Mikan looked over the edge of the wagon again. Ijisai was letting her take a break in the training for the day, having said that her powers needed a day or two to rest and recuperate. Mikan knew that she was having a hard time with Hana's death. She had seen her ascension, so Mikan wondered what the problem was.

The dirt road they had been travelling was turning sandy as the team headed southward. Mikan knew the coast wasn't very far off. She was glad that they were getting back towards the ocean. She had missed it. The smell of the sea, the birds, the knira jumping at the prows of the ships following them like pups out to sea. She loved it all.

Her thoughts wandered back to her family. Akamerajh was a big town, or so Esu had told her, and perhaps she could use one of the distance lenses to get a hold of her family. She wondered about her sisters too. Hanasu could take care of herself, but Kakuji seemed so lost when it came to something new. She was the one that needed to be taken care of in an emergency. And mother with her weak constitution to care for both and her father too. Mikan wondered at times how her mother ever got the strength to bear three girls. But then there were the times that her mother and father were together. They seemed so happy together and seemed to give strength to the other, while taking away all the sorrows of the other. It was all so wonderful.

Mikan blinked a couple of times as a shadow passed over her head. She looked up and saw that Tekido had pulled up next to the wagon. She smiled at him. He blushed, probably because of the warm air and pulled his hat lower over his eyes. Mikan looked over her shoulder to Ijisai, who was sacked out on the other side of the wagon and stifled a giggle at her snoring. Esu looked back at Mikan and then behind her. She smiled and put a finger to her lips as she turned back to the reins. Mikan stifled another giggle as she turned back to Tekido, who was smirking as well.

"Can I ask you a question?" Mikan asked.

Tekido gathered himself up, as if he were straining or something.

"You can ask," he said looking down at the saddle horn, "There's nothing to say that I'll answer it."

"Why did you become a rider?" Mikan asked, "I mean, I heard about your father, but is that the only reason?"

He straightened around in the saddle and gave an odd kind of smile as his eyes glazed over in thought.

"My dad was a great man," he said, "He worked to be the best father he could be. All three of us were working as a herding family for the Duke of I'shml. A lazy, fat bastard named Gojinan. He worked my father like a demon."

"What did your family herd?" Esu asked from the front.

Mikan turned to face the front as Tekido rode a little closer towards the front of the wagon.

"Horses actually," he said, patting his own, "Grandfather used to raise pecaricos, but when a raiseable breed of horse was found, they came into great demand in I'shml and in the other cities on the rim."

"I'shml is known for it's horses and the quality of breeding," Esu said, "Is that your father's work?"

Tekido nodded sadly.

"I was just a young kid back then, so I don't remember a whole lot 'bout it," Tekido said, "I do remember that mom was always sad for some odd reason. Now I know it was because father was too far in debt with Gojinan to ever work his way free."

"My father was a proud man, so the debts he had from his youth he was determined to pay for in his life, so that one day I would get the ranch and I could tell the Duke to kiss my-"

"Tekido!" Esu warned.

"Oh yeah," he came back down to reality, "Anyway, one day the Duke's soldiers walked into the ranch and demanded that father give him ten of his finest stallions for the Duke's stables. Father was always willing to help out, but he only had nine that were ready. They beat him and took all nine anyway."

Mikan gasped in shock. Tekido noticed and smiled sadly again.

"Eh, we were both used to it actually. The Duke's men were all nasty brutes. No, what drove my father over the edge was this." Tekido said, pulling off his left glove.

He rolled back the left sleeve on his shirt and Mikan gasped again. Esu frowned at the horrific brand that laced across the young man's arm.

"I was young and stupid back then," Tekido said, rolling his sleeve back down, "I tried to keep the men from taking a colt I had my eye on. I didn't quite succeed. They gave me this, but let me keep the colt. I guess they liked the way I fought or something."

"I'm surprised that you kept your arm, for as badly as it was burnt," Esu said.

Tekido nodded his head as he put his glove back on.

"Yeah, mom was a good healer," he said, "And father tanned my hide for taking on men like that. He said that he never wanted me to get into trouble like he did. I went to school, I got good grades. I did everything they wanted me to. And then the riders came."

"What happened?" Mikan asked in wonder.

Tekido smirked at this and swung his right leg over the saddle. With his shin stuck up against the saddle horn, Esu could see that he could take the reins and ride again fairly quickly. She smiled. Perhaps he could learn new tricks after all. Tekido propped his head onto his right hand and looked thoughtful. He caught the way Esu was looking at him and grinned like an idiot.

"Well, the town was attacked, along with our ranch," he said, "Father fought them to a standstill with his whip and rapier."

Tekido leaned back and drew the rapier from around his waist. It's hot light glanced briefly off the wagon and Tekido handed it to Mikan. She took hold of the hilt and was shocked at the weight of the curved blade.

The sword itself was fairly plain. A curved blade of about two feet, it sparkled with a shine of silver and flecks of gold. The hilt and pommel were both wrapped in a red kind of wire. The hilt was then wrapped in red leather. The guard came outwards and down on three sides to form little silver hooks on the bottom of the hilt. Mikan hefted the sword back to him and was surprised at the ease with which he swung it around and back into the scabbard.

"It's beautiful Tekido," she said.

"Yeah, my grandfather had it made for my father when he was a small boy, so it's been in the family for many years," he laid a hand on the hilt, "While the other end of the town was burning, the leader had called a truce between the riders and my father."

"I'll bet Gojinan wasn't too thrilled by that little arrangement," Esu said.

Tekido laughed lightly.

"You could say it that way," he said, "He blamed my father and exiled us."

"Why laugh about that?" Esu asked shocked by the young man's levity.

"Because it was the best thing that he could have done," Tekido said, relaxing in the saddle again, "You see, the leader was so impressed by my father that the riders set us up in a mountain cabin not more than ten miles from Bulbulyula. In return, my father would raise horses for the riders. The riders would give protection and allow father to sell any extra."

"I have a cousin in Bulbulyula," Mikan said, she then frowned, "He was always so frisky."

"Well, he had much to be frisky over, I'm sure," Tekido smirked, pulling his horse closer to Mikan.

"No, I don't think he had an eye on either Hanasu or Kakuji really," Mikan said, thinking on it, "We found out later that he had an eye for the neighbor's son."

Esu burst out laughing as Tekido just hung his head. Esu wondered how Mikan could miss that pass? It was so obvious. She sobered slightly and turned back to Tekido. She'd have to keep an eye on him, but she did admit that he was the one that kept Mikan relatively safe until she and Hana arrived. Perhaps he would make a good match for the imadoushin, but Esu didn't know. He certainly had a crush on her, that much was certain.

Esu looked to Mikan. She saw the way she was looking at Tekido...No; looking at wasn't quite the way she wanted to say that. Watching, observing even. The way he sat in the saddle, the way he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, even the way he blushed when he realized that she was watching him.

Oh yeah, she's got it bad, Esu thought.

"So what happened to bring you to the Cunec area?" Esu asked, trying to feel less like a third wheel.

"Huh? Oh, well, we had it pretty good in Bulbulyula until the city was destroyed in the Conquest wars. We didn't have anywhere else to turn and the riders were moving on. Mother had been in town when the battleships pulled into the rim," he paused and waited for something, when it didn't come he continued, "They destroyed nearly every city on the rim before moving on to defeat at Kellenel. They killed my mother too."

Tekido felt a hand on his and he looked to Mikan, who had stretched across the small gap between them. He nudged his horse closer to the wagon and lightly gave her hand a squeeze.

"It's okay, well now anyway," he continued, "Of course, father wanted revenge, just as much as I did. That's where our band of riders joined the Cappin and then started to terrorize the north and east lands."

Something he had just said made Esu's eye twitch, but she wasn't sure what it was, so she dropped it.

"Hey look!" Mikan shouted.

"Mikan, could you please not shout, I have watch tonight," Ijisai mumbled.

"We're at the southern cliffs Ijisai, you might want to see this," Esu said as she pulled the wagon to a stop.

Ijisai blinked her eyes open at this. The tone with which Esu had said that made a shiver run through her. Ijisai pulled her staff to her and rolled to her knees in the wagon. The sight that befell her simply took her breath away. On the shore below, a ship lay strewn on the rocks, the timbers white from the splintered seams in the side to the huge central mast, which lay a little to one side.

"Survivors?" Ijisai asked, trying to shake the sleep from her.

Esu nodded.

"Mikan, take the reins and guide the team down to the edge of the wreck over there," she said, pointing to a lower slope, "You might have to travel down a ways in order to get there, but don't worry about that, just get moving okay?"

Mikan hopped over the edge of the wagon and pulled herself into the drivers' seat as Esu dismounted. Mikan threw the reins forward in a snap and the team wheeled to the distant slope. Tekido turned his mount, but found Ijisai and Esu staring at him from the roadway.

"What? I should go that way too since I'm mounted," he asked more than said.

"No, you just sit there and keep your horse still," Ijisai said, adjusting her staff.

Esu came around to his right while Ijisai took up position on his left. Both raised their hands and together shouted a command word. The world flashed away in an instant and Tekido slammed his eyes shut against the blinding light.

"You can open your eyes now," Ijisai said.

Tekido opened his eyes slowly, thinking that he'd have to adjust to something, but found himself instead staring at a rock wall. He looked up and followed the cliff to the place where he had been not a second before.

