Waters Under Earth

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Alan Harnum 
-harnums@thekeep.org
-harnums@hotmail.com (old/backup)

All Ranma characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, first
published by Shogakukan in Japan and brought over to North
America by Viz Communications.

Waters Under Earth at Transpacific Fanfiction:  
http://www.humbug.org.au/~wendigo/transp.html
http://users.ev1.net/~adina/shrines2/fanfics.html

Chapter 23 : Those Left Behind

Now that lilacs are in bloom
She has a bowl of lilacs in her room
And twists one in her fingers while she talks.
'Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know
What life is, you who holds it in your hand';
(Slowly twisting the lilac stalks)
'You let it flow from you, you let it flow,
And youth is cruel, and has no remorse
And smiles at situations which it cannot see.'
-T.S. Eliot

     Mousse stood and read the sign on the boarded door of the
empty restaurant once more, then turned away with a sigh and 
began to walk.

     A small part of him wished that they at least would have
kept the building intact, but the new owner had put up a
demolition notice.  Within a few weeks, there would be nothing
left of the place.

     It had been his home, though, and there were memories there.
Most of them were painful now, few of them were good, but the
destruction of that which helps you remember is never easy.

     Staying with the Kunos was strange, given Tatewaki's odd
behaviour and Kodachi's distance.  It seemed to him sometimes
that the two of them did not quite live within the same world
that everyone else did.

     But they had offered him a place to stay, and they had
offered him a purpose for a time, and he was at least grateful
for that.  

     This was not where he had seen himself when he had first
come to Japan.  He had never imagined it would come to this,
waiting to serve as a guide to the most legendary and 
time-shrouded place of his home, Jusenkyou.  He had seen Shampoo
in his arms, and marriage, and a home.

     But all dreams are dreamt only to be awoken from, and there
was a vast gulf between what you wanted to be and what would be.
He had never truly realized that before.  You couldn't make a
thing happen simply by desiring it enough.

     Mousse stopped for a moment under the shadow of a store
awning and let out a deep sigh.  Wallowing in depression wasn't
his thing; it was the sort of behaviour Ryoga indulged in.  He
himself had generally forged blindly ahead or cut his losses.

     Thinking of Ryoga made him think of Ranma, and then of
everything else that had happened.  He had wanted, intended, to
go with them to China, to search for Ranma.  He had been among
the first to raise the idea that Ranma would be near Jusenkyou.

     And then so much else had come along and got in the way.

     "Yo, Mousse."
     
     He slowly turned and nodded a greeting.  "Nabiki Tendo."
     
     The middle Tendo daughter stood with two other girls, 
contentedly taking slow bites out of an ice cream cone as she
stood in a patch of sunlight between store awnings.  "And how are 
you doing today?"

     Mousse narrowed his eyes and pushed his glasses up the
bridge of his nose slightly.  Nabiki had been a background figure
to him for the most part, neither of them ever really seeming to
acknowledge the existence of the other.  "Fine, thank you."

     "Take a walk for a few minutes, girls," Nabiki said, waving
her hands vaguely at the two girls standing behind her.  "I've
got to talk for a bit."

     The two girls skittered away; Mousse saw something that
might have been relief on their faces.

     "So," Nabiki said, stepping under the shadow of the awning
with him.  "Why didn't you go to China with Shampoo?"

     "Because I didn't," Mousse said, feeling a scowl begin on
his face.

     "Shouldn't block the door to this store," Nabiki said,
putting an arm on his elbow and urging him into a walk.  "So
level with me, Mousse.  What happened?"

     "What happened is none of your business," he replied darkly.
"And I don't see why you're so interested in making it yours."

     "Don't hate me because I'm curious," Nabiki said with a
shrug.  "I was just wondering why you didn't go along with
everyone else."

     Suddenly, she tripped and stumbled against him, catching
herself by grabbing his shoulder.  For a moment, her body was
pressed close to his, and then she moved away, tugging slightly 
at the collar of her blouse.  "Sorry about that.  Tripped on my 
own feet."

     She looked sideways at him and smiled.  "Sure you don't want
to tell me?"

     Mousse blinked and shifted his glasses again.  He had never
really realized how pretty Nabiki Tendo was before, but when she
smiled like that, her whole face seemed to light up.

     "Uhh..." he said.  "Well..."
     
     Nabiki nodded, still smiling.
     
     Mousse looked at her eyes, and saw that they didn't match
the warmth of her smile.  Seeing it in perspective like that, he
realized how calculated a smile it was, how calculated everything 
had been since she'd fallen against him.  

     Like a battle, he realized.  When direct attacks didn't 
work, you went for a distraction, and then went for the winning
blow.  He began to feel a slow anger rise in him, realizing how
many times Shampoo had treated him like this.

     And how many times it had worked.
     
     "As I said before," he said icily, "it is none of your
business."

     Before Nabiki could respond, he vaulted to the top of a lamp
post, then to the roof of a building.  He did not desire anyone's
company right now, particularly that of anyone who wanted to pry
into his feelings.

**********

     "Darn," Nabiki said, snapping her fingers as she watched
Mousse take off across the roofs.  No one paid it much attention,
the sight having become fairly routine, at least before Ranma had
disappeared.

     Almost as soon as he was gone, the two girls appeared at her
shoulder.  

     "Do you know him, Nabiki?" one of them asked, brushing at 
her hair with one hand.  

     "Yeah," Nabiki said.  "He used to try and kill Ranma from
time to time."

     "He's really cute," the second said.
     
     "I suppose he could be," Nabiki said neutrally.  "Want me to
see if I can do anything?"

     The girl blushed.  "No.  He wouldn't go out with me anyway."
     
     Nabiki knew that was true, but it didn't mean she couldn't
make money out of the other girl's attraction.  "Whatever."

     "So you'll see what you can do about Shunzo?" the first 
asked.  

     Nabiki nodded.  She also happened to know that Shunzo
wouldn't go out with her, because he was interested in another
girl.  But she could still try.  And still get paid.

     "Thank you," the girl replied.  "I'll have the money for you
tomorrow."

     "Right," Nabiki said.  "And you?"
     
     The second girl shuffled her feet.  "I can give you half
today.  The end of the week, when I get my paycheck..."

     She handed over a wad of bills to Nabiki, who took them 
while staring at her languidly.

     "Usual interest rates," Nabiki said.  "That will be all,
ladies.  Pleasure doing business with you."
     
     She turned and walked away without another word, already
dismissing the two from her mind.  School was cancelled for the
day; some teacher's conference or something.  She was using the
time as best she could, collecting stipends and payments,
arranging deals.

     Beginning to walk with no particular destination in mind,
Nabiki wondered vaguely why she bothered.  All the little schemes
she handled were nothing, not next to what she had been doing
behind the backs of her family since Ranma had arrived.  The
yakuza had always paid her well, despite the fact that she
wondered often why they wasted their money; Ranma would never
have done any work for them.  

     She shrugged and sped up her pace a bit.  It wasn't her
responsibility what was done with information she passed on; 
whoever her clients were, they got what they paid for, no more
and no less.

     Perhaps the little schemes were in anticipation of someday
getting out of what she'd been doing, the work for Yoshiyuki and
whatever syndicate he represented.  More and more in recent 
times, she'd begun to think that it had all been a mistake, all
of it.  But then again, there had been no other way she could
have seen at the time.

     She was scared these days, though, as much as she tried not
to admit it to herself.  There had been more and more hints that
she could not ever stop what she was doing, not without a great
deal of consequence for herself.  

     Turning a corner, she finished the last of her ice cream and
wiped the few sticky traces from her fingers with the paper
napkin, before tossing it into a trash can.  The crowds passed 
by, the murmur of voices filling the crowded sunshine of the
streets.

     Thinking about it, about the sheer vastness of the yakuza in
comparison to her, the situation became absolutely terrifying to
her.  She was only one person, and they were like a great 
machine; she had to go along or she would be crushed.

     Sometimes, she thought about getting away, taking the money
she had invested and saved and going to somewhere far away, maybe
Europe or the States.  Her English was good, and she was sure 
she'd be able to find work.

     What wasn't sure of was how far the yakuza might go to find
her.  She also realized that if they couldn't find her, they 
could still easily find her family.

     And that thought, despite how she tried to dismiss it, had
always left a strange, unfamiliar coldness in the pit of her 
stomach.  

     "Climbing the mountain," she whispered to herself, brushing
some stray hairs back into place.  "Safer to keep on climbing
than go back down."

     That gave her thoughts some peace, at least, and she kept on
walking, a destination in mind now.     

**********

     The blade whistled through the air, a shimmering blur in the
sunlight.

     It was a clean blow.  The upper part of the body sheared off
from the lower half and fell to the ground, gently as a leaf.

     Kuno placed his bokken against his shoulder and sighed.  He
was going to need to buy some more practice dummies soon.

     Walking over to the pile on the porch nearby, he picked up
one of the wrapped straw bundles and replaced the destroyed one
with it.  He found this relaxing, with none of the intensity of 
what he did in the underground training hall.  

