========================= RELENTLESS A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction By Grayson Towler ========================= ----------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER FIVE: Boiling Point ----------------------------------------------------------- Akane drifted in a dark sea somewhere below the reaches of consciousness, oblivious to the passage of time. She was in a strange nether zone between dreaming and lucidity, unwilling to move towards awakening for fear of what she might find there. "'Cause you just pounded yourself with a big rock, stupid." It was Ranma's voice, of course. Akane concentrated on the source of the words, straining to pierce the gauzy darkness of her own unconscious. At first, he was just a red and black smudge in her mind's eye, but he gradually came into focus as he continued to speak. "What the heck were you thinkin', you dummy?" Ranma taunted. "You coulda killed yourself with that crazy stunt!" Ranma snorted disdainfully. "Brilliant idea, Akane. You really made your point this time." "Some help it's gonna be when I come home and find they're keepin' what's left of you in a jelly jar! Are you nuts? Is that it?" Akane felt as if her soul were constricting with grief and shame. Why was he always so cruel? Why did he have to tease her like that? Couldn't he see that she was trying to... She thought she caught a glimpse of movement in the darkness behind Ranma. There was a brief flash, like light glinting off a flat steel surface, and a sweep of long dark hair, tied up with a white bow. She heard the faint echo of Ukyou's laughter. Ranma took a brief glance over his shoulder, then shrugged. "Aw c'mon, Akane. If she'd been around when I left, I'd have told her the same thing I told you. She don't have any more business followin' me than you do. I can handle my own problems, Akane. You just stay outta my way." "What, that Ucchan's with me?" Ranma smirked. "At least we'll eat better on the road with her around." He just never missed an opportunity to ride her about her cooking, did he? Anger crackled through Akane's mind like red lightning, arcing through the darkness in visible streaks. Ranma seemed unimpressed. "Yeah, yeah, get all bent out of shape 'cause I'm tellin' you what a lousy cook you are. It's better than thinkin' about how stupid you were to try that moronic bakusai ten-ketsu trainin'. You are gonna stop, right? I mean, you realize that you're just gonna get smashed to a pulp if you keep it up, don't you?" Ranma threw his hands into the air, exasperated. "You are such a macho idiot, Akane! You gotta be the most stubborn, pig-headed, narrow-minded, plug-ugly, tomboyish excuse for a girl that I ever..." "What makes you think YOU can learn it?!" Ranma yelled at her. "You've bitten off more than you can chew! If you don't get that through your thick skull, you're gonna end up splattered all over that damned rock!" "Akane-san." Another voice pierced the veil of blackness, strong and gentle in her mind. She focused in on its source, and a figure coalesced through her dark mental haze. The image of her friend that snapped into focus was representative of her finest memories of Hibiki Ryouga. This was not the Ryouga that was always awkward and shy around her, nor the angry boy who had fought Ranma on so many occasions. This was the Ryouga who had helped train her, once when she had needed to face Kodachi on the Kunou girl's own turf, and once again to regain her place as heir to the Tendou dojo after she had lost it to her false sisters. This was a Ryouga who was confident and supportive, who encouraged her and helped her believe in herself. It was a voice she desperately needed to hear right now. "The road is hard, Akane-san," Ryouga said. "You must realize that you are not as strong as I was when I underwent the bakusai ten-ketsu training. It will take you longer to complete the regimen... and it will be very, very hard." Ranma and Ryouga answered almost simultaneously: "You're outta your mind." "I have faith in you, Akane-san." Neither of them had answered her question. They were both silent for a while, regarding each other with questioning looks. She knew that they were both just dream-images, but for the moment they seemed so real that she felt she could almost reach out and touch them. She waited anxiously for them to answer. Finally, they both shrugged, then answered as one: "I don't know." She knew she shouldn't be disappointed. She knew there was only one way to find out if she could master the breaking point technique, and that was to continue her training. "Yeah, you gotta wake up for that first," Ranma said. His voice was gentler now, not so full of derision and scorn. "You don't even know how bad you're hurt." She knew, at some level, that when she returned to consciousness she would find a body wracked with pain awaiting her. Part of her was terrified at what injuries she might discover she'd sustained when she'd hit that rock. Ranma shook his head. "Time's up, Tendou Akane," he said, not unkindly. She could feel herself being swept along towards awakening, as if she were caught in a strong current. She could sense that she was rising up from the blackness deep inside her, towards the light and the pain that awaited her outside of this dream. She was powerless to stop it now, helpless in the grip of inertia. Consciousness rushed towards her, as inevitable as a boulder swinging on the end of a long rope... She awoke with a gasp. "Akane? AKANE! Oh, my baby is awake!" There was no mistaking the voice of her father, nor was his near-hysterical mood any surprise. He was emotional at the best of times, but when one of his daughters was sick or hurt he always came completely unglued. She turned her head slowly towards the direction of his voice. He was mostly a blurry smudge of brown to her, but she tried to force a reassuring smile. "I'm okay, Daddy," she attempted to say. She discovered that her throat was incredibly dry, and the words she spoke were scratchy and indistinct. The pain was not as bad as she'd feared, but it was still quite intense. Her whole right side throbbed with a dull, pervasive ache, and her head was buzzing like a nest of angry hornets. Occasionally, a sharp burst of agony would flare up somewhere along her body against the general backdrop of pain, making her clench up and gasp for breath. She felt like she'd been run over by a... like she'd been trampled by a... Well, she felt like she'd smashed into a giant rock swinging on a rope. She couldn't think of anything else much worse than that right now. "Oh my baby! My poor girl! Waaah!" Tendou Soun continued his monologue of anguish. In spite of her pain, Akane was overwhelmed with the need to show him that everything was all right. Gritting her teeth with effort, she forced herself into a sitting position. It took all her will to keep from passing out - the pain intensified when she moved, obscuring her vision with violent bursts of phantom light in her eyes. "I'm okay, Daddy," she managed, this time intelligibly. "See?" Her father seemed less than completely convinced, but he did tone down his sobbing just a bit. Akane blinked to clear her vision, and was not terribly surprised to discover that she was in Dr. Tofu's clinic. She wondered what time it was, and prayed that she hadn't been in a coma or something. She assured herself that the pain felt too fresh for that. The door swung open, revealing Dr. Tofu and Saotome-panda. The two of them were carrying some bulky cardboard boxes, the contents of which shifted noisily as they moved. "Ah!" Dr. Tofu said upon entering. "You're awake, Akane-chan! That's good, that's good... but you really shouldn't be sitting up now!" The doctor set down his box and moved to the bedside. Her father leveled a glare at Saotome Genma that could have melted lead - she noticed