"You can help us with this anytime now rider-boy," Ijisai said, moving off to the wreckage on his left.

"Ijisai," Esu warned, "Tekido, tie up your horse to one of these timbers, they're large enough that he won't go anywhere."

Tekido shook himself out of his stupor and dismounted, bringing the reins over to the timber indicated. He lashed them together and began to climb the nearest pile in front of him, carefully looking for places where the rocks jutted out for handholds. If there was anyone trapped in here, you didn't want to step on them needlessly.

Esu watched Tekido as he made his way onto the wreck. She smiled to herself, he was certainly game to do anything, but then she suspected that it was because of Mikan.

When did you get so old? Esu heard herself think. No, not old. Mature.

"Right," she answered sarcastically.

Esu concentrated and a section of the ship floated up in front of her and clattered to the beach behind. The light on her staff lit briefly in agreement and she continued. Small pieces, large pieces, whole sections. The work seemed to take forever, but it soon became clear that something was extremely wrong. Well, wrong in that she hadn't confirmed her fears yet, which only angered her. What the hells could be going on?

She concentrated and another section lifted out of her way, as Tekido came into view on the other side. She could hear him mumbling about something, but couldn't quite make out the dialect. Probably something he picked up in the riders. She'd have to talk to him about his language around Mikan too. She shook her head and stepped lightly over a section to join him.

"Esu-san," he said, climbing over the remaining boards, "I haven't found anyone and I've been up to the other end of the mast already. There should have been someone...Anyone."

Esu nodded and looked around.

"I agree," she said, "This is much too peculiar for it to be just coincidence."

"One more thing-"

"Son-sama!" Ijisai called from the other end of the ship.

"Can it wait?" she asked the boy.

He thought for a second and nodded. Both turned as Mikan pulled into view on the wagon. Esu waves at the timbers where Tekido's horse was tied and then off along the ship. Mikan nodded and dismounted.

"Come on," she tapped his shoulder and they started off over the side of the debris.

Tekido looked back and saw that Mikan was having no problems following them. They made their way along the side and Tekido saw that Ijisai was struggling to keep a large section off the ground. Tekido jumped up to the pile next to her and pushed up on the section. He could hear Esu mumble something and the section slowly lifted up and away, crashing down on the other side of the pile. Tekido jumped off the pile and slid down next to Mikan, who flashed him a smile.

The section revealed a medium sized man, probably no older than Tekido, whose black shirt was in tatters about him. His black hair shone hotly in the noontime sun. It could have been the ponytail that said something to Esu. It could have been the black etameran that he wore, which was now in shreds around him, but it was the little gold ring on his left hand that gave it away for Esu.

"I'll be damned...Ijisai, Tekido, pull him free, but for gods sake be careful," Esu said pulling Mikan back.

Ijisai magically hefted the remaining pile and Tekido pulled the man free of the wreckage. Tekido dropped him and scrambled back, as if he were bit.

"What is THAT?" he shouted, pointing to the man.

Mikan looked at the man's face and gasped. Something silverish-black oozed from his mouth. It almost looked alive in the way it seemed to slither around the man.

"Stand back," Esu said.

She raised her staff and shouted a single syllable. An intricate symbol flashed around the man and vanished. Esu looked and the ooze began to flow from the man's mouth again. Esu sighed and turned the man over, carefully leaving his face to the side so he could...drain. Esu began to chuckle and stood up. She chuckled more and walked back to Mikan.

"Mikan," she said at last, "Meet Ranma Saotome."

***

"I'm gonna kill her," Ikari said slightly and to no one in particular.

Several people passing near took a step away from her and tried not to draw a glance from this tall, but beautiful blonde.

"I'm gonna kill her and that's all there is to it," she said again, as if the little mantra would help.

She was just glad that Rei had tried to teach her the conversion tables that the bank was using for the jade. She remembered enough to keep herself from getting shafted, but it had been an uphill fight, especially when the bank found out that the people they had been dealing with wouldn't be back for a while.

The sun baked overhead as Ikari stopped at one of the local fountains. She stopped and sat at the edge. Dipping her hand in the water, she splashed herself and wiped the desert grit from her face. She turned at the sounds of splashing from the other side of the fountain. Three children played happily in the hotness of the noontime sun. She looked back down to her pack and sighed heavily.

Ikari huffed once as she slung the pack back over her shoulder and began her trek back to the hotel, which thankfully was not very far. A few minutes later, she doled out a precious sum of money on the counter to pay for the rest of their stay at the hotel. The clerk smiled in return and gave her a little receipt. She heaved the pack once more and began towards the lifts.

"Fifth floor," Ikari said wearily.

"Gods Praise," the little voice chimed back.

The lift slowly rose and Ikari put the pack down on the floor of the lift while it chimed away soft music. Ikari could feel the cooling effect as they winded their way upward. All too soon the lift slowed and stopped, the door chiming open.

"Fifth floor," the voice chirped happily, "Magic Wills."

"Bite me," Ikari muttered walking slowly towards their room.

Ikari put her key in the little lock and a little blue cherub appeared in the window above the lock. She took the key out and pushed open the door. Ikari set the pack down in the chair against the wall. It had been four days since that little bitch took Ranma. Four days and Rei still wasn't awake yet. She went to the bedside and checked the girl's pulse. Still there, still strong. Healing her had been the easy part, as her natural immortality plus Ikari's healing stitched her up in no time, less than a day in fact.

But she hadn't woke up. And that was three days ago. Ikari had looked into her brain and found that she was still there. The soul was there, everything seemed to work just fine, but it was like she just didn't want to come out. Ikari was beginning to worry. She should have come out and they would have gone yesterday, but as it was, they couldn't go anywhere. Ikari heard ice tinkle in a glass from the balcony area. The wide doors were open and there was a slight breeze ruffling back the light curtains. Ikari got up and poked her head outside.

Hanasu was out there, asleep in the reclining chair again. Ikari looked at the bottle that lay in her lap. This one was a little heavier than her usual brand of poison. Ikari lifted the glass from her limp fingers and set it and the bottle back on the table. The first time Hanasu had drunk herself into a stupor, Ikari refused to treat her hangover, hoping that it would be an object lesson. It seemed that the little rich girl, who was no longer so rich, took it simply as a challenge and began drinking more.

Ikari placed her hand on the back of Hanasu's neck and extended inside. She could feel the alcohol speed the blood along at a more rapid pace than normal. Ikari healed the little damage that the alcohol had caused on her liver and the dependence it would bring into her brain. She drew her hand away. Well, the physical dependence anyway. The mental she would have to work out on her own.

Ikari trudged back in to the other room and sat down on the second bed. The room itself was larger, but just for the fact of the second bed, which she shared with Hanasu. The repair bill for the damage to the other room was enough to force them to switch to a single room with two beds, and neither she nor Hanasu wanted to sleep next to Rei, even if she was above room temperature.

Ikari undid the ties on her tunic and tossed it aside. She pulled her leggings off and grabbed a towel on the way to the bath. She really didn't care how hot it got outside; there was nothing to dissuade her from a hot bath. She closed the door and the cooler kicked on. She sat on the edge of the tub and tapped on the hot water handle, indicating the desired level of heat to her water, which then began to fill the tub.

The chill air from the cooler was having a noticeable affect on her skin. She waited for the tub to fill and rubbed at her tired arms. At least she wouldn't bake in here. Which reminded her to check on Hanasu and make sure she didn't get sunburned or anything like that, laying out there on the balcony.

Ikari rubbed her chest idly as the water trickled to a stop. She smiled and gently lowered herself into the water. It was hot against her skin, but she bore it. She sat down and was about to start to clean herself off, but the heat felt so good against her as it worked its way in her tired body. She wouldn't wash her hair, not until tomorrow, for she found that washing it too much dried it out worse than salt water. Perhaps it was something in the soap, she didn't know. But tomorrow, it should be fine. She reached for the soap and began to scrub herself down.

So, Ranma was now a man. Odd, she didn't know how she would react upon seeing him in his 'true' form, but she liked him. It didn't seem to change his personality, but then that was back then. She didn't know what that witch Yoko had done to him. The tub drained itself in response to the less than pure water and began to refill, bringing in more clean water as Ikari continued to clean.

Ranma certainly cut a handsome figure as a man. Rei had told her what he looked like, but there was just no comparison to the real thing. Tight. Ikari grinned at herself. That was the best way to describe him. From his tight muscles that moved him along so gracefully, to the tight style in which he put his hair when he would change. And Ikari had gotten used to seeing just the ponytail clamp too. She didn't know about that braided look, but then Ranma generally only wore that when he was a guy.

Ranma had told Ikari a long time ago that she used to have a pigtail because of something that had happened back in his world. Well, her world back then. But that since her curse no longer meant anything, neither did the pigtail. All of it confused Ikari because all the pigs she'd ever seen never had any tails.

Ikari set the little washcloth aside and stretched back in the tub, which had completed replacing the water. She sighed as the warmth of it swirled around her and she closed her eyes. It felt good. Her muscles sighed at the heat of the water. But something wasn't quite right. Something...Ikari opened her eyes and adrenaline slammed into her veins as she jumped back.

Rei sat on the edge of the tub in her silken robe, just looking kind of sadly at the tile. Ikari tried to catch her breath and steady her heart as it beat wildly in her chest. She put her hand to her head as the adrenaline gave her the beginnings of a headache. She took a couple more deep breaths before she found she was able to form any kind of coherent thought on this whole thing.

