*** Heaven  0.000,0.000

Urd hated monitor duty.

The platinum-haired Goddess of the Past was now regretting her offer to 
trade work shifts with Belldandy, but a bargain was a bargain.  She 
smiled a moment later though, remembering how much fun she had recently 
with Maui, a rather rascally but also particularly charming deity from 
the Polynesian pantheon.  He reminded her of a more pleasant version of 
Loki, but with a golden tan.  She had first met him at the last God Con, 
the annual gathering (and major party) of the deities and demigods from 
the different pantheons.  Despite his rather roguish reputation, he 
always treated her like a lady, and he constantly did things to bring a 
smile to her face.  He was also one of the few gods that she could not 
drink under the table, a contest that she did not at all really regret 
losing.  Paying off the loss of that particular bet had been a most 
enjoyable way to spend almost a week's time in and of itself.

However, now Urd faced monitor duty, watching over Yggdrasil's many 
functions and keeping them all running smoothly.  She occupied herself 
with setting up programs to refine the various utilities, a task that 
seemed never-ending to her.  A tweak here, a kludge-fix there, all were 
parts of the life of a programmer, especially when one was talking about 
maintaining the greatest computer in the universe.

Despite her boredom, the Goddess of the Past grew engrossed in her work.
Urd worked away at her terminal, running file updates and other system 
maintenance.  The remainder of her attention was spent thinking about 
her next date with Maui, so she did not immediately notice when an 
unused terminal on one side of the chamber lit up and began to quickly 
scroll with runic symbols.

*DESTINY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED.  PROBABILITY NODE ALTERATION INITIATED.

*REVISING CURRENT INDEXED NODE STATUS FROM CLASS THREE TO CLASS ONE.

*FRACTALIZING EFFECTS OF NODE TO STABILIZE MIDGARD REALITY PARADIGM.

*MIDGARD REALITY PARADIGM STABILIZED.  NO ERRORS REPORTED.

Urd paused.  One of her system warnings had flashed for a moment as she 
worked away.  She stopped what she was doing, suspecting a bug, but a 
more detailed search turned up nothing more than one of Yggdrasil's 
routine updates of the reality matrix.  A probability node had just been 
upgraded in status to Class One, causing a few localized ripples in the 
paradigm to begin.  However, they should smooth out over time.  Mortals 
seemed to be in an almost constant state of flux in relative importance 
to the weavings of Fate, so even a two step jump upwards in status was 
noteworthy but nothing too exciting.  Still, it would prove interesting 
to see what happened.  A Class One Probability Node would begin drawing 
odd events into its midst, like a form of lodestone gathering iron 
filings.

Checking through the system log revealed nothing significant.  Urd 
shrugged her shoulders.  It was apparently nothing serious, just one of 
Yggdrasil's quirks that she had long gotten used to.  With a frown of 
concentration, the platinum blonde-haired goddess began typing away once 
again, striving to repair a small snarl in one segment of system code.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quantum Destinies
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
By Jurai Knight (sthesken@earthlink.net)

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.  This story 
is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic 
authors.  Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A 
Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series.  
All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can 
email the author for them:

The Quantum Destinies Homepage
http://home.earthlink.net/~sthesken/fanfics/qd.html


The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:
Earth  0.000,0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)


What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you 
understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over 
five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world 
and has done so for almost a century.  A young scientist named Ranma 
Saotome has returned to Japan with his father for the first time in ten 
years to study at the Imperial Academy.  He brought with him plans that 
he created for a device that would enable him to mentally link himself 
with alternate versions of himself on other timelines, to prove his 
father's theories on the existence of alternate worlds.  At the Academy, 
Ranma met Akane and Nabiki Tendo, who are studying at the Academy to 
become members of the Imperial Security Directorate.  Their father, Soun 
Tendo, is a powerful man within the structure of the Directorate and 
expects his children to follow in the Tendo family traditions of service 
to the Empire.  While at the Academy, Ranma constructed his device and 
mentally linked with another version of himself, a young martial artist.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 2 - Altered Fates

     No man or woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny.

                                       -Homer

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


*** Earth  0.000,0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete."

Ranma opened his eyes and smiled.  Despite some unexpected surprises, 
the experiment had been an incredible and unqualified success.  He 
slipped off the neural interlink headset and stretched his arms out 
until his spine popped lightly.  Bracing one hand against the edge of 
the couch, Ranma flipped off of it with unconscious grace in a smooth 
midair somersault and landed on his feet.

Unconsciously ignoring his unexpected gain in acrobatic skill, Ranma 
calmly reached over to the resonator and flipped the main power bar off.  
He listened to the hum of electricity racing through the components 
slowly die as the device shut down.  With a thoughtful expression, he 
stared at the small accumulation of equipment, the culmination of two 
years of planning finally fulfilled.  He stood, mildly surprised that he 
didn't feel any sort of the elation usually associated with major 
successes.  Instead, he felt quiet and relaxed.

He had done it.

Ranma's face acquired a sudden bemused look.  The expression on his face 
lightened into a bright smile as the reality of what he had done finally 
sank in.  He punched his fist into the air.  "I did it!" he shouted, 
before quieting once more into thoughtfulness.

"But what do I do now?" he wondered to the empty room.  Ranma looked at 
his hand, opening it back up and closing it once more into a tight fist.  
A quiet grin appeared on his face.  His memories of that alternate life 
were bright and clear in his mind, even the smells of the food that he 
had eaten.  He imagined that, if he inhaled, he could still smell the 
subtle tang of spices.

Then there were the girls.  Ranma closed his eyes, remembering the 
expressions of love on their faces as they had gazed at him, at the 
other Ranma.  To have two such attractive girls look at him in such a 
way had affected him more than he thought it ever would.  Shampoo and 
Ukyo, he thought with a smile.  And Akane Tendo.  His smile faded.  Why 
did a duplicate of himself have to be in love with Akane Tendo, of all 
people?

Ranma sat down on the couch, picking up the discarded headset.  He ran 
his thumb across one of the small contact plates, imagining that he 
could feel the spark of wizardry within it that had made his dreams a 
reality.  He had always loved science and learning, always knowing that 
there was no mystery that he could not solve.  Today, Ranma finally 
crossed a boundary that few men were even aware existed, and it had left 
him changed.

Standing up and renewing the soft grin on his face, Ranma took a few 
experimental punches at the empty air.  His body felt awkward, the 
unexpected ease of his earlier movements was now absent.  He bumbled the 
strikes he attempted, motions that were instinctive to his other self, 
and chuckled wryly.

Ranma pictured in his mind an image of that other Ranma, a martial 
artist, and smiled.  Compared to himself, that Ranma led a far more 
exciting life, certainly one more carefree than his own.  It was a life 
that Ranma found himself actually wishing that he had, for a moment, 
even though he was sure that it had its own difficulties.

Still, it looked like a fun life, he mused as he began putting his 
equipment back in order.  He wanted to see more of it.  He knew his own 
life would never become half as exciting.

"That was an unbelievable experience," he muttered aloud.  "To walk in a 
life that is so very different from my own.  I wonder what else my other 
alternative selves are up to?"  The possibilities were staggering, and 
Ranma found himself wanting to see as many of them as he could.  The 
many possible tangents promised to yield an enormous wealth of rich 
experiences and maybe even some adventures.

If he could learn to fight like that other Ranma, then Akane Tendo 
would, at the least, cease to be a concern in his own life, and she 
could go pick on some weaker target and leave him alone.  He very 
briefly imagined himself standing triumphantly over a defeated Akane, 
certain that that would end his troubles with the girl.  He would pay 
her back for the weeks of bullying that she had given him.

Ranma finished straightening his equipment, bemused again by his brief 
burst of athletic skill.  He knew that he didn't have the sheer physical 
abilities of the other Ranma, but the extra training after his regular 
classes was bringing him closer to it.  Given enough time and sufficient 
motivation, he felt sure that he could match his quantum brother.  His 
previous feelings of resentment for his physical training were muted 
somewhat now.  The Empire believed in strong minds and bodies.  He would 
show them all just how strong he could be.

Ranma flipped open his notebook as he sat at the small electronics 
bench.  His thoughts continued to race as he made a few initial notes on 
his experiences with his first alternate life.  Had there been any side-
effects for the other Ranma?  Could he have learned new skills?  If 
that's so, he may just have made a dumb jock into a scholastic genius.  
Ranma grinned at the thought.

Taking a quick glance at his watch, Ranma piled his books into his bag.  
For the first time, he was looking forward to his physical education 
class.  Quickly finishing, Ranma threw a cloth cover over the computer 
and the small stacks of equipment next to it.  Hefting the bag onto his 
shoulder, he unlocked and opened the lab door.  The hallway beyond was 
quiet, dimly lit by bare tracks of fluorescent bulbs.  His thoughts 
continued to contemplate the new world that now lay open before him, all 
the myriad possibilities of life that were now his to explore.

Ranma shut the lights off in his lab, closed and locked the door behind 
him, and pocketed the key.  He found himself unable to stop grinning as 
he walked up the stairs.

                   ******************************

The figure moved smoothly and gracefully through the weapon kata, each 
motion blending seamlessly into the next.  Eyes closed in deep 
concentration, he twisted and wove his wooden practice blade as he 
pretended to fight with a dozen opponents.  He was Tatewaki Kuno, 
already approaching mastery of his craft, and considered to be one of 
the most promising young duelists in the Empire.

Kuno brought the wooden blade back into his original starting position 
to finish, both hands wrapped around the handle held in front of his 
stomach, the bokken slanted upwards at the proper angle.  Not even a 
single degree of deviation from the proper form existed in his stance.  
He opened his eyes, finally letting his concentration break.  Loud 
clapping from a single pair of hands behind him caused him to turn.

"You never get tired of all those weapons drills, do you?" said an 
amused male voice that he knew well.  Kuno completed his turn to see one 
of his fellow students at Whitehall Academy, a tall, handsome youth 
named Mikado Sanzenin, observing him with a grin.  Mikado was dressed in 
his usual finery, a spotless blue uniform, only modified by a white 
scarf at the neck.

"They serve a necessary purpose," said Kuno with a shrug of his 
shoulders.  "I must strive to improve my skills constantly, ere I fall 
to one more dedicated than myself."

To this day, Kuno wasn't sure how he came to be friends with a foppish 
sort like the heir to the Sanzenin Family.  True, both of them came from 
extremely distinguished bloodlines and some of the finest of the 
Families, the noble lords of the Empire, but they were a study in 
contrasts.  Tall and dark-haired, Tatewaki Kuno was a proud descendant 
of a warrior legacy and determined to follow in the glorious footsteps 
of his divine ancestors.  He held this attitude despite the modern age's 
slight disdain for such things in its citizens, the strength that had 
built an Empire.  On the other hand, Mikado Sanzenin was a laughing 
rogue, light-haired and light-minded, a pursuer of his own pleasures, 
and somewhat of a mild disappointment to his own noble family.

