Gouka lay down on the rock across from the small encampment. Gouka swore at himself silently. He had been a fool to follow Shiro into the storm like that, but he really had no other choice. The wind had ripped across him and Shiro as well, sandblasting wounds across both of their skins. He scowled at the stinging sands, but didn't worry, as they would heal quickly once the sun came up. Shiro would be in far worse condition after being out in the storm.

In order to keep from losing her, Gouka had to stay close enough to see her, but far enough away to keep out of her proximity. She had guts. Gouka hated to admire her, but he did. The fight would be one that he would never forget. Being this close wasn't the brightest idea that he thought he ever had, but he saw no other choice. Gouka could feel the dawn begin to run it's course over the horizon and soon it would break into the pause that had come up in the storm.

He had been following the wagon through the wind and it had died about half a mile outside of the camp. Not more than two minutes later, a shout rose from the distance. Gouka couldn't make out what the shout said, but it was clear from Shiro's reaction that it was from her companions. She pulled the wagon more towards the sound and yelled for the creature to pick up in speed. Gouka wondered for half a second if he could keep up. He didn't have much to worry about, as it seemed the creature couldn't go faster than a slow trot.

It made it a little easier to follow the tracks in the drifting sands as well. A little on fifteen or twenty minutes later Shiro went into the camp. Camp was a loose term for it. A sheet of tarp held aloft by two poles. It kept out the sand, so Gouka thought it as practical enough. Following Shiro and being sandblasted at the same time had taken its toll on Gouka. He was having a hard time breathing through the grit in his lungs and this skin was on fire.

He chuckled at himself. His skin was supposed to be on fire. This, however, was something different. This was the pain from having particles of sand driven into the pores of his skin. He settled himself down onto the rock. It was black and he could blend in as the sun climbed higher. It also began to heat quickly as dawn cracked overhead.

Gouka looked behind him at the breaking sun. He could see it through the blowing and drifting sands. A red glow came across the desert as the sun greeted the familiar landscape. Gouka watched the red ball in the east climb slowly from the morning darkness. The wind quieted in reverence of the dawn, as the storm sensed something momentous about the new day.

Shiro hopped quickly off the seat of the wagon, throwing the reins to a tall blonde girl that had come out of the tent. Shiro hopped into the back of the wagon and dragged out a barrel that she had fixed when she picked up the wagon and animal. The blonde tied the animal to a nearby bush on which the animal began to chew and helped Shiro to drag the barrel to the tent area.

The blonde shouted out something to which Shiro promptly ignored. Gouka looked around the area nearer the encampment. He had to get closer to get a look at the other two figures. One of the first things he learned from his sensei was that knowledge was power. Know your enemy. If you know him well enough, then he can't surprise you as easily and the fight shall be yours. Gouka spotted a small outcropping that was only several meters from the tent. With Shiro and the blonde occupied with the other two, it was a simple matter for him to sneak up to the rock outcropping.

Gouka settled himself in and waited a moment before he looked again. No sense in taking any chances, but something caught his attention. The third person that was moving. The one in green. Gouka could hear her crying. He scowled at the sound. Shiro didn't know how to pick her companions. This little one was too weak for any kind of journey. How she cried out for the person who was laying on the tarp. Someone named Akane.

Gouka slowly peaked over the stone in front of him into the tent. The clouds began to part overhead and a sliver of bright sun peaked into the tent. Gouka gasped. Red hair. The girl crying had red hair. And short. And she was wearing robes. He hadn't been following the Shiro Daiou after all!

The girl he thought was Shiro, whose name he picked up as Rei, was trying to help Shiro with some water, but she would have none of it. She kept insisting that this 'Akane' person should be treated first.

There!

Rei said the name of Shiro. Ranma. So...That was her name. Ten'imuhou-sama would be very pleased with the information, but he would be even more pleased with the knowledge that Gouka had taken her out. No, he wouldn't attack now. Too soon from the night. Gouka smiled lightly to himself, it had been a hard night too. He hadn't caught the name of the blonde, but it didn't matter.