"Dammit Rei," Ikari muttered, "You could knock you know?"

"Where did he go, Ikari?" she asked simply.

Ikari looked back at the smaller girl and shook her head, which didn't make it feel any better.

"How the hells should I know? My guess is that he was under Yoko's control through that powder of hers," Ikari said, "But I have no idea where they are now."

Silence filled the small bathroom. Rei idly brushed back a strand of dark hair.

"We should still go to Akamerajh, but this time-"

"To look for Ranma," Ikari finished, "Yeah, I know. There might be a problem with your immortality though. You've been gone for about five days or so."

"I know," Rei said, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

"I mean, I had to spend a day healing you, but you should've-"

"I know!"

Ikari sat back shocked at the suddenness of the statement. It was something that she had never expected. Rei had always been the calming force between the three of them and her harsh response seemed so out of place. Rei stared back at the tile floor. She folded her arms around herself and sunk to the tile, rocking slightly back and forth. Ikari thought for a minute that she might be crying, but she wasn't. Rei just sat there, rocking.

"He showed me, Ikari," Rei said quietly.

"Showed you what?"

"Death," Rei looked back at the blonde, "Not the fake death that my immortality plays on me. Not the rush I get when someone cuts me up, or when I drown or something like that. Ikari, this was real."

This news didn't sit well with Ikari. If Rei was going insane, she sure picked a bad time to begin. Ikari set her arms on the edge of the tub and pulled herself out a little so she could look at Rei, who was now drawing intricate little patterns on the tile floor with her finger.

"Rei, I know it seems real, but listen to me-"

Rei bolted up and Ikari jostled back in the tub.

"You're not immortal!" Rei shouted, "You don't know what it's like! I'm telling you, it was REAL!"

Ikari threw her hands up and nodded quickly in affirmation.

"Okay, okay, it was real," she said, "Now tell me how you know it was real."

A crease formed on Rei's forehead as she thought about it, but she surrendered to the question and slumped down onto the toilet instead.

"That's just it Ikari, I'm not sure. I mean, it felt different possibly because it was Ranma, possibly because of something else," Rei wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock again, "I don't know."

Ikari sighed. She reached up and took the dark green towel from its place on the small metal rack. Sensing that the bath was over, the tub began to drain as Ikari dried herself off. Rei looked sidelong at her taller friend and stopped rocking. She looked across from her seat on the toilet and picked up the black robe that Ikari had set out to put on after the shower. Rei thought on the robe. It was black, like the outfit that Ranma had on that night. Rei shut her eyes against the flood of emotions and handed the soft robe to Ikari as she stepped from the tub.

Ikari put on the robe and helped Rei to her feet. Rei looked to Ikari in confusion and she shooed her out of the bathroom with a wave of her hands. Rei sighed to herself and walked slowly into the other room. She went back to her bed and slumped down onto her stomach, curling one of the pillows under her chin.

There was a clink of glass and Rei turned her head. Ikari had opened the cold chest at the corner of the room. She brought forth two green bottles and handed one to Rei. Rei gazed at the green bottle with the white paint on the front. She twisted off the top and drained back a swig of the stuff. She licked her lips absently and stifled a sniffle. This stuff was good, whatever it was. Something tart with bubbles in it, but Rei couldn't place the taste.

Ikari took position on the bed across from Rei and sat there, quietly waiting for the raven-haired girl to speak what was on her mind. Keep her talking on this death issue. It seemed to bother her to get killed by Ranma, though now that she thought about the circumstances, Ikari thought that it'd probably bother her too. To be killed by the one you love. Betrayal yes, but there hadn't been any because he had been under Yoko's control. Rei knew this, so Ikari wondered why she was having such a hard time with it.

"It's not like anything I've ever felt before," Rei began, taking a careful sip of her beer, "I could feel the anger in him, the hatred driving the blade deeper into me. But-that's the weird thing-I knew it wasn't really Ranma."

Well, if she knew, then what-?

"Huh?" was as much as Ikari could manage.

"Well, yeah. Ranma was the one that did it, but he wasn't in control of himself-and I don't think he knew it was even me," Rei said, taking another sip.

She was running around in circles. Ikari sighed. Rei was dead set on figuring this out for herself and she didn't want anyone to help.

"Are you going to be okay with this?" Ikari asked.

"Yes, and now I want him even more," Rei took another swig of beer.

Ikari barked a short, humorless laugh.

"He drives a long piece of metal through you and it makes you want him?"

Rei frowned and looked up at Ikari. The tall blonde hadn't any idea what she was talking about, which made it all the more humorous. Rei laughed lightly and rolled over, propping the pillow behind her.

"No, not because of that," she said, "I want him because he's shown me a true taste of mortality."

Rei laughs more, but her laugh grows colder and Ikari shivered reflexively. Rei stopped laughing and turned back to Ikari, who shrank back at the smile that slid across Rei's face.

"And I want to taste it again."

***

Akuji mumbled to himself as he stared ahead at the pillar. Just like the other ones. He reached out and touched the bare surface. Smooth, like bezhl, but warm, like the other pillars. These were made from the same magic, but something had happened to them. And the only thing that had changed was the episode on the top of the last pillar. Akuji barked a command to himself and levitated up to the scene in question. Once again a thought ran through his head that seemed foreign, out of place.

"What the hells is she doing?"

Akuji looked down into the center of the columnade circle to the bath of light that still kept his queen locked away from him. It had been many a night since Meijin started his tedious work, but Akuji could see the results for himself. He turned his attention back to the image in front of him.

Akuji wasn't surprised that Yoko had been able to get Shiro to down a potion or two, it was her specialty after all. What was surprising was the effect. Every time Shiro downed a particular potion, the pillar image would fade away immediately and come back once the potion had worn off. That made Akuji think that it was particularly powerful, which was good. It obscured his view of things though, and that was bad. Akuji turned at a slight noise. Meijin looked up at him with his golden eyes. Akuji turned his attention back towards the pillar as the mouthless Meijin went about his tasks. Akuji snuck a glance around the top of the pillar to the center below.

"Soon, my queen," he whispered, "Soon."

***

Ikari huffed as he hefted the last of the cases onto the back of the small buggy. They banged together with a rather loud clap and Hanasu shot a sour look back to her. Ikari grinned at the other blonde and went back inside to finish with the hotel. Rei met her at the door and gave her a quick nod.

"Everything okay?"

"No," Rei said, adjusting Ranma's coat around her, "That bastard wanted double the price simply for all the damage we did."

"Well, did you pay it?" Ikari was wondering if they'd have enough to get to Akamerajh.

"No," Rei said, smirking as she got in the front of the buggy, "I persuaded him that the price we were quoted was more than fair."

Rei reached behind her and adjusted her blade as she sat back.

"Oh damn Rei," Ikari muttered, getting the hint, "Your blade won't solve all problems, you know."

"Maybe," she replied, "But those are too few and far in between to matter to me."

Rei laughed slightly, which brought a big wince from Hanasu as she wondered what could make these two so loud this time of morn...uh, afternoon. Rei laughed again and paid the driver, who brought the laden buggy into the lane and off towards the distant docks.

Ikari mused as they traveled out to the docks. What a long, strange journey is was that Ranma had put her on. She would have told her, or rather him now, that she / he was crazy if Ranma said that Ikari would be on her way to Akamerajh with an immortal and a head case for companions. She would have further scoffed at the idea that Ranma wouldn't be there, but that instead a potion-brewing witch who had succeeded in changing her to a him had taken her mental hostage. Ikari shook her head and tried to watch the scenery as it passed.

Rei closed her eyes. She could see his eyes. It was something that she hadn't told Ikari. Ikari wouldn't understand about it. His eyes had been a metallic color that seemed to glow in the dark. Sure, Ikari had seen it when they first came into the room, but Rei doubted that Ikari remembered. And Rei knew that his eyes were the most important part of the puzzle. A smile broke across Rei's face as she remembered her attack. It had been perfect and he simply seemed to shrug it off, taking her out in the process. A tear slid silently down her cheek. He was perfect.

Hanasu mumbled slightly as the sun flashed hotly between the tops of the vendors' stands along the marketplace. Why did it have to be so bright? She felt a hand rest on her neck and she turned slightly. Ikari pursed her lips and closed her eyes in concentration. Hanasu began to feel the hangover slipping away to whatever hell from which it came. Ikari opened her eyes and sighed at the smaller blonde, who mouthed a thanks to her in return. She still had a slight headache, but she could stand it. Hanasu thought back on the bottle under which she awoke and resolved that Ikari had been right. That stuff was nasty.

As the buggy pulled into the docks, Rei opened her eyes and stretched slightly. She glanced embarrassedly back toward Ikari. Neither she, nor Hanasu had realized that she'd fallen to sleep and she wasn't about to tell them. Rei looked out to the massive buildings that rose around her. It didn't surprise her that this area was set away from the main city now that she was able to see it in the daylight. Huge warehouses lined up two by two as large as mountains that stretched into the distance. Rei was in awe, this place was huge!

The buggy slowed to a stop and the driver turned back to Ikari.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked.

"We need a ship that'll take us to Akamerajh," Rei said, "It doesn't need to be flashy, just fast."

The driver turned to Rei and eyed her.