     But that, that was private, and this was something that
anyone could see.  Only Upperclassman Kuno and his wooden sword,
and his dreams of samurai glory.  No more than that.

     He absently began to make slashes with the blade, his mind
on other things.  Quick as lightning, never touching the dummy
itself; he could hear, on the edge of his senses, the sound of
air screaming.  

     A few seconds later, he stopped again, letting the tip of
the weapon rest on the ground.  

     The dummy, and the post it had been placed on, fell into
several dozen pieces.  

     He thought of the first book of the Go Rin No Sho, the book
of the earth.  Musashi had said that using a sword with two hands
was not the true Way.  He didn't believe in absolutes himself; 
what should be done depended on circumstance and situation.  

     But he knew that a man with two swords, who knew how to use
them well, was more deadly than a man with one sword who knew how
to use it well.  He had begun his sword training with the same
eventual goals as why he had done anything in the past ten years;
the ultimate culmination of his efforts would make every 
sacrifice worthwhile.

     He plucked up another dummy from the ground, and tossed it
spinning erratically into the air.  He swept up the sword in his
one hand, a seemingly casual motion.

     He trisected the spinning form of straw, then bisected each
piece, then again.  Straw scattered on the grass before his feet.

     A slow clapping made him turn his head.  
     
     "Very impressive," Nabiki said from where she sat on another
part of the long porch that extended out from the glass-doored
walkway that looked out into a part of the expansive backyard of
the Kuno house.  "Learn how to do that on a moving target and
you'd be even more impressive."

     Kuno frowned inwardly.  He had not been paying attention,
and had missed her when she first appeared.  "Salutations on this
fine day, Nabiki Tendo."

     Nabiki stood up and stepped off the porch onto the grass.
"Got some information you might be interested in, Kuno-baby."

     He raised an eyebrow.  "Indeed?"
     
     "Ten thousand yen," Nabiki said.  
     
     "I am afraid that I do not have any money on me right now,"
Kuno replied.

     "So let's go inside and get it," Nabiki said.  "I could use
something to drink anyway.  I think you could too."

     Kuno nodded.  He was feeling rather parched, truth be told.
     
     "Might I ask how you entered my estate?" he asked as he
opened one of the glass doors and stepped into the walkway that
went around the back of the house, Nabiki following.

     "Your sister let me in," Nabiki replied.  "She seemed a lot
calmer, and didn't laugh once.  She on some kinda new drug or
something?"

     Kuno felt a stab of anger deep into his soul, but kept his
reserve.  He had taken worse from Nabiki Tendo before, would
likely take worse before the ultimate culmination of his part in
things.

     "If she is, it has escaped my knowledge," he replied.       
     
     Nabiki shrugged and fell silent until they walked into the
kitchen, at which point she sat down at the kitchen table as if
she owned the place and looked up at the ceiling.  "What have you
got to drink, Kuno-baby?"

     "I shall see," Kuno replied, turning his back on her as he
opened the refrigerator.  He had always found it both admirable
and mildly frustrating that Nabiki treated him the way she did;
not that he could think of any reason she should treat him
otherwise.

     She thought he was a relic, a thing of the past, and a
gullible fool.  Everyone else did as well, but Nabiki Tendo had,
for all her quickness of mind, been drawn even deeper into that
layer of his persona than any other.  

     She could think what she wanted, he reflected silently, as
could anyone else.  He did not care what she thought of him.  It
amused him, most of all, to think of how she would respond if she
knew half of the things that he knew about her.  

     He smiled to himself as he removed a pitcher of iced tea
from the fridge.  In time, perhaps, after he had achieved his
ends, he would find a way to make her see.  

     "I hope this shall serve," he said, putting the glass 
pitcher on the table and going to the cupboard.

     "It'll do," Nabiki said vaguely, leaning back in the chair
with one arm draped over the back.  She crossed her legs and
began tapping her heel against one of the chair legs.  

     The glasses in the cupboard clinked together as Kuno took
out two of them and sat down at the table to pour.  "I trust this
day of respite from our educational duties finds you productive?"

     "Yup," Nabiki said, taking her glass and sipping from it, 
the ice cubes rattling.  

     "I myself was refining my skills with the blade," he added,
drinking from his own glass and feeling the cool liquid dispel
some of the heat of the day.

     "I noticed," Nabiki said drolly.  "So where's my money?"
     
     Kuno drank the last of his iced tea and rose from the chair.
"I will return with it shortly."

     Nabiki nodded and smiled slightly, eyes half-closing as she
sipped her drink again.  "Good."

**********

     Nabiki poured herself another glass of iced tea while she
waited, then relaxed back into the chair and looked around the
spacious, airy kitchen of the Kuno house.  Kasumi would have
loved this place; everything was modern and gleaming, and it had
to be about twice the size of the Tendo kitchen.  

     She wondered sometimes what it would be like, to simply be
born into money like this, to not have to work for it.  From what
checking she'd done, the Kuno siblings received a regular and
generous stipend from the various companies owned in their
father's name.  They would never have to work a day in their
lives, and they could live in more luxury than nearly anyone
else.  If Nabiki believed in fairness, it would almost have been
unfair.

     She shook the nearly-empty glass in her hand, listened to
the rhythm of the melting ice cubes hitting against each other
and the sides, and then drank the last of it down and put the
glass on the table.  

     The sound of footsteps alerted her of Kuno's return, and she
looked up with feigned casualness as he entered the room, raising
the empty glass as if to toast him.  "Welcome back, Kuno-baby."

     She exalted inwardly at the momentary twinge of annoyance
that passed across his face as he sat back down in silence,
counting off a roll of bills from his wallet.  "Ten thousand 
yen."
     
     Nabiki tucked it into the pocket of her jeans.  "Thanks."
     
     "And the information you had to tell me?"
     
     Nabiki told him about Akane's departure for China.
     
     Kuno sighed when she finished, steepled his fingers and
looked into the empty air.  "Ahh, noble Akane, still called to
seek the demon Saotome even after his fortunate disappearance.
Firmly bound must she be to him, like the maiden to the rock,
awaiting inevitably the arrival of the monster."

     He put a hand over his face and drew a long breath.  "Alas
that I cannot follow!  Alas that I can only wait here, trusting
in the goodness of her spirit and the protection of the gods to
see her through!"

     Nabiki watched him, trying to keep a smile from her face.
Kuno's dramatics were always entertaining.  "Don't sweat it,
Kuno-baby.  I've got some new photos that you can remember her
with."

     "Eh?"
     
     "Check 'em out."
     
     Nabiki extracted a manila envelope from her purse and opened
it up, pushing out a spread of photos across the table.  All of
them had been taken since Akane had come back from the mountain,
and managed to capture the melancholy state her younger sister
had been in since then.  Akane staring out the window, shot from
behind, shadow draped across her body.  Akane by the backyard
pond, chin in her hands, the sunlight frozen sparkling gold on
the still surface of the water.  Akane packing her suitcase in
her room, a fiercely determined look on her face.

     And the last, Akane following behind the others through the
boarding gate towards the plane, shoulders slumped wearily.  

     "Only four?"
     
     "They're good shots, Kuno-baby."
     
     "Aye."
     
     "Five thousand yen."
     
     "A bargain at twice the price."
     
     "Really?"
     
     Kuno paused in peeling out bills from his wallet.  "Allow me
to restate..."

     "Don't bother," Nabiki interrupted, waving a hand 
flippantly.  "Same price."

     "Thy generosity of spirit is matched only by thy beauty,"
Kuno said, in a voice that she would have called sarcastic had it
come from anyone else.

     "Why thank you, Kuno-baby.  You can't imagine how flattered
I am."

     She added the folded bills to the others in her pocket and
stood up, plucking up her purse by the strap and slinging it over
her shoulder.  "I'll be going now, I'm afraid, delightful as it
would be to remain in your company."

     "No doubt," Kuno replied.  He pushed back his chair and 
rose.  "I will see you to the door."

     "How gentlemanly."
     
     He walked with her through the expansive hallways of the
house, till they came to the foyer, where he stepped in front of
her and opened the door, beckoning towards it once with his hand.

     "Bye, Kuno-baby," Nabiki called as she walked out the door.
     
     "Fare thee well, Nabiki Tendo."
     
     As she walked out between the tall, iron-barred doors of the
estate, Nabiki shook her head.  Kuno could be so charmingly
imbecilic at times.  

     She paused at an intersection of streets to move the money
Kuno had given her from her pocket to her purse, than kept on
walking.  Glancing at street signs, she realized how close she
was to Ukyou's restaurant.  It was nearly lunchtime, and she
might be able to scrounge some free okonomiyaki before she headed
home to whatever Kasumi had made.

     When she arrived, though, she found the place shut and
locked.  The sign on the door informed her that the Ucchan would
be closed until further notice.

     Nabiki frowned, tapping her index finger to her chin.  She
knew that Ukyou hadn't gone to China with the rest of them.  In
all that fracas, she must have missed the reasons for this.  