Gouka pulled back and lay on the exposed rock face, letting the sun wash over him in the early morning light. He could feel the magic of the sun as it began to slowly knit his sandblasted hide back together again. Shiro and his group could wait. With the onset of day, they wouldn't be going anywhere.

***

The smack cut across Ranma's face like a knife. Ranma sat back and held a hand to her face.

"You're being hysterical!" Ikari shouted, "You want me to help her? Then sit down and put a sock in it!"

Rei sighed. She dipped the small bowl back into the water and once more tried to get her to drink. Ranma began to refuse, but then took it as the thirst finally took hold.

"I'm sorry Ranma, but Ikari is right. Let her work in peace," Rei said softly.

She agreed, but her heart felt like it was in a little puddle around out in the sands somewhere. Ranma had not found Akane, Akane had found them. And if it truly wasn't a trick then Rei could count her journey as ended and she could return home. Rei wanted to cry. She couldn't, though. She couldn't give herself the luxury of thinking that Ranma could feel that way about her. Rei forced it down.

The glow from Ikari's healing was washed away in the golden morning sunlight. Rei thought that today would probably be another hot one, but at least they could move again at dusk, and they might even make Kellenel in two days, if that was where Ranma and Akane wanted to go. Rei was so confused. She was glad that Ranma had found what he'd been searching for for two years, but at the same time she wanted nothing more than to cry in Ranma's arms and banish the thoughts that this person was nothing more than another stranger. Ranma slowly drank her water and looked sheepishly back to Rei.

"Uh, Rei?"

Rei lamented further on how much she had grown to love Ranma and how much she had always said about Akane. Rei had always thought that Akane never deserved someone like Ranma. She was always hitting her with a mallet, or calling her names, or some other derisive sort of thing.

"Rei?"

Rei thought that Ranma had stuck with Ikari was because Ikari treated her much the same way. Rei supposed she missed it. Ikari was different though, even from Ranma's descriptions of Akane. Ikari had a good heart and a soft spot too; you just had to find it.

"Rei?" Ranma said as she waved her hand in front of Rei.

Rei snapped back to attention and smiled at the red head.

"Uh, sorry," Rei said.

"Are you okay?" Ranma asked, taking another sip, "You've been kind of zoned out since you came back."

"Just thinking," Rei said, looking back across the sands, "About you and what would happen if we found Akane. And what Tsute did."

Ranma chewed on what Rei said. She knew that Rei loved her and that Rei might not take this little windfall too well. She seemed more stable than any of the fiancées from back home, but then he wasn't back home either.

"And what have you come up with?" Ranma asked.

"Well, about Tsute, I didn't kill him. I didn't have to. He was already dead," Rei said quietly, "He had been tortured to death by someone. I could smell the magic in what was left of his body"

"Do you know who killed him?"

Rei shook her head and remained silent.

"Well, there is something else that's troubling me."

"What?" Ranma asked.

"I know that he didn't touch me because, well, because I would know," Rei said, "And even though he felt up Ikari, he couldn't do anything else. But I don't know about you."

Ranma set her bowl down as a wave of nausea rushed through her at the thought. She knew that the poison was making her feel worse, but the sick feeling didn't help at all. If he...

Ranma felt a hand at her shoulder, rubbing the suddenly increasing tension away. Rei had moved in behind her and was easing away the feeling in her back. Ranma didn't back off at her touch. She was glad that Rei cared. She wanted Akane.

"If you want a little peace of mind, I don't think he touched you," Rei said in her ear, "I know he didn't touch me."

Ranma angled her head back with a questioning look on her face. Rei smiled at her.

"Oh he probably got a free feel, but I cut off his head," Rei's smile increased, "So I think that makes us even. And he couldn't do anything too serious to Ikari."

"Yeah, you said that before," Ranma said as she looked toward the blonde healer, "But-how...?"