"Eh? Ah well, not my place to ask why," the driver grabbed his chin, "Fast, huh? I think I may have a ship for you. 'Tisn't fancy. It's actually a merchant frigate that's been converted by her captain. Don't know what they transport now, but 'tis always on my list of personal vessels."

"So, it is fast then?" Ikari asked.

"Aye."

"Then we'll take it," Rei said.

"Aye."

The driver turned back in his seat and started the buggy rolling along again, taking a right turn at the end of the first block. Rei marveled at the size of the buildings, thinking that she had been among these and didn't even realize it. Between the buildings, Rei could see the ocean beckoning beyond. It spoke of life and blue peace and perhaps, the destiny of her love. Hanasu poked Rei in the shoulder and pointed on ahead. A smile cracked across Ikari's face as the same vision came into view. Rei smiled and tried to keep Ikari and Hanasu from cracking up.

As they passed it, Rei could see the ocean beyond, through the timbers and metal framework of the building that she and Ranma destroyed a few nights earlier. Ikari took this moment to try and examine the damage that her friends had done. It was truly amazing that neither of them had been killed. Well, really killed. Well, really dead. Ikari shook her head, clearing it. Blackened timbers jutted out at odd angles and the sidewalls, which were of metal framework, rose and curled inward like the ribs of a huge, gutted creature.

The driver glanced toward the back seat, as both Ikari and Hanasu couldn't keep their laughter in. Rei smiled weakly and tried to ignore them. The buggy pulled off onto a side alley and soon came out of the maze of buildings to a dock. Towards one side of the dock was a smaller ship that several big men were loading something onto. The buggy pulled up to the ship and the driver got out.

"Stay here," the driver told the trio, "I'll talk to the captain."

He turned without getting a response and walked to a burly man that seemed to be overseeing the operation. The burly man twirled his equally burly moustache and looked back toward the buggy as if appraising his new cargo. He said something to the driver and turned back to his task at hand. The driver returned and turned the buggy off.

"He's said that they're going as far as the Chain Islands, but then you can get a ferry to Akamerajh, or Sethett, or wherever," the driver said.

Rei looked back at Ikari, who shrugged. It seemed the best they could get at the moment. And Rei didn't want to wait. She nodded her assent to the driver, who began helping Ikari unload the cases from the back of the buggy.

Rei got out of the buggy and made her way to the burly captain. Standing to his right, she was surprised to see how tall this man actually was. A mountain of a man, he was easily twice Rei's height and more than all three of the girl's weight put together. He glanced at sidelong at her with dark brown eyes, almost in a questioning way. The men in front of him finally got the huge chunk of covered cargo on the deck of the ship and began huffing it towards the cargo hold. With the cargo onboard, it seemed that the captain could spare some of his time. He turned to Rei and regarded her.

"How much would passage be?" Rei asked, trying not to be intimidated.

"Well, my brother said that you needed to get to Akamerajh," the captain bellowed, "We're in kind of a hurry though, so I don't think that passengers would be a very good ide-"

Rei held up a smallish chunk of jade and watched the cloud clear up from the captain's face as he realized what it was.

"I think that's a fair deal," the captain said, secreting the chunk in the folds of the lace at his chest, "But, if you'll hurry on board, we're in a bit of a rush."

Rei nodded and helped Ikari with the cases, which a couple of the younger men helped get below.

***

Ijisai propped the head of the young man up, trying to wipe off as much of the silverish liquid as she could.

"My Gods!" she breathed, her face alight with wonder, "It is Ranma! But, Son-sama, how can this be?"

Esu looked up from the young man that she'd been on a quest to find. He had found her, but Ijisai was right in questioning how it came to pass. Surely, the gods worked in mysterious and powerful ways. She looked out across the wreckage of the ship and saw for what she was looking.

"Ijisai, Mikan, take Ranma up to the wagon and try to make him comfortable in the back," she said, "It's now more important than ever to make it to Akamerajh. We have to get him healed and I'm afraid that Cunec won't have the necessary facilities. Tekido, follow me."

Tekido began to argue, but silenced his concerns when after the look Ijisai gave him. Esu began to climb towards the seaward side of the pile of boards. Tekido followed the older woman across the seaward pile. Tekido picked his way up over the stiff white boards that stuck out at all directions. He wondered how she could move so quickly with all those weird robes on. He also remembered the separate robes she wore underneath from their fight back home.

Tekido stopped shortly and shook his head. She'd probably blow him away if she caught him thinking like that. Certainly Mikan wouldn't like it. Now there was something on which he could certainly muse. He thought of her shockingly red hair, the way it kind of flowed like water around her. The spring in the curls that bounced around her face when she laughed.

The boards underneath him sagged slightly and his attention was brought back around. He jumped up to the nearer level and pulled himself over the lip and slid down the other side. He landed next to Esu, who just gave him a resigned look. She pointed out to a section of ship that still remained off the beach. It seemed to be the back edge of the ship and stuck out of the soft coastal water like a hand scraping something from the bottom.

"Okay, it's a piece of the ship," he said.

"Take a look at the far edge," Esu said, pointing out the shadow cast from the edge in question, "What's wrong about that edge in this situation?"

Tekido stepped closer to the waters' edge. He watched the water as it lapped silently into the open space that gaped from the hole. You had a piece of ship. You had water. You had that piece of ship in the water. He didn't get it.

"Look at the other edge," Esu said, not wanting to be too obvious.

Tekido jerked his head back as he suddenly realized what she was trying to say. He looked back at her.

"It's been cut!"

Esu smiled. Maybe Mikan had made a better choice than she had originally thought.

"Yes, cut," she repeated, "Now, this means that someone, or something cut apart a rather largish ship that Ranma was apparently on at the time. He was injured and something entered into his system. It looks like he's been poisoned though."

"That what that silver stuff was?"

"Possibly," Esu turned her back from the sun and tried to consider a couple things.

"Would we be able to find that out in Cunec?" he asked.

"Well, again possibly," she said, "More likely than not we'll need to get him to Akamerajh and some of the professional healers there. But it means that someone was really going after Ranma, maybe even two someones. I think that the person who poisoned him may just want to control him, since he's most definitely still alive, I don't know though."

"They'd just not better mess with Mikan," he said more to himself than Esu.

She'd heard it though and raised an eyebrow at him as he climbed back over the pile towards the wagon. Esu sighed to herself. She walked to the pile and followed him. Perhaps she could talk with him more later, but for now, Esu needed to heal Ranma and find out just what mischief he'd gotten himself into since she last knew him. She was also afraid that she wouldn't like the answer.

***

The ocean roiled around them in a surging caldera of green water. Or, maybe it was blue. It certainly looked like both. Rei tried to ignore the cursing and retching sounds that came from the other side of the small ship. How was Rei to know that Hanasu had no sea legs? Rei adjusted her wrap around her against the salt spray. She smoothed the front edge. It was the same kind of slick black etameran that matched Ranma's newest suit. She had picked up this piece in Kellenel and she had hoped that she'd be able to show it to Ranma, but that didn't seem to be. At least at the moment.

Rei looked up the ship to the front section, which was raised onto a higher platform. Most likely for lookout and maneuvering in dangerous waters. Ikari was trying to be trained in the use of a cutlass. Rei thought it was a brutal type of weapon, only to be used by the heavy handed and ill mannered. And among these pirates, she could hold her own. They didn't even have the decency of modern gentlemen to use the rapiers that had come into fashion in the last hundred years with the riders.

Pirates, all of them. Rei had seen the cargo that was hauled aboard two days earlier as they got underway. Call it curiosity, call it sheer luck that she hadn't been discovered. She had made her way into the forward hold and found the huge, tarp covered object. Peaking under it, she was shocked and dismayed by the horrible nature of her find. She quickly backed out of the hold and promised to get off the ship as soon as possible. The only good thing was that the Captain was taking them to the Chain Islands and they could catch a ferry into Akamerajh from there. She was silently thankful that even these stupid brutes wouldn't dare take something like that into a modern city.

Rei shuddered and refocused on Ikari's lessons. She seemed to be holding her own, and frustrating the men at the same time. Rei thought she was better than the men had expected and that was good. It meant that she could worry less about Ikari in a fight than she originally thought. In a pinch-

"Looks like she can hold her own."

Rei looked next to her. It was the Captain, who also seemed to be taking an interest in Ikari's talents with the cutlass.

"Yes, and I believe that your men are somewhat surprised by that fact," Rei commented.

The Captain only murmured something in return. Rei smiled inwardly. She liked this Captain, even if he was a little slow on the uptake.

"Captain!" a voice cried from behind them.

A younger sailor barreled to attention next to them and gave a perfunctory salute.

"Sir, I think we may have a problem," he sped along, hopelessly out of breath, "Navigation is all off and it looks like we're going to hit something big. Thing is, we can't maneuver."

The Captain looked back to Rei.

"Get yourself and your friends below," he said, "You'll be notified if you need to get to the lifepods."

Rei nodded and turned to get Ikari. She didn't have far to go, as her sparring partners were all quickly manning their stations. They climbed to and fro on the many wires and cables that spread like a web along the ship. Ikari was just standing at the front of the ship, watching something. Rei bolted up next to her and saw what Ikari was watching. It was a wall of fog, as high as the clouds, and looking almost as solid. Thick, gray roiling clouds that blanketed the sea and the sky in all directions. It almost seemed to enfold them as they drew ever nearer. Ikari looked to Rei.

