitely not a quick learner like Ranma or 
Miranda are, and she refuses every training technique 
I can think of.  She has the killing instinct, 
certainly, but she'll never be able to kill anything.  

* * * 

Courtyard, Shrine of the Four Gods 

  To Mizuki, it appeared as if Reiko finally got the 
idea that she wasn't going to get hurt from Ranma's 
little exercise.  

  Just after lunch Ranma announced he was ready to 
try again.  Although she was unwilling to go out again 
Mizuki managed to convince Reiko to act as a target 
again.  She knew the junior priestess really minded 
about getting slammed for no good reason, but Mizuki 
assured her that Ranma would not bring her to harm.  

  Of course, Mizuki didn't mean it in the way events 
were turning out.  Ranma Saotome, despite having worked 
up the confidence to assail Reiko with numerous large 
ki energy balls, could not penetrate Reiko's barrier, 
which was at the same strength as before breakfast.  
Reiko realized that Ranma couldn't do what he wanted, 
and relaxed her tension.  In fact, as time passed she 
looked anxious to be elsewhere, eager to satisfy her 
boredom.  

  Beside the high priestess Ukyo was shaking her head.  
"You'd think he'd try something else."  

  "He has the right idea," Mizuki replied, "but he's 
not going to pierce through a defensive barrier with 
a blunt projectile."  

  "I take that's another hint I shouldn't be 
dispensing?" the okonomiyaki chef assumed.  

  "I'm certain Ranma will discover this sooner or 
later.  It's better if he devises the means himself."  

  "With him, yeah," agreed Ukyo.  "Although it doesn't 
hurt to help him along, you know."  

  "Nobody appreciates my help, anyway."  

  Mizuki heard a ringing sound, realizing it was from 
her cell phone.  Pulling it out of her pocket, she 
silently excused herself from Ukyo's company, and 
switched it on.  "Mizuki."  

  "Hey," came a familiar voice from the other end of 
the connection.  "It's me."  

  "Oh?"  Mizuki raised an eyebrow, recognizing Kanna 
Rajura's voice.  "I wasn't expecting to hear from you 
this soon."  

  "Your little friend is pouting," she reported.  "I 
tried my best, but everything I tried just makes her 
more mad and full of herself.  Since she thinks she 
knows what's best for her, she rejected all of my own 
training techniques and struck off on her own."  Kanna 
sighed, weary.  "I'm not sure why I came out here if 
she's going to act like a spoiled brat."  

  "You're doing her a favor," Mizuki pointed out.  "In 
fact, you're doing exactly what Shizuka wanted you to 
do."  

  "What?"  There was an obvious tone of confusion from 
the tactician.  "I thought you wanted me to get her to 
learn your Shimozuki succession techniques or 
something."  

  "You're giving her the motivation to better herself," 
the high priestess explained, pleased with the results 
of Shizuka's 'emergency' training.  "Shizuka 
unconsciously knows she nbody help in this; she doesn't 
necessarily consciously recognize it."  

  "I'll let you in on a little secret, Kanna: there is 
no such thing as a Shimozuki-style.  Traced all the way 
back to my samurai ancestor, who first used the Viper 
swords, each member of the Shimozuki family devised 
their own method of fighting, tailoring it to their 
own needs and abilities.  It's actually because my 
ancestor never taught his technique to anybody, so each 
of his descendants had to teach themselves.  That is 
the 'school;' Shizuka needs to find a way of combat 
most suited to herself, and she won't be able to do 
that unless she wants to.  No one can tell her how to 
fight, and that's what makes the 'style' so powerful; 
it's as strong as the person behind it."  

  "Sounds quite similar to Saotome's style," Kanna 
noted.  "Except there's absolutely no structure.  All 
of it puts faith in the user and not in discipline."  

  "In principle, perhaps... but isn't the true strength 
of any martial art the wielder at its core?"  Mizuki 
chuckled to herself.  "I tried to teach her my own 
technique long ago, but of course Shizuka thought she 
knew what was best.  I'm glad she recognized its nature 
even then-- that proves her worthiness of the 
succession technique."  

  "So your 'no-style' succession technique is a self- 
discovered fighting style?" Kanna said, piecing 
together the puzzle.  "So what the heck is she going 
to do?"  

  "I don't know," Mizuki admitted.  "Shizuka is 
primarily motivated to being 'right;' she won't stop 
until she's proven that her self-discovered technique 
can beat yours, or until she's satisfied she can beat 
Nekurow.  It could take days; it could take weeks. It 
could take a few hours.  In any case, you'll know when 
it happens.  Keep an eye on her in the meantime; 
Shizuka is her own worst enemy as well as her greatest 
ally.  She needs all the allies she can get."  

  "She's crazy; what makes you think I won't?  And how 
about Ranma Saotome?" the tactician asked.  "How's he 
holding up?"  

  "He's making progress, but not as fast as I hoped.  
He might be here a while longer."  

  "Maybe we should put our two pet projects together," 
Kanna suggested.  

  Mizuki reflexively shook her head, even though she 
knew Kanna couldn't see it.  "They will do so when each 
of them want to.  It's not good to put enemies together 
as sparring partners, not at this critical stage, at 
least."  