The Kuno Family consisted of nobles of an ancient sort, their lineage 
extending back to the rise of the first samurai.  Despite such an 
impressive background, they were still only one of the Minor Families, a 
situation that Kuno's father had been working to remedy for many years 
now without much success.  The Great Families were rather jealous of 
their positions and did not suffer upstarts well, even upstarts from as 
ancient a lineage as the Kunos'.

In comparison, the Sanzenin Family, though just as ancient a noble 
bloodline, arose to prominence only in relatively recent times in the 
Empire, less than two centuries ago.  They had chosen the path of the 
merchant warrior, ready to defend their goods against all, but also 
ready to make a profit.  Their original fortunes expanded greatly during 
the gold rush and early colonial efforts in the frozen wilderness of 
Arasaka, and they had used that wealth to buy up several sizable 
holdings in frontier regions of the Empire.  Considered small when 
compared to the most powerful Families in the Empire, the Sanzenin's 
cunningly married themselves into some of the most influential of the 
Minor Families, and were now a force to be reckoned with.

Mikado and Kuno had been friends for a few years, finding something 
missing in their own lives in each other.  Mikado, for example, was a 
master at dealing with women, and Kuno... was not.  In exchange for his 
friend's able assistance in such matters, Kuno had helped Mikado improve 
his fighting skills.  Early on, he was very surprised to learn that 
Mikado was well-trained in both the stick-fighting and barehanded 
methods of Escrima from time spent at one of the many Sanzenin holdings 
in the Philippines.

"There is more to life than fighting, my friend," said Mikado with a sad 
shake of his head.  "Already, I don't believe that there is a match for 
you among the young nobility when it comes to combat, except maybe for 
myself."  Mikado grinned his roguish grin once more.

"There is truth in what you say," acknowledged Kuno solemnly.  He made a 
dramatic gesture with his bokken.  "I have fought well over one hundred 
skilled opponents with a weapon like this in my hand, and never once 
known defeat.  However, I doubt that you would defeat me, despite your 
grace and skill.  You are a dancer at combat, my friend, but I have been 
bred and trained all of my life to fight as a warrior.  I fear that none 
of our peers shall ever offer me a true and worthy challenge in my life, 
so perhaps I should begin to consider seeking it from those older than 
I.  I fear that our generation has grown soft.  I dread there are no 
true warriors left among us, save for myself."

"Well, maybe someday we might see, but I have no real interest in 
fighting anyone," said Mikado with a smile.  "Perhaps to win the love of 
a woman.  After all, there is only one thing that I truly value, a 
beautiful woman.  Speaking of which, how _is_ your sister?"

Kuno grimaced.  His innocent flower of a sister was one of the few 
things that could arouse his protective instincts.  Kodachi attended 
Whitehall's sister Academy, Blackhall.  He was aware that there was no 
real danger in Mikado's intentions, but long ago he had sworn to keep 
his sister safe from men who would abuse her naive trust.  He knew from 
experiencing his own desires towards the fairer sex that there was a 
beast within all men, a slavering monster of lusts.  To turn his quiet 
and shy sister over to anyone would require that man to prove himself to 
Tatewaki Kuno first.

So far, none had done so.  He doubted there was any man who could.

"My sister fares well," answered Kuno gruffly.  "But I worry for her.  
This past month she has been like a stranger to me.  She has even 
renewed her combat training, which I find to be passing strange."

"She has seemed distant whenever I have seen her of late," said Mikado 
thoughtfully.  "I thought perhaps there had been some tragedy in your 
home that I was unaware of."

"It all began almost three weeks ago, when my sister woke the household 
with screaming," said Kuno, remembering.

                   ******************************

*** Earth  +0.003,+0.001

Kodachi was running, her lungs aching, as bullets whined by her head.  
Behind her, several men armed with pistols and the distinctive black 
body armor of the Security Directorate pursued her relentlessly down the 
hallway as she strove to escape them.  Her goal was coming within reach.

"Don't kill her, you fools!" shouted one of the men.  "Director Ninomiya 
has given strict orders that she be taken alive!  She's the only one 
left who can understand the technology!"

Reaching the steel door, Kodachi turned and fired her stolen pistol at 
her pursuers.  The Security agents dove for cover to the floor as she 
fired off half of the magazine in rapid succession.  Her other hand 
fumbled the key into the lock, a key wet with blood that was not her 
own.

The key turned easily, unlocking the door, and she threw it partly open.  
Using the doorframe for momentary cover, Kodachi fired off a few more 
rounds down the hall as she recovered the keys and ducked inside the 
lab.

The laboratory door slammed shut behind Kodachi, and she quickly rammed 
the sturdy deadbolt home.  Her hand shakily flipped on the overhead 
lights.  Ranma's lab, she thought miserably.  How did it all go so 
horribly wrong?  She felt tears wash down her face in two streams, 
marring her makeup.  Fists thudded against the thick door on the other 
side.

"One of you men go and get something to break this door down," she heard 
one of them say.  Kodachi moved away from the door.  She did not have 
much time, and she could see only one way to engineer her escape.  Her 
eyes fell on the small stacks of equipment, currently sitting uncovered 
in the middle of the lab.

The Empire was dying.  Civil war after the unexpected death of the 
Emperor and most of the Imperial Bloodline had left no clear line of 
succession.  Various factions struggled to claim the throne, pulling the 
Empire apart at the seams.  There were even rumors of rebellion in the 
outlying prefectures.  The Security Directorate endeavored to remain 
impartial, but their actions had grown more draconian as they attempted 
to maintain a veneer of order on society.

Kodachi Kuno was a scientist by training and desire, not a warrior.  She 
was a Science cadet at the Imperial Academy, working alongside a very 
dedicated young scholar named Ranma Saotome on a secret project of his, 
a way to contact other realities.  He was working from incomplete plans 
and equations he had discovered moldering away in one of the Science 
Ministry's archives, but they had been sufficient to allow him to 
construct a device of his own.

The Security Directorate learned of the existence of the resonator when 
Ranma mentioned it to Nabiki Tendo, a protege of the current Director.  
Hinako Ninomiya had ordered all those with working knowledge of its 
functions rounded up to prevent others from learning of its existence.  
With the Empire attempting to tear itself apart in bloody civil war, 
such a device could yield highly valuable intelligence data to the side 
which possessed it.

Ranma was shot through the chest by a sniper during his capture, right 
before her eyes, and Kodachi had no idea who would do such a thing.  He 
died in her arms, his life's blood staining the cloth of her skirt as 
the Security agents attempted to track down the assassin.  It was during 
the confusion that Ranma, with his final breaths, gave her the keys to 
his lab and told her to escape this world.  She used the skills obtained 
from one of one of her other lives to sneak away into the darkness.  
However, her freedom would not last for much longer, and she had no 
desire to die or be captured.

Kodachi powered up the resonator and cursed rather unladylike things at 
its primitiveness.  It functioned, as several tests with her as the 
volunteer test subject had already confirmed, but its range was limited 
and the scanning module software was sluggish.  She ran it through the 
startup routine as quickly as she could.  While she waited, she gathered 
all of Ranma's notes and schematic drawings, as well as the only copy of 
the original files taken from the Science Ministry's archives, and set 
fire to them.  The flames were strangely soothing to her.

When it was finally ready, Kodachi was watching the last wisps of this 
Ranma's work crisp into ashes.  There was a dull thudding at the steel 
door, possibly from some sort of ram being used to try and force the 
door open.  She eyed the deadbolt; it would not hold up for much longer.  
Kodachi hurried herself as fast as she was able to.

The equipment's primitive nature actually made her planned sabotage even 
easier.  After she had transited out of this life, a simple virus she 
had written would purge the computer memory.  Without the notebooks or 
control software, the resonator was essentially a large paperweight.  
The virus would run once synchronization and transfer was complete, at 
least she hoped so.  This Kodachi would be an empty shell at that point.

That thought made her feel very alone.  It was a familiar feeling, one 
she had last experienced when she heard of her brother's death in battle 
a year ago.  With Tatewaki gone, she was the last of the Kuno line in 
this world, so there was nothing to keep her here anymore.

The door shuddered once more, shaking Kodachi from her reverie.  She 
leaned back on the couch and settled the bulky interlink headset over 
her head, pausing for a moment to look up at the ceiling over her head.  
One hand reached over and tapped a key, and she saw the screen begin 
running calculations.  A pair of sine wave graphs sat below the streams 
of numbers, frozen in place.  The door shuddered again under another 
solid impact.

Kodachi forced herself to ignore the door as the calculations began to 
slow down and finally stopped on a single set of numbers.  The two sine 
waves moved together as synchronization began.

Please just let me have a few more seconds, she prayed.

The door exploded open as Kodachi screamed with fear.

                   ******************************

*** Earth  0.000,0.000

Kodachi surged up in her bed, screaming in terror.  She looked wildly 
around the room, expecting to see sinister shapes coming at her from the 
darkened corners.  Her breathing started to slow when the door to her 
room burst open, causing her to scream once more.

"Sister!" shouted Kuno.  "What is it?!"  He was armed with one of his 
many bokken, alternating scanning the room with looking at his younger 
sister cowering behind the sheets of her bed.

Kodachi blinked, seeing her brother just as she remembered him from her 
original life, looking like a warrior from the old tales.  She began to 
cry.

Kuno set his weapon beside her bed and sat down next to her.  He had 
forgotten how fragile she was.  He cursed himself for frightening her 
so, aware that she must have had another one of her infrequent 
nightmares.  He pulled her into a comforting hug and felt her body 
racked with sobs of fear and grief.

"Shhh... Kodachi..." Kuno said quietly, unused to the position of 
comforter.  "Do not fear, for I am with you.  No harm shall come to you 
while I breathe."  He patted her on the back, feeling her trembling with 
fear in his arms.

Kodachi tried to calm herself as the memories of this life flooded her 
awareness.  As far as her family was concerned, it was not too different 
from her original life, save for recent events.  In this life, she had 
chosen to attend Blackhall Academy, like many of her female peers among 
the lower nobility, studying dance and gymnastics.

Among other things, the decision point in her choice of schooling 
apparently came when she won the gold medal in Paris at the World 
Gymnastics Competition, instead of the silver that she had in her 
original life.  Here, her parents were still alive, urging her to pursue 
her training even harder, and she had submitted to their wishes.  This 
body was far stronger and more capable than she had ever thought herself 
able to become, leanly muscular underneath very womanly curves.  It 
reminded her of the well-toned shape that she had possessed in a 
timeline where she was a warrior.

This Kodachi had few friends though, devoting herself to her studies.  
The other girls at Blackhall were jealous of her for some reason and 
excluded her from their many cliques.  The few young men who had ever 
expressed an interest in her, those who attended the all-male Whitehall 
Academy, were apparently unable to get past her brother Tatewaki, who 
was fiercely determined to protect her from what he viewed as their 
lustful attentions.  In this life she was very lonely.  Meeting Ranma in 
her original life had given her a rare friendship, one her brother never 
knew of.