Rei chirped in laughter and quickly kissed Ranma on the cheek. She went back to the barrel and scooped out another bowl of water for herself.

"How couldn't he do something to Ikari? Ranma," Rei explained, "Why do think she's never cycled yet, or haven't you ever noticed? Ikari's people go through a very active period in their thirties when women give birth and go through life and stop being able to give birth by the time they're forty. Technically, Ikari's still a kid."

"I thought I asked you two not to talk about that stuff," Ikari squeaked out as she kneeled next to the water barrel.

"Aww," Rei stuck out her tongue at Ikari, "Just because you can't have kids yet..."

"Oh shove it Rei."

Ikari lay back down on the tarp and tried to keep herself out of the sun.

"Ikari, I have to ask," Ranma began.

"I know Ranma. She's okay," Ikari muttered, "She's got a severe case of heatstroke and sunstroke and several other things that I don't even know much about. But the healing took hold and she'll be okay for travel by tomorrow."

"What about getting underway tonight?" Rei asked as she sipped on her water.

Ikari thought for a moment.

"It'll be tricky, but I think it should be okay."

Ranma breathed out a sigh. Maybe this trip would still be okay. Ranma looked back to Rei. The girl was looking out into the desert forlornly. Like she wanted to join the slowly drifting sands and disappear. Ranma hung her head and looked back to the strange blonde girl. She looked so much like Akane. Ranma had spent many a night just watching Akane in the dark. Sleeping so soundly, if anyone would know what she looked like, she should. The blonde had something else about her though, Ranma couldn't explain it. It was like a dark cloud hanging over her, even while she slept.

Ikari awoke a couple of hours later in the late morning heat. Ranma had worried that Yuubi would somehow be affected the same way by the kelban plant, but she seemed quite happy enough having a numb mouth. Maybe it was the coolness of it. Yuubi also seemed happy to see both Ikari and Ranma, though the wet, cowlike tongue that she slurped them with was a little much.

Yuubi was sleeping contentedly, her head shaded in one corner of the tarp. Ikari commenced with the healing again while Rei lounged nearby looking at her map. Ranma began to worry. Rei was beginning to ask prodding questions about Akane.

How old was she? Why would she now have blonde hair? How did she get here? What happened to the wedding ring?

To the last one, Ranma didn't have a firm answer. He knew what happened to his own and he'd have to journey back to the Pfiirn continent in the north to get it. Ranma thought more on his earlier journeys with slight fondness. She smiled to herself. Esu would probably kick her ass if she came back without Akane. Esu never took failure too well.

Ranma hadn't wanted to snap at Rei, but dammit, she wouldn't stop with all the picky little questions. And for Ranma, it brought up a nagging problem that Ranma had refused to deal with for the past month. It forced her to think about it. She was beginning to forget little things. Like the thing that Akane had on the front of her door. She thought on that for a couple days, getting more and more frantic until it came to her. The little wooden duck.

Ranma had cried herself to sleep at the thought that the memories were fading. She had tried so hard not to forget anything, but two years of hard living and even harder adventures had taken their toll. Ranma was brought from her depression as the ground began to rumble.

"Ranma?" Rei asked, frightened.

"Earthquake?" Ranma asked to herself, "Maybe? I don't know..."

Their questions died away as an explosion showered them with sand. As the dust from the explosion cleared away, Ranma saw a huge man standing in the raw sunlight. He had his massive arms crossed across an even more massive chest. This guy was enormous, but that wasn't what bothered Ranma about him. Not even the fact that his eyes were a blackish red. No, the problem was the small licks of flame that were shooting out of his ears and the huffs of smoke coming from his nostrils.

"Ranma," he bellowed out towards the camp, "I have come to kill you."

Ranma sighed. It was going to be a long, hard day.

***

"...And may the Lords bless us and help us to protect others."

Ijisai looked up from her morning devotional as the prayer ended. It filled her heart with joy as the morning light streamed in through the painted windows. [Painter of light] was one of Ijisai's best finds. He was so handsome as well. It made Ijisai blush with such thoughts. He was a holy man too, but he did so love to paint.