"You get to carry Hanasu below," Rei said, smirking at the response that got, "I'm going to the shiphouse to check on the navigation condition from the Captain. He said we might hit something, so be ready to jump to the lifepods, okay?"

"Okay," Ikari reluctantly agreed, "But if she pukes on this shirt, then you get to buy me a new one once we get to Akamerajh."

Rei smiled.

"Agreed, now let's move."

***

Rei jumped down to the lower deck and sped towards the shiphouse, which held the navigation equipment, the wheel and the rudder emplacements. She was so happy to have that guided tour yesterday, and now she was putting it to good use. Rei silently wondered why she had this sense of impending doom hanging on her as they drew near this fog. It was just a bank of water vapor...Wasn't it?

Rei scampered across the crowded deck to the door to the shiphouse and threw it aside. And stopped. A silence had fallen over the ship, except for Ikari and Hanasu whom she could hear arguing their way into the lower decks. None of the sailors could be seen around the once crowded deck. Even the rigging was silent. Rei pushed her thoughts aside and turned back to the stairway to the shiphouse. The Captain could tell her what was going on, and she would be the judge of when they would abandon ship, not he. He had her money after all and she didn't want to get shortchanged. This was beginning to feel like a certain time in the desert not all that long ago and that was beginning to scare her. Sure, she could swim, or even walk along the bottom far below, but Hanasu and Ikari were another matter entirely.

Rei jumped up three stairs at a time and quickly came upon a sailor who was just sitting there about two-thirds of the way up. He had his head cocked to one side, as if listening to the wall. Rei wondered at this, since, as far as she knew, there weren't any significant structural features that a sailor would listen to in time of emergency. Rei moved in closer when she could see that his lips were moving slightly. He was muttering something, but it was too faint for her to make out. Maybe under the influence of some drug? Rei didn't know.

Rei hurried up the remaining stairs and knocked at the door at the top of the curved stairway. Silence answered her. Rei knocked again, but still no answer. Rei reached down and experimentally turned the handle. It was unlocked, so Rei pushed. The door opened slightly, but seemed to be stuck, like something was jammed against the other side. Rei put her shoulder against the door and shoved, but to no avail. She huffed once and drew her sword.

"Screw this," she muttered to herself.

Her blade lit with chi as she slashed at the hinges on either side of the door. She ducked as they popped outwards and landed somewhere down the stairwell. Rei sheathed her sword and pushed on the door again. This time, it fell inward with a heavy thunk. Rei raised an eyebrow at what had been propped up against the door. The First Mate, a handsome man named Van, was splayed out underneath the door. Rei excused herself and stepped into the room. She helped Van as he crawled out from beneath the door, but Van seemed interested in just remaining semi-motionless. He ripped his hand from her grasp and screwed up his face in rage, but heard something and calmed to his former, placid state.

Rei looked around the room. The Captain, the other sailors, all of them had the same look on their faces, almost like...Well, Rei couldn't exactly say what they were like. Puppets, almost. The Captain seemed to be the only one fully upright against the wheel, like he was actually piloting the ship in his state. Rei went to his side, but chose not to speak to him as she got closer.

Rei could see the thin trickle of blood the flowed rather freely from his ears. As she came to the front of him, she noticed that his eyes were open. But they weren't the dark, attentive eyes that commented on her friend's sword fighting ability just a few minutes ago. His eyes had glazed over and were milky white, as if from years of disease. Rei raised a hand to his face and waved it, to no response.

Rei huffed once and went to the navigation table, which she had been taught how to read the day before by that poor First Mate. He'd been so excited about a woman taking interest in his navigation skills, or his knowledge of the ship, it was almost sad that she told him about her trip to find Ranma. But he seemed to take it in stride. Rei looked over to him. It seemed so far away to see that same, vibrant sailor standing there, slumped against the railing near an instrument console, muttering like an infant.

Rei shook her head and pressed the signet on the side of the panel. The screen came alight above the panel, but Rei didn't have a chance to read it as one of the sailors who had been standing near the panel shoved her aside. She landed on her rump and looked up at the man who pushed her. His milky white eyes almost shown in the darkening cabin. He screwed up his face in a hideous snarl and began to growl at her. Others in the compartment turned to her in unison and began a similar growl. Something was very wrong here.

Rei got to her feet and began to back slowly to the entrance, as she didn't want to fight in such close quarters. The snarling grew more intense and faded, like some of the elder musicians back in her village. They would hear new music floating around them and slow playing in order to hear it. These men, no these weren't men, not anymore. These things were acting the same way, fading in and out. Rei slowly brought her hand up to the hilt of her sword behind her, which drew greater growls from the creatures. Rei felt the door at the back of her foot, one step and-

Something grabbed a hold of her left arm in an iron grip. Rei tried to move out of its grasp, but gasped as the First Mate came into view. Tears of blood were streaming gently down his cheeks as his hands tightened on her arm. She pulled at him, but couldn't get it free. As the growling settled around her, she could hear what the First Mate was saying.

"My dear, my love..." he muttered thickly, "Can't you hear the music?"

"I have no idea what-"

"'Tis the song of the sea," the Captain called out as he stumbled to the front, "Raging proud and true..."

"It's my lovely, singing sweetly by the fire," another called out.

"'Tis the bawdy, red-haired wench at the tavern at Ullenel," still another called.

Rei tried to cover her ears against the deafening din of voices all shouted out only what they could hear and see. Her heart began to race faster as she knew that she had stumbled into something. The air around her bit harshly into her head, barking at her sanity. Rei opened her eyes in time to see the Captain approach her and draw his cutlass.

"I can hear it calling-" he said, almost quietly.

It was now! Rei's blade flashed from its hiding place and neatly bisected the First Mate's forearm. In the same motion, Rei swung to her left as the Captain thrust his cutlass forward in a heavy stroke. The First Mate grunted as the heavy blade drove through his chest, emerging a full three inches from his back.

"He hears the calling now," the Captain muttered as he tried to pull his sword out of the downed sailor.

The sound of metal behind the Captain brought Rei's attention back around. The other sailors began to follow their Captain's lead and had drawn their swords. Rei ripped Van's arm from her own and returned to backing away from the group of sailors that were advancing on her.

Rei caught movement out of the corner of her eye and blocked a swing at her head from the Captain. She slid easily into the fight as they tried to swarm her in the tight quarters. It wasn't really all that difficult to fight them, but it was almost impossible to actually hit them. As though they could read her counterattack, they would jerk away at the last second. She nicked them, but the cuts were no bigger than a paper cut. They hadn't touched Rei, hells, they hadn't even begun to wear her out, but it did frustrate her that she couldn't get in close enough to cause any real damage. It was true that she didn't want to hurt these men, but she saw no other way...Unless that was it...That she could simply get free.

Rei glanced to the door and blocked a couple more shots to her head. Rei fought her way back towards the door, but stopped short as the Captain and crew backed off. Like they were anticipating-

A high clicking sound drifted slowly up the steps. It was a wet kind of clicking that Rei can almost imagine on the beach for some reason. It became louder and Rei backed towards one of the consoles near the wheel. A shadow loomed in the doorway and Rei pulled her guard back up. It looked like a fish at first, but the thin demon quickly showed itself to be much larger. Its wet blackness glistened in the wane light of the instruments in the cabin. Rei was almost fascinated. It had a longish, flat head with a pair of tiny, white eyes set deep into the bony face. The skin was scaled, and Rei had a bad feeling that the wetness wasn't something that she'd like. As if in response, the demon reached up to steady itself as it climbed the stairs.

The edge of the doorframe seemed good enough, but its hand slipped slight, probably from the wetness. The red streak that its hand left gave Rei the notion that it wasn't here to help them out of the fog either. Whatever this demon was, Rei could now see the huge muscles that lined it's upper torso and the long row of spines along its back. The long, clawed hands were also a weapon. The demon swung it's head into the room and looked at the Captain and other sailors, who regarded this demon as something of priest looking over his congregation.

The demon's lips peeled back in a hideous snarl that revealed to Rei the thousands of impossibly sharp teeth. It seemed to almost yawn at Rei, who then doubled over as an intense wave of nausea hit her. Her ears and jaw hurt as well. Rei looked to the demon, who aimed its open maw to the crew. They looked like a wind blew in their direction as their clothes ruffled slightly, but they had no immediate reaction. They just stood there. Rei figured it was something in the demon's breath, or maybe it's voice, something with sound, she didn't know. Rei swallowed what had come up and tried to gather herself for the inevitable attack.

The Captain twitched. Rei noticed that the demon at the doorway almost backed away, as if to just keep her from escaping. Rei turned back to the crew and was hit with another wave of nausea as a hand broke out of the Captain's middle. It waved black and clawed in the air and paused as another broke from the Captain's neck, ripping the fragile tissues upward in a spray of blood that washed the ceiling red. Another sailor, near the window, lurched backward as the demon broke free through his back, folding him neatly in half. His intestines splayed grotesquely over the fingers like decorations at the Harvest Fest. Rei finally gave in to her roiling stomach and threw up on the floor near her. Rei could felt like there was a demon crawling out of her insides too, but then, she never threw up, so she could understand.