  "No pointing games, huh?"  

  The high priestess glanced back at Ranma, who looked 
exhausted.  Ukyo was already making her way to help 
him, and Reiko had long since vanished.  "If Ukyo is 
any indication, I don't think he'll be running out of 
friends anytime soon, either.  They will come to us, 
just as each of them will come to each other.  We 
don't need to do anything; events have been ordained 
for us without our input.  We just have to make sure 
things go in the right directions."  

* * * 

Central Park, Afternoon 

  Ziel kept his right arm behind his back always, 
within reach of the folded fan sheathed on the back of 
his belt as he surveyed the damage from two days ago.  
The stone fountain at the center once sprinkled water 
into the air freely, but, since the pool below it was 
cracked in many places, the head was shut-off as the 
pool always drained.  Concrete walkways were upheavaled 
and pieces strewn about in random locations dictated 
by Ziel's own wind.  Whole areas of grass, bushes, and 
trees became so much kindling, as columns of the 
greenery were aged and killed instantly by Deathclaw's 
deadly breath weapon.  

  No one who used to frequent walks in the park came 
to the battleground, and it was considered off-limits 
by the authorities.  However, Ziel did not simply 
walk in; he descended directly into the park without 
ever having to deal with the people along the park's 
borders.  

  The Wind-User did not come for nostalgia, but rather 
to choose an enclosed battleground.  

  "Show yourself," Ziel hissed, his eyes scanning the 
shadows around him.  "You've been watching me this 
whole time, fiend; the charade ends now!"  

  "As you wish," the dark one answered, emerging from 
behind a tree.  

  The newcomer was not much taller than Ziel, but hid 
most of his features under a hooded gray cloak, his 
hands folded under his loose sleeves.  Although he 
carried the airs of a monk the Wind-User knew this one 
was more than he appeared.  

  "I should have known that a descendant of demonic 
blood could sense me," the hooded one said.  "Unlike 
most other demons haunting this Earth your line 
survives because your ancestors were strong of will."  

  "Why have you been stalking me?" Ziel demanded, 
unsheathing his fan.  "Are you a friend of Ranma 
Saotome, like the others?"  

  The hooded one laughed.  "Sadly, this is not true.  
He would be my enemy, if he knew of my existence.  But 
that is neither here nor there; I engineered all these 
events so I could get, 
you."  

  "I'm flattered you think so much of me."  

  "Your bloodline's true potential is sealed by your 
frail human nature!  I will harness this power, and 
use it to seize the Orochi Sword that Nekurow 
possesses."  

  "If you've engineered events," Ziel said, pointing 
his folded fan at his opponent, "then why couldn't you 
have taken it from your patsy then?"  

  The dark one snorted in amusement.  "You guestimate 
too much, but correctly.  It was I who sent Nekurow 
the Hunter after you.  I needed a way to draw you out 
into the open.  During your previous battle I could 
attune to your biorhythms, which makes it easier to 
track you down.  I expected you to defeat Nekurow 
yourself, but that girl Shizuka is more than I 
expected."  

  "Nekurow got beaten up," Ziel pointed out.  "Why 
don't you take his sword now?"  

  "The black hunter is not a frail human," the hooded 
one said.  "Even in his weakened condition his survival 
instincts could easily overwhelm me."  

  "So what makes you think you can handle me?" Ziel 
said, feeling confident.  "If you can't hold a candle 
to Nekurow, then you're no match for me!"  He flicked 
his wrist, opening his fan.  

  The hooded one unfolded his arms, and held out a 
bone rod in his left hand, which, from Ziel's 
perspective, looked as if it had a number of holes 
drilled into its length, and the bone hollowed.  He 
could almost make out a smile under the hood.  

  "There was more than tracking you in the first 
battle," the enemy added, assuming airs that puzzled 
Ziel.  "You would never kill Nekurow because of your 
human frailty.  I read your rhythm... and I will seize 
that, and reorchestrate it into the perfect weapon!"  

* * * 

  It pained to watch... to observe... while the hooded 
enemy raised his bone flute to his mouth as Ziel 
Kagura spun off three tornados.  It hurt to listen to 
the sound that issued from the enchanted flute, and it 
hurt even more to watch Ziel stagger in pain.  The 
Wind-User dropped his fan, and was clutching his head 
in pain.  

  Hokuto Takemasa, the Shadow Weaver, could stand it 
no longer as she drifted off into her own shadow, 
unable to watch Ziel succumb to the flute's power.  
Although her order strictly forbid intervention on 
the affairs of men Hokuto discarded such notions long 
ago, and is considered a renegade for involving herself 
in past events.  It was far too lonely and painful to 
endure the suffering of others when wrongs can be made 
right.  

  In her order, the power of shadow was not something 
to be used recklessly for personal want or gain.  

  "Something must be done," she decided, "and fast."  



----------------------------------------------- 

Author's Rant  

  Stay tuned for more.  Several scenes were edited from 
the previous version.  


-- Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NYChotmail.com) 
www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/ranma/ranff.html 

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