He had come from Akamerajh with Ranma to help with the nunnery's foundation, but at the building of the chapel, wanted nothing more in payment than to paint the windows in the chapel and in the main dining hall. Esu couldn't argue as he did his sample window above the central altar and showed exactly how much talent he had in his small, but extremely well built frame.

Ijisai blushed further at the clarity of her memory. She coughed once to focus herself and bowed once as she exited the chapel. It was beautiful after all.

Ijisai blinked in the afternoon sun as she walked across the courtyard towards Esu's garden. Ijisai didn't want to giggle slightly at her mentor's problems, but it was quite humorous at how she described the council bickering that she had been enduring for the last four days. The council seemed to be dead set against whomever Son-sama had chosen to be her successor, but since her word was final, they didn't have much choice in the matter.

Halfway across the courtyard, Ijisai smiled as the sounds rose from the garden that none in the courtyard could mistake. Son-sama normally worked out her frustrations in her garden, but the sounds still carried. Ijisai frowned at some of the appellations that sounded off in the distance. They were so unlike what should come out of the mouth of a sister-protectorate, much less the head of the sisterhood. Ever since she traveled with Ranma, she had a 'potty mouth'. That was what Ranma called it, anyway.

Son-sama seemed to enjoy wreaking havoc on the ears of others when she was in a bad mood, or when she was physically stressed. Misery shared, or something like that. As Ijisai approached the garden, she could see that Son-sama was brutalizing a set of weeds. She wanted Ijisai to come by after the morning prayer to pick up a set of things that they would need for their journey. Ijisai had wanted to get started right away, but Son-sama had said that there were a few different things that would be needed this time.

Ijisai remembered what their first trip with Ranma was like. Surviving. Up in the caves. Ijisai shuddered at the remembered cold. She had almost lost one of her hands to frostbite up there. It was Ranma that had saved them in the end and one of the reasons Son-sama, and herself as well, would do anything to help her.

Ijisai cleared her throat as Son-sama finished with the weeds she was whacking the Hells out of. Esu looked up and her features softened. She smiled sheepishly as she realized that her voice must have carried. Esu stepped over the rows of newly planted fruits and vegetables. They had needed to plant more to replace what was destroyed in the last namagoroshi attack.

Esu stopped at the edge of the garden and looked to the unfinished wall on her right. It was about half the size it had originally been. By the time they got back, it would be back to full strength, but Esu wondered if it was even necessary at this point. It had been almost six days since the last namagoroshi attack. And while Esu wasn't naive enough to think that Mikan had gotten rid of them all, she most certainly got rid of the closest ones. Ijisai had done some scouting of her own in the last couple of days and found out that there was a dragon's lair in the nearby hills. The lake in those hills fed the stream that the nunnery used. But…No dragon.

Esu had chewed Ijisai out for taking on something so dangerous, but realized that if the namagoroshi had gone far enough north to get a dragon there, they could just have easily gone far enough south towards the southern sea and the port city of Cunec there. Esu had sent Jijisai and Yonjisai to investigate and they had come back with clear reports. No namagoroshi were even in the extended vicinity. Which meant that Mikan had power the likes of which hadn't been seen in this world for a long, long time. Of course, wherever Ranma was concerned, the unusual was commonplace.

Esu looked back to Ijisai as she cleared her throat again.

"Ijisai, you don't have to be so humble with me all the time," Esu said, gathering her tools, "But I suppose that I take enough liberties with your training as it is, huh?"

Ijisai said nothing, but smiled sheepishly on her own. She picked up Esu's water pail and followed her towards the tool shed. It had luckily been spared during the last attack. It wasn't without comment, however, as the other sister-protectorates had always referred to it as an outhouse. The moon-shaped hole in the front hadn't helped either.