     Her frown deepened.  She hated being ignorant of the reason
for things; not knowing something in time often proved 
disastrous.  If you didn't know what was going on, it could eat
away at you, an unseen illness, and by the time you saw the truth
it would be too late.  

     Nabiki felt a strange tightness in her chest, and turned 
away from the dark and empty restaurant, the thoughts causing
memories to rise that she did not desire in the least to 
remember.  Thrusting her hands into her pockets, she walked away 
from the Ucchan, anger rising in her at the sudden dampening of 
her good mood.  

     "Why, hello Nabiki."
     
     She looked up from staring at the ground passing by beneath
her feet, the cracked pavement of the sidewalk.  "Hey doc."

     Tofu smiled down at her pleasantly, a bag of groceries 
hugged to his body.  "How are you today?"

     "Okay," Nabiki said non-committally.  
     
     "And how is... how is... how is..."
     
     Tofu grinned, eyes going slightly unfocused.  "Kasumi..."
     
     "She's good," Nabiki said.  "Been shopping, huh?"
     
     "Why yes," Tofu giggled.
     
     "Bachelor food, right?  Canned soup, instant ramen, that
kinda thing?"     

     "Naturally.  I am a bachelor."
     
     He threw back his head and laughed, as if it were the
funniest thing in the world.  The people passing by on the
streets began to detour around them.

     "So level with me, Ono.  You interested in my sister or
not?"

     If his eyes had been unfocused before, they were glazed now,
utterly blank.  "Oh, my, why, oh, dear me, you see... ha ha 
ha..."

     His laughter trailed away.  He took a very deep breath, and
stared directly into Nabiki's eyes, so intently she almost backed
away, before realizing how silly that was.  Tofu was harmless, as
long as you stayed away from him when he was around Kasumi.

     "Why yes, a little."

     Then he laughed again, and began to hum softly under his
breath.

     "Tell you what," Nabiki offered.  "For five thousand yen,
I'll see what I can do."

     "Money well spent," Tofu said, chuckling slightly.  He
reached into a pocket with his free hand and extracted a wad of
crumpled bills.  "That should cover it."

     Nabiki took the cash and thumbed through it.  "There's over
twenty thousand yen here, doc."

     "Keep the excess," Tofu responded merrily.  "Consider it a
bonus.  A tip.  Put your best effort into it."

     "I always do," Nabiki said.  "But you'll get better than the
best for that kind of money."

     "Delightful!" 
     
     Turning, he began to skip down the street, whistling happily 
and forcing people to get out of his way or be bowled over.  

     Nabiki shook her head and began smoothing out the money he'd
given her.  There certainly was something there between Tofu and
Kasumi; she should have started getting an angle on this sooner.

**********

     Soun dabbed at the corner of his mouth with the napkin, then
put it down beside his chopsticks on the table.  "You outdid 
yourself again, Kasumi."

     "Thank you, father," Kasumi said, a blush faintly tinging
her face.  "That's very kind of you."

     "Yeah," Nabiki said, letting her chopsticks drop against her
plate with a clatter.  "Good lunch, sis."

     "I'll do the dishes, then," Kasumi said, rising up from the
table and beginning to gather up the dishes from the table.

     Soun nodded absently and headed over to the cupboard to get
out the shogi board.  It had become such an automatic ritual
after meals that he had pulled it halfway out before he 
remembered there was no one to play with.

     He slid the board back into the confines of the cupboard and
closed the door.  He could hear the sound of water running in the
kitchen, and Kasumi humming softly.  

     With Genma around, there had always been something to do.
Sitting on the back porch with a drink or two, discussing the
future of the school, playing shogi or go, planning ways in
which they could bring Ranma and Akane closer together.  

     Now his old friend was gone, and for the first time in ages, 
Soun found he was not sure of what to do with his spare time.  

     He leaned around the kitchen door and rapped on the frame
with his knuckles.  "Kasumi?"

     Kasumi looked up from her position at the sink.  "Yes,
father?"

     "Would you like some help with the dishes?"
     
     "That's okay, father.  I'm fine by myself."
     
     "Oh."
     
     Kasumi turned back to the dishes, beginning to hum again, a
soft, pure sound.     
     
     Soun bowed his head slightly and rubbed at his moustache.  
"Anything you need done?  Shopping, maybe?"

     "No, I went two days ago," Kasumi replied.  "We're alright
for food for a while, especially since there aren't so many
mouths to feed."

     "I see," Soun said heavily.
     
     His eldest daughter glanced back at him.  "If you'd like 
something to do, you could work in the yard a little.  I've been 
neglecting the trees and bushes, and they could use some 
pruning."

     "Good, good," Soun replied, surprised at his own enthusiasm.
"I'll get started right away."

     "Thank you, father."
     
     Turning away, he walked out through the doors in the dining
room that led to the back yard, and walked the roundabout route
leading around the front of the house to the small shed that lay
near the wall.  

     Opening the door, he stepped inside and looked about the
crowded shelves of martial arts equipment and yard tools for the
hedge clippers.  Locating them on a shelf near the front, he
stepped in, wedging the door open with his foot to let the light
from outside break the darkness, and took them off the shelf.

     Moving back outside, he let the door bang closed behind him,
and examined the green-stained blades of the clippers, reminding
himself to oil and clean them after he was done.

     Then he moved on to the slightly overgrown bushes by the
wall nearby, figuring he would start from here and move on about
the yard.  It felt good to have something useful to do about the
house; he'd gotten out of the habit of working in the yard in the 
time the Saotomes had been here.

     A few quick snips sent tiny branches and green leaves
falling to the grass about his feet, and he entered into the
pleasant routine of the work quickly, thankful for the shading
branches of a tree overhead that kept the sun out of his eyes and
off his back.

     He had resolved himself not to worry about Akane, and to his
astonishment, had even managed it fairly well since she'd left
yesterday evening.  Despite the fact that she was quite possibly
going into danger, she was among some extremely powerful martial
artists, who he hoped would keep her safe.  

     The green began to gather around his feet as the time went
on, and he realized that the grass of the yard could probably use
some cutting as well.  

     Pausing for a moment, he wiped his hand across his forehead
and let out a deep breath.  The day was not cool, with the sun
hanging high in the nearly cloudless sky.  

     "Hey daddy, can I talk to you for a minute?"

     Soun turned, clippers dangling at his side from one hand.
"What about, Nabiki?"

     His middle daughter regarded him evenly for a moment, hand 
cupping her chin.  "I think it's good that you're doing some work
in the yard, you know.  Makes it easier for Kasumi."

     "Aye," Soun replied.  "Perhaps you should see if there's
anything you can do to help her out."

     Nabiki shrugged.  "I'm not really the domestic type."
     
     Soun frowned slightly and let the clippers drop to the 
grass, taking a step towards his daughter.  "Nabiki, do you think
Kasumi's happy?"

     "Hmm?  Kasumi's always happy."
     
     "I know that," Soun sighed.  "But she does so much, you 
know.  I sometimes wonder if..."

     "You know, now that you mention it, I ran into Doctor Tofu
today when I was out," Nabiki said, snapping her fingers.  "Don't
you remember how Kasumi always used to visit him?"

     Soun nodded.  "Of course.  You know, I always thought he 
had something of a fancy for her."

     "You too?" Nabiki queried, raising an eyebrow.  "I wonder
why she stopped visiting him, you know.  Maybe all the work just
got to be too much for her."

     Soun felt a twinge of guilt.  "Maybe.  I... had always
rather hoped he might make his intentions more clear, but he
always seemed so flustered around her."

     "Yeah, well, sometimes people just need a push in the right
direction," Nabiki said.  

     Soun nodded again.  "You could be right."
     
     She raised a finger.  "Not a shove, mind you.  Shoving
doesn't always work out too well."

     "Mmm," Soun said, looking at the ground.  "Perhaps."
     
     "I've got it," Nabiki said, snapping her fingers and
grinning.  "Why don't you invite him over for dinner?  That might
get things off to a good start."

     Soun ran his fingers through his hair and was silent for a
moment.  "Well, you know, the only problem is... he tends to be a
little... destructive when he's around Kasumi.  It might be best
to arrange something so the two of them can be alone..."

     "Unchaperoned?" 
     
     Soun shook his head.  "Well, no, but..."
     
     "Give him a chance, daddy," Nabiki said, putting a hand on
his shoulder.  "I'm sure he'll be fine."

     "Alright," Soun said.  "I'll give him a call, see what I can
come up with..."

     Nabiki patted his shoulder affectionately.  "Let me handle
it, dad.  I'll have him over here tonight."

     "Oh, very well," Soun said.  "This is very good of you,
Nabiki.  Thank you for suggesting it."

     "No problem," Nabiki said.  "I'll get on it right now."
     
     She turned and walked away, hands in her pockets.
     
     Soun smiled and went back to the hedges.  Just when he was
worried about Nabiki, she'd shown him that there were some things
beyond money that mattered to her.  