that the panda was already sporting several bandages and prominent bumps on the head. Evidently, Tendou Soun was not finished with being angry at his friend for letting Akane embark on this training regimen. Genma, true to his nature, attempted vainly to cower behind Betty the skeleton. "Now, Akane-chan," the doctor said, kneeling down beside her and gently inspecting her damaged body. "How do you feel?" "Oh, I'm fine," she lied unconvincingly. "Really, I've had worse." "Mmm, I'm not so sure about that," Dr. Tofu said. "You were very lucky, Akane-chan. Nothing's broken, at least, and there's no internal bleeding. But I suspect you have a concussion, and you're going to be sore for a long time. I recommend at least four days of rest, with no strenuous activity..." "I can't!" she cried. Tears trickled down her cheeks, both from her physical pain and from her frustration. "I need to continue my training!" "Akane!" her father wailed. "You can't possibly intend to keep punishing yourself like this!" "I have to, daddy," she shot back. "I'm a martial artist. I have to... I can't just... Ranma needs..." Words failed her. Her father began another round of noisy lamentations. Dr. Tofu sighed heavily. "I was afraid you'd say that, Akane-chan. Well, there's no stopping you once you set your mind to something, is there?" "I'm sorry, Dr. Tofu," Akane muttered. She felt ashamed at her own stubbornness, but refused to back down. "Well, I guess I'll have to help you then!" announced the doctor, rather more cheerfully than Akane would have predicted. Akane's eyes brightened. "Really, doctor? You'll... you'll help me learn the technique?" "Hmm. Well, mind you, I don't actually KNOW this bakusai ten-ketsu technique myself, but Mr. Saotome did explain what you were trying to do with your training. I must say that it all sounds very strange and dangerous." He paused, frowning thoughtfully. "But, I can at least help you keep from getting hurt too badly during your training." "Doctor, can you really help my little girl?" Soun clutched the younger man's shirt imploringly. "Oh thank you, thank you!" Dr. Tofu shrugged. "I'll research what I can about the technique. I'm not sure how much I can help you, but..." He let the sentence trail off as he moved to the boxes that he and Mr. Saotome had brought in. He rummaged around in one of the containers, finally producing an American football helmet. He began to draw all manner of pads and protective gear from the boxes, spreading them out on the floor before them. "These," he explained, "should probably fit you. I borrowed them from the school. I want you to wear them while you train, so the impacts you endure aren't so severe." Akane frowned at the equipment. "I... thank you, Dr. Tofu. But do you think that using these might undermine the training? I mean, when Ryouga trained, he didn't use any..." "I understand," Dr. Tofu interrupted, "but you must remember that you have farther to go than Ryouga did before you gain the strength to use the breaking point. You do realize that, don't you?" He handed her a knee-pad and regarded her thoughtfully. Akane remembered the dream she'd been having, and what Ryouga had told her. she thought. It was going to be much, much harder than she'd anticipated, but she was determined to follow through with this. She hugged the knee-pad to her chest, feeling another tear creep down her cheek. "I understand, Dr. Tofu. Thank you. Thank you so much." - - - - - - Snow had come early this year at the higher altitudes, and China unfolded before them in a tapestry of silver and white. Tarou liked to keep to the rural areas, and he always flew low. He had discovered through unpleasant experience that his mammoth cursed form would show up on radar, and one harrowing encounter with the Chinese military had been enough to teach him the value of caution when he was flying. The four martial artists skimmed the rocky terrain, sailing towards the next town in which a rise in panty thefts and perversion had been reported. Tarou endured the unwelcome burden of his passengers and their baggage in silence. At least he had forced them to lighten the load a bit by having fem-boy and the wonder pig switch to their cursed forms. They'd certainly pitched a fit when he'd insisted they should change - Saotome had been especially irate at being forced into his cursed body. But Tarou had given them a convoluted speech about wing surface area to mass ratios, drag coefficients, and aeronautic velocity formulas, until they'd finally been so overwhelmed that they gave up. It was sheer bluff, of course - Tarou didn't know what force it was that kept him in the air, but it certainly wasn't physics. His comparatively tiny crane wings had no more aerodynamic chance of lifting his ponderous minotaur body than a swallow had of carrying a coconut, but those fools didn't know that. Besides, it DID take effort to fly, and losing a little extra weight certainly couldn't hurt. He wondered how long he'd be able to deal with Saotome before he finally got so sick of the cross-dresser that he couldn't stand it anymore. Finding out that Ukyou was actually one of his fiancees had almost driven Tarou into a murderous rage. He could at least understand the Amazon girl being latched on to fem-boy - he knew about the Amazon laws, and was well aware that if you let one of those crazy women get her hooks into you, it was almost impossible to shake them. But that a worthless piece of garbage like Saotome would have both a nice girl like Tendou Akane and a beautiful young lady like Kuonji Ukyou engaged to him was almost more than Tarou could endure. He was certain that Ukyou had been forced into the whole thing somehow, and that if she let herself really see what kind of person Saotome was she'd drop him like a hot coal. The sight of the bright, lovely Ukyou fawning over that pervert, the way the sound of the name "Ranchan" rubbed across his nerves like sandpaper... he didn't know how long he'd be able to put up with this. Still, he was willing to play along for the moment. He didn't think Saotome's hopes of finding Happosai would amount to anything, and even if they did catch up to the pervert he doubted that the old fossil could do anything useful for them. Besides, if fem-boy actually did manage to redirect the Reikoku back towards Happosai and the thing did kill the withered little troll, it would mean he would be stuck with his onerous name for the rest of his life. Some plan that was. No, Tarou had another idea. He still had to work out some of the details, but he was certain that he could not only conquer the Reikoku, but that he could turn this whole miserable situation to his ultimate advantage. It was the sort of plan that Saotome would never imagine in his wildest dreams. He was also pretty sure that fem-boy wouldn't like the idea if he heard it. Tarou didn't care about that. He wondered, though, if he might be able to convince Ukyou of the value of his idea... Ukyou curled herself into a tight ball on Tarou's immense shoulder, huddling in her jacket against the sharp chill of the mountain wind. Traveling like this was certainly the most efficient means they had of keeping their distance from the Reikoku, but it was very lonely. Tarou had arranged their "seating" for best possible weight distribution, which meant she had a big cluster of octopus tentacles between herself and Ranma. Ryouga, of course, wasn't much company while he was a pig, so that meant she didn't have anyone to talk to as they covered the leagues. She sighed, wondering if Tarou had done that deliberately. It wouldn't surprise her. Ukyou had attempted to stick with her role as peacemaker in the group with grim determination, but she was not a natural for the job. In fact, she didn't even have any role models. She'd tried imitating Kasumi until she'd realized that the eldest