Esu picked up the paper lying on the table and handed it to Ijisai. It was the promised list. Ijisai frowned in concentration at some of the items. Where in the names of the Gods would she get one of those? She looked back to Esu, concern in her eyes.

"What?" Esu asked, "Trust me Ijisai, when we go to look for Ranma, we first have to go to Akamerajh to consult the seers. Once they find him, we have to have a way to get to him. Did you think he was just going to come to us? Besides, it's easier this way for Mikan."

"Yes, Son-sama," Ijisai said, lowering her head, "It's just that this may take some time to get together. And shouldn't we leave as soon as we are ready?"

"Yes Ijisai, but you do need to learn patience. Remember, Ranma has been here in this world searching now for over two years, a little while longer won't make a difference," Esu said, taking the pail from Ijisai, her smile fading to a frown, "If she's still alive."

"Do you think…She's…?"

"I don't know Ijisai-chan, I just don't know," Esu said as she closed her eyes, "But you know Ranma. That girl would go to the Hells and back if it meant getting back her Akane."

"Yes Son-sama," Ijisai said, "I'll get these as quickly as I can."

"Ijisai? Go to Cunec if you have to and you can take Jijisai with you if you need help."

"Yes Son-sama."

The door closed and Esu stared back at the water in the pail on the table. The light coming through the little hole in the door reflected to myriad splinters of light against the back wall. A thought crossed through her mind. An insight, she would have said. Her insight hadn't served her when she tried to view Mikan. The girl seemed to elude all efforts to 'see' her. It was probably an after-effect of her great power, but Esu didn't think so. Most certainly her power had something to do with it, but it was almost a hidden power. Like the little demons that the sister-protectorates had in their staffs. The source of their power. Perhaps…

But her thought left as soon as it came. Esu sighed and wiped her forehead in the hot shed. She really needed to vent this place better.

***

Ranma wearily lifted herself from where she was resting to face this new challenger. His skin glistened in an unnatural way as the light shined…No, it didn't shine. In fact, Ranma noticed that this guy didn't even look like he was warm and he was standing in the full heat of the desert. The nausea backed up into Ranma's gullet and she went back to her knees. She looked up at the challenger, who gave her an interested eyebrow, but said nothing.

He grunted in pain as a blast of white chi threw him further back into the desert. Ranma smiled as he looked back to Rei, who was once again sheathing her blade. Rei got up and tried to pull Ranma back to the tent.

"No," Ranma said weakly, "I might not be able to take him alone, but we can both take him. Ikari?"

"I know, stay with Akane," Ikari replied disappointedly from behind her.

Ranma looked back to the blonde and smiled at her.

"Thank you Ikari."

Ikari blushed and lowered her head.

"Just, don't get hurt, okay? I don't wanna have to do double duty again," she said.

Ranma laughed weakly as a growl came out of the sands in front of her. Ranma pulled herself up to a vertical base and stumbled slowly forward, the numbness crawling around her limbs like a rabid ferret on crack. Rei had withdrawn her blade again and was just a step behind her on her left. Both flattened themselves as a blast of heat rushed over them. Rei whistled and pointed away to Ranma's right.

Ranma nodded. Outflank him. Rei began to crawl her way left and Ranma jumped to her feet in a burst of energy. The huge man spotted her and formed huge fireballs in his hands. Ranma stopped to watch this for half an instant. So, this guy's chi was fire-based. That made sense. The fireballs began sprouting outwards in huge gouts of flame from the mans' hands. Ranma ran off to the right and threw a ball of chi at the big man.

It hit him square on and he grunted, but not much else. Ranma glanced behind her and saw that Rei had the same idea. Spiral inwards and get closer where her blade and Ranma's fists could do the most damage. More gouts of flame ripped across the landscape around Ranma as she ran. Ranma could feel the adrenaline pounding in her head as she dodged and jumped over the blasts.