**********

     In her room, Nabiki leaned back in her chair and tapped a
pencil against her lips.  She was trying to decide how best to
approach this; talk to Kasumi first or Tofu?

     She leaned back further and perched one foot on the edge of
her desk.  Tofu had been enthusiastic when she'd talked to him,
but a few days ago Kasumi had been embarrassed with the mention of
his name.  If she went to Kasumi first, she might get flustered
and reject the idea right away.  Again, Nabiki wondered just why 
the visiting had stopped, then pushed it from her mind.  Not her
business; Tofu had paid her to see what she could do to bring him
and Kasumi together, not wonder about why they'd been kept apart.

     Yeah, going to Tofu first was best.
     
     She picked up the phone, flipped open her address book and
searched through it till she found his number.

     He answered on the second ring.
     
     "Hey doc," she began.  "Good news..."
     
**********

     Tofu hung up the phone and walked back into the examination
room from the small, semi-detached office.  The elderly man 
looked up from where he sat on the table.

     "We get back to my back now?" he said.  
     
     Tofu giggled.  "That's very funny."
     
     "Huh?"
     
     "Back to your back," he replied, and laughed.  
     
     "Eh?  I guess it is," the old man said, and chuckled 
slightly nervously.  

     "Know what?"
     
     "What?"
     
     "I'm invited to dinner at K... Kasumi's house..."
     
     Tofu reached out and slammed his fist into the wall near his
patient's head.  The wall cracked.  "Isn't that _great_?"

     "Yes, just wonderful," the man croaked, gazing at the web of
broken plaster.  "I've just remembered an urgent appointment, I
must be going now, goodbye..."

     He scrambled off the table, grabbed up his shirt, and ran
out of the clinic while pulling it on.  Tofu watched him go, then
turned to look at Betty where she stood in the corner.

     "Isn't this lovely, Betty?" he asked.  
     
     Betty didn't say anything back.  
     
     "I'm glad he left.  He might have gotten in my way.  
Everyone wants to get in my way with Kasumi, Betty.  Even
Kasumi."

     Again, Betty didn't answer.  
     
     Tofu reached over and caressed the smoothness of her skull, 
very gently.  "She stopped coming, Betty, even though I loved 
her.  That wasn't right, Betty, don't you agree?"

     As Betty was not inclined to nod by herself, he reached out
and helped her.  "Good.  I can always count on you, Betty."

     He grinned at Betty, staring into the blankness of her eyes.
     
     Betty grinned right back, and stared into the blankness of
his.

**********

     Nabiki walked into the kitchen just as Kasumi finished
putting away the last plate in the cupboard.  "Hey sis?"

     "Yes, Nabiki?"
     
     Nabiki sauntered over to the counter and grabbed an orange
from the fruit bowl.  Pinching the skin between her nails, she
began to peel it.  "You know, I ran into Doctor Tofu today."

     She watched Kasumi's face carefully, but saw no change in
expression.  "He really seems stuck on you, you know that?"

     "I don't know what you're talking about, Nabiki," Kasumi
replied.  She turned on the water in the sink and began to scrub
her hands under the stream.  

     "Of course you don't," Nabiki drawled.  Even Kasumi wasn't
that dim, and from the conversation they'd had in the yard a few
days ago, there was more to the situation with her and Tofu than
anyone had suspected.  "So anyway, I got to talking to daddy, and
he ended up inviting Tofu over for dinner tonight.  Hope that's
not too much trouble."

     She popped a sliver of orange into her mouth and carefully
watched Kasumi from behind.  There was a minute quiver in her
older sister's shoulders as she continued washing her hands, but
other than that, nothing.

     "That okay, Kasumi?" 
     
     "Just fine, Nabiki," Kasumi whispered.  "Just fine."

     "Great," Nabiki enthused.  "Want a piece of orange?"
     
     "No thank you," Kasumi replied softly.  The liquid whisper 
of the water rolling between her hands overlaid everything, all
conversation.

     Nabiki walked out of the kitchen, chewing contentedly on
another segment of the orange and absently crumpling the peel in
her fist.  Behind her, Kasumi continued to wash her hands.

**********

     Soun pushed his hair out of his eyes for what seemed like
the hundredth time since he'd started working, and resumed his
pruning of the bushes.  He was quite pleased with what he'd
gotten done so far; the yard would look better because of it, and
Kasumi would have less work to do in the end.

     Now that he truly looked back and considered it, he had done
a great wrong to his eldest daughter by allowing her to continue
keeping his house.  It was past time that she should have been
thinking about a household of her own, but the responsibilities
of this one had likely gotten in her way.

     That was one of the reasons he was glad Nabiki had come to
him with the idea about Tofu.  He knew the young doctor was in
love with Kasumi; his behaviour could mean nothing else.  If
Nabiki came through with her prediction of getting Tofu over to
the house for dinner tonight, who knew where things could lead?

     A few quick motions with the clippers sent more excess of     
branches and leaves tumbling to the ground from the bushes.  He
found himself wondering, suddenly, about Akane.  By now, they
would have arrived in China, and would be on their way to
Jusenkyou.  

     Soun sighed.  He was terribly worried, though he was making
a real effort to suppress it.  There was nothing he could do;
Akane was thousands of miles away, and if he'd been there with
her and the others, he only would have gotten in the way, letting
his emotions get the better of him like he was wont to do.  

     The best thing was to wait, and go on as best he could, and
hope with all his heart that she would come back, and bring Ranma
with her.  He'd seen the determination in his youngest daughter,
and it filled him with both a great pride and sense of fear.  If
it was within her power, Akane would bring Ranma back, he was
sure of that.

     Yes, the best thing was to wait, and do what he could for
the two daughters who remained with him.  

     "Father!"
     
     The voice made him turn his head and lower the clippers.  
"Yes, Kasumi?"

     Hands on her hips, Kasumi had about the closest thing to a
frown on her face he had ever seen.  Her voice sounded sharper
than usual as she continued.  "Did you invite Doctor Tofu over
for dinner tonight?"

     Soun scratched the back of his head, running his fingers
through his long dark hair.  "Well, I suppose I did in a way,
though Nabiki..."

     "Really, father," Kasumi replied, not letting him finish.
"I really wish you'd ask me before you invited a guest over.  I
do have to cook the meal, after all."

     Soun blinked.  He took a step towards his daughter and
raised his hand to put it on her shoulder, feeling concern rising
in him.  "Kasumi..."

     To his utter surprise, his daughter cringed back from his
hand, as if she were afraid of him.  Then she seemed to recover
herself, a struggle passing momentarily across her face before
she drew herself upright and took a deep breath.

     "I'm sorry, father," she said.  "I've just been feeling
rather nervous lately.  Please excuse my rudeness.  I would be
glad to have a guest for dinner."

     Confusion reigning over him, Soun frowned slightly and stood     
in silence for a few moments before speaking.  "Kasumi, I should 
apologize.  I should have asked you first; perhaps you'd 
rather..."

     And his eldest daughter smiled, face lighting up, every
trace of anything but happiness vanishing like the wind.  "No, 
no, father, I'd be delighted to have Tofu for dinner.  I'm just
nervous about what I should cook, you know, because it will be a
special meal, and..."

     "Oh," Soun said, feeling immensely relieved.  "Good."  
     
     "I'll have to start planning dinner right away," she said,
turning from him.  "Bye, father."

     "Goodbye, Kasumi," he replied, turning back to the bush.
Snip, snip, went the clippers; down, down, went the leaves, 
falling, falling, falling.

**********

     Nodoka stared warily at the black handset of the phone, and
then picked it up, listening to buzz of the dial tone, but not
finding it in herself to call.

     She wanted to see the Tendos again, wanted to be around
people who remembered her son, who had known him better than she
had.  But somehow, she found it hard to reach out again, after
having left their house behind before.  No one had made any
attempt to get in touch with her until yesterday, when Genma had
arrived unexpectedly at her door.  

     And then he had left her alone again.
     
     And with that thought, almost of their own volition, her
fingers were pressing the buttons of the phone, and on the other
end of the line, she heard the ringing, once, twice, three times.

     "Hello, Tendo residence."
     
     Kasumi's voice sounded slightly strange to Nodoka, an odd
tremble in it that she wasn't used to hearing from the girl.  She
shrugged it off, too glad to hear the familiar voice to linger
over such a minor thing.  "Hello, Kasumi."
     
     "Mrs. Saotome?"
     
     "Yes, dear."
     
     "Goodness, I haven't heard from you since you left."
     
     Nodoka felt a guilty twinge, yet another reminder come too
late that she should have called sooner.  She pushed it down and
carried on.  "How are you all doing over there?"

     "Just fine," Kasumi replied cheerfully on the other end of
the line.  "Just fine.  Akane left yesterday night for China."

     "Yes," Nodoka replied softly, closing her eyes.  "I know."

     "Mrs. Saotome, how are you doing?  You're not lonely, are
you?"