The newborn demons cried and mewled in the remains of their hosts as a pool a blood spread quickly across the floor, spilling out of the door. Rei could see the spray from the birth covering the walls and windows and ceilings. And she knew that it wasn't going to get any nicer. She threw up once more before the attack began. Her legs felt like lead weights under her as the creatures fought her back and forth. These demons were certainly not the slow, almost drunkish fighters that were the sailors. They were fast, they were ugly and they were mean.

Rei slipped under one swing and pushed herself back against the main console. She grunted as a demon leaped at her. She ducked and the demon slammed headlong into the console. The power from the console coursed through its body. The demon screamed once and blew apart, covering Rei and everything else in little bits of messy demon. A demon slammed into her side and Rei could feel one of the spines sink into her side. She barked a command word and her blade bathed the creature's head in chi, decapitating it.

Rei back up as she pulled the spine from her side. She could already feel the poison slowing her motion and pulling at the edges of her consciousness. The beheaded demon flopped around on the floor of the cabin like a fish out of water, dying slowly. More demon blood, black and foul, spread toward the other three, who stood in stalemate. A low growl came from the first demon as it joined its comrades.

Rei tightened as two more demons scampered up the stairs and into the room. The first demon barked a couple of orders to the new arrivals and all five turned to Rei. She straightened and spit out the remains of her lunch as she cleared her mouth. She threw the spine on the floor in front of them and waved them forward. She was pissed and she didn't have time to waste on a bunch of fish.

***

She stumbled again and again Ikari picked her up. Ikari extended herself just enough to check on something and snapped back. Hanasu began to heave again, but this time, Ikari didn't let go. Hanasu shrugged the taller blonde off as they made their way below the main deck. They had stopped at the bottom of the main stairwell as Hanasu rested on the balustrade.

"Now what?" Ikari asked as she pulled her hair tighter on her head, "I've checked, you don't have anything in you to throw up, okay? Now let's go!"

Hanasu threw off her arm and poisoned the look on her face to match the feelings in her stomach. She looked back down at the deck as another wave of nausea threw itself against her brain. This one was more tangible, almost like a sound, or a feeling.

"Who are you-" Hanasu breathed out heavily, "To put your hands on a princess of my House?"

"What the Hells are you-"

"I was talking to a couple of the fine gentlemen aboard and they assured me-" she staggered under another wave, "That my House was safe and that the seers in Akamerajh could get a message home. And as a royal princess, I can certainly get by a little nausea without you."

Ikari counted backward from ten, twice. She unclenched her fists, but it was too little too late. Ikari needed to get it out and get it out before she took out the ship.

"Why you stuck up little-"

Hanasu raised her hand as she looked down the darkened corridor.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," Ikari shouted, "It's the sound of my foot being shoved up your-"

"No!" Hanasu shouted back.

Her vehemence shocked Ikari out of her anger.

"That."

Ikari stopped her tirade and listened closely. At first, she heard nothing, but then it came. A faint, audible clicking sound could almost be heard down the corridor, which somehow grew even darker. There was another sound and the clicking increased.

"What the Hells?" Ikari muttered.

Both women gasped in shock and revulsion as a thick river of crimson blood flowed toward them from the other side of the corridor. Hanasu looked up to Ikari to make sure it wasn't some kind of nausea induced hallucination. As she saw the look on Ikari's face, she knew it was real. The blood swept in around their feet and puddled around them. Hanasu hopped lightly to the bottom step while Ikari drew the cutlass that one of the sailors had given her. The clicking stopped and Hanasu gasped once more as the source came into the light.

A low growl emanated from the demons. They were black and wet looking, probably from the blood. The lead demon curled back a mouth that had rows of very nasty looking teeth. He seemed like he had trouble standing, so he reached out to the balustrade that lined the halls and pulled himself to a more vertical position. The lighting flickered around them as more demons came into view. Ikari motioned Hanasu to begin to back up the stairs and turned angrily as she bumped into the girl. Two more demons were staring down the stairs from the top entrance. Ikari looked back to the lead demon and nodded.

"How fast can you heal us?" Hanasu whispered in her ear from behind her.

"Not fast enough."

***

It was late that night as they made camp. Tekido had brought back a small something from the shore to eat. He said he'd eaten them before and they were pretty good, but Ijisai didn't know. She didn't trust the young heathen. He had his uses and seemed genuinely concerned with Mikan. Too concerned. A girl with Mikan's power needed to be trained as soon as possible and the last thing she needed was some love-starved nut of a man ruining her concentration.

And it didn't help any that Son-sama seemed to be almost encouraging it. She brought conversation between the two and left them alone while she made Ijisai scout out ahead on Tekido's horse, or some other such. Ijisai knew that Son-sama had a greater plan, she had to, because she saw a great deal more than Ijisai, she always had. She surely knew the danger that this boy represented to Mikan's training.

"I'll take watch tonight, if that's okay?" Tekido asked Esu.

She pulled at part of her fish-mammal thing and nodded. He was a good boy, could even prove quite useful if she could straighten out his priorities. Of course, part of that training would probably not even be able to include her. She wasn't the spry young woman of twenty that founded the nunnery so long ago. Esu felt older than she wanted to feel, but knew that her place had been secured when she took the mantle from the teachers. Her own happiness mattered little if she couldn't look after her charges. Which meant happiness for Mikan, but also for Ijisai as well.

"Hold it," Ijisai said from the other side of the fire, "I trust you about as far as I can throw you over these cliffs."

Tekido didn't know what to say. From what he knew of Ijisai, she probably could throw him off the cliffs, which were no more than a hundred meters distant.

"Well, we need a guard, and Esu-san said that you needed a rest," he muttered impotently.

Ijisai looked back at Esu, who was pointedly ignoring the argument. Ijisai huffed once and got up from her position at the fire. She walked to Tekido, stood in front of him and began to unbuckle his belt.

"Ijisai!" Esu couldn't believe what she was seeing.

His belt fell away and Ijisai sat back down at the fire, his rapier secure in her possession. Esu looked to Mikan, who also was wide-eyed in shock and blurted out a short bark of laughter. Mikan looked at Esu and began to laugh as well. Tekido hadn't recovered from it and remained still where she'd taken his sword.

"Hey Tekido," Mikan giggled, "I think Ijisai likes you."

Esu burst out with laughter as Ijisai and Tekido shared red faces in the failing sunlight of the day. Tekido turned and walked to the cliffs, not daring to begin his watch by taunting someone with Ijisai's power. The laughter died away and, after a time, he looked back to the group. They had gone to sleep, which was good. Tekido breathed a little easier and began to dream back to the days where his father would tell him all about the stars, and the different worlds out there.

Tekido awoke a couple hours later as a gust of wind blew his shirt open, ruffling the fine hairs at his chest. It was cold too. He yawned and straightened, making sure that the party was still asleep. He made his way carefully back to the fireside and stirred the remaining coals around softly, trying to stir the remainder of the warmth from them. He moved slowly to Mikan's side and pulled her blanket up over her shoulder, only causing her to stir slightly. He found her too good to be real. A beautiful, intelligent girl with so much raw power. And she liked him. But did she like him as more than a friend? He didn't know, and maybe he'd never know.

He knew he didn't have the nerve to ask her about it. To simply talk with her, it would have been a very easy thing to do and Esu seemed to be encouraging talk between them. But he lacked the nerve. Another reason, he supposed, that Cappin put him on this trip. She settled back into slumber as the warmth of the blanket returned to her and Tekido spent more than a minute just watching her. Little Brother was behind Big Brother right now, so there was only a single moonlight, but that was more than enough to see the beauty of her face.

He slowly backed out of the circle and went to his horse, who was also sleeping. The young black stallion breathed heavily in the ocean air. He seemed in good health, but Tekido would have him looked at when they got to Cunec. He didn't want to go into town, as who knows how many of the Riders were up for rewards in these smaller towns. And he didn't want to be any trouble for the rest of them, especially Mikan.

Esu was nice enough. Almost motherly, in a way, with Mikan and Ijisai. With Tekido, she had almost seemed to resign Mikan into his care, which he found just dandy. Ijisai was another matter entirely. He knew that she meant it when she said she'd throw him over the cliffs. Nevertheless, he didn't want to go around all night holding up his breeches. And that was why he sat next to Ijisai in the moonlight, doing a little trick that he'd done since he was a boy. Tekido finally pulled the belt free and got up quietly to go back to his post when she cleared her throat behind him. He didn't freeze, which he thought she expected him to do. He smiled inwardly at his cool. At least he'd die with his pants up.

"What the Hells do you think you're doing?" she whispered.

"Putting on my belt," he muttered back, "Which someone stole earlier this evening."

He heard her shift behind him, probably to bring her staff around into striking distance. He waited a couple of minutes and, when the smiting blow didn't come, turned around. He was surprised and smiled in the moonlight. She had just rolled over and settled back into sleep.

"Don't get any ideas pal," she muttered from her blanket, "And you could have just asked."

He snorted loudly and walked past her towards the cliff edge to settle for the night.

"Oh sorry, I'm just not used to women grabbing me and ripping my belt off, that's all," he whispered as he walked past.

She said nothing in return as he set himself down at the edge of the cliff. He smiled again to himself. It seemed like he won this round at least, and that was good. The more he could ease tensions between he and Ijisai, the better the trip would be and the more time he could spend with Mikan. He looked up to the moon again and found that his mind saw her face up in the heavens, but then where else would he really expect to find her. She was his angel. Her fiery red hair only served to fan the flames of his passion. He could feel the heat rising on his cheeks at the thought of her. The way her nose turned up just slightly at the end, the way the ends of her hair bounced when she laughed. And the way her eyes had shined when she looked at him.