Kuno felt Kodachi's sobbing grow still.  As the man of the house while 
their parents were away, it was his responsibility to take care of her.  
He was unsure what to do about the demons that pursued her in her 
dreams, save to offer her a comforting shoulder to cry on.  Luckily, the 
nightmares of her childhood had grown rarer and farther apart in recent 
years.  They made her seem so fragile to his eyes.

"I thank you for your concern, brother dear," said Kodachi with a few 
light sniffles.  "I am better now.  The dream is far away from me."

"Are you sure?" asked Kuno, sitting back and releasing her.  He studied 
her face to see if he could discern what her true feelings were.  "It 
has been many months since your last nightmare."

"I said, I'm fine!" Kodachi snapped, and a moment later regretted it.  
Almost all of the memories of this new life had settled into place 
quickly, despite the differences.  Ranma had shown her that she could be 
independent, and he always treated her as an equal, not as some sort of 
doll, like her brother did in this life.  "I apologize, brother dear.  I 
appreciate your concern for me, but I would prefer to be alone now."

Kuno nodded, stood up, nodded, and quietly left the room.

As he left, Kodachi noticed a familiar gleam on the table next to her 
bed.  She reached out and picked up the small golden crucifix with 
trembling hands, a gift from her mother in this life long ago.  The 
trembling stilled when the small, gold symbol was in her hands, and she 
stared out into the darkness beyond her window in the Kuno mansion and 
tried to contemplate her future.

                   ******************************

"That was when you noticed the changes?" asked Mikado.  Kuno nodded and 
settled himself in at the edge of the practice mat.  Mikado sat next to 
him a moment later.

"Kodachi had always been such a gentle creature, the very image of a 
noblewoman," said Kuno.  "This new Kodachi was like unto one of those 
commoner girls attending the Imperial Academy, independent-minded.  The 
very next day after her nightmare, I chanced to encounter her in the 
mansion's training hall, working out.  She was surprisingly skilled in 
combat techniques."  His voice broke for a moment, pride in his sister 
mixed with concern.

"That explains how she was able to knock Asuka Saginomiya out a few 
weeks ago," said Mikado in a thoughtful tone.  "I understand that it was 
quite a fight."  It had also given him a very rare opportunity to offer 
comfort to the blonde beauty.  The slap to his face had been well worth 
it for a kiss of those lips.

                   ******************************

Kodachi was in a rush to get to her next class when a figure stepped out 
of one of the side hallways, trailed by several cronies.  The blonde 
leader stood in front of her and snapped an arm out, blocking Kodachi's 
path.

"What's your hurry, little princess?" asked the girl with a smile.  "We 
have some unfinished business, you and I.  You owe me and my friends 
some protection money."

Kodachi paused, memories of bullying done by this girl springing into 
her awareness.  Asuka Saginomiya, the self-proclaimed 'White Lily' of 
Blackhall Academy.  Kodachi turned to coolly look the other girl in the 
eyes.

"You and I have no business with each other, Saginomiya-san," Kodachi 
said in neutral tones.  "I would suggest, for your own sake, that you 
remove yourself from my path and never bother me again in the future."

"OHHOHOHOHOHOHO!" laughed Asuka loudly, putting a hand in front of her 
mouth in a semblance of ladylike behavior.  She dropped her hand when 
she finished laughing, the amused look immediately fading from her face 
to be replaced by a more dangerous one.  "Oh, listen to Princess Kuno," 
said Asuka with a sneer, looking back at her followers.  A moment later, 
she returned her mocking gaze back to Kodachi.  "And what happens if I 
don't do as you say?"

A few moments later, as the Poetry Club was enjoying the sun and fresh 
air on the trimmed front grass of Blackhall, a female body came hurtling 
unexpectedly through one of the second story windows.  The girls quickly 
scattered as the famed White Lily barely managed to land on her feet as 
she came down on the grass.  A bruise from a punch marred the complexion 
of her cheek, and fury lit her eyes.

Above, a few of the girls noticed Kodachi Kuno standing framed in the 
shattered remnants of the window, an odd smirk on her face.  They saw 
her leap out from the window, body curling into a tight spin for a 
moment, before her feet touched down gracefully on the grass.  The skirt 
of her uniform settled around her legs.

"Care to try again, Asuka-chan?" said Kodachi gently, as she raised her 
arms into a combat stance, the picture of a confident fighter.

"You struck my cheek!" screamed Asuka in fury.  "Marred my beauty!  
Where did _you_ ever learn how to fight?!"  The blonde girl noticed that 
they were gathering a small crowd.  Thankfully, most of the boys at 
Whitehall were away on a field trip, so she wouldn't have to contend 
with Kodachi's tiresome brother attempting to interfere.  She glared at 
the girls around them, and they scattered back from her fierce gaze.

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises today," said Kodachi in a bored 
tone.  "Come closer and I'll give you a matching bruise on your other 
cheek.  So, are you going to rant some more, or fight?"  She felt 
exhilarated by the fight and hoped that it would last for a little 
while.  It would give her an opportunity to work off some of her 
frustrations.  There was also an undercurrent in her thoughts, a desire 
to show the other girl who was truly the stronger female between them.

"I'm going to KILL YOU!!" roared Asuka, charging at Kodachi.  She lashed 
out with a karate punch, and Kodachi ducked to one side.  Her left fist 
struck upwards and rocked Asuka's head to the other side.  They quickly 
traded blows and blocks before springing apart once more.

Asuka heard the whispers around them, and her fury deepened.  She had 
been top girl at this Academy since she arrived.  None of the older 
girls had dared to challenge her like this, even those who were fighters 
themselves.  Suddenly the mousy little gymnast Kodachi Kuno grows a 
spine.  It looked like Asuka Saginomiya was going to have to rip it out 
of her and teach the other girl her place here.  _She_ ran this school!  
Kodachi Kuno was NOTHING!

Asuka leaped at Kodachi and began throwing a furious assault of punches 
and kicks.  She was shocked to discover her opponent blocking or dodging 
each strike, and a counterstrike punch slipped past her guard to slam 
into her ribs.  Ignoring the sudden pain, Asuka drove her elbow up under 
Kodachi's chin, cracking her head back.  She quickly followed it up with 
a savage knee strike into the other girl's gut.

Kodachi backed up, tears springing to her eyes from the pain of the two 
blows.  She ducked a spin kick by Asuka and lashed upwards with a side 
kick of her own, managing to catch the blonde girl low in the belly.  
Kodachi followed it up with a solid uppercut punch that caught Asuka 
flat-footed.  Her head popped up, a glazed look in her eyes, as Kodachi 
spun herself around in a full turn and drove her foot across Asuka's 
face in a powerful spin kick, putting the full force of her twisting 
hips behind the blow.

Asuka Saginomiya's head snapped to one side, and blood flew from her 
mouth, as her body flew back to crash down hard on one of the lunch 
tables.

I'm... losing....  Total disbelief colored Asuka's thoughts.  She laid 
there for a moment, dazedly watching the sky.

Kodachi dropped back into a ready stance and tilted her head to each 
side, feeling the bones in her neck crackle and pop back into place.  A 
smile appeared on her face as she noticed the other girls watching her 
with expressions approaching awe.  There's a new Kodachi Kuno in town, 
ladies, the dark-haired girl thought with a smile.  Establishing her new 
place in the social pecking order was long overdue, especially against a 
preening bully like Asuka Saginomiya.

Asuka shook off her pain.  Kodachi was faster and more skilled than she 
had ever suspected.  Fear briefly filled her but was quickly replaced by 
more anger.  She was NOT going to lose to that pampered princess!  She 
hopped off of the table in a vaulting leap that carried her up into the 
sky.

Kodachi lost sight of the other girl in the sun.  Shading her face with 
one hand, she was almost caught by surprise by the rapidly-descending 
Asuka.  The blonde girl's foot clipped her across the shoulder, driving 
her into the grass in a tumble.  Kodachi rolled out of it only to catch 
each of Asuka's fists across her face in rapid succession before she 
could fully recover, causing her to reel back from the blows.

"You're NOTHING, Kodachi Kuno!" shouted Asuka into her face.  "I want 
you to admit that!"  Her fist struck Kodachi across the face once again, 
even harder than before.  "You're no fighter!  So beg me sincerely for 
forgiveness, or I will BREAK YOU!"  Again her fist cracked across 
Kodachi's face, knocking her off her feet.

Dazed, her thoughts unfocused, Kodachi felt herself being lifted up by 
the front of her uniform.  Her feet dangled against the grass.  She felt 
strangely distant, and observed inanely that blood was leaking from her 
nose.  Mother will be upset with me for getting my clothes dirty, she 
thought as her clarity slowly returned.

Asuka held Kodachi up by one arm, confident that she had regained her 
control of the situation.  She slapped Kodachi hard across the face a 
couple of times, watching the other girl's eyes returning to focus on 
her once more.  Asuka's look was cold.  "Wake up, Kodachi.  Time to end 
this."

Asuka pulled back her fist and struck down, a confident smile on her 
face, despite the blood spilling from a split lip and battered nose.

Kodachi's hand suddenly caught Asuka's fist in mid-strike and held it 
there.

"I agree," said Kodachi with a sudden, cruel smile.  Asuka could only 
blink in surprise when Kodachi's free hand struck her hard up under the 
jaw, lifting her body into the air.  While the other girl was still 
descending from midair, Kodachi dropped one hand to the ground and 
launched both feet into Asuka's stomach.  They impacted hard, driving 
the air from the blonde girl's lungs.

Asuka's body crashed to the ground, unconscious.  The White Lily has 
been clipped, thought Kodachi with a tired smile.  Fighting had taken 
more out of her than she realized at first.  She let her knees sag to 
the ground as she caught her breath and wiped at the blood coming from 
her nose with her handkerchief.  Long live the new Kodachi Kuno, she 
mused.

Kodachi stood up when Asuka's cronies came to check on their fallen 
leader.  A single glare from her eyes stopped any of them from acting to 
avenge Asuka's loss.  Ignoring the amazed whispers of the crowd, she 
calmly walked back into the building.  A weary smile lit her face.  It 
was time to make some other changes in her life.

                   ******************************

"So that was the tale of how she came to be injured," calmly remarked 
Kuno.  "She would not tell me how she came by the bruises on her face, 
claiming that they were from a simple accident in her gymnastics class."  
He was less bothered by this new revelation than he had thought he might 
be.  "My sister has chosen to follow the path of a warrior, as a true 
daughter of the Kuno Family.  It will ease my mind a fraction to know 
that she can take care of herself."

"So does that mean I can take her on a date now?" joked Mikado in half-
serious tones.  He saw the heir to the Kuno name eyeing him neutrally, 
and he coughed into his fist.  "Anyway, where do you suppose that she 
has been going after classes are over the last few weeks?"

"I do not know, my friend," Kuno replied.  "I asked her about it once, 
and she requested that I leave her alone on the matter."

"Did you?" inquired Mikado curiously.

"Of course," answered Kuno.  "I respect my sister's wishes.  If she 
desires to be alone, then I will abide."