     "No, dear," Nodoka said, wishing she believed it herself.  
"I got used to being alone a long time ago."
     
     "Oh."
     
     "Is something wrong?"
     
     "I was just wondering if you would have liked to come for
dinner tonight."

     Nodoka surprised even herself with the speed of her 
response.  "No, dear, I'd love to come," she blurted.  "That is,
if it's alright..."

     "It would be wonderful," Kasumi assured, sounding almost
relieved.  "Just wonderful."

     "Why don't I come by early and we can cook dinner together?"
     
     "Really, that's not..."
     
     "I'd really like to do that, Kasumi."
     
     "Well, alright."
     
     They worked out the arrangements for the next few minutes,
discussed what they would make.  When Nodoka finally hung up the
phone, she felt happier than she had in a long time.

     She had a feeling it was going to be a pleasant evening.
     
**********     
     
     It had been several hours now since Soun had started the
work in the yard, and he could not shake the feeling that he was
making little more than a dent in what needed to be done.  Every
time he looked, he saw other things that needed to be done; tree
branches that needed to be cut down, grass that needed cutting.
And he was not even finished with the bushes yet.  

     He was working on the ones that led up the front walk when
he noticed a strange discrepancy in them.  Some seemed to have
been worked on more recently than others, as if there had been an
interruption, and the work had been abandoned.

     And then he remembered why.  Kasumi had been working on them
when Cologne had arrived, and taken Nodoka, and the next day 
Ranma had been gone.

     Soun rested the clippers on the ground as he sank down to
the weathered stones that paved the front walk, unable to stand
beneath the surge of sudden grief that overwhelmed him, all the
emotion he had tried so hard to bury for once, the desperate
concern for his vanished future son-in-law, for the daughter who 
had left to find him, for his old friend trying to redeem himself
in the eyes of his wife.
     
     Not for the first time, a horrible feeling of helplessness
washed over him, that this was the best he could while his
youngest daughter and his oldest friend went into danger.  But
his skills were nothing, and whatever meagre courage he'd had in
his youth was long gone.  

     Raising himself up, resting his forearm on his knee and
staring at his house, Soun realized he was tired, after a few
hours of menial yard work.  His clothing was soaked with sweat,
his hair plastered damply to his neck and forehead.  
     
     He felt tired, and useless, and weak.  

     "Soun, are you alright?"
     
     He looked up from where he sat, surprised at the voice and
the speaker.  "Nodoka?"

     Seeing the elegant kimono and immaculate hair of his
friend's wife left him only more conscious of how he must look,
sitting down in the dust like this.  

     "Forgive my lack of reception," he said, standing up and
brushing stray bits of bush debris off his gi.  "I had no idea
you would be coming over today."

     "Kasumi invited me," Nodoka said, smiling slightly, though
her eyes were sad.  "We're going to make dinner together."

     "Ahh.  Another guest, then."
     
     "Hmm?"
     
     He leaned in conspiratorially, feeling his mood shift again.
"A young fellow who I think might be interested in Kasumi."

     "Really?  What's his name?"
     
     "Tofu Ono.  He's the local chiropractor; nice boy."
     
     An odd expression passed across Nodoka's face, one that Soun
couldn't decipher.  It vanished moments later.  "We've met."

     "Oh?"
     
     "A few days ago.  He does work for my new neighbour 
sometimes."

     "What kind of work?"
     
     Nodoka pursed her lips thoughtfully.  "You know, he never
really said... I'm not even sure what business he's in himself,
to tell the truth."

     Soun shifted his feet uncomfortably.  He'd never gotten
entirely used to talking to Nodoka.  "It's good that you're
getting to know your neighbours."

     "Just one of them so far," Nodoka said, smiling a bit sadly.
"But he's very nice."

     "Glad to hear it."
     
     "Mmm."
     
     He stooped and picked up the clippers from where they lay.
"I suppose I've kept you long enough, then.  You and Kasumi will
probably want to get dinner started now."

     "It was nice to talk to you, Soun," Nodoka said, nodding her
head as she stepped past him towards the front door.  Soun nodded
silently in reply, and went back to the hedges.

**********

     Nabiki sat in the large room that doubled as dining and 
living room, resting her elbow on the low table and munching on a
bag of rice crackers as she watched the news on TV.  Nothing
particularly interesting in her opinion; she'd pretty much left
it on for background noise after hearing the financial report.
     
     Absently, she glanced at her watch, listening to the sounds
of Kasumi and Nodoka working in the kitchen together as they
drifted down the hallway.  Tofu was supposed to be here in a 
little less than an hour; she hoped to be able to discern as much
as she could about him and Kasumi's attitudes towards each other
from watching them tonight.  Given the amount of cash she'd been
given by Tofu this morning, she could stand to make quite a tidy
profit on the situation.  

     And if Kasumi ended up happier in the end, that wasn't too
bad a thing, though if things went too far too fast, Nabiki might
lose the cooking and cleaning she'd come to expect over the years
before she was ready.  No, it would be better to pace things out;
let them move gradually, a little shove now and again.  Maximize
profits monetary and otherwise.

     She crunched down on a cracker, watched the images on the
television screen without ever really hearing any of the words.
Losing herself in little schemes like this had always been her
way of escaping the reality of the situation, of just who and 
what she had indebted herself to.  

     Hopefully, with Ranma vanished, Yoshiyuki's requests for
information would taper off, and she'd get a break from being in
contact with the man.  His advances towards her got worse and
worse every time they talked, and it made a cold fear grow in her
any time she thought about what might happen if it ever went
beyond words.  
     
     She remembered when he'd locked the doors for a moment as
she'd been about to get out of the car a few days ago.  She had
come close, so close, to losing the thin edge of control, to
letting the fear show through in public for once, instead of in
those rare private moments when the enormous hopelessness of the
situation came upon her, and she could not hold back the helpless
fear, could not hold back the need to weep.

     The bag rustled as she hunted down the last few crackers
remaining and pulled them out all at once, then proceeded to
devour them one by one.  She crumpled the empty bag, then hooked
it through the air to bounce off the top of the blaring 
television and into the wastebasket nearby.

     "Point for Nabiki," she said, standing up and absently
swallowing the last bits of the final cracker.  She walked out
the door into the hallway and poked her head into the kitchen.

     "How's it going?" she asked.  
     
     Nodoka looked back from where she was chopping up vegetables
at the counter.  "Just fine, dear."

     She brought the knife down on the cutting board with several
rapid thunks, then slid the sliced vegetables off to the side.  
"Where's your father?"
     
     "Dad?  I think he's in the bath."
     
     Resting her arm against the frame of the kitchen door, she 
called to Kasumi.  "Hey sis, Tofu's gonna be here in about an
hour."

     "Oh," Kasumi said, not looking up from where she was 
stirring a bowl.  "That's nice."

     "Uh-huh," Nabiki said smugly.  "You excited?"
     
     Kasumi said nothing.  The silence in the kitchen was filled
with the sound of Nodoka bringing the knife down, Kasumi banging
the wooden spoon against the sides of the bowl.  

     "Well," Nabiki said, feeling a bit uncomfortable for a
reason she couldn't place, "I'll leave you guys alone, then."     
     
     Heading back out into the hallway, she about to return to
the dining room when she heard someone knocking steadily on the
front door.  Not hard, but in a way that made it clear they
intended to do so until they got a response.

     Puzzled, Nabiki made her way towards the entrance hall of
the house.  Tofu seemed like the punctual type, certainly not the
kind of person to arrive nearly an hour early.  

     The knocking continued as she reached out for the door, and
stopped as soon as she put her hand on it and slid it open.  

     The sharp eyes of the young man on the other side regarded 
her from beneath the fall of his blue-back bangs.  "Took you long 
enough to answer the door, didn't it?"

     Pantyhose Tarou buffed his knuckles against the burnished
scales of his vest, and smirked slightly at Nabiki in an
annoyingly knowing way.  "Is Akane here?"

**********

     Tofu Ono ran the comb through his hair once more, and then
tied it back into his standard small ponytail.  He adjusted his
glasses once, then looked at his reflection in the mirror of the
small bathroom in his suite above the clinic.  He had to look his
best for dinner.  

     He smiled at his reflection, watched it smile back.  He
carefully adjusted the smile until it showed in his eyes as well.
He'd learned to do that long ago.

     "You'll knock 'em dead, doctor," he said to his reflection.
     
     That made him laugh, gripping the edges of the sink tightly
in his powerful hands.  It was a private laugh, a laugh that he
never let anyone else hear.  Against his will, his eyes went 
cold, and the corners of his lips curled up until his smile
looked less like a smile than it did a snarl, the feral 
expression of a predator.

     He walked out of the bathroom, went to the small spot in the
corner of his bedroom where the tiny family shrine rested.  He
knelt, and opened the doors, looked at the photos of his mother
and father, at the objects kept in their memory.  
     