Tendou daughter never made peace at all - she simply ignored the conflicts around her with superhuman ease. So she'd gone on what instincts she could muster in her attempts to keep fights from breaking out in their small party. Ranma and Tarou had constantly been at each other's throats. Sometimes she'd felt that if she heard another nasty slight about menstruation or another awful pun about women's underwear she was going to go insane. The two of them almost never let up. She had no idea why they hated each other to such a degree, but there was very little she could do to defuse their constant bickering. She'd eventually ended up resorting to hauling out the spatula and whapping Ranma on the head to stop the arguments. It wasn't much of a diplomatic strategy, but it seemed to work a bit. She felt a little bad about hitting Ranma - certainly she didn't unload on him as hard as she could - but at least it was safe. Almost everybody hit Ranma once in a while. There was just something about him that was so... bashable. He griped sometimes, but he didn't seem to mind it very much. She didn't know how Tarou would react to being thumped on the head and told to shut up, though. There was something about that boy that made her wary and uneasy. There was a dangerous edge to his words that Ukyou didn't like at all. The fact that he turned into something out of a nightmare whenever he got wet didn't help much either. Fortunately, Tarou didn't seem to have as much interest in picking on Ryouga, apart from the occasional "pig-boy" jab. This was a small blessing, at least. Ryouga was a much easier target than Ranma - with his quick temper, his gullibility, his embarrassing curse, and his dismal sense of direction. She glanced over towards the Lost Boy, who was nestled amongst the gear so he wouldn't blow away in the wind. She felt a little sorry for him. It couldn't be much fun to travel as a piglet... Ryouga yawned drowsily and tried not to think about how bored he was. The others, at least, could look at the scenery going by as they flew, but the only thing he could see from his vantage point was a small patch of sky. The journey was pretty monotonous for him, but he was trying not to go to sleep. If he slept all day, he'd be up all night... and there'd be nothing for him to do then, either. At least flying on Tarou didn't make him as afraid as flying on the airplane had. He sighed ruefully, mentally noting that a phobia about airplanes was just another item on the long list of Hibiki Ryouga deficiencies. What a life. He still didn't think he was going to survive this thing with the Reikoku. Happosai was too crafty and sly for them to catch, and he had all the time in the world. And even if they did catch him, then what? Tarou was probably right - once they'd attacked the Reikoku, they were in this to the death. But for all his boasting about how brilliant he was, Pantyhose had yet to come up with an alternative course of action. He really needed to write some letters, to his parents and to Akari. He might never see them again. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to die as a pig. Of course, maybe the Reikoku wouldn't have to kill them at all - sometimes it seemed like they were going to kill each other first. He doubted that Ranma and Pantyhose could go on much longer without having it out. At first, he had considered trying to side with Tarou if it came down to a fight, just out of an old desire to see Ranma beaten. But he found that he couldn't bring himself to throw in with Pantyhose, even in the exchanges of insults and barbs. Perhaps it was the way that Tarou lorded his supposedly superior intellect over everybody else that did it. Perhaps it was the way that Tarou always laced a subtext of threat into everything he said, to make sure everyone remembered he could turn into a monster that could crush them all if he wanted. If there was one thing Hibiki Ryouga couldn't stand, it was a bully. Not that Ranma was much better, of course. Maybe Ranma wasn't a bully, but he sure could be a whiner. The way he'd kicked and screamed when Tarou had insisted they travel in their cursed forms had been revolting to behold. He hadn't even tried to argue for Ryouga's benefit - he'd mostly griped that he wasn't that much lighter as a girl. As if being a girl was any big deal. Ryouga scowled at nothing in particular, once again feeling irritated at the way Ranma constantly griped about his so-called curse. Ranma didn't know what being cursed was really about... Ranma-chan shifted irritably to try to get more comfortable. There was certainly no First Class section on Air Pantyhose. At least the scenery was decent - there was nothing that Pantyhose could do to ruin that, anyway. He'd been bending over backwards to ruin just about everything else on this trip. It wasn't being stuck as a girl that bothered Ranma-chan, it was that Pantyhose had forced her to change. The argument about the traveling arrangements had been a battle of wills, and Ranma-chan simply didn't like to lose any kind of contest. She certainly didn't believe any of that mumbo-jumbo that Pantyhose had been spewing about aerodynamics and stuff, but it all boiled down to the fact that Pantyhose was doing the flying, so he got to call the shots. He could make Ranma-chan accept it, but he couldn't make her like it. The hell of it was that they needed Pantyhose. Ranma-chan had to admit that the guy was doing most of the important work on this journey right now. He was transporting them safely, at speeds that kept them days or weeks ahead of the Reikoku. He was the only one who spoke Chinese, so he did most of the talking when they got down to asking around about Happosai. He was the one who knew his way around the countryside. Though it pained Ranma-chan greatly to admit it, their chances of surviving were a whole lot better with Pantyhose Tarou in the group. If only the guy weren't such a complete jerk. It seemed like a fight between them was inevitable. They'd been testing each other ever since Pantyhose had joined the party, tossing insults back and forth, watching each other's reactions to see if they could find any psychological weaknesses. It was all just a warm-up to the battle which was sure to come. Ranma-chan wasn't sure if she'd found any real holes in Tarou's mental armor, except that she could pretty much rely on being able to get him mad with the name thing. The only other observation of interest that she made was that she had begun to suspect Pantyhose wasn't as happy to have his monstrous cursed form as he pretended to be. Sure, the guy loved being able to power up and waste people easily, but Ranma-chan was beginning to sense that there was something about changing into his monstrous alter-ego that made Pantyhose uncomfortable. It might be something she'd be able to put to use. The biggest danger with going up against Tarou would be that he'd change on you, so if there was some way to psych him into staying human... Ranma-chan frowned and let that train of thought slide back into her subconscious. She had to keep in mind that, as big a butthead as he was, Pantyhose wasn't the real enemy. She had to consider the possibility that Tarou was right, and that they wouldn't be able to get the Reikoku off their tails now that they were its prey. That meant that she was going to have to have to figure out a way to beat that damned monster three more times. She was pretty confident she had a reliable way to rack up one more victory, but after that... Things were going to get rough after that. It was probably time to start some more training. Ranma-chan leaned back and took in the landscape, a world wearing a ephemeral blanket of pristine snow. She let her thoughts drift back to home, and wondered how Akane was doing. Nabiki had been pretty curt when they'd last spoken, like she'd been