"What if she's meeting a man?" Mikado said idly.  There was a very 
sudden stillness in his friend, an almost deadly calm.  "Kuno?"

"My sister... would not do such a thing," answered Kuno slowly.  "She 
knows what I would do to any man taking advantage of her naive 
innocence.  Have you heard something?"

"Umm, not really," answered Mikado.  "I have heard that she has been 
spending some time near the Imperial Academy grounds lately.  Perhaps 
she made a friend with one of the female cadets."

"That might be so.  Perhaps I should make an investigation into this 
matter more fully for myself.  If she has met a man in secret, then that 
sneaking scoundrel shall answer to the might of Tatewaki Kuno!"

                   ******************************

His class in physical education had been an unpleasant surprise for 
Ranma when he first arrived at the Academy several weeks ago.  Other 
than the jogging that he had done on his own initiative, his father made 
little effort to improve Ranma's physical performance, concentrating 
solely on his mental abilities while they were out on their travels. 
Coach Takami, his instructor, assigned him extra training after normal 
classes until he was satisfied with Ranma's level of performance.  That 
training was in addition to all that Ranma was expected to do in his 
regular physical education period during the day.

Due to the instructor's dissatisfaction with his performance, six weeks 
of pain and sweat followed, building Ranma's physique up to its present 
levels.  Three hours of intensive training for six days a week had 
worked a rather surprising amount of changes on his body: both building 
up and toning his muscles, as well as improving his coordination.  His 
coordination was already very good and got even better, but his strength 
and stamina had been below what the instructor felt was satisfactory.  
Akane was among those who had enjoyed taunting the 'weakling' for those 
many weeks, especially when she was throwing him around during his 
combat training.

Today, as Ranma put on his workout uniform, things felt strangely 
different.  That unconscious grace that had possessed him for several 
moments after his test was making itself subtly felt in his movements 
once again, as if something was changing in his brain.  He hoped that it 
would not throw him off during class, especially not today.  Like it was 
for three days out of the week, today was to be barehanded sparring with 
his assigned partner for class.  

Unfortunately, that partner was Akane Tendo.

More than any other girl, Akane seemed to take some large measure of 
satisfaction in beating him up when the instructors weren't watching 
them too closely.  His male classmates were somewhat sympathetic, but 
that was a small comfort, especially when she ground him into the mat 
for the fifth time in an hour like she usually did.  Ranma wanted to 
beat her just once.  She was always so smug in her victories over him, 
and it irritated him a great deal.

Ranma closed his locker and walked out to the gymnasium area.  A 
rainstorm was beating against the windows, occasionally broken up by 
bright flashes of lightning.  It was a strangely ominous sign as far as 
Ranma was concerned.  He hoped that it didn't mean he was going to get 
something broken today.

Akane Tendo walked past Ranma to talk with some of her friends, favoring 
him with a brief look of disdain.  She smiled at him and held up her 
left palm vertically for a moment, before driving her fist into it with 
a loud smacking sound.  She noticed that there was something different 
about Ranma today, but she couldn't quite identify it.  Akane shook her 
head.  Like I could ever be worried about a weakling like Ranma Saotome, 
she thought in mild disgust.

During initial warm-up drills, Akane kept finding herself sneaking looks 
at Ranma, flustering her a little.  What was wrong with her?  She could 
not get herself to shake the feeling that there was something intangibly 
different about Ranma today, and it gnawed at her.  All she could tell 
was that there was something different in his movements, a casual grace 
that was only noticeable by its previous absence.

Ranma kept noticing Akane watching him out of the corner of his eye, and 
it bothered him.  What does she keep looking at me for?  He wondered 
about that as he stretched and limbered himself up for the coming 
conflict.  A competitive fire began to burn in Ranma, something that he 
had never quite felt before.  It startled him a little.

After initial warm-up drills were over, Ranma found himself facing Akane 
across the practice mat.  They were kneeling, less than two meters apart 
from each other.  Akane showed her teeth in a mirthless smile as they 
studied each other thoughtfully.  Akane and Ranma both found themselves 
held by the other's gaze.

"Think you can offer me a challenge today, Saotome?" asked Akane 
quietly.

"Maybe I can give you a surprise or two, Tendo," replied Ranma with a 
steady look.

"Sounds good to me, Saotome," said Akane.  She licked suddenly dry lips 
briefly.  They continued to hold each other's gaze, smiling the same 
death's head smile.  Their hearts speeded up, their breathing deepened, 
and there was an almost, but not quite, sexual attraction in the air 
between them.  There was a thing they were both born to do, more 
important to them than life itself, and they could feel it slowly taking 
over, becoming inevitable.

Coach Takami went down the line, barking out the usual pre-match 
instructions.  As the class waited for the signal to start, Ranma found 
himself eager to begin.  His mind was in a state of supreme focus, one 
that he had only felt a few times before and never about any sort of 
physical confrontation.  Ranma licked his lips, his eyes never leaving 
Akane's as her eyes never left his.

Coach Takami reached the end of the line.  A retired military officer, 
he took great pride in his students when they did well.  If they were 
not doing well, he became a demon incarnate.  The instructor raised his 
hand and dropped it swiftly.

"BEGIN!"

In a moment Akane and Ranma were both on their feet, facing each other, 
the moment of truth upon them.  They rushed together, both of them now 
wearing those odd mirthless smiles.  Akane took the initial advantage, 
testing Ranma's defenses with her own strong punches.  She held nothing 
back, even though it was sparring, but Ranma wasn't standing or moving 
like he normally did and managed to duck or dodge each one of her 
strikes.

Looking back over that moment later in his memories, Ranma felt like 
something long missing had finally clicked into its proper place inside 
him.  His slightly awkward posture firmed and his movements became 
swifter and more sure.  Akane threw a punch at his jaw, and his head 
swerved to one side.  She threw a kick at his chest, and he leaned back 
briefly to dodge it.  He felt completely in control of the course of the 
fight, and he never even paused to wonder why.

A miracle had happened.

Akane wondered what was wrong, as Ranma slipped aside from one of her 
punches.  Why did she keep missing him?  He was not normally this good.  
Had he been hiding his real skill from her for all this time?

Akane frowned in puzzlement, and she began to attack Ranma even harder 
and more earnestly.  Ranma found his defenses able to block or dodge 
every one of her attacks as they became faster and faster, but her 
defenses kept him at bay as well.  He threw a punch or a kick and her 
arm blocked it, or she dodged.  A strange passion filled Akane, never 
before had she felt so challenged by an opponent.  It was glorious and 
wonderful to her, and she never wanted it to end.

No words were spoken between them, brief grunts of effort the only 
sounds they made.  There was an incredible intensity between them, an 
undertone to their battle that required that no words be spoken.  This 
was a test of muscle and bone, nerve and will.  That odd, almost sexual 
tension between them continued to build as they continued to fight.  
They strove against each other, each seeking to dominate the other in a 
primal test of strength and skill.

By unspoken agreement, they cranked up the speed of their sparring by 
one notch, then another, and still another.  The world around them faded 
away, and it became a dance of skill between the two of them.  Akane was 
a supremely capable fighter, but Ranma found himself able to keep up 
with her strike for strike for the first time in his life.  He was so 
lost in the passions of the moment engendered by the fight that he 
didn't think to question why.

Their movements became almost a blur of motion, the intensity slowly 
reaching a climax, and the dance was drawing to its inevitable close.  
This clash of wills, of passions between them, swirled between them, 
driving them both onwards like a couple in coitus approaching orgasm.  
Something primal had taken possession of Ranma, a driving need to show 
his supremacy by defeating Akane.

One of Ranma's fists managed to break through Akane's guard, and he 
began to get the upper hand.  Almost mercilessly, caught up in the spell 
that he was in, he began to wear Akane down with powerful blows: a punch 
to her chin, a kick to her stomach, and another solid punch into her 
ribs.  Akane's return strikes only grazed him, and a sense of exultation 
filled him.  Without even thinking about it, Ranma began to launch into 
a final sequence of blows that would have given him the win.  He was so 
focused on the fight that he never even thought to question how he knew 
that with such certainty.

"BREAK!"

Both combatants suddenly froze in place at the distinctive snap of Coach 
Takami's voice, trained to be undeniable even in the white-hot heat of 
battle.  The spell between Akane and Ranma shattered in an instant, and 
their awareness of the world around them returned with a crash.  Sweat 
ran down Ranma's face, his hair plastered to his scalp.  Akane looked 
almost as tired as he did.

Ranma took several deep breaths, feeling his heart rate slowing back to 
normal, and Akane did the same.  Her eyes studied him with much more 
care than they ever had before, and there was a subtle flash of 
something new that had never been in her gaze before.  Ranma was trying 
hard not to stare at her heaving chest within her gi by looking around 
at his classmates.

The rest of the class was standing around the two of them, staring at 
Akane and Ranma with amazed looks.  Ranma turned back and spied Akane 
staring at him with a strange, almost smoldering look.  A few whispered 
conversations were taking place, but Ranma was having difficulty hearing 
them over the fading thunder of blood in his ears.  Some of the girls 
were giving him appraising looks that they never had before, and some of 
his fellow male cadets were looking at him as if seeing him for the 
first time.

"Saotome-san!"  Coach Takami's voice had a quality to it that Ranma had 
never heard before, at least not directed at him.  "That was 
magnificent!  All these weeks of training you have finally paid off!  I 
just knew that there was a fighter inside that bookish exterior!"  Coach 
Takami looked like he was near tears.  Ranma had _never_ seen that 
happen before.

Ranma just stood there in shock.  Akane shifted her expression and gave 
him an appraising look, her features settled into a disturbing sort of 
smile.  She shook her head, scattering a few droplets of sweat from her 
hair.  Ranma focused his attention back on Akane, and on her face 
through a surprising effort of will.  There was an odd glint to her 
eyes, as if she had just discovered a secret that both annoyed and 
pleased her.

"A surprisingly good match, Ranma," said Akane softly as she gazed at 
him with that strange expression on her face.  "Perhaps we could bring 
it to conclusion someday?"  She sidled closer to him, a vaguely 
seductive look added to her smile.  "Maybe after classes are over 
today?"

Ranma stared at her as if he couldn't quite comprehend what she was 
saying.  He tried to get his thoughts in order.  What the hell was going 
on with Akane today?  She looked almost... interested in him?  Ranma 
paused to try and analyze the situation logically, now that his thoughts 
were clear of those strange feelings that had settled over him during 
the sparring match.  Things were not computing well.

Akane reached out and gently grabbed one of his hands and didn't look 
like she was about to let go.  Her grip was strong for a girl, the hand 
moderately callused from her training, and it was very warm against his.  
There was a vague promise in her eyes, an almost manic look upon her 
face.  Ranma swallowed down a suddenly dry throat, and tried to think of 
something to say.  Nothing was coming out.