     Then he casually swept them aside, letting them fall to the
carpeted floor with soft thuds.  His hand reached out, found the
hidden switch in the plain wood, flicked it to one side, and
opened the inner doors concealed inside the shrine.

     He looked at the symbol carved into the wooden panel beyond,
brutal in its crudeness.  An orb bisected by a tree, and a great
serpent who twined around both, the end of his body lying amidst
the upper branches of the tree, his jaws gripping the exposed 
roots, and his middle section wrapped thrice around the orb.  

     He picked up the small bottle that lay before it, uncorked
it, poured a mouthful of the foul-tasting, slimy liquid between
his lips and sloshed it around for a few seconds.  Then he
spat the gritty, bitter stuff on his hands and rubbed them
together, coating them in sticky filth.  

     "Father of night," he began, closing his eyes and clasping
his hands in front of him, "lord of carrion, source of darkness,
breaker of worlds, king of ashes..."

**********
     
     Nabiki regarded Tarou evenly for a moment before speaking.
"What are you doing here?"

     Tarou looked nonplussed by the response.  "Don't answer a
question with a question, that doesn't do either of us any good.
Besides, it's obvious why I'm here by what I just asked you.  Now
where's Akane?"

     "In China," Nabiki replied, beginning to close the door.
"So sorry.  Goodbye."

     Tarou stopped the door with his hand and stared at Nabiki,
surprise on his face.  "What?"

     "If you didn't hear me the first time, Akane isn't here,"
Nabiki sighed, ceasing her efforts to close the door.  "Why don't
you go knock over a building or something?"

     "Why'd Akane go to China?" Tarou demanded, taking a step
into the house and forcing Nabiki to move back or be bowled over
by him.  

     Nabiki put a hand against his chest and glared up at him.  
"We had enough of you dropping in uninvited last time.  Why don't
you destroy somebody else's home this time?"

     Tarou reached up and got a grip on her wrist with one
long-fingered hand.  Without any apparent effort, he pushed it
back until it was touching against Nabiki's shoulder, a mild grin
on his face.  

     Nabiki kept on glaring at him.  Neither the grip nor the
position hurt, and she was damned if she was going to back away
from Tarou.  

     Finally, he let go of her hand, and she dropped it to her
side for a moment before folding her arms across her chest and
continuing to regard the tall, slender boy with an expression of
irritation.  

     She had not had much to do with Tarou the times he had shown
up, but from his last appearance, she had formed two opinions on
him.  The first was that he tended to do a lot of property 
damage; that was nothing new to her, given the propensity of
pretty much everyone else she knew for the same.

     The second, however, she found mildly disturbing, which was
the impression she got that Tarou might be almost as smart as she
was, something she didn't like at all.

     "Well?" she said.  "Shouldn't you be knocking down the 
ceiling or something?"

     "That was not my fault," Tarou replied, almost defensively.
     
     "I don't suppose you brought Rouge along again?"
     
     Tarou burst out laughing.  "I'd rather hang around with
fem-boy than that nutcase."

     "No doubt," Nabiki said.  "Why don't you, then?  He's not
here either, if you're wondering."

     "Ahh," Tarou said, nodding as if he'd known that all along.
He leaned with one arm against the wall, and examined the
fingernails of his other hand with mild interest, his face
neutral.  "So has anyone else departed your household recently, 
then?"

     "Happosai's gone too," Nabiki replied.  "So there's no one
here for you to talk to or fight.  So go away."

     "Nope," Tarou said.  "That's out of the question until I
hear about why everyone's suddenly gone all of a sudden."

     Nabiki put the mildest edge of irritation into her next
words.  "It's a long story, one that I wouldn't get much benefit
out of telling and that you wouldn't get much benefit out of
hearing."

     "Nabiki?  Who was at the door?" she heard Kasumi's voice
call from down the hallway.

     She silently swore as she heard footsteps coming down the
hall, and saw Tarou's face break into a grin again.  Kasumi
appeared from around the corner, wiping her hands on a ragged
dishtowel.

     "Why, hello, Tarou," she greeted.  "What a surprise."
     
     "Yo," Tarou replied, raising his hand.  

     Nabiki took the break in their conversation to study Tarou a
bit; he looked rather haggard, truth be told, his posture
slightly slumped, his eyes weary.  His cocky smile seemed a bit
forced.

     Kasumi seemed to notice it as well.  "My, you look tired."
     
     Tarou nodded.  "Last few days have been real hectic."
     
     "How interesting," Kasumi cheerfully enthused.  "You look 
like you could use a good meal.  Why don't you stay for dinner?"

     Nabiki turned on her older sister, attempting to convey a
negative opinion of that idea using only her eyes.  The attempt
passed completely over Kasumi's head.

     The smell of teriyaki chicken cooking had to choose that
moment to drift down the hallway from kitchen, and the mild scent
of vegetables and spices.  

     Tarou sniffed the air, looked indecisive for a moment, then
slowly nodded.  "Okay."

     "Wonderful!" Kasumi exclaimed, sounding as if she really 
meant it.  "Nabiki, why don't the two of you wait in the dining 
room?"

     Nabiki made a last attempt.  "Don't forget that Tofu's
coming for dinner as well, Kasumi.  Are we going to have enough
food for everyone?"

     "I didn't forget, Nabiki," Kasumi said, voice going soft.
"I couldn't forget that.  There will be enough."

     The brightness entered her voice again immediately after
that.  "I'm sure you two will have plenty to talk about.  I have
to get back to cooking now."

     With that, she turned and walked back down the hall, rubbing
the dishtowel between her hands.  

     Tarou waited until she turned the corner, then tilted his
head slightly and looked at Nabiki, an eyebrow raised.

     "Tell me," he asked conversationally, "just what kind of
drug is she on?"

     Against her expectations, Nabiki laughed.  "Ignorance, I
believe.  I've been told it's bliss."

     "I wouldn't know," Tarou deadpanned.  "Never felt the desire
to try it myself."     
     
     Resigned to his presence, Nabiki mentally shrugged and
decided she might as well make the best of it.  

     She turned and began to walk down the hallway.  "Come on.  
And promise me you won't break anything."

     Behind her, she heard Tarou chuckle softly.  "I don't make
promises that I'm not sure I can keep."

**********
     
     Tarou looked at Nabiki across the low dining room table, and
narrowed his eyes slightly, wishing he was able to read the 
middle Tendo daughter as easily as he did nearly anyone else. 

     He also wished he wasn't so damn tired, but that was the
result of flying over two thousand miles in a little more than a
day.  He had pushed himself hard, harder than he ever had before,
and even after turning back to human, his entire body ached, as
much as he tried not to show the effects.

     And he'd still been too late.  
     
     He had headed for Nerima from Jusenkyou with no clear plan
of action in mind, only the idea that the best thing he could
hope to do was be where Ranma and Cologne could not be; with
those they had hoped to protect by their absence.

     His main concern was for Akane, of course.  He'd never cared
a whit for Cologne's great-granddaughter or any of the other
fools that associated with Ranma, but Akane was one of the few
people who had ever treated him decently, despite how he'd
treated her when they'd first met.

     Now that he was thinking about it, he was less and less sure
of why he'd come at all.  He hadn't been forced this time; no 
twist of fate or accident had bound him to this path.  It had
been his choice.

     Like his choice to stand with Ranma against Galm, like his
choice to let the broken, beautiful creature under Jusendo know
his mind.  A simple choice.

     He buried his thoughts, suddenly realizing Nabiki was
staring at him.  "So," he said.  "Let's talk."

     "I've got nothing to say to you," Nabiki said, leaning her
elbow on the table and looking out into the backyard through the
open porch doors.  The fragrant scent of the early summer evening
was mingling with the cooking smells from the kitchen.  
     
     "How much?" Tarou asked with a sigh.
     
     Nabiki seemed to perk up instantly at the mention of
possible profit.  "What have you got?"

     Tarou made a show of searching his pockets.  Outside, he
heard a lone cicada begin to chirp, joined soon by others. 

     "Woefully little," he replied at last.  "I don't suppose you
take IOUs?"

     "Not from people who are likely to run off and never be seen
again," Nabiki said, rising up from the table.  "Try not to
destroy anything while I'm gone, would you?"

     Tarou didn't even deign to reply as Nabiki walked out of the
dining room.  He shifted his crossed legs slightly under the
table, and tapped his fingers against the wood, thinking again
about what he was going to do.  

     He had two choices, as he saw it.  He could get out of here,
forget the whole thing, go back to wandering and training by
himself.  Or he could keep up with this foolish plan that he'd
barely even thought out.

     He sighed.  Option one was out, as far as he could see; he
could not forget what had happened to him, not even if he had
wanted to.  He couldn't erase the memory of what was under
Jusendo from his mind, and he couldn't pretend that he could go
back to being as he had been before then.  

     So it looked like it was option two, then.  If Akane had
gone anywhere in China, it would be to Jusenkyou.  That much was
obvious.  But he needed more than that to go on; there was no
reason to walk into things utterly unprepared.