Maybe he would take her in his arms and sweep her off to some remote island where they could live in peace. No more raids to get the simple things they needed in life. No more wars against the other Riders. No more mourning the loss of Riders to the troopers that the Dukes and Kings and other higher pigs send to kill them.

No more sadness...

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He tried to turn, but something was wrong. He snorted once and opened his eyes. He blinked against the sun as it lit the horizon to his right. He wondered how the sun had come up so fast when he realized he must have fallen asleep. He hated that. It meant that he'd let something interfere with his duty. He looked back and smiled sheepishly when he realized it had been Mikan that woke him.

She grinned at him and stretched in the early morning light. He blushed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, which also kept him from staring at her. She sat down beside him, which didn't help his blush, any, but he calmed when he realized that, in the dawnlight, it probably wasn't noticeable. Probably. Something popped up in front of his face. It was a little piece of fruit. He took her offer of breakfast and smiled back at her.

"I wondered what was going to be on the menu this morning," he muttered quietly.

A cloud of wyra was circling overhead, diving into the coastal surf for small fish and swooping back, high overhead. The sun glittered brightly against the blue in the sky.

"I think that if it were up to Ijisai, we'd just roast you up and snack on a little Rider," she said, smirking at him.

"Yeah, I guess, to her at least, I'm not a very nice man," he chuckled.

"I think you're a nice man," she said, not looking at him.

He looked at her, but couldn't read her little smile.

"I know I'm not," he said, "I'm a rider. A scoundrel, but I know that I'm not even good enough for that. I know I'm still living in the shadow of my father."

Mikan tossed the core of her fruit over the edge of the nearby cliff and watched as a wyra swooped in and picked it off. She set a hand lightly on his arm.

"I don't think you're a scoundrel," she said lightly, "But Cappin wouldn't have sent you if he hadn't believed that you could be the best."

The lump in his throat made it hard for Tekido to continue eating. She just couldn't know...

"You're a sweet woman," he said as he closed his eyes, "But you don't know the first thing about the Riders."

He opened his eyes as he felt her arm wrap around his shoulders.

"Maybe," she whispered as she inched her way closer, "But I learn fast."

Mikan leaned closer and kissed him lightly. Tekido urffed slightly in surprise at the gentle softness of her lips. He closed his eyes, as he could taste the sweetness of the fruit. The kiss lingered in the early morning light and, for Tekido, broke much too soon. Her eyes grew in size as she realized exactly what she did and she sat away from him as she felt the heat rise from her toes. Somehow, the sunrise paled to the rising blush in both of them. Mikan began to say something, but couldn't. Tekido found that his own words just died in the breath of the silence between them.

"I-uh," he stumbled finally, "I need to check on Tama."

He got up and quietly made his way to his horse. Mikan smiled to herself as she watched him stumble away. Her little plan seemed to go well enough, but she was a little shocked at the electric thrill that ran through her at the touch of his lips. She smiled even more as she remembered. She liked it. It made her feel good in ways that she couldn't even begin to describe, so she didn't. She pulled her knees to her chest as she blissfully watched the wyra circling and swooping overhead.

***

It was dark, like night, but without the stars. Ranma looked this way and that, but couldn't see his own feet below him, much less anything in the distance. It frustrated him to not be able to see where he was going. He.

Ranma stopped and checked himself. A thrill ran through him as he found that his closest friends were back. Restored to his maleness and whole once again, he wondered if this were just a dream, one of the many that he'd had since journeying to this strange, new world. Of course, those dreams normally began and ended in the Tendo Dojo and house, not in total darkness. Also, it didn't feel like a dream. He couldn't describe it, but he knew that he was fully awake and aware.

Ranma knelt on the ground, for lack of a better word, and felt around. If there was one thing that his father knew, it was martial arts. He taught Ranma everything that he knew, after all. Of course, most of it was wrong, but that was something for which Ranma never faulted Genma. If anything, being wrong half the time taught him to think on his feet and adapt quickly to new situations. He smirked. He hadn't thought of his father in a long time. But here he was, trapped in an odd situation, no clothes on and no point of reference. The training, at least, was something on which he could count.

The ground felt like stone, but smooth, like marble. He couldn't see it, so he just guessed that it was marble and left it at that. Not the best of surfaces to fight on, if it came to that. Ranma inched his way along the ground, searching for any kind of crack, or fissure or surface to follow, but there was nothing. Just smoothness forever. He huffed in derision, but something caught his peripheral vision. He turned and saw a green glow on the horizon. Well, at least it was something to go to.

He stood and began to walk to the glow, which steadily grew brighter as he approached. His heart jumped in his throat as he came up next to a small depression in the floor that seemed to have a puddle of green light in it. Laying, almost peacefully, in the center of the green light was Akane. Just as she'd left him, in that little floral sundress that she loved so much. A little whimper escaped him as he knelt to her. She was just as beautiful as he ever imagined.

Ranma reached out to touch her arm and his breath quickened as his hand passed right through her. This was just an illusion, but no, this was more. He didn't understand, but he knew that this was much more than just an illusion.

"Akane!" he muttered, "Akane! Wake up, please, wake up."

She remained still.

"Akane!" he shouted, "Akane, I love you!"

And something happened. Akane stirred from her resting place and opened her eyes. Ranma tried to grab her hand again, but again went right through. Akane saw Ranma out of the corner of her eyes, but couldn't move her head. She lifted her arm, and Ranma frantically tried to grasp it, but couldn't. Tears streamed down his face in frustration at not being able to hold her. She smiled. A sad smile that told Ranma that she knew. She knew that he was still looking and still hers. Their love spread between them in that instant and flowed from their hands like a palpable force. It grew in intensity and brightness until it glowed between them like twin suns. Ranma would be damned if he was going to let go and he figured he'd rather be blind than let he go now and for an instant, just an instant, he thought he could feel her hand in his once more...

"Akane!"

***

"So that's what Ijisai originally thought of the sisterhood," Esu burst into laughter.

Mikan joined her in laughter. It did seem silly that someone would think that sisters had anything more than an ordered agenda.

"Well," Ijisai muttered defensively from the driver's seat, "Did you blame me for it? Especially considering your actions?"

"No dear, it was just funny to see your reactions to some of the others' work ethics, that's all," Esu said, patting Ijisai gently on the shoulder.

Esu looked past Ijisai to about three meters in front of the wagon and quickly sobered. Tekido had been riding off them all day long and seemed somewhat distant, especially to Mikan, which wasn't good. Esu thought that they might even be getting somewhere in the past couple days and it was disheartening to see this turn. They had both been up that morning by the time that Esu was awoke, so she wondered if something had happened, but Mikan assured her that it was nothing. So Esu let it rest, but she didn't let it go.

"How did you originally get to be in the sisterhood, Esu-san?" Mikan asked.

Ijisai began to giggle for some reason, and Esu just nudged her with her elbow.

"As a matter of fact Mikan, I was the one that founded our particular order of the sisterhood," Esu said.

"It's been, what?" Ijisai chuckled softly, "Ten years?"

"You hush! Yes, it's been about ten years now," Esu leaned back against the side of the wagon, "Geez, how did it all begin? A long time ago, when my mother and I were captured in a raid on my village by Riders."

Mikan's eyes grew, as did her interest in the story.

"Yeah, that's how I know about customs and how to fight them and such, which I thought I did pretty well, at least until I met Ranma. I guess my baby charms got to the leader of the Riders because he married my mother and adopted me," Esu smirked, "So I grew up as a Rider, a regular tomboy."

"What's a tomboy? Was he your father?" Mikan asked.

"No dear, tomboy is an expression that Ranma taught me. It generally means a beautiful, but tough woman. Anyway, when I was fourteen, I fell in love with a painter from the nearby city of Ullenel. I was young and rebellious and not too bright, but I thought I was in love," Esu poked Ijisai as she giggled again, "Well, my foster father didn't much like me falling in love with anyone and stirred up the Riders enough to attack a major city, which Ullenel was even back then. They didn't get anything, but my father said that he had succeeded in killing my beloved painter, which was his only goal."

"Oh, don't worry Mikan," Esu waved at Mikan's expression, "He didn't really kill the poor boy, but I didn't know that. So, I got mad and left. I ran away, with not much more than the clothes on my back. I walked and I walked and I walked some more. Let me tell you, without a horse, this is a wide, wide world. And I didn't know it, but I was heading steadily northward."

"After days and days and weeks and weeks of walking, I finally stumbled upon a nunnery on the shores of the Northern Sea. I marveled at the stonework and fine craftsmanship of something that was obviously far older than anything I'd ever seen. I marveled, even as I was starving and diseased from malnutrition, oh Mikan, I was a mess," Esu said as she waved her hand in memory, "Anyway, the sisters who were living there took me in and healed me and gave me a place to stay. They later told me that I almost died two or three times as they healed me, but that my spirit was so strong that I wouldn't give up. That seemed to impress them, so they offered to let me stay."

"Why didn't you stay?" Mikan asked, peeling another fruit. She didn't know what these were, but they were good.

"Don't eat too many of those in a single day dear, they turn your tongue green," Esu cautioned.

Mikan yelped and covered her mouth as she shot a pensive look up to Tekido, who was still riding out in front.