Rei made her move. She jumped to the center and began slashing out with her blade. Ranma went to jump to the center, but a lick of fire burned up her left arm, causing her to fall and yelp in pain. She rolled to her right as another lick of fire arced up her previous position. As Rei swiped and cut, Ranma afforded a look at her arm. She could already see blisters forming on the edge of a black and very painful area. Ranma jumped back as a fireball brought her attention back.

Rei was holding her own, but the big man seemed to have some kind of blade of his own. Her blade was being blocked by some kind of flare that would arc out when he blocked her shot. Rei had to respect him, he was good.

She was better.

She dodged to her left to avoid a flare strike and punched inward with a single chi lance. She smiled as the length of it pushed into her opponents' side. He grunted as the chi vanished, leaving just the gaping wound. The man turned to her and smiled as he examined the wound. Rei gasped and backed off slightly as the wound regenerated itself in front of her. Another flare extended and Rei ducked to avoid it. She jumped back as another blow came in from above. It was almost as if he were calling down the sun itself to do his bidding. Rei gasped in the heat that flowed from the man. She caught her breath and jumped again.

Ranma crashed into the side of the man as Rei distracted him. She ignored the burning on her shoulder as the man staggered back. Rei launched another attack, this time at his face. Ranma gathered together enough chi and launched a tight beam towards the man's eyes. If he couldn't see, he couldn't fight. He howled in pain as the slash raked across his face and he staggered backwards, only to be hit full force in the face with a chi blast.

The man grunted once and fell onto his back, kicking up a cloud of dust in the midday heat. Silence echoed throughout the badlands as the wind began to stir again. Ranma looked off to the west. Another storm. Ranma knew that, even if this fight ended now, they couldn't move again until the storm passed. And they were once again running out of water. She looked back to Rei, who was looking in the same direction. She knew the same thing. She also knew that they'd have to take some drastic measures against it. Both sets of eyes jerked back to the man as he groaned and sat up.

"Shiro, you and your little companion pack quite a punch," the man said, "You have earned my respect. I am Gouka Kiyomeru and I'm afraid that I'll still have to kill you."

Ranma looked to Rei, who shrugged in response.

"Aw, bite me."

Ranma unleashed a Mouko Takabisha into the man called Gouka. He umphed as it pushed him back into about four feet of sand.

"Come on!" Rei yelled.

She grabbed Ranma and pulled her along over the next ridge. Ranma shrugged her hand off and followed her. Close quarters were no good. Ranma knew that Rei preferred open area fighting anyway. Maybe they could do more damage out in the open. A deafening shout could be heard behind them as Gouka threw a couple of fireblasts in their direction. Rei split to her right and Ranma to her left as the explosions rocked the ground between them. Ranma tripped over an exposed rock and crashed down.

She was quietly glad for the numbness, but knew she'd pay for it later as she could feel the rocks ripping across her knees. Ranma turned over and ducked to her left as Gouka brought his fist down into the rock, crumbling it underneath her. She swung herself right and left, avoiding his shots at her head. Ranma gathered her chi into her foot and brought it up sharply between his legs, mentally wincing in sympathy pains. Gouka dropped to the ground and growled in impotent rage.

Ranma took the chance to scramble away, stumbling as the new pain in her legs came and went in waves of nausea. Rei grabbed her as she fell to the sands. Gouka crawled after them, but went to his knees again in pain.

"We've got to end this Rei," Ranma choked out.

"I'll end it, just stay here."

"No! Rei, wait!"

Rei jumped in and swung her blade high, the energy crackling from the leading edge. Gouka rolled to miss the strike and brought out his own extended flare. Rei smiled slightly, she could see it now. He did have a blade. It was a blade of formed heat. It leaped to block her downward strike and flamed off. The sweat poured from Rei's brow as she struck and struck again. She would prove to Ranma that she was more worthy than Akane, she would prove that she should stay here with her rather than returning.

Gouka finally made it to his feet and staggered back under the relentless assault from Rei. She backed off for half a second as she charged her blade. It was more than he needed though. He pushed forward as she began to strike. The thousands of slashes that pushed through his attack were countered by the heat that he back washed into her face. The oxygen was ripped from her lungs in a stinking reek of brimstone. She dropped to her knees as she suffocated in the heat, but brought her blade over her head to block his kill strike.