     The sound of footsteps made him raise his head, as Nabiki
walked back into the dining room, an open bag of crackers held in
one hand.  

     "You'll spoil your appetite for dinner," Tarou chided as she
sat back down.

     "I know my own appetites," Nabiki shot back, stuffing a few
crackers into her mouth and chewing.  After a moment, she held
out the bag to him.

     Tarou shrugged and snagged a cracker, realizing how hungry
he was.  He sat back, chewing leisurely.  "So what's the deal,
Nabiki?  Where's everyone gone?"

     Nabiki silently ate another cracker and looked at him
without any expression.  In the quiet lull of conversation, the
cicadas outside seemed particularly vehement in their chirping.

     "So who's that Tofu guy you mentioned to your sister?" he
asked abruptly, switching topics.

     "A dinner guest," Nabiki said.  "One we actually invited
rather than one who simply showed up unannounced."

     Tarou smirked.  "To my memory, I was invited as well.  So
you're the one who invited this Tofu guy, then?"

     Nabiki smirked back at him.  "Did I say that?"
     
     "Not in so many words," Tarou replied with a shrug.  "But I
doubt you'd show any concern about a guest unless you had some
personal interest in them."

     Nabiki shook her head.  "Doesn't matter whether I invited
him or not.  He's coming because of Kasumi."

     Tarou snapped his fingers.  "However, you've got something
to gain from all this, don't you?"

     The barest trace of a frown swept across Nabiki's face for a
moment.  "Maybe."

     "So, I would venture to say that you're interested in seeing
that this dinner goes well?" he queried, leaning across the table
and fixing Nabiki's gaze with his.

     Silence was enough reply for him.  "So let's talk, Nabiki.
Okay?"

     Nabiki looked away from him, the bag of crackers 
half-crumpled in her hand.  "I give you the short rundown, you
don't make trouble tonight?"

     "Deal," Tarou said.  He was fairly sure he knew more about
the major events of the situation than Nabiki did; he was mainly
interested in hearing about where Akane had gone.
     
     "Ranma disappeared about a week ago," Nabiki said, turning
her gaze back to him.  "Akane and some other people went to China 
to look for him."

     "What other people, and where in China?"
     
     Nabiki ticked off names on her fingers.  "Ranma's father,
Happosai, Ryoga and Shampoo."

     She nodded her head slightly at him.  "They went to 
Shampoo's village.  They think he's in the area of Jusenkyou.
That's all I really know."

     "Thanks," Tarou said grudgingly, dozens of other questions 
forming in his mind.  But Nabiki had a closemouthed look to her, 
as if she'd said all she was going to.  And what he knew was 
enough; probably at about the same time he'd been heading away 
from Jusenkyou, Akane and everyone else had been heading towards 
it.  

     He silently cursed that fact, despite that he could have had
no idea of the situation.  He needed to get back to China, and
fast, get Cologne and the others updated on the situation.  

     First of all, though, he needed to get a good meal into
himself, and at least a few hours sleep.  His thoughts were
jumbled; he was bone-tired, and was having trouble concentrating
on things.  He was in no condition to fly right now.  

     "Why did you want to talk to Akane, anyway?"
     
     Tarou lifted his slumped head and looked at Nabiki.  "I was
in the area, thought I'd say hello."

     "Uh-huh," Nabiki commented, the tone of her voice leaving it
clear that she didn't believe a word.  Tarou didn't care whether
she believed him or not, frankly.

     He turned his head away from Nabiki at the sound of soft
footsteps coming down the hall.  The cicadas outside were filling
the air with their chittering song; in the growing night, he 
could see the scattered lights of a few fireflies.

     A woman that he had never seen before stepped into the
dining room, dressed in an elegant blue kimono with an apron over
it.  She was tall, and though he would have guessed her to be
approaching middle age, still very beautiful.  Her eyes were sad,
though he could see she tried to disguise it.

     She passed her gaze over Tarou for a moment, then bowed
slightly.  "Kasumi said we had another guest.  I don't believe
we've met."

     "No," Tarou replied quietly.  "We haven't."
     
     "I'm Nodoka Saotome."
     
     Ranma's mother, he realized.  He'd been told about her when
Ranma had given his halting explanation of what had happened to
lead him to Jusenkyou.

     He saw Nabiki look up at Nodoka, and slowly grin.  "Mrs.
Saotome, this is..."

     "Tarou," he interrupted, suppressing a surge of anger.  
"You're Ranma's mother, right?"
     
     He saw the hidden pain behind her eyes rise to her face for
a moment, so sudden and deep that he felt himself regret his
words immediately.

     Then it went away, and the tall woman sat down at the table,
kneeling in her kimono.  "Yes, I am.  Are you a friend of my
son's?"

     Tarou considered for a second.  "I'd say an acquaintance at
best."

     "Oh," Nodoka said, as Nabiki rose up and made an exit from
the room, still smiling slightly as she went.

     Tarou studied Ranma's mother for a moment, the sadness in
her eyes, wondering just what she would do if he told her he knew
that her son was alive, and where he was.  

     But he couldn't do that, he realized.  That would have
defeated everything that Cologne had done.  She had taken Ranma
away because she believed that his mother and others were safer
apart from him.  Given what Tarou had seen happen to the younger
man, he agreed.  

     "I'm sorry he's gone," he finally said lamely, feeling
awkward and out of place, which he was not used to and did not
like.  He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, and 
listened to the cicadas outside.

     "I should get back to the kitchen," Nodoka said, rising up
and walking away.  "It was nice to meet you, Tarou."

     Tarou watched her go, then turned his gaze to the back yard,
listening to the night sounds and watching the dancing lights of
the fireflies as they winked on and off.

**********

     Nabiki glanced around the table.  She'd grabbed Tofu as soon
as he'd arrived and seated him across the table from her, making
sure there was a space next to him for Kasumi.  Tarou and her
father sat opposite each other at the narrower ends of the table, 
her father looking at Tarou with vague hostility; he had not been
particularly happy to see their unexpected guest once he'd gotten
out of the bath.

     Now, hopefully, the doctor would manage to keep himself calm
and collected.  He was currently talking to Tarou, who was
answering him in bored monosyllables, or occasionally, veiled
sarcasm.  Tofu didn't appear to notice, and was cheerfully
chattering away at the unenthusiastic martial artist as if they 
were old friends.

     Despite Tarou's promise to behave, she was still worried
about him screwing things up.  Mrs. Saotome coming had been 
unexpected, but not particularly worrying.  

     Tarou, on the other hand, was an unpredictable factor in
things.  He could easily be a disruption, and Nabiki wished she'd
managed to get rid of him before Kasumi had invited him to stay.
She also was vaguely suspicious of his motives for showing up;
nothing she could put her finger on, but a gut feeling that she
couldn't ignore.

     Nabiki sighed almost imperceptibly, and watched Tarou
carefully.  It would, at least, be a more interesting dinner than
she had planned.
     
**********

     Kasumi walked into the dining room behind Nodoka, carrying
the vegetables and the rice steamer on a tray.  She saw Tofu's
eyes focus on her as she entered, saw a faint grin trace across
his face.  

     "H... hello, Kasumi," he stuttered, voice wavering.  "What a
surprise."

     Kasumi looked away from him as she put the tray down on the
centre of the table.  She saw, to her apprehension, that Nodoka
had taken the seat next to Nabiki.

     "W... why don't you sit down, K... Kasumi..." Tofu said from
where he sat.  "There's room next to me."

     She glanced around at the other faces at the table.  Her
father looked expectant, vaguely pleased.  Nabiki was grinning
slightly.  Nodoka was looking at Tofu, expressionless.  Tarou
simply looked bored.

     Tofu was a guest.  You couldn't be rude to guests.  That
wasn't right.  She sat down beside Tofu, kneeling on the thin
cushion on the floor.  

     Her father glanced around the table.  "Well... in the
absence of so many, I suppose it is good to have a few guests for
dinner."

     Then he began to fill his bowl from the rice steamer, and
spear pieces of teriyaki chicken and stir-fried vegetables to put 
on his plate.  Around him, the other diners began to do the same.

     Kasumi filled her plate and bowl, and picked up her 
chopsticks.  From where she sat, she could see out into the
darkness of the outside through the open doors that led onto the
porch.  The fireflies were like fading stars.

     "So, Doctor Tofu," she heard her father say, his voice
seeming to come from down a long tunnel, heavy with darkness, to 
reach her ears.  "We haven't seen you in so long."

     "Well, you know what happens," Tofu chirped.  "Busy, busy,
lots of things to do, lots of things happening..."

     He rambled on for a few moments longer.  Tarou, who was the
closest person to Kasumi except for Tofu, was barely stopping
himself from laughing.

     Tofu caught her eye once, right before he stopped talking,
and winked, as if she were his secret conspirator.  She retreated
a bit further inside, feeling like an automation, a machine of 
flesh and blood and bone, eating and occasionally talking, but 
she was not truly here.