really busy with something and didn't have the time to chat. Ranma-chan wondered what could possibly get someone like Nabiki flustered... - - - - - - "Ucchan's Okonomiyaki, may I help you? No, I'm sorry, we don't do delivery anymore. Yes... yes... I understand. No, I'm afraid we can't. I... excuse me? Yes, I'm sorry. If you'd like to come down, I can give you directions..." *click* Nabiki bit back a curse and dropped the receiver back into its cradle. She had repeated that particular conversation about thirty times already today, and it was only lunch hour. The lunch crowd in Ucchan's Okonomiyaki was smaller than in past days, but Nabiki could still detect a frantic, nervous accent to the atmosphere of the restaurant. The service was slower than usual, and the patrons were getting restless. *ring* *ring* A customer intercepted her as she was reaching for the phone. "Excuse me? Do you work here?" *ring* "I'm the manager," Nabiki answered. "Can I get to you in just a second?" *ring* "I just had a question," the middle-aged woman said. *ring* "Just a second, please." Nabiki forced a smile and picked up the phone. "Hello, Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. No, I'm sorry... what? Oh, yes, I see. Well, that delivery person is no longer working with us. Uh... no, I'm afraid we don't. Thank you. Yes. I'm sorry. Thank you, yes..." *click* Nabiki took a deep breath, then turned back to the customer. "Now, how can I help you?" "Well," the woman said, "I'm just wondering how long it's going to take to get my order." Nabiki snarled mentally. "We'll have it out to you as soon as possible, ma'am." "Oh," the woman seemed disappointed with the response. "It's just that I'm on my lunch break, so I don't have a whole lot of time." The thing that Nabiki hated the most about this job was that she had to be polite. She'd seen first-hand how quickly customers would abandon her if she was rude or sarcastic to them. Right now, she couldn't afford to lose a single patron, even if it meant she'd have to keep a civil tongue in her head under stress. "I'm very sorry to make you wait," Nabiki said. "We're having a few technical problems today, you see." "I guess that can't be helped," the woman said with a sigh. "I just got used to how fast that darling girl Ukyou was. I'm a little spoiled." Nabiki tried not to glare as the woman wandered back to her seat. *ring* *ring* "Ucchan's Okonomiyaki, can I help you? No, Miss Kuonji has taken a leave of absence. No, I'm afraid we don't... yes, the flyers said... sir, I'm sorry, but that was only for a limited time. We don't do delivery anymore. Yes? No, that was our printer's fault, it should have said so on the flyers. Thank you..." *click* Nabiki thought. The delivery idea, she realized now with deep chagrin, had been a colossal mistake. For the first few days, things were wonderful - they had plenty of orders, she was never short of people to make the deliveries, they were raking in the dough. Then the word had spread. Nabiki had never really understood what the phrase "too much of a good thing" meant until now. Simply put, the demand began to outweigh the supply at an alarming rate. She had a fair number of free deliverers at her disposal, but there was only one Konatsu, and he simply couldn't keep up with the sheer volume of cooking that was being asked of him. In an attempt to keep the ship afloat, Nabiki had allowed herself to get personally sucked into the whole disaster. She'd come in to check on Konatsu during the dinner hour one day, and she'd ended up answering the phones for him to clear out more time for him to cook. Relieving him of the duty of answering the phone and writing down the take-out orders had given him more time to actually prepare the food, and it looked like they might have been able to pull through and keep the delivery service going. Since then, Nabiki had found herself spending more and more time over at Ucchan's doing precisely what she hadn't wanted to do: real work. Even so, it wasn't enough. It became clear that her delivery system was coming unraveled. She'd exhausted her supply of people who simply owed her favors early on, and she'd gotten down to the few people over whom she held some sort of embarrassing secret. She figured she could blackmail that group as long as she needed, but what she hadn't counted on was how difficult it was to keep track of how they were performing in their jobs. They sabotaged her delivery service in all sorts of subtle ways - taking too long to make a drop-off, mishandling the food on the way, being rude to customers, pretending to get lost, and generally being deliberately inept and inefficient. She couldn't always figure out who had committed what blunder, and what was she going to do anyway? Fire them? In a desperate attempt to pull things together, she'd sent Konatsu out on late-night rounds, following her classmates around Nerima to see if he could come up with more dirt. She'd managed to scrounge up a few more delivery slaves so she could improve her rotation, but it still hadn't made much of a difference. The last straw had come three days ago, when the heating elements for half the grills in Ucchan's had burned out. Konatsu simply didn't have the necessary hardware to keep up with the delivery service after that. Nabiki had been overwhelmed with frustration, but the electricians had said it would take a week to get the parts they needed to fix it. The worst part was that Ukyou had told her to have the grill looked at before she left, although Nabiki would sooner shave her legs with a cheese grater than admit that fact to anyone. Business at the restaurant had gotten steadily worse since then. Nabiki learned that nobody was bothered by a restaurant that didn't do delivery, but that they got very upset when that restaurant promised deliveries and failed to follow through. Word of mouth could make or break a small business like Ucchan's, and right now people weren't saying nice things. The profits she'd made in the first several days of the delivery scheme had vanished like morning mist. Suddenly, she was pestered by irate customers who wanted okonomiyaki brought to their doorsteps, as her fliers had promised. She was still getting calls from angry customers who'd been unhappy with the way her "employees" had handled past deliveries. The crowds were dwindling, but with half the grill out of commission things were twice as frantic as normal. She had a stack of useless menus that she'd paid to have printed, featuring new food items which Konatsu didn't know how to cook yet. And, to top it off, she'd forgotten to buy fresh produce in all the commotion, so she'd had to pay to have the stuff delivered to the restaurant. she wondered, "Zounds! Have I not already waited for the unseemly span of five full minutes to be served my repast?" thundered a too-familiar voice. "A warrior such as the great Kunou Tatewaki should not be made to suffer such indignities!" she moaned inwardly. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed HIM until now - it was just another sign of how badly she'd been thrown off her stride by everything that had been going on. Nabiki scrambled over to Konatsu and whispered in the young ninja's ear. "Hey, Konatsu-chan, get that loudmouth his food and get him outta here as quick as you can, okay? He'll scare off the other customers if he keeps this up!" "Yes, Nabiki-san. I'll do my best." Konatsu turned to face her when he spoke. He was looking a bit pale and drawn, probably from stress, but his expression when he regarded her was full of genuine adoration. Nabiki staggered away towards the phone, which was ringing in its shrill, insistent voice once again. As if her life weren't complicated enough right now, it seemed as if Konatsu was developing a crush on her. she decided, Over the collective din of the ringing phone, the sizzling grill, and the chattering customers, Nabiki utterly failed to hear Konatsu's muffled cough. - - - - - - Ukyou sat back and regarded the campfire with satisfaction. All her chores for setting up camp were done, and she was ready to cook as soon as the guys got back from their foraging. It had been a bit unsettling to send Tarou and Ranma off into the woods - she was certain that one of these times, they were just going to haul off and beat the snot out of each other. It hadn't happened yet, anyway. Ryouga had finished pitching the tents and was lounging against a tree. He was every bit as good at finding food and provisions as the other two, but he wasn't so hot when it came to getting back to the campsite. Usually, he went with one of the other guys, but today it seemed he had something else he wanted to do. Looking at him, it wasn't hard to tell what he was up to. Ukyou watched him as he scribbled a few words onto the pad of paper before him, then stared moony-eyed off into space again. The guy was an open book - he'd probably be a worse poker player than Ranma. Ukyou grinned and shuffled over to where Ryouga was composing what was assuredly a love letter to Akane. "Hey, sugar," she said, grinning. "Whatcha got there?" Ryouga snapped out of his reverie and instinctively tilted the pad away from her so she couldn't read what was written. "Oh! Um... nothing." Ukyou chuckled. "You're writin' a letter to your true love?" Ryouga turned beet-red in an instant. Ukyou noticed that he was using green ink, and her grin widened. She figured she'd leave the shy boy alone to finish his writing. "Well, say 'hi' to Akane for me in the letter," she told him. "Um... yeah. I was going to write her too," Ryouga mumbled. Ukyou blinked in surprise. "Hold on a second there. You aren't writing a letter to Akane now?" "Er... no." Ryouga took a peek at his pad, then blushed again. That was really strange. There was no mistaking the kind of look he had on his face, but if he wasn't writing Akane, then who could he be...? Ukyou craned her neck over to peek at the letter. Ryouga gasped and tried to hide it again, but he was too slow - she'd made out the name. "Akari?" she said. "Who's Akari?" Ryouga was too tongue-tied with embarrassment to answer at the moment. Instead, he reached over and picked up something which had been resting on the ground beside him and handed it to Ukyou. It was a little pocket billfold, which contained a picture of a cute, smiling girl. She was, Ukyou noticed with dismay, terribly pretty - the photograph alone radiated more sweetness than a pound of chocolate. She's also signed the picture: "To my darling Ryouga," it said, with a couple of little hearts and a pig drawn underneath. "She's your sister?" Ukyou hazarded desperately. "Or maybe a cousin?" "No," Ryouga said in a strangled voice. "She's kind of... she's sort of my..." He cleared his throat and summoned a bit of composure. "We've been seeing each other. D... dates and stuff," he explained, smiling sheepishly and blushing crimson. Ukyou thought, her mind racing. She still saw Ryouga as her best bet for getting Akane out of the picture. As much as Ukyou bickered and fought with Shampoo, she knew that Akane was the real threat to her chances of marrying Ranma. Ukyou had seen Akane show affection for Ryouga - she was certain they'd get together, if only the Lost Boy could get over his paralyzing shyness. This was all part of her ideal picture of the future: she'd end up with Ranma and they'd be happy, Akane would end up with Ryouga and they'd be happy, Shampoo would marry that weirdo with the glasses and they'd go away, and Kodachi would find a good therapist who prescribed Prozac or something. Everybody lived happily ever after. But here was this Akari girl chasing after Ryouga, and that threw everything off. How should she handle this? She considered flying off the handle and calling Ryouga a two-timer, shaming him to go back to Akane... but she didn't know if that would really do the trick. In fact, it might backfire on her completely. No, what she needed was some more information. Then she'd figure out how to handle this. She forced a cheery smile and sat down beside Ryouga. "Akari, huh? So, uh... what about Akane? I thought you were in love with her." Ryouga got a melancholy look on his face and stared off into the woods. He sighed a bit before he answered her. "My love for Akane will never change," he finally explained, his voice full of resigned sadness. "No matter who she decides to love, I shall always protect her with my life. Even if she never knows how I feel... perhaps it's better if she never learns." It sounded like Ryouga had all but given up on his chances of getting Akane away from Ranma. That simply would not do at all. Still, she had to find out more. "So, uh," she tried to sound nonchalant, "how does this Akari girl fit in, hmm? How'd you two meet?" Ryouga scratched his head in thought. "Well, it started when I defeated her pet pig in battle. Her grandfather's dying wish was that she marry the man who could defeat it, you see..." He trailed off, noticing that Ukyou was looking at him strangely. "She has a pig farm," he explained lamely. "And... um... her grandfather wasn't actually dying..." Ukyou thought. "That's pretty weird," Ukyou said, trying not to sound too critical. "So she feels like she's obligated to marry you, is that it?" "Well, that's not really the way she puts it," Ryouga muttered. "What's she like?" Ryouga sighed and got that dreamy look again. "She's really pretty, and sweet, and kind. She's very gentle and... well, she's just great. When we're together, she always... I don't know how to say it well." Ukyou thought. "So you really think she likes you, huh?" Ryouga picked up a compact stack of letters and regarded them thoughtfully. There looked to be at least a dozen envelopes, by Ukyou's guess. "She says she does in her letters," he observed. "Yeah, I think she does." "So she's a pig farmer!" Ukyou was floundering here. "You think that's gonna be a bit weird when she figures out about your curse? You will have to tell her someday..." "Oh, she knows," Ryouga explained. "In fact, she was very happy about it. She loves pigs." He frowned a bit at this. Ukyou thought she saw an opening, and pounced. "Oh, NOW I get it! I gotta tell you, sugar, that sounds pretty warped." "Warped? What do you mean?" he looked worried. "She likes you 'cause you turn into a pig? You don't call that warped?" "She likes pigs!" he exclaimed. "There's nothing wrong with that!" "Hey, sugar, I like okonomiyaki, but I don't want a boyfriend that turns INTO one," Ukyou shot back. From his shocked expression, she could tell that one struck home. "That doesn't matter!" he asserted, trying to rally his confidence. "She even tried to give up pigs entirely for me. That just goes to show..." "Oh SURE!" Ukyou cut him off, abruptly switching tactics. "Well isn't that just typical! What is it with guys these days, huh? Why do they want a woman to give up everything just to suit them? I expected better out of you, Ryouga. But if a spineless woman with no personality of her own is what you want..." "She's not like that!" Ryouga shouted. But he sounded confused and desperate now. "Look, let's think about this here," Ukyou tried to sound reassuring. "What is it that you love about Akane, huh?" The change of direction in the discussion seemed to throw Ryouga off. "Uh... well. I... um. Let's see. She's very kind, and sweet, and cute... uh..." "And strong!" Ukyou supplied. "She's a strong-willed, spirited girl, right?" "Well, yeah." "She's a martial artist, after all," Ukyou continued. "This Akari girl isn't a martial artist, is she?" She crossed her fingers behind her back as she awaited Ryouga's answer. "No, no," he responded. "She isn't." "Well! Look, I'll level with you here, sugar. I don't know if this Akari is right for you." "But..." Ukyou held up a hand to silence him and smiled reassuringly. "I know, I know, she's a very sweet kid, and very pretty. It must be great for you to have a girlfriend like that for a while, since you don't have much experience with girls, right?" "Yeah..." "But let's think long-term here, okay?" Ukyou tried to sound as knowledgeable and wise as possible. "You're the kind of guy who needs a strong woman by his side. You're a martial artist, a warrior, right?" "Sure..." "So you need a woman who's worthy of you!" Ukyou glanced around and made sure Ranma hadn't come back without her noticing it - she wouldn't want him to hear what she was about to say. "You need somebody like Akane, who's got all that sweetness stuff you like, but who's a martial artist too. You're too good a guy to settle for some boring old homebody, even if she is cute. You need... no, you DESERVE a woman of substance!" Ryouga stared saucer-eyed at her. "You... you really think that highly of me?" "Sure I do!" Ukyou assured him glibly. She punched him good- naturedly in the shoulder. "I'm a martial artist, and a woman. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about here." Ryouga stared down at the half-finished letter before him, then at the picture of the sweet girl who loved pigs clutched in his hand. A tear trickled down his cheek. "Oh Akari... can it be true? Are we really not meant to be together?" He wrapped his arms about himself, hugging the letter and picture to his chest, and wept. Ukyou felt a sharp pang of guilt over what she'd just done, but tried to ignore it. Her arguments sounded reasonable... she was probably right about this! Besides, she knew Ryouga and Akane would be good together. Better to break the guy's heart a little now rather than let him drag this thing on with Akari... Actually, she found that she was also feeling kind of lousy about slamming some girl she'd never even met. This Akari sounded pretty sweet and harmless. In a flash of inspiration, Ukyou resolved to set her up with Konatsu when they got back. They sounded perfect for each other, after all! And she was sure that Konatsu the legendary ninja could beat up some stupid pig. Her "happily ever after" picture was restored, with a new addition. She patted Ryouga reassuringly on the shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. Don't get all worked up about it." Ryouga looked up at her, his eyes red from crying. The green ink on his letter was damp and smudged. "Th... thanks for talking to me, Ukyou-san. I... I kind of want to be alone now, though." Ukyou nodded, then got up and walked back to the fire. This was for the best, she assured herself. Everything would work out as it should, the people who belonged together would be together. Why, then, did she feel so low? - - - - - - It had become customary over the past few days for Akane and Nabiki to accompany one another to and from school. Mostly, they walked together in relative silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts and difficulties. Still, it was better to have some company than to be alone at times like this, even if a silent sister did not offer much solace. Akane had taken to traveling with her sister in a large part because she couldn't keep up the pace that she had once maintained. It was almost a week into her training, and she was perpetually sore. The pads and gear that Dr. Tofu had provided did help, especially in preventing serious injuries, but the brutal impacts she endured night after night still took their toll. She was so tired these days, always so very tired. Sleep had not come easily for Akane the past several nights - she was always too sore to get comfortable, and it seemed that whenever she closed her eyes she could see the rock hurtling towards her through the darkness. Dr. Tofu did what he could to keep her patched together, and Kasumi made her soothing tea to help her sleep, but nothing seemed to help much. She still slouched through the days like a zombie. She couldn't even be sure if this training was really helping her. She hadn't even gotten to the point where she could face the stone without panicking and trying to writhe away from the impact in her harness. How was she ever going to find the breaking point at this rate? And was this perpetual cycle of physical punishment really helping her get tougher, or was it just wearing her down? She didn't even have the energy for her normal training regimen anymore. Was this lunacy really going to make her a stronger martial artist? Akane didn't know. She remembered her reasons for starting this training, but they seemed so far away now. Compared to the hard reality of the stone and the rope, her resolve seemed as intangible as a puff of steam. Akane asked herself. Nabiki was asking herself the same question as well. This matter with the restaurant had all but consumed her life. She'd never felt so frustrated and ineffectual. Business at Ucchan's had failed to pick up even after the grill had been fixed. It had always been Kuonji Ukyou's sheer cooking brilliance which had kept the restaurant afloat through tough times, but Nabiki didn't have that safety net of talent to fall back on after the mistakes she'd made. Konatsu was pretty good, but as her customers were so quick to point out, he was no Ukyou. Nabiki hated this. Managing the restaurant had made her feel clumsy and inept for the first time in her memory. Her pride in her own competence had taken a serious blow, and she didn't like the way that felt at all. Was this really worth it? She wasn't making any profit out of this venture anymore, that was for certain, and the time that it demanded of her effectively prevented her from running the little scams and schemes around school upon which she'd made her livelihood before. What's more, her reputation was in jeopardy. She'd bragged too much about what a great deal this job was when she'd first taken up management of Ucchan's, and now people were starting to realize that she was having trouble. She wondered what kind of whispers were going on behind her back. She could just imagine her classmates snickering about her - the "high and mighty Nabiki, who drove a successful restaurant into the ground." Nabiki thought angrily. Akane told herself. The sisters were jarred out of their thoughts by the familiar sound of a bicycle bell. They stopped, then turned as one towards the noise. Shampoo zipped briskly along, steering her bicycle one-handed with astonishing balance across the narrow fence tops above the sidewalk. Her long purple hair billowed behind her in the breeze, and she smiled contentedly to herself as she pedaled on her way. Akane glared at the Amazon girl, unable to pull her focus away from the everyday ease with which Shampoo performed this superhuman feat of balance and agility. She had an overwhelming desire to find a bucket of water and splash her arrogant rival... because she knew that was the only way she'd ever been able to beat Shampoo before. Nabiki glared at Shampoo as well, or rather at the pair of take-out boxes that she balanced deftly on top of one another with her free hand. Those boxes were full of delicious ramen noodles, or some other kind of food, and they were on their way to the doorstep of a contented, loyal, Nekohanten customer... who would assuredly give that wretched bimbo an immense tip, especially if it was a man. Nabiki stewed in anger at the very thought of it. Shampoo banked around the corner of the fence top, making a near-impossible 90 degree turn at speed as easily as Akane or Nabiki might skip over a crack. She disappeared out of sight, and the soft clatter of her bicycle died away shortly after. Akane and Nabiki stared after the Chinese girl for a long time, absorbed in their own thoughts, until they finally turned to face one another. "I