Ranma's attempted reply was cut off before he could make it as the class 
ended, and the crowd around the couple swept them apart.  Some of the 
girls were giggling as they led Akane away, and she chatted quite 
animatedly with them.  Before she got out of his sight, Akane paused to 
give Ranma an enigmatic look.  When he didn't respond as she seemed to 
expect him to, Akane turned and stomped into the locker room, muttering 
under her breath.  On the other end of the gymnasium building, most of 
his fellow male cadets were a little unsure of what to make of Ranma 
today, so he was left to himself as he trudged to the locker room.

                   ******************************

As she had been doing for the last couple of weeks, Kodachi stood 
outside the grounds of the Imperial Academy and watched the front gate 
area.  Her chest heaved a little from the long run over from Blackhall 
Academy, and she leaned against the tree she was lurking behind as she 
regained her breath.  A mildly painful stitch in her side faded, a 
reminder of the hit she took there in her latest fight with Asuka 
Saginomiya.  A brief smile lit Kodachi's face at her memory of the 
fight.

Only a day after the first fight was concluded with Kodachi's victory, 
the self-proclaimed White Lily challenged her again.  That fight ended 
much the same, Kodachi dusting her hands off as she left a beaten Asuka 
lying in a heap on the grass.  The instructors were quiet on the matter, 
which puzzled Kodachi.  She asked one of them about it and was informed 
that such vendettas were student affairs, due to their status in 
society.  She and Asuka could apparently beat each other black and blue 
every day, as long as it didn't interfere very much with their 
schoolwork.

Asuka refused to admit defeat, and each fight did give Kodachi a bit of 
a challenge.  However, none were quite as close as that first fight had 
been.  Kodachi looked at it as good training for her martial arts 
skills, something that her solitary practice at home wouldn't have given 
her.  The White Lily had victimized the old Kodachi since the first day 
of classes, for reasons that the old or the new Kodachi never quite 
understood.  Dealing with Asuka was rather difficult outside of a 
fistfight anymore; she refused to speak with Kodachi other than to snarl 
threats or insult her.

So the fights continued each day.  Depending on the mood of Kodachi's 
new enemy, Asuka would either challenge her when she first arrived in 
the morning for class, or during lunch period.  Almost always, they 
fought outside on the grass where there was plenty of room for acrobatic 
movement.  On rare occasions, Asuka even showed up at Kodachi's 
classroom, attacked her with savage fury, and the fight began.  On those 
few occasions, sometimes the arrogant Asuka would be tossed through a 
window as an opening gambit in the fight, and sometimes it was Kodachi 
herself.  Kodachi's instructor only objected to the intrusion once, when 
it was during an exam last week.

All of the other girls at Blackhall enjoyed watching the fighting, 
though it would have scandalized their parents if they knew.  Few of the 
girls had ever received any amount of combat training; it was just 
something that properly brought up young ladies of quality simply did 
not do.  But they received a secret thrill to see two of their own 
locked in savage battle with each other.  During lunchtime, the female 
cadets ate their lunches and watched Asuka and Kodachi pummeling each 
other like it was a staged show.

For her part, the fights were an almost pleasant diversion from 
Kodachi's concerns over what to do about Ranma.  For almost two weeks 
now, she had been observing the Ranma of this timeline as he went about 
his life.  She felt a vague ache in her chest at the sight of him, more 
than she thought that she should feel for someone who had only been 
considered a friend to her in another life.  So she watched him from a 
distance and wondered what to say to him.

Kodachi saw Ranma walking out the front gate of the Imperial Academy by 
himself, and her breath caught in her throat.  She ducked back behind 
the tree and breathed a deep sigh of relief when he didn't appear to 
notice her.  He looks so much like my Ranma, she caught herself 
thinking.  Then she frowned, cursing her own stupidity.  Of course he 
would, you foolish girl, she thought.

Kodachi slowly peeked around the edge of the tree and saw Ranma walking 
up the street.  He seemed to be lost in thought.  Okay, today is the day 
that I introduce myself, she thought with a sudden surge of confidence, 
bringing her right fist up in front of her chest.  She took a couple of 
steps after him, and her resolve began to crumble.

What would she say to him?  How would she explain who she was without 
coming off sounding like a lunatic?  What if he wasn't even working on 
anything like the resonator?  What if he was nothing like his 
counterpart from her world?  All these questions and more whirled 
through Kodachi's mind, sapping the strength of her convictions.  She 
stood there as Ranma walked around a corner and out of sight.

"Coward," she muttered a curse to herself.  "Weakling!"  Kodachi slammed 
a kick into a nearby brick wall, cracking and denting the painted 
bricks.  Overwhelmed with frustration, she burst into tears and ran home 
as fast as she could.  Kodachi didn't even notice anyone on her way back 
to the Kuno mansion, running as fast as she was able to.

                   ******************************

After Kodachi left in tears, Tatewaki Kuno stepped out from where he had 
been observing her.  A dark scowl was on his face.  The face of the man 
who had caused his innocent sister to cry was seared into his memory, 
and his imagination filled with possible dark deeds that she must have 
suffered at the stranger's hands to bring forth such tears.  He rested 
his hand on the pommel of the bokken thrust through his belt.  A 
powerful need for vengeance filled him as he strode across the quiet 
street to demand from the Academy administration the name to go with 
that face.

Entering in through the open gateway, Kuno almost ran headlong into a 
female cadet on her way out.  Stumbling, he grabbed hold of her in an 
attempt to steady them both, causing her to drop her bookbag.  He began 
to offer an apology when he felt his hands forcibly removed from where 
they were holding onto.

"Watch where you're grabbing, whoever you are," Nabiki growled softly, 
before regaining her normal, cool poise.  Kuno blinked with surprise, 
completely unaccustomed to being referred to in such a casual manner.

"T'was an accident, no more," he said stiffly, his need to retain his 
dignity surging forward.  "I merely attempted to keep you from falling.  
I am not the sort of man who would do otherwise."

"Right, whatever," said Nabiki calmly, bending down to retrieve her 
bookbag.  She stood back up, noting his uniform, and looked Tatewaki 
Kuno squarely in the eyes.  "So what brings you to the Imperial Academy, 
my young Lordling?"

Ignoring the cool-gazed girl's impertinence in the face of his greater 
mission, Kuno struck a righteous pose.  "I seek the name of the base 
scoundrel who has defiled my innocent sister," he thundered.  "I saw him 
leave through these gates mere moments ago."

Nabiki paused in the midst of straightening her uniform.  A chance at 
making a little extra cash had apparently just ran into her.  She 
affixed a pleasant smile to her face, mixed with just the right amount 
of sympathy and understanding.  "Perhaps I might be able to be of some 
assistance to you, my lord... my lord...?"

"Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen..." he replied, picking up his cue.  Off 
in the distance, lightning flashed.  "The rising star among the noble 
warriors of the Empire, undefeated in combat, and the proud heir to the 
noble House of Kuno, at your service."  He looked a little disappointed 
when Nabiki didn't immediately kneel or bow deeply to him.  Impertinent 
wench, he thought in mild irritation, but there was something mildly 
appealing to him about her.  Kuno shook off that distracting sensation.  
He had a mission to perform.

"Greetings, Kuno-dono," said Nabiki as she bowed to the proper level, 
trying very hard not to break out in laughter at the stuffed shirt 
standing so pompously before her in his starched school uniform.  In the 
back of her mind there was a stirring of feelings similar to what she 
had felt upon seeing Ranma for the first time, but she ignored the 
unexpected distraction to concentrate on the business at hand.  "I am 
Nabiki Tendo, middle daughter of Assistant Director Soun Tendo of the 
Imperial Security Directorate.  I am very familiar with almost all of 
the faces of the cadets attending here.  If you described him to me, I 
am sure that I could give you the name for a small fee."

"What?!" sputtered Kuno in surprise.  "You seek to charge a Lord of the 
Empire?  Know you not that samurai have the Imperial writ to slay any 
peasant that stands in their way?  I could dispatch you for less."  He 
placed his hand in a more threatening manner on the pommel of his 
weapon.  "What manner of woman are you?"

"A practical one, Kuno-dono," Nabiki replied dryly, ignoring his threat.  
"I have information that you require, and I'm your only option right 
now.  The administration offices are closed now, so you could always 
come back tomorrow."  Kuno puffed up dangerously.  "Or you could pay me 
a small finder's fee for my trouble, and I could give you the name of 
the cadet myself.  I should also point out at this time that the Tendo 
bloodline is of minor nobility itself, Milord."

Kuno blinked, his arrogant mannerisms stumbling a bit, as he asked, "But 
why, if you are noble, do you attend this peasant's school?"

"The Tendos' have served the Empire with distinction for several 
centuries in such capacities, _Milord_," said Nabiki with a mildly 
sarcastic emphasis on the last word.  "Take note that you are seeking 
information from me now, a task that my upbringing has taught me well 
how to fulfill.  Now, do you wish to pay me?"

"Very well," growled Kuno.  "I shall not soon forget this though, Tendo-
san.  Consider this the first and last money that you will ever receive 
from the noble House of Kuno.  How much do you require?"

"Two thousand yen should cover a name," Nabiki replied mildly.  "Five 
thousand if you also desire an address."  She held out her hand and Kuno 
swiftly counted out five thousand-yen notes into it.  Nabiki caught a 
look at the remaining number of notes in the wallet and swallowed 
softly.  It was more than she took in over a month.  She filed that bit 
of knowledge away for future reference, already planning how she might 
supplement her income by providing future assistance to someone like 
Tatewaki Kuno.

"The knave was about so tall," said Kuno, gesturing with his hand.  "A 
rather dull-looking sort, but also obviously possessing an animal-like 
cunning if he was able to fool my sister with enticing words.  His eyes 
were blue, set into an almost effeminate face, and he wore his hair in a 
pigtail.  He appeared every inch an obvious base-born commoner, unworthy 
of even looking upon a woman as noble as my cherished sister."

Nabiki had been nodding along with his description until Kuno mentioned 
the pigtail.  Ranma Saotome?  She was surprised, but let no sign of it 
show upon her face.  My my, Ranma, what have you been doing with 
yourself?

"I know the person of which you speak," said Nabiki mildly.

Kuno, forgetting the rules of propriety in his haste to acquire the 
answer to his question, grabbed Nabiki by the arms and shook her 
lightly.  "You know of whom I speak?!" he cried.  "Tell me that I may 
punish him for the wrongs he hath done to my sister!"

Nabiki gave Kuno a neutral look, one eyebrow risen slightly above the 
level of the other.  He blinked and quietly released her.

"My... apologies, Tendo-san," said Kuno more calmly.  "I fear I was 
overcome by my righteous wrath against... this person whom I seek.  
Please forgive me for my unseemly behavior.  It did not befit a noble 
lord of our Empire such as myself."

"I will forgive you, if you will forgive me for my rudeness earlier," 
said Nabiki mildly, grateful for a chance at preserving a potentially 
lucrative relationship.  "I was startled to be grabbed by a strange man 
like that."

"We are agreed then, Tendo-san," said Kuno with his original equanimity 
restored.  "Please tell me the name of this person, that I might exact 
justice upon him."