"Well, I was the youngest one there. All the sisters were in their eighties and aging rapidly. But they trained me in the ways of the sisterhood, even though they didn't want to," Esu began again, "You see, they felt that the sisterhood was no longer of any use in the world and it would be better to just let the sisterhood vanish into memory, but I convinced them that there were still strong spirits in the world. The unfortunate thing is that I would be the only one young and strong enough to endure the final training, which I did."

"At the end of my training, I was a spry twenty-one and all the rest of the sisters had passed on," Esu rubbed her nose and sighed, "I burned the old nunnery and vowed that the new one would never be complacent in the new world. I met Sesai about three years later and we officially formed the sisterhood. Others quickly joined up and we moved to the mountains where we are now, there was just one problem."

"I kept taking off on missions, dangerous ones, like this one," Esu continued, "Four years ago, I met Ijisai. She was a promising girl, even at the tender age of fourteen. And two years ago, I met Ranma. Since then, everything has changed."

"And the coming of the one from beyond will bring great joy and great death," Ijisai muttered quietly from the front.

Mikan looked at her.

"Yes," Esu said, "Ranma was the great joy. She taught us to fight with compassion, which I think some of us still lack."

"And the Ijutsu Hoshi," Ijisai muttered.

"The great death," Esu said, "It allows us to greatly increase our ability to heal, but it also called the namagoroshi."

"But I sent those away," Mikan chirped brightly.

"I've been meaning to ask you Mikan," Ijisai turned a little in the seat, "Just exactly where did you send them?"

Mikan thought for a moment before answering.

"Somewhere," she shrugged.

Esu and Ijisai shared a look that said that the answer was something they'd rather not know.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that you're only young and stupid once. If being a sister-protectorate isn't what you feel your calling is, then follow what you think is your calling," Esu said, "But be careful with your heart, because it's the only one you have."

Mikan nodded and looked past the wagon to Tekido, which didn't go unnoticed by Esu, who just nodded to herself. A noise behind her stirred her to action. Ranma began to cough and choke violently.

"Ijisai! Stop the wagon!" Esu shouted.

Esu jumped to where Ranma lay and held his head as he calmed from his coughing fit. He began to breathe steadier and calmed back towards sleep as they gathered around them, but Esu could heard him mumbling as he stirred. Tekido came up to Mikan's side, but said nothing.

"At least he's stopped oozing," Ijisai said as she wiped his mouth.

"Ijisai, please," Esu said as she leaned in closer to listen.

"Akane...Akane..."

"He's calling for Akane," Esu said, "At least he's awake and seemingly sane. I suppose we should just watch him until he comes around fully."

Ijisai rubbed her eyes and reached for the seat as she climbed back up. Esu brushed Ranma's hair back from his eyes. The poor girl was still going, after two years of non-stop life in this world. Esu knew Ranma, and knew her well. She was the type of person that gave everything they had until they had no more.

"Come on, let's keep going," Esu said, waving for Mikan to get in the wagon, "We can rest once we get to Cunec."

Esu hopped into the back of the wagon. Mikan looked at Tekido and he offered her a hand into the wagon, which she accepted with a cute smile.

"Okay," Tekido sighed, "So who's Akane?"

The ride into Cunec itself went without consequence, which was just fine with Esu. She had too many surprises on this trip already and the layover at the Rider headquarters wasn't something she expected. They should have already been to Akamerajh by now, but she didn't bemoan what came about. Tekido was proving to be something of a boon to Mikan's morale, she knew that she couldn't keep it up by herself. And she wouldn't leave it all to Ijisai as much as she would probably want her to.

"So this guy, isn't really a guy, but now he's-" Tekido began, "SHE'S looking for a girl? And now she's a guy...Again?"

Esu thought about what he said.

"Technically," she said.

Mikan looked somewhat confusedly at Ranma, whose head was lolling gently back and forth as the wagon rolled along. It was difficult to view this young man as someone who would go to the ends of the world for someone he loves. It seemed so sweet to Mikan. She risked a glance up to Tekido and wondered if he would do that for one that he loves. Her heart fluttered at the prospect that he might do that for her. She grinned stupidly to herself and turned back to the front of the wagon.

"We're here," Ijisai said as she pointed to the distance.

Mikan pushed up above the front seat to get a good look for herself and breathed in silent awe at the beauty of it. In a small bay, where the cliffs dipped down to meet the sea, a town had been built.

Cunec jutted into the crystal blue-green waters in the bay and Mikan blinked as a light flashed silently past. The town was a collection of smaller buildings set around the bay. To Mikan, it felt like quite a cozy set up, but she knew that it was to serve the dock and the ships that came there. About four meters into the bay was a largish tower about six meters high, it looked little more than a stubby tower. She supposed the fat bottom kept it stable during storms. The signal house flashed past their position again and Mikan blinked against the sudden light. Mikan smiled to herself as the light swept past for a third time. It felt like home. The signal house that her family helped run was much larger, but then it needed to sweep out to a larger area too.

"Well, I'll uh-" Tekido said as he climbed onto his horse, "I'll scout on ahead as you get a little rest in town."

"You'll go nowhere, young man," Esu said, holding his arm in an iron grip.

Tekido ripped his arm free.

"Look Son-san, I thank you for your concern, but I'd be endangering everyone if I was seen in town," Tekido said, "I'll be in the foothills north of town, I have some friends up there. Just continue on to Akamerajh and I'll meet up with you out there."

"Tekido," Esu said sternly, "If you leave our group, then you'll not go alone. Mikan, don't let him leave without you."

Mikan nodded sharply and moved across the wagon to intercept him. Tekido sat back down and sighed slowly.

"Tekido, I know you've had some problems with the authorities in some towns, but you're under my protection now," Esu put a hand on his shoulder, "And I won't let anyone accuse you of anything. As far as I've seen, you've done nothing wrong."

"Yeah, you're an okay guy," Ijisai said without turning around, "Just keep your mouth shut and pretend to be someone else."

The wagon continued along into the town of Cunec and Tekido had a bad feeling about all of it.

***

The blood dribbled slowly out the door. Rei thought she could hear it as it spattered, drop by drop, down the stairs. Her breath had become ragged as the poisons seeped into her systems. She figured the poisons were designed to wear down prey until it drowned. Then the demons could simply rip it up and eat it at will.

The demon to her right let out a short gurgle and clicked his teeth a couple times. Rei thought that it was probably some kind of communication between the three remaining critters. She risked a look around the room. Bits of human sailor lay strewn about. Bits of the four fish that she had managed to dice were also lying about. Blood mingled with blood as it painted the walls, the floors and the ceiling. The acrid haze from the smell of the blood and fish parts had long sense been burned away from her senses. In many ways, she figured it kept her sharp.

The signet on the navigation table began to beep, which drew the attention from the demons. Rei glanced over and jerked her head back as a claw flashed in front of her. She brought her sword up and cursed a command. The blade lit with blue fire and wiped the head of the fish demon from its shoulders. Rei breathed out as she let the chi calm from the blade back into her. That had been too close.

Sure, she could regenerate, but who ever wanted to regenerate from fish poo? And besides, it would take too long and she wanted to find Ranma. She moved silently across the deck, trying to get to the navigation table. The demons hissed menacingly, but didn't attack as she pointed to the, still quivering demon that lay to one side. A hum rose in the air that Rei couldn't identify. She thought that it was just the poison beginning to take hold in her head, which meant that she didn't have much time.

The demons also sensed her urgency and moved closer. Rei tried to look out the window near the demon and saw the blue of the sky. The ship had finally come out of the fog, so what was the humming? Rei reached beside her, but couldn't seem to find the signet. She got frustrated and banged on the table a couple of times without success. She knew that if she took her eyes from the pair, that they'd attack, and she felt that she only had enough energy to repel one of them. She couldn't feel the signet though and she had to find out what was going on. Damn, she wished she'd listened closer.

The back of her foot bumped up against something. She stopped and felt it with her foot. It was the edge of the table where it met the wall. So, they had fought her into a corner, Rei began to smile as the narcotic effect of the poison seeped into her head. She was losing, fast and then an idea came to her. She had one shot at it and if it didn't work, she was meat.

Rei pushed her foot into the corner as much as she could to keep from slipping on the blood-covered floor. She risked a slight glance to her left to confirm the proximity of the other main panel, which drew a growl from the demons. She snapped her head back up and lit her blade once more. Her left foot, now firmly wedged against the main panel and her right against the table, she felt she was ready.

Rei concentrated and brought the rest of her chi into her blade, lighting it white hot. She smirked once and turned her head to the navigation table. The signet was lower on the table than she had remembered and she tapped it, which was all the opening that the demons needed. They leapt through the air together and Rei brought her sword around in a single, flashing arc. The first demon slammed into Rei as the top of the second blew through the window and out. Rei wiped her eyes and pulled herself away from the three demon parts that lay around her. And she smiled.

The navigation table was alight with three beacons, as it should be, but with three new beacons. One from Sethett, one from someplace called Cunec...And the last from Akamerajh. Rei smiled and a chuckle escaped her as she tried to claw her way toward the door. They had made it into the Midland Sea.

"Too bad," she said as she felt herself finally give over to death, "I died within sight of the goal. Ranma will have to wait, though, as I can only heal so fast."

She took one final breath as another thought occurred to her.

"Why does this kind of thing...follow...me...?"

***