have to go train." "I've got to get to work." The Tendou sisters parted ways, each one wearing an expression of grim determination as she traveled on towards her own personal hell. - - - - - - Ukyou sat back and sighed as she stared at the campfire. The routine on this journey was well established by now, and it always left her to set up camp and prepare to cook dinner while the guys went off and foraged for food and water. She didn't really mind the work, and she wasn't about to let one of those thumping, fumble-fingered buffoons make a shambles of the cooking, but the tacit assumption that the division of labor should pan out this way was starting to irritate her, just a little. Why couldn't she go hunting once and a while? Did they think she wasn't capable of it, the jerks? She frowned and glared at the evergreens. Lots of little things were starting to bug the hell out of her lately. She could feel it - she was getting close to the end of her fuse. She was starting to have some serious concerns about Tarou's feelings towards her. At first, she thought the Chinese fighter was just nicer to her because she'd never done anything to irritate him, or perhaps he just had a grudge against people with a Jusenkyo curse. But she was starting to see a pattern to his behavior, and she didn't like what it might mean. Her worries had escalated after her talk with Ryouga about Akari. She'd been feeling lousy about doing what she'd done ever since that evening, especially after she saw how hard the kid took it. So she'd gone out of her way to be nicer to Ryouga, to try to cheer him up. If Ranma had gotten jealous, it would actually have been gratifying, but Ranma was his usual oblivious self about the whole thing. Tarou, on the other hand, immediately widened the scope of his anger and abuse to include Ryouga. He was quick to point out the Lost Boy's failings and weaknesses. He played on Ryouga's credulous nature, tricking him into making a fool of himself, and tried to pit him against Ranma. Ryouga was always "pig-boy" or "hambone" or some other derisive moniker about swine. The most maddening part was the way Tarou would wink or grin at her before he took a pot-shot at Ryouga or Ranma, as if she were somehow his conspirator or something. And tensions had escalated even further within their small party as a result. She could swear that Tarou was jealous, that he was trying to impress her. That was not a good sign. "Ukyou." Ukyou startled out of her reverie and whirled towards the voice. Pantyhose Tarou stood at the edge of the camp, leaning against a tree and smiling... almost shyly. "Tarou! Wha... hey!" She looked around. "Where's Ryouga? Weren't you keeping track of him this time?" Tarou sniffed disdainfully. "Oh, he's around somewhere. We're in a box canyon, you know. Even he can't get too far." "Don't be too sure about that," Ukyou warned. "If he gets lost..." Tarou shrugged. "I'll find him if he does. He leaves a trail like an elephant." Ukyou scowled. "You still shouldn't have left him." "Forget about him," Tarou said, stepping towards her into the glow of the firelight. "I wanted to talk to you alone." she thought. She wished she'd realized what he was feeling sooner, so she could have had more time to prepare what she was going to say. "Look, Tarou..." "I think you're a very special girl," Tarou interrupted. "There's something between us. I've felt it, I think you have too." She shook her head in resignation. She wished she'd been wrong about this. "Tarou, listen. You know I'm engaged to Ranma." Tarou sneered very slightly, then composed himself again. "You deserve better than a forced engagement, Ukyou. Nobody can make you marry that guy if you don't want to." "But I do want to," she asserted. "I'm sorry, Tarou, but that's the way it is. I love Ranma." Her proclamation of love clearly did not sit well with Tarou. "Oh come ON, Ukyou! What do you see in a guy like that, anyway?" "I know you don't like Ranma, but..." "Don't like him?" Tarou barked. "He's a perverted, cross-dressing little freak who..." "He can't help his curse!" Ukyou snapped. "I think it reveals his true nature," Tarou scoffed. "Oh yeah?" Ukyou felt her temper flaring. "Then what does your curse say about YOU?" Tarou glared angrily, but then struggled to get his emotions back under control. "Ukyou, why would you want a two-timer like that when you could have someone like me? I'm smarter, I'm better-looking, I'm a better fighter..." "Oh get over yourself!" Ukyou spat. A small part of her screamed that she should try to be more diplomatic, to let him down easy, but it was no use. She'd been keeping her anger and frustration pent up until now, but the dam had burst. "You don't hold a candle to Ranma!" "What did you say?" he snarled menacingly. "You heard me! And even if I WASN'T engaged to Ranma, I still wouldn't want to go out with you!" Tarou's jaw clenched in anger, and his eyes narrowed. "Oh, so now it comes out, doesn't it? It's my name. You said it wasn't a big deal, but you really..." "You jackass!" she groaned in exasperation. "It's always about your stupid name, isn't it? I said I didn't care about that, and I meant it. But YOU seem to think that having a bad name gives you an excuse to treat everyone else like crap and be a jerk all the time!" He took another step forward. "You have no idea what you're talking about..." "Do you think I'm impressed when you cut down my friends all the time? Is that it? I am SICK of it, Tarou!" Tarou crossed his arms and sneered at her. "I am so disappointed, Ukyou. I thought better of you." "What is THAT supposed to mean?" He shook his head and chuckled harshly. "I thought you were smart enough to realize it. You'll never get your precious 'Ranchan' to marry you." "Yes I will!" "Oh please. How naive. He hasn't even looked at you twice during this whole trip except when he's wanted a second helping at dinner. You're just a little friend who cooks for him, that's all. Do you really think he'll ever marry YOU?" "Shut up!" Red was beginning to creep around the edges of Ukyou's vision. Tarou laughed again. "It's so obvious to everyone that the only one he really wants is that Tendou girl. What she sees in him, I don't know, but it's only a matter of time before they tie the knot." "You liar!" "You look like a fool chasing him around, Ukyou. Everybody's laughing at you behind your back, and you don't even..." "SHUT UP!" Ukyou hauled her great spatula from behind her back and swung it at Tarou with pulverizing force. The Chinese boy ducked under the weapon and lashed out with an open palm, shoving Ukyou backwards. The okonomiyaki chef sprawled to the ground, landing with a jarring thump to her tailbone. Tarou took a single step forward. Ukyou would never know what he actually intended to do at that moment, whether he'd intended to help her up, make sure she stayed down, or... or whatever. But the single step was all he took. At that moment a flash of bright red streaked between them. Something smashed into the ground with enough force to crack the earth, sending out a shockwave that almost blew out the campfire. It was a very familiar, very heavy, red umbrella. "So THIS is what you ran off to do," snarled Ryouga. Tarou recovered from his surprise almost instantly and flashed the bandanna-clad martial artist an angry glare. "Stay out of this, pork-chop. This is none of your concern." Ryouga advanced and interposed himself between Ukyou and Tarou, his battle-aura flaring to life around him. "If you want to get to her, you have to go through me!" "Ryouga... it's okay, you don't..." Ukyou began. "I've seen enough!" the enraged lost boy interrupted. "Come on, Pantyhose Tarou... are you afraid of a man-to-man fight?" Tarou laughed a mirthless, hateful laugh. "Oh, Hibiki. You don't know what you're saying." Tarou wasted no more time with posturing, launching