"His name is-" Nabiki hesitated for a moment.  She still hadn't decided 
if she wanted Ranma for herself, but she didn't think that Tatewaki Kuno 
was going to kill him.  He was probably just going to scare him.  "-
Ranma Saotome."

Lightning suddenly flashed behind Kuno, and he appeared to be committing 
the name of his chosen enemy to memory.  "Ranma Saotome," he muttered, 
nodding his head slightly.  "I shall bring you to righteous justice.  I 
SWEAR IT!"  He raised his arms to the skies and began to laugh.

In front of him, Nabiki raised one eyebrow as she stared at him in 
amazement.  What kind of a lunatic Lord had she just gotten herself 
involved with?

                   ******************************

Unaware of the drama that had just taken place behind him back at the 
Academy, Ranma was lost in deep thought as he walked home, his bag slung 
over his shoulder.  So much to think about.  His combat abilities were 
greatly improved, which was simply amazing.  Ranma looked at his hand 
and slowly made a fist.

Pop will be surprised when I tell him the results of my first test run.  
Waitasec.  Pop?  Ranma felt a mild amusement mixed with concern.  Up 
until that moment, Genma Saotome had always been 'Father' in his 
thoughts.  He was changing inside, perhaps more than he expected.  He 
wondered if he should just avoid returning to that quantum's 
personality.  Ranma considered that and rejected it.  If he rejected one 
timeline due to fear of mental contamination, then he might as well 
abandon the entire project.  And that was not something that he was 
prepared to do.  There was too much to gain.

Ranma stepped around a corner, and almost bumped into Akane Tendo.  She 
was leaning against the wall of an alley that he used on his way home 
everyday, and she seemed to be waiting for someone.  Her bookbag sat 
next to her feet, and she had her arms crossed in front of her chest.  
The look on her face was one of annoyance at something.  Akane looked at 
Ranma as he stumbled back from almost stepping into her.

"Akane, I mean, Tendo-san."  She narrowed her eyes at him, and Ranma 
started to feel that running might be a good idea.  He wasn't sure why 
exactly, but he was sure that she was angry at him for some reason.  
Then, her expression subtly changed.

"Ranma Saotome," Akane softly said, her voice possessed of an almost 
sultry quality.  She stepped away from the wall and raised her fists, 
her body in an offensive posture.  "I challenge you!"

"Huh?"  Ranma took another step back, and his bookbag fell from suddenly 
nerveless fingers.  "What are you talking about?  I don't want to fight 
you."  Even as he spoke, he knew that it was a lie.  More aware of them 
now, Ranma savagely beat down the spell of emotions that had gripped him 
in class.  He was not going to lose control like that again.

"I want to finish what we started today, in class," Akane continued in 
that same soft and sultry tone of voice.  "Your martial arts skills were 
incredible."  She advanced a half step in his direction, and a seductive 
smile blossomed on her face.  "I don't know how you improved so much so 
quickly, but I want to see how good you really are now."

Ranma was having none of that.

"I don't know what your problem is, but I just want to go home now," 
Ranma said gruffly, a hoarseness in his voice.  He bent down to pick up 
his bookbag, and Akane's sudden kick almost took his head off.  Ranma 
snapped his body back, and her kick flashed by his face, missing by less 
than a centimeter.  His body took up a fighting stance before he 
realized it.

"Not bad," Akane said with a pleased smile.  "You must be very good to 
be able to hide your skill from me for such a long time."  She lunged 
forward at him.  "Now we fight!"

Ranma backpedaled out of the alleyway, dodging a furious barrage of 
punches and kicks from Akane.  She's serious about this, he thought, 
trying to control his own rising emotions as he blocked and dodged 
Akane's attacks at the same time.  He flipped over her head, and lashed 
out with a spin kick.  Akane blocked it with an upraised arm, and she 
hit him with a solid counterstrike punch to his gut.

The punch slammed into Ranma's stomach, driving the air from his lungs.  
His reflexes kicked in at that point, driving a solid palm strike across 
Akane's jaw.  Her head snapped to the right, and they broke apart.  Was 
she feeling the same things that he was?  This was just crazy.

Akane swallowed a little blood as she felt her jaw, but none of her 
teeth seemed to be loosened.  Ranma, you are a good fighter, she thought 
with a warm, almost loving feeling, and an awareness that she had found 
her life's goal.  She had been missing a real challenge in her life.  
When they had fought together today, it was as if for the first time.  
She now know that he was the one she had been looking for.  She smiled 
very coquettishly at him, and Ranma's face blanched slightly.

"Could you please tell me why we're fighting?" asked Ranma, now almost 
desperate to avoid a fight.  He was hoping that he could somehow manage 
to talk Akane out of this.  Ranma had no real desire to hurt Akane, or 
be hurt by her either.

"For the challenge, of course," Akane replied with a throaty chuckle, 
grinning at him.  "Fighting with a strong opponent is fun."

"Fun?" said Ranma, sensing the truth in what Akane said but trying very 
hard to deny it.  He paused to think about that, and Akane was all over 
him again.  One of her punches slammed into his face, but his knee 
caught her low in her side.  They blocked each others punches and kicks, 
but more of Akane's blows were getting through.  Ranma tried to throw 
her away from him, but his balance was off and she quickly reversed the 
hold.  Oh no, he thought in horror, as he knew what was about to happen.

Akane slammed him down to the concrete on his back, and rapid-fired a 
series of left and right-handed punches into his face.  Ranma felt the 
world spinning, as Akane sprang back to her feet with an extremely 
disappointed look on her face.

"Come on, Ranma," coaxed Akane, gesturing with her hands for him to 
rise.  "You're not trying nearly as hard as you did in class today.  I 
thought we could finish our fight."  Akane frowned, as Ranma wasn't 
moving much.

"Thought... you... hated... me," Ranma managed to gasp out.  His ribs 
felt like they were on fire, and his face hurt with more pain than he 
had ever imagined that he could feel.  He tentatively brushed his hand 
underneath his nose, and it came away bright red with blood.  A sick 
feeling was in his stomach, but he also felt again that strange desire 
to conquer Akane.

"I hate weaklings," Akane said, frowning at him some more.  She wanted 
to experience that same rush of excitement that she had known in class, 
but Ranma wasn't giving it to her.  What was wrong with him?  He wasn't 
fighting anywhere near the level he was earlier.  She nudged his leg 
gently with a toe, ready for any tricks.  Ranma groaned, slowly 
struggling to get up.  His elbows trembled as he forced his body up from 
the concrete.

"Just leave me alone, Tendo!" Ranma demanded, as he managed to get back 
to his feet.  He was trying to sort out his confused feelings.  "You get 
some sort of sick thrill out of beating me up?"

"Damn you, Ranma Saotome!" shouted Akane, kicking a can down the alley 
in anger.  "This is totally different!  You somehow managed to hide your 
abilities from me despite my bullying you, but now I know the truth!  
You're much better than this, I know it!  If we hadn't been interrupted, 
you would have beaten me in class today.  I need a fighter to challenge 
my skills, so I'm going to keep at you twice as hard as I used to.  If 
you know what's good for you tomorrow, you'll fight me with everything I 
saw you had in you today."  Akane picked up her bookbag and walked off 
in disgust.

What a whacked out chick, thought Ranma in amazement.  He tried to clean 
the blood and dirt off of himself as best that he could before he picked 
up his bag.  Ranma walked home, cursing the name Akane Tendo all the 
way.

                   ******************************

Akane walked home, cutting through an alleyway, her usual frown back in 
place on her face.  Damn you, Ranma Saotome, she thought, kicking a 
chunk of concrete up between her feet.  She caught it on one raised foot 
on the way down, balancing the softball-sized stone easily.  She 
casually tossed it from foot to foot as she slowly kept walking, her 
thoughts distracted.

Ranma's newfound skill just didn't make sense to her.  How had she 
misjudged him so badly for so long?  She paused, a delicious shiver 
running through her as she remembered her sparring match with Ranma.  He 
finally showed his true level of skill to me, she thought with a sad 
sigh.  So why doesn't he want to fight her anymore?

Far behind Akane, four shadowy figures entered the alleyway that she was 
in.  Once out of sight of the street, three of the four young men pulled 
out weapons: the first flipped out and held a pair of balisong knives, 
the second wielded a bokken, the third used a set of weighted chains, 
but the last remained unarmed.  As they stepped into the light, their 
uniforms were revealed to be from the Imperial Academy, the distinctive 
gray of Security cadets.

A single figure appeared behind them, remaining in the shadows of the 
alleyway as he addressed the tough-looking young men.  "You know what to 
do," said the shadowy figure.  "I want Akane Tendo taken down hard as a 
lesson to her sister that there's a new power at the Academy, but I want 
her left alive.  I chose all of you for your skill, so do not fail me in 
this.  The four of you, my Wolf Pack, should be sufficient to deal with 
an annoyance like the younger Tendo sister."

"We understand, Boss," said the unarmed one.  He appeared to be the most 
intelligent of the foursome.  "Akane Tendo will be dealt with."

"Excellent," said their leader, his face remaining hidden in shadow.  "I 
leave it to you then, my friend."  He turned and walked from the 
alleyway, content that the most dangerous piece from Nabiki's ranks was 
about to be dealt with.

Behind him, the Wolf Pack moved towards Akane, an eagerness to fulfill 
their mission in their eyes.

Akane sensed something wrong behind her and whirled around.  The stone 
that she had been kicking up between her feet fell to the pavement.  She 
spotted the four cadets from the Academy and a brief moment of fear 
filled her.  Separately, they had been tough but beatable opponents.  
Together, even Akane wasn't sure if she could take them all.  Two or 
three of them she knew that she could handle, but not all four at the 
same time.

The Wolf Pack stared at its chosen prey, and Akane stared back in 
defiance.  Her eyes blazed, her heart began to accelerate, and her 
breathing began to deepen.  Her frustrated need for a fight with Ranma 
only added to her readiness.  Her hands curled into fists at her side.

"So you're too afraid of me to try me singly?" taunted Akane, her feet 
sliding into a ready position.  Her mind worked furiously as she forced 
herself to recall everything that she could about each of her opponents.

The unarmed one, Hiei Yuukyuuzan, was probably the most dangerous of the 
foursome.  He practiced a powerful but rare style of martial arts called 
The Path of the Fist.  His punches were able to shatter concrete, and he 
was surprisingly swift for one so large.

The one wielding the bokken was Naka Seta, a skilled fighter with his 
family's school of swordplay.  His hair was held back by a white strip 
of cloth emblazoned with his family's symbol, and a bright smile adorned 
his face.  Naka always smiled, even when he was injured.

The chain wielder was Hayate Isurugi, and Akane always wondered how he 
had gotten past the psychological tests given at the Academy.  A 
borderline psychotic, he was another one that she was going to have to 
watch closely.

The last one, the knife wielder, was Kena Sadojima and was lightning 
fast with his blades.  Akane needed to break one of his arms in their 
last fight before she was able to put him down.  She could tell that he 
was aching to stab her as repayment.

This is not going to be easy, thought Akane, eyeing the four as they 
closed with her.  They had ignored her taunt and were coming at her as a 
unit.  For a moment, there was peace.