     Kasumi looked around the table.  Her father looked pleased,
happy.  Nabiki was grinning, showing her teeth.  Nodoka was
looking at Tofu.  Tarou still looked bored.

     Tarou had very good table manners for someone who spent so
much time alone, she observed.  Someone asked her a question; she
wasn't sure who.  

     "Oh my, yes."
     
     Her father looked at her.  "Well, yes... yes, the food is
very good."     

     She felt Tofu's hand touch her right outer thigh through her 
skirt.
     
     It was so sudden, she was forced to stifle a cry of
surprise.  That would have been rude, what a silly thing that
would have been to do.  Tofu was a guest.  You couldn't be rude 
to guests.

     That wasn't right at all.
     
     Her chopsticks clattered as they fell from her hands,
bouncing off the table.  She murmured an apology and picked them
up; Tofu's hand crept along her thigh like an insect, concealed
below the table from anyone else's sight.  

     Tarou said something that made Nabiki laugh.  She never knew
what it was.  Tofu's hand advanced, cold as ice even through the
skirt's dark brown fabric.  It brushed against the inner curve of
her thigh, like frost creeping, like a spider.  It began to move 
higher up her leg, as Tofu's other hand used the chopsticks 
expertly, as his mouth opened and closed and opened and closed 
and talked.

     She felt like screaming.  She couldn't.  Tofu was a guest.

     You couldn't be rude to guests.     
     
     That wasn't right at all.
     
     His hand moved, fingers pushing against the stretched fabric
of the skirt, going slowly up and up her inner thigh.  

     "Hey doc, pass me the rice steamer."
     
     Tarou's voice sounded thin and far away, but she clung to it
like a rope, and felt Tofu's hand leave her thigh.  She saw him
pick up the heavy rice steamer in his left hand, the hand that 
had been touching her before, the powerful hand, fingers long and
strong.

     "I'm so happy to be eating here," he said, and she saw his
eyes for a moment, and she was sure that no one else saw the
blind, awful rage there, consuming as fire.  "At K... Kasumi's 
house!"
     
     Then he swung the rice steamer.  It made a clang as it
impacted with the side of Tarou's head.  Tofu giggled, and set it
down in front of the slightly dazed boy.  

     Tarou was dazed only for a moment.  He looked at Tofu, and
his eyes narrowed until they were little more than slits.  Father
was looking embarrassed; Nabiki had stopped grinning.

     "Tarou!" she barked.  "You promised."
     
     Tarou said something under his breath that Nabiki didn't
hear.  He began to fill his bowl in the rice steamer.  

     Tofu looked at Tarou intently.  "I'm sorry.  Did that hurt?"

     Tofu reached out as if to touch Tarou's shoulder, his arm
crossing Kasumi's field of vision.  

     Nabiki closed her eyes and muttered something under her
breath.  Kasumi couldn't tell whether it was a prayer or a swear
word.

     Tarou's hand snapped up, so fast Kasumi didn't even see it
move.  He grabbed Tofu's wrist as the doctor's fingers lingered a
few inches from his neck.

     "Doc," he said, in a very quiet voice that held a terrible
amount of menace in it.  "You put a hand on me and I'll break
your fingers.  Don't think I can't, and don't think I won't."

     And slowly, slowly he grinned.  "And don't think I wouldn't
like to."

     "Daddy," Nabiki said quietly, "is this any way to allow a
guest to be treated?"

     Soun stood up from the table, face dark with anger.  

     "Get out," he said to Tarou.
     
     Tarou let go of Tofu's wrist.  The doctor snatched his hand
back, eyes half-closed, still smiling slightly.  

     "What?" Tarou said.
     
     "You always make trouble for us," Soun growled.  "I must ask
you to leave my home."

     Tarou smacked his palm down onto the tabletop, so hard the
dishes rattled.  "What the hell is wrong with you people?"

     He gestured at Tofu, who was looking slightly confused by
everything.  "This guy started the damn thing.  Throw him out,
why don't you?"

     "He," Soun said slowly, "was an invited guest, not some
wanderer who happened to show up and take advantage of my eldest 
daughter's good nature."

     "I didn't take advantage of anybody," Tarou snapped, rising
up from the table as well, glaring fiercely at Soun.

     Kasumi looked around at the faces at the table.  Father
looked angry.  So did Nabiki, in a different way.  Nodoka looked
sad and confused.  Tarou looked angry too.  Tofu looked pleased,
but he hid it well.

     "I'll ask you once more to leave," Soun said, a bit too
loudly for Kasumi's taste, "and then I'll--"

     "You'll what?" Tarou said bluntly.  His eyes were cold.
     
     "I'll... I'll..."
     
     Kasumi's father seemed to deflate, grow smaller.  "Just go.
We have enough troubles already."

     Tarou's lip curled up into a bitter smile.  Something in his
eyes looked almost hurt for a moment.  "If you had any damn idea 
why I came here in the first place..."

     Then something seemed to go out of him as well.  He suddenly
looked very tired, losing some of his cockiness.  "Who cares?  I
should have known better anyway.  The bunch of you deserve each
other."

     With that, he spun on his heel and walked out of the dining
room; they heard the front door open and close moments later.  

     Soun sat back down, looking tired and old.  
     
     "I'm sorry about that, everyone," he muttered 
apologetically, and began to pick at his food.  

     Most of Kasumi felt sorry too.  It wasn't nice when guests
fought.  That wasn't right at all.

     And the other part, the part that had wanted to cry out when
Tofu had touched her, the part that had wanted to scream when he
hadn't stopped, the part that had exulted when Tarou had grabbed
the doctor's wrist, it went back further and further, because it
wasn't right to be rude to guests.

**********

     Tarou stalked down the street.  It was a way of moving that
made it clear to everyone that they had damn well get out of his
way.  Everyone did.

     He wanted to go back and put his fist in that smiling
doctor's face.  He wanted to go back and tear that house apart in
his monster form.

     But where would that get him, he thought silently.  Did he
want to fulfil every expectation they had of him?  

     It hurt, he realized with shame.  The loneliness, the
rejection, it had always hurt.  He couldn't deny that any longer.
The worst part was that none of it had been his damn fault; the
doctor had started everything.  

     He had barely managed to control himself after he'd been hit
with the rice steamer, his deal with Nabiki only barely enough to 
keep him from lashing out.  

     But he was damn sure that the doctor had been going for one
of the strike points on his neck when he'd reached for him.  And
he wasn't big on people touching him without permission anyway.

     "Wait!  Please, wait!"
     
     The voice behind him sounded out of breath.  He stopped
walking and stood under the pool of light cast by a streetlamp,
as he watched Nodoka Saotome hurry down the street after him.

     A kimono, he observed, was not the easiest thing to run in.
     
     He watched Ranma's mother approach, and remembered Ranma
standing with him before the golden dragon that lay bound and
broken under Jusendo.

     He watched her step into the circle of light cast blankly
from above, and remembered the battle with Galm, and the rain
falling from the storm clouds, and Saffron dying with his head in
his brother's lap.

     "I'm glad I caught you," she said.  "I want to apologize.
Soun... Soun has been under a lot of stress lately.  We all have,
but Kasumi says he's been trying very hard to deal with it."

     "It wasn't my fault," Tarou muttered, feeling oddly
defensive.     

     Nodoka nodded.  "I don't think it was either.  I don't know
why they tolerate that man... I don't like him very much."

     "Can't say I do either," Tarou said sardonically.

     "What is it you do, exactly?" Nodoka asked.  "Are you a
fighter, like my son?"
     
     Tarou nodded.  "Yeah.  But I'm better."
     
     A familiar smirk grew on his face as he continued.  "Mostly, 
though, I wander."

     He looked at her, at the sadness hidden behind her eyes, and
his smirk disappeared as he continued.  "I get around a lot.  I
might run into Ranma sometime, wherever he is."

     "Oh," she replied dully.  "Perhaps you will."
     
     And Tarou looked into her eyes, and saw something, some tiny
flicker, that made him realize that, just perhaps, a part of her
knew.

     "If you do," she continued, speaking softly, so softly he
had to strain to hear her, "please tell him I miss him very 
much."

     Tarou looked down at the ground for a moment.  "I will."
     
     He looked at her face, pale in the light, and spoke, almost
hesitantly.  "I'm sure he misses you."

     He found, to his shame, that he could barely speak through
the lump in his throat.  "I know that I'd miss my mother, if I
knew where she was but couldn't see her."

     And some part of him wished he hadn't said that, and another
part was so glad that he had.  He turned to go, angry and
embarrassed and yet, strangely, feeling better than he had before.

     "Wait," Nodoka called behind him, laying a cool hand on his
bare shoulder.  "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

     He glanced back, and lied.  "Yeah."
     
     Then he walked off into the dark streets, leaving Ranma's
mother standing in the harsh white glare of the light.  

     He could still hear, faintly, the cicadas chirping somewhere 
far in the distance, but the bright fragility of the fireflies 
he'd seen before in the backyard had long ago been consumed 
within the sprawling darkness of the city.