into an attack so quick that the eye could barely follow his movements. He landed a three-punch combination against Ryouga's head, solar plexus, and abdomen, then followed up with a pair of lightning-quick kicks to the ribs. He slipped each of his blows past Ryouga's defenses with ease, striking every target with fearsome accuracy. Ryouga staggered back under the assault. He launched a kick of his own, which Tarou dodged easily. The Chinese boy unloaded another vicious series of body blows, then followed up with a fierce roundhouse kick to Ryouga's temple. The kick connected. Ryouga didn't even try to dodge it. Instead, he reached up and caught his adversary's ankle in a vise-like grip. Tarou tried to pull back, but it was like his leg was embedded in stone. He realized with shock that Ryouga was hardly fazed by the blows he'd landed so far. The Lost Boy grinned at Tarou. "I've had cherry blossoms in the wind hit me harder than that," he taunted. Tarou leaped with his free leg, using Ryouga's own grip as leverage to launch another kick to free himself. This time, the bandanna-clad martial artist caught his other leg in his crushing grip before the kick landed. Before any part of Tarou made contact with the ground, Ryouga swung him around in a wide arc, releasing him after almost a full rotation. Tarou hurtled away with terrifying force and slammed painfully into a thick tree trunk. "Ryouga, stop!" Ukyou called, but the two were beyond noticing her. Tarou tumbled unsteadily to his knees, dazed from the force of the impact. He'd dropped something when he hit... he reached out and picked up his water flask. Ryouga eyed the flask with suspicion for a moment. Then, he crossed his arms and shook his head in contempt. "So that's it, eh? It always comes down to this. They should call you 'Garden-Hose' Tarou, because the only way you win fights is by splashing water around." Tarou rose unsteadily to his feet, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His knuckles were white as he gripped his flask. "Go ahead," Ryouga said. "Use it. Turn into a monster. I think you like it better that way." Tarou seethed with pure rage, his throat constricted so tight with anger that he couldn't even speak. He could picture, with complete clarity, his fists driving into Hibiki's throat, could practically feel the crunch of the insufferable pig-boy's esophagus under his knuckles. He wanted to pound that calm look off his face, to break his bones and hear him howl in pain. a voice from within regaled him. Ryouga just stood there, looking composed and calm. It was as if the Lost Boy somehow thought that he'd already won, no matter what Tarou decided to do. It might have made a difference to Tarou to realize that what he thought was composure and poise in Ryouga was really something else entirely. At the moment, Ryouga was concentrating with all his might on the most depressing things he could think of. He assumed that Tarou was going to change into his powerful cursed form in a few seconds, and he knew that his best chance against such a foe was to use a Perfect Shi-Shi Houkouden. Ryouga was attempting to work himself into a state of misery and despair so profound that he could manage his most powerful attack. Tarou wavered with indecision for a long moment, torn between wanting to charge in to attack Ryouga as a human and thinking he should change into his cursed form to ensure his victory. He never got the chance to decide which course of action he would take. "Hey guys! Check it out... I found some wild turkeys!" Ranma strode into the clearing where they'd made their campsite, a pair of birds trussed up by their feet and slung over his shoulder. His cheerful mood vanished immediately when he saw what was happening. "Oh boy," he muttered. "Here we go." He set down the birds and dropped into a defensive stance. It was one of the few times in history that Ranma actually defused a conflict by showing up rather than aggravating it. Tarou regarded the three Nerima martial artists arrayed before him with loathing, but his rage abated and his head cleared. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he could crush them easily if he changed into his cursed form. He had nothing to prove. However, there was the matter of the Reikoku. He realized now that he'd been foolish to hope that Ukyou would ever go along with his plan, but that didn't matter. He knew what he was going to do, and he knew he'd have to do it alone. These three still had a purpose - they would keep the Reikoku occupied while he implemented his scheme. If they were still alive when he was ready to execute his idea, he would let them witness his triumph. And then, he would have his revenge. Tarou let out an evil chuckle. "I think I've put up with you freeloaders long enough," he announced. "From now on, you're all on your own. The Reikoku can have you, for all I care." With that, he emptied the water flask over his head, transforming into the winged, tentacled minotaur. With an earth-shaking bellow that echoed off the mountain walls, he launched himself into the night sky, leaving the three martial artists behind him in the darkness. Ranma watched Tarou vanish into the night with dismay. Tarou couldn't have picked a worse time to abandon them and fly off by himself. They were in the middle of the mountains now, with many leagues of hard terrain between themselves and any kind of real civilization or means of transport. Daylight hours were short at this latitude, up here in the mountains at this time of year, and even under the best of circumstances their traveling pace would be reduced to a crawl. The Reikoku was still a long way back, but it never let up. No terrain slowed it down, night or day did not matter to it. It was going to close the distance between them now, and they might not be able to get out of the mountains before it finally caught up. Ranma turned to his friends, his expression and voice grave. "We're in trouble now. We've gotta get prepared." end of chapter five ----------------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTES ----------------------------------------------------------- I'm going to try to give descriptions of the more obscure Ranma 1/2 characters who appear in this story. If they haven't shown up in the manga or anime currently released in the U.S., I'll endeavor to give them some introduction. So... AKARI: Akari appears in the manga version of Ranma 1/2 only, and she's pretty much as Ryouga described her in the story. It is worth noting that her "pet pig" is actually a specially- bred sumo pig of elephantine proportions, so the feat of besting it in combat is somewhat more impressive than Ryouga's description might suggest. Ryouga and Akari manage to have a few dates throughout the series, which are always chaotic for one reason or another. She is clearly devoted to him, and as the series progresses it seems that Ryouga begins to give up on winning Akane's heart, turning his attentions towards the willing and sweet Akari. COMING SOON: Ranma and company begin to train for their inevitable clash with the Reikoku, while Akane continues to struggle with her own brutal regimen. Can Nabiki keep Ucchan's afloat through even more trouble? What will she do in the face of her greatest challenge yet? And what is Pantyhose Tarou's plan to conquer the Reikoku? COPYRIGHT STUFF: All the Ranma characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko, and are licensed in America by Viz Communications. REVISION NOTES: Minor fixes. I am leaving the "obscure character" descriptions in place for historical value, even though by now most of the characters have appeared in commercial release Ranma material. GRT - August 1998 MODIFIED - April 2005 thunderstruck_comic@comcast.net All existing chapters of this story may be found at: http://www.talesfromthevault.com/relentless