Then the peace shattered.

                   ******************************

Ranma paused in his footsteps and then snapped his fingers.  His mother 
had wanted him to pick up a book for her at the store, and he had walked 
right past the street that he needed.  He shook his head as he turned 
right and headed down the street.  A twinge from his back muscles earned 
Akane Tendo another curse from him.

                   ******************************

Akane considered running but realized that she didn't have a hope of 
outdistancing them in the slippery confines of the alleyway.  Her only 
chance was to fight.  Besides, she thought confidently, I've beaten each 
of these guys before.  Taking them on together can't be too tough.  
They'll probably end up getting in each other's way.

Naka leaped at her, smiling his usual disturbing smile but not speaking, 
his wooden blade thrusting downwards in a powerful strike.  Akane dodged 
to one side and the strike decimated a nearby garbage can, its contents 
exploding open.  She repaid his attack with a swing of her bookbag, the 
heavy leather satchel impacted with his face before he could bring his 
weapon up in time to block her.

"You are still as strong as I remember from our last fight, Akane 
Tendo," said Hiei in a calm voice.  "You can't win though.  There are 
four of us this time, and we know how you fight."  His fist narrowly 
missed her body as Akane leaped up split-legged over his attack, her 
hands resting for a moment on Hiei's hugely muscular arm.

"We're all gonna have some fun tonight, Akane," chuckled Hayate, 
swinging his chain around his right hand as he waited for an opening.  
He sent the weighted end snapping at her limbs every time he saw an 
opening.

"I owe you some major pain after our last encounter, Tendo," growled 
Kena.  "I intend to break both your arms as payback."

"Come on and try it, you little pervert," snapped Akane back.  She dealt 
him a kick to the face when he made the mistake of getting too close but 
was forced to back off when Hiei attempted to attack her.

"Hey!" called out a new voice behind them all.  "What do you jerks think 
you're doing?"

Five pairs of eyes turned to see a slightly battered Ranma walking down 
the alleyway towards them.  It was a toss-up as to who was most 
surprised to see who in the alleyway confrontation.

Ranma had decided to take a shortcut through the small maze of alleyways 
here in the commercial district to try and cut a few minutes off of his 
path.  He was surprised to discover, when he turned a corner, four young 
men menacing a girl wearing an Academy uniform.  It wasn't until he 
moved a little closer that he recognized that it was Akane, partially 
hidden behind her group of attackers.

Akane felt a strange sense of relief to see Ranma here, not that she 
considered herself to need anyone's help in dealing with a fight.  The 
swordsman Naka was behind her, blocking her way.  In the time it took to 
deal with him, the others would be able to attack her from behind before 
she was able to escape.

The Wolf Pack was irritated in varying degrees to see a witness for the 
expected defeat of Akane.  As far as they were concerned, Ranma Saotome 
was simply an unfortunate bystander needing persuasion to forget what he 
was seeing, once the greater threat of Akane was dealt with.  Hiei 
tapped Kena on the shoulder and muttered, "Deal with this intrusion."

"This isn't any concern of yours, Saotome," Kena smirked.  "We probably 
hate the little bitch as much as you do.  So why don't you just turn 
around and walk away like a good boy?  Otherwise you might get hurt."  
Kena flipped the balisong knife around in his hands, the split handle 
making snapping sounds as he flipped it open and closed.

Confident that Kena could quickly deal with a threatless non-combatant 
like Ranma Saotome, Hiei turned his attentions back to Akane.  Hayate 
grinned and moved forward, and Naka did the same.  Hayate lashed out 
with a length of chain, encircling one of Akane's wrists as she struck 
Hiei in the chest with a kick.  Naka attacked a moment later, and Akane 
was hard-pressed to deal with the three of them at once.

Ranma calmly set his bookbag down as Kena walked towards him, his two 
knife blades spinning and flipping, one in each hand.  All this fighting 
in one day is getting a little tiresome, Ranma thought in annoyance.  He 
waited for Kena to get closer.

"So what do you say, Saotome?" said Kena.  "Are you going to turn around 
like a good little honor student and leave Akane Tendo to her fate?  It 
would be the-URK!"

Ranma's fist smashed hard into the middle of Kena's face, cutting him 
off in the middle of his impromptu speech.  The two knife blades 
clattered to the ground as his body toppled backwards.  Ranma leaped up, 
bounced once off of Kena's prone body to ensure that he stayed out of 
the remainder of the fight, and leaped into the middle of the fray.

Akane was dealing fair to poorly with the three attackers that now 
surrounded her, unused to fighting multiple highly-skilled opponents 
like this.  She dodged away from Naka's bokken slash, ducked under 
Hiei's massive fist swinging at her, and ended up getting clipped in the 
chin by Hayate's chain weight.  Now she was furious.

Hiei summoned up his full strength to strike Akane when a kick impacted 
into the middle of his back, driving his head through the wall.  Hayate 
whirled to see who the new threat was just in time to catch an axe kick 
down across his face from Ranma as he landed behind Hiei, currently 
partially stuck in the wall and bellowing his rage.

Naka struck down with his bokken, but Akane was able to deal with him 
easier now that she didn't have two other opponents to deal with at the 
same time.  Her body moved aside from the slash, ducking out of the way.  
Her fist drove into his stomach as the blade of his wooden weapon passed 
by her, earning her a gasp of pain from him.

Ranma's arm was wrapped around by a length of chain as he tried to dodge 
around the trapped Hiei.  "Give it up, Saotome," snarled Hayate.  "I'm 
twice the fighter that you could ever be, even with the special training 
that Takami has been giving you."  He yanked at Ranma's arm and was 
surprised when the scholar didn't lose his balance.

Ranma pulled on his arm, feeling the tension between him and Hayate as 
they tested each others strength.  Time to show Hayate that I've learned 
some new tricks.  Ranma rushed towards his opponent, smiling at the 
surprised look on Hayate's face.

Hiei managed to pull his head from the hole in the brick wall.  "What 
soon to be dead coward dared to strike me from behind like that?!" he 
roared to the skies.  Akane dodged another furious assault by Naka by 
dropping down prone to the ground.  Her right foot drove upwards into 
Hiei's groin with as much strength as she could manage.

As Ranma slammed his fist into Hayate's face, he heard a muffled 
whumping sound next to him.  Hiei sank to his knees, tears on his face.  
Hayate bounced off the wall from the force of the blow, and Ranma yanked 
him back by the chain he held.  Ranma drove his fist into Hayate's face 
a second time, and watched the other youth's knees buckle.  He let him 
fall and turned to see how Akane was doing with the two remaining 
attackers.

Akane kicked upwards a second time, aiming higher, and her foot hit Naka 
under the jaw.  His body flew up and back in an arcing flight to land 
with a resounding crash against one of the brick walls.  The bokken fell 
out of his hands as he dropped unconscious.

Ranma lifted Hiei's chin up, noting where Akane must have hit him by the 
way that Hiei clutched himself and moaned.  Taking pity on him, Ranma 
attempted to knock him unconscious with a crack of his fist onto the 
other's jaw.  When the first didn't do it, he added a second punch for 
good measure.  Hiei's eyed rolled back into his head, and he fell 
backwards unconscious.

Ranma felt extremely lucky that he took no hits during the fight, idly 
noting that Akane looked uninjured.  He offered her a hand up, and she 
slapped it away before springing back to her feet.  Shrugging at that, 
Ranma turned around and walked back to his bookbag's resting place.  
Ungrateful tomboy, thought Ranma, feeling even more needful of a hot 
soak once he reached home.

"I didn't need your help, you know," Ranma heard Akane say from behind 
him.  "I would have been able to beat them all by myself."

"I'm sure you could have, Akane," said Ranma, picking up his bookbag 
before he turned back to face her.  He grinned at her.  "I just don't 
like to see someone getting bullied.  Even though I knew you would win, 
I couldn't resist joining in the fun."  He turned away and walked off, 
waving back at her without turning around.  "Later."

Behind him, Akane held one hand in a tight fist.  I don't need some man 
to save me, Ranma Saotome.  But, thank you.  She relaxed her hand back 
open, and a brief smile appeared on her face.

                   ******************************

Ranma stopped outside the front gate and tried to ready himself for his 
mother's reaction.  It wasn't going to be pretty.  He trudged up the 
front walk and entered the house, and he heard his mother putting the 
finishing touches on dinner.  With any luck he would be able to get 
cleaned up in the bathroom before he ran into his parents.

"I'm home!" Ranma shouted out.  "I'm going to go and wash up before 
dinner!"  His mother didn't usually greet him at the door, so he didn't 
wait for a reply before he ran up the stairs as fast as his abused body 
could move.  Ranma breathed a sigh of relief as he made it to the 
bathroom, and locked the door behind himself.

Ranma took a look at the damages in the mirror.  They weren't quite as 
bad as he feared that they would be.  He had a black eye, a split lip, 
and some impressive bruising on his face.  His stomach area was bruised 
on both sides, but the damage didn't seem to be very serious.  He took a 
deep breath and found that he was able to hold it without much pain.  A 
soak in the tub would be a blessing from the gods right now.

After washing his face with some warm water, Ranma pulled out the first 
aid kit from under the sink and applied some antiseptic.  The stinging 
brought a whistling intake of breath into his lungs, and pain to his 
abused stomach muscles.  Grumbling under his breath about violent, 
psychotic, thuggish girls, Ranma quickly undressed to clean off before 
he took a quick soak.

There was a brief knock on the door.

"Ranma, dear?" called out Nodoka from beyond the door.  "Is everything 
all right, Son?  You never usually take a bath right before dinner.  Is 
something wrong?  Did something happen at school today?"  Nodoka knocked 
again when he didn't answer immediately.

"I'm fine, Mother," answered Ranma quickly.  "My experiment was a 
success.  I just had a little accident on the way home from the Academy, 
and I needed to clean myself up a little.  I'll be right down."  Ranma 
prayed to whatever gods might be listening that she would take the hint 
and leave him alone.

"All right, Ranma dear," said Nodoka cheerfully.  "I can put off serving 
dinner for half an hour since your father isn't home yet."  Nodoka moved 
off down the hallway, and Ranma breathed a sigh of relief.

Sitting on the bathroom stool, Ranma quickly doused himself with a 
bucket of cold water.  He flinched from the sensations it caused in him.  
Stifling a grunt, that threatened to turn into a scream of pain, from 
the stinging caused by the cold water, he swiftly stood up.  The 
steaming water in the tub looked so very inviting at that moment.  With 
a soft sigh, Ranma lowered himself into the hot water.  When the bruises 
on his abused stomach dropped into the water, his eyes widened briefly 
as a new wave of discomfort rolled in.

"Akane Tendo," Ranma muttered as he settled his head back to lie against 
the edge of the tub.  She wants to fight me?  And who were those guys 
attacking her?  Too many questions.  I think I was better off when she 
was just bullying me.  At least then she'd just slug me a few times and 
that would be it.  What am I going to do now?  Those guys probably won't 
be too happy that I helped either.