She pushed herself back, away from the heat, away from Ranma. She could regenerate. If it saved Ranma, or helped him win the fight, it was a small price. Her breath slowly came back to her as she continued to fend off the attacks.

"Hey asshole!"

Gouka turned to the ridge that he had just followed the dark haired one over. Shiro was kneeling on the crest. She had almost a prayer-like stance. How cute. Willing to die for this other one.

"Are you willing to give yourself in exchange? Is that your plan? Shiro, I don't care about her."

"Oh, no…" Ranma said, "Just time for you to pay."

Ranma formed two levels of chi quickly in her body. One in her hands and one in the lower parts of her body. She forced the lower part into the earth and thrust her hands into the sand in front of her.

"Let's get ready to rumbbbbbllllleeee!"

The ground beneath Gouka began to shake and rocked him off his feet as several walls of rock shot up around him, one edge collapsing inwards. Gouka exhaled a bit of his power and blew the wall outwards. As the dust settled, he could see Shiro standing at the opening. She was carrying the other one on her back.

"Eat it!" Ranma screamed as she launched Rei upwards.

Ranma let loose all of her energy into a Hiryu Shotsen Ha. The hurricane kept Rei aloft and lifted the howling Gouka higher into the structure. He cried out in pain as his head bounced off the walls several times. Rei whipped her blade forward and down in front of her, then called out to the chi that remained in her small frame. The blade came alight quickly and waved in the spiritual heat that ran rampant along the engraved metal blade.

"Gufuu Dageki!" Rei screamed slashing the chi-lit blade upwards.

Ranma's chi tornado lit with Rei's chi as the energy screamed upwards in the funnel and quickly overcame Gouka. He screamed in pain as the raw power began to overload his brain. The funnel, overwrought with raw power, shattered the remaining walls and began to march quickly across the landscape to the east. Gouka's shouts could be heard as the funnel passed over the horizon.

Ranma's legs came out from under her as she caught Rei and they lay on the ground for a couple of minutes as they caught their breath.

"Ranma?" Rei asked weakly.

"I don't…know…" Ranma gasped.

"He was a monster," Rei whispered.

"No Rei, the southern hydra was a monster. This guy was just supercharged," Ranma said as she tried to get up, "The worst thing is, that funnel won't kill him. Which means that he'll be back."

"But we'll be long gone when he-"

"No Rei," Ranma said, slowly shaking her head, "If he could find us out here, he can find us anywhere. He'll be back. And next time, it won't be so easy."

"Easy?" Rei chuckled in pain, "You call that easy?"

"God I hate my day job…"

***

Akuji adjusted his position in the top stair. So. Gouka had failed, though not without showing some of Shiro's weaknesses. Perhaps Akuji would let him live after he returned. If he returned. Gouka was prideful and he'd probably want revenge for losing to Shiro and her friend.

Akuji swept the hair out of his face with one hand and sighed. Perhaps Yoko or Kowaku would have better luck. He would hate to have to rely on Hisomu. He was so underhanded and dirty. Akuji looked back to the pool in the center of the room. Meijin was deep in concentration, his little fire halo barely visible as it made its little path around his head. His eyes had an almost greenish glow from the effort.

Akuji looked back to the column. He would be the first to admit that it probably wasn't the easiest or quickest way to keep an eye on Shiro, but any other method would disrupt Meijin in his task. And he wanted to keep an eye on Meijin while he worked.

Akuji laughed gently to himself, which brought Meijin back around a little. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Akuji, who ignored him. Akuji knew that power, no matter how great, would never alone defeat Shiro. That's where Yoko came in. Akuji laughed to himself again and continued to examine the column. Meijin wondered at this, but returned to his concentration as his eyes closed.

And the woman in the pool opened her eyes…And slowly closed them once more…

***