Ranma sighed softly as the heat loosened the tight muscles, and he felt 
his body relax.  I guess I'm going to have to check up on that other 
version of myself for another session.  I think I'm going to need to let 
more of his skills transfer into me.  He relaxed as a fantasy of a 
beaten Akane Tendo, groveling at his feet for mercy, filled his mind.  
It was quickly replaced by another, more likely one, of himself caught 
up in an endless series of fights with Akane, all because she had 
developed some sort of pathological fixation on him now.

A little later, Ranma climbed out of the tub and dried off.  The long 
soak in hot water had done his body a great deal of good, and he was 
able to move a lot more easily now as he dressed.  Stopping at the sink, 
Ranma applied a little more antiseptic to the few scrapes on his face.  
He put a clean bandage across the bridge of his nose and decided that he 
looked halfway presentable now.  

I hope that other Ranma is having a better time than I am, right now, he 
thought sincerely.

                   ******************************

Nodoka actually took things about as well as Ranma expected, all things 
considered.  His father was late coming home, so he only had one 
concerned parent to deal with right now.

"Ranma?!" gasped Nodoka in surprise when she saw him.  "What happened to 
you, my son?  You look like you've been fighting."

"It looks worse than it is," Ranma answered mildly.  "I just had a small 
bit of trouble after classes.  I slipped and fell."  He settled down, 
without feeling any real pain, into a kneeling position next to the 
dinner table.

"It looks like you fell several times," observed Nodoka in a dry tone of 
voice.  "Rather hard each time."

"I'm fine, Mother," said Ranma soothingly.  "I am rather hungry right 
now though."  He tried a smile, since that usually worked in situations 
like these.

"All right, dear," said Nodoka with an answering smile, tinged slightly 
with her remaining concerns.  "I want you to go right to bed after 
dinner though.  A good nights sleep will fix you right up."  She got up 
to serve him dinner.

Ranma ate like a starving man, ignoring his mother's looks at him at 
first.  After a while, he forced himself to slow down his eating speed.  
A martial artist should always try to eat as much as he can whenever he 
can, he heard in his thoughts, in his father's gruff voice.  Words of 
wisdom to live by, from the other Genma, Ranma thought with a smile.

"Thanks for a wonderful dinner, Mother," said Ranma, stifling a sudden 
yawn.  "May I be excused now?  I'm very tired."  He stood up, feeling 
slight twinges from his recent injuries.

"Of course, Son," answered Nodoka with a nod.  "Sleep well."  She smiled 
as he slowly wandered upstairs.  When Ranma was out of sight, her face 
fell into a slight frown.  He was hiding something from her.

Ranma stumbled a little as he came into his room, before flipping the 
light switch on.  He threw his shirt into the corner and dropped his 
casual pants on top of it.  Yawning, he rolled out his futon.  A little 
sleep would make everything all right.

Sleep claimed him moments after he finished getting comfortable on the 
futon pad.

                   ******************************

Ranma stared out over a mysterious valley shrouded in a heavy mist. 
Something in it called to him, a memory that he could not quite place.  
He knew this place somehow.  This was the Valley of Jusenkyo, but why 
did he know it?  Something terrifying happened to him here once.  Why 
did he fear this place?

"Something bad happened to me here," Ranma heard his own voice, 
whispering softly from behind him.  Both anger and sadness were mixed in 
the voice.

"What?" asked Ranma, surprised.  He turned around quickly to see 
himself, dressed in a Chinese-style shirt and black pants.  The other 
Ranma was seated cross-legged, his eyes closed.

"You heard me," repeated the Chinese-clothed Ranma.  "Something 
terrible... horrible... happened to me here.  Do you want to see?"  The 
other Ranma continued to speak without opening his eyes.

"I-I'm not sure..." Ranma stuttered in confusion.  "Who are you?"

The doppelganger smiled in a friendly manner and opened his eyes.

"I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," said 
his double.  Ranma blinked and looked surprised.  "I guess I'm part of 
you now."

"Wh-what?" stuttered Ranma, backing slowly away from the seated figure.  
The edge of the cliff behind him stopped his retreat.  "That isn't 
possible.  You can't be here.  I'm having some kind of nightmare."  He 
closed his eyes.  Come on, Ranma.  Wake up!

"It's not a nightmare, so don't act so scared," his doppelganger said 
with mild annoyance.  "I'm not really sure what I am exactly.  When you 
did your experiment, something unexpected happened to you?"  The voice 
of the other Ranma moved closer.  Ranma felt himself becoming more and 
more afraid.

"I picked up fragments of memories, skills that I never had before," 
Ranma answered his double.  He sensed a presence standing near him.  
Ranma opened his eyes to see the other Ranma looking him over.

"Man, your Akane really worked you over good, huh?" asked his quantum 
duplicate with a smile, poking him in the stomach.  Ranma felt a brief 
twinge of pain.  "You're going to have to learn to dodge her better than 
that, or you'll end up in traction for sure."

Ranma studied his doppelganger, as his other self studied him.

"I don't think you have to worry about me taking over your body, or 
anything stupid like that," said the other Ranma with a smirk.  "The 
only time I came even remotely close to doing that was in your first 
fight earlier today."  Ranma's double sat back down in a lotus position 
on the rocks in front of him.

"Why didn't you come out when Akane started beating the hell out of me?" 
snarled Ranma, irritated at the poise of his duplicate.  "Are you the 
reason that I feel so excited when I fight with her?  Is that it?"  
Ranma took a mirroring position in front of his other self, his back to 
the edge of the cliff.

"I dunno," Ranma's double shrugged.  "I usually get beaten on by the 
tomboy, so I guess I'm used to it.  As to finding Akane exciting to 
fight?  That's a new one on me.  She's about as uncute and sexless as 
they come.  And Akane calls _me_ a pervert."  He chuckled.

"I must be dreaming," stated Ranma.  "But how can I do that if I know 
I'm dreaming?"

The other Ranma shrugged his shoulders again, frowning.  "You're the 
brainy one," he said in a tone of mild irritation.  "I'm just the dumb 
jock, right?"

"I'm sorry for calling you that," said Ranma sincerely, bowing his head 
low.  "You know more than I do about martial arts, after all."

"I accept your apology," said his double.  Ranma smiled.

"This is certainly the most surreal thing I've ever experienced," said 
Ranma, looking out over the valley behind him once more.  "Will I 
remember this dream when I wake up?"

"How should I know?" said Ranma's doppelganger with a shrug of his 
shoulders.  "Like I said before, you're the brainy one."  His double 
sprang back to his feet and began performing a kata in place.  "You 
wanted to know more about this place?"

"Yes," answered Ranma quietly.  "Why do I feel such fear here?"  Ranma 
shivered as if a cold breeze blew through him.

"Here is where I got cursed to turn into a girl," said his double in a 
matter of fact tone of voice.  "Here is where Ranma-chan was born."

"What?" asked Ranma in confusion.  He blinked for a few moments.  "What 
do you mean you got cursed to turn into a girl?  That's just plain 
ridiculous.  There's no such thing as curses or magic."

"Let me show you then," said the other Ranma with a smile.  His double 
sprang at him, grabbed him securely by the collar, and pitched him over 
the edge of the cliff.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHhhhhhh..." screamed Ranma as he plummeted off the edge of 
the cliffs.  The screams faded away as Ranma fell into the misty valley.

"You wanted to know the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes," said 
Ranma's doppelganger with a smile.

A small geyser of water fountained up from the deep pool of water as 
Ranma impacted into it, softer than he was expecting after such a high 
fall.  He felt the water trying to force its way into his lungs, and he 
began to struggle up towards the surface.  Ranma's body felt strange as 
he broke the surface with a loud gasp.  The other Ranma was sitting near 
the edge of the pool.

"Have a nice trip?" asked the other Ranma mildly, a smirk on his face.

"What the hell did ya do that for?!" shouted Ranma at his double loudly, 
sputtering slightly.  He felt his body floundering in the deep water, 
his balance was all off.  Ripples filled the pond as he struggled to 
keep afloat.

"Notice any changes?" asked the other Ranma with a lecherous smile, 
staring at Ranma at about chest level.

"What are you...?" asked Ranma, before stopping in hesitation.  The 
feeling of wrongness continued.   Ranma, now Ranma-chan, found herself 
to be wearing a white gi, and she opened the top.  Her brain almost shut 
down as two sizable female breasts were revealed, and her mind suddenly 
registered that her voice was now an octave higher.  He was now a she.

"Oh, sir," said the male Ranma, or Ranma-kun, in a singsong tone.  "You 
fall into Nyanniichuan.  Very tragic story of young girl that drowned in 
pool over one thousand, five hundred years ago."  The Ranma-kun smirked 
at her again.  Ranma-chan was having some difficulty keeping from 
screaming.  "Now do you get the idea?"

Ranma-chan struggled over to the side of the pool and climbed out.  She 
looked at her new body in amazement.  A lock of reddish hair drifted in 
front of her face, and she stared at it cross-eyed.  She actually found 
herself to be looking up at her male self.  She walked around, feeling 
the change in mass and center of gravity.

"I don't believe this," said Ranma-chan, frowning at the sound of her 
new voice.  "This is impossible.  My mass has changed, and I'm smaller.  
In some areas that is.  Physics says this is impossible."  She opened 
the gi top once again and just kept staring at her naked chest in stark 
amazement.

"It's magic," said Ranma-kun with another casual shrug of his shoulders.  
"Anything is possible with magic."  He suddenly looked very unhappy.  
"Anything but a cure for me."

A steaming kettle suddenly appeared out of thin air when Ranma-kun 
reached out, and he poured the contents over Ranma-chan.  She felt her 
entire body seem to tremble for a moment, almost a pleasant sensation 
ran through her, and then she was a he once again.  His clothes even 
changed back to what he was wearing before but damp now.

Ranma took a moment to feel his broader shoulders and pat his male 
chest, marveling at the dramatic change.  He turned to look with 
sympathy at the Chinese-clothes garbed Ranma.

"How did this happen to you?" asked Ranma softly.

"My stupid father took me to this legendary, cursed training ground in 
China called Jusenkyo," said the other Ranma in disgust.  "Now he turns 
into a panda, I turn into a girl, and several other people I know turn 
into other things."

The other Ranma turned to look out over the valley of pools.  "Life 
hasn't been all bad, though," he said in quiet tones.  "My life has been 
an adventure."

"So where do we go from here?" asked Ranma, turning to study his martial 
artist alternate self.

"This is your dream," said his double in thoughtful tones.  "I'm just 
memories from a life you never had to live.  Your life is a lot better 
than mine is in some ways.  You have a mother, for instance.  I never 
knew mine."

"What do you think will happen when I try the resonator again?" asked 
Ranma in curiosity.  "Do you think I should try your life again, or try 
other lives?"

"I dunno what might happen if you went back to my life," responded the 
other Ranma with a shrug of his shoulders.  "It could do nothing.  It 
could do something bad, fry your brain or something.  You could end up 
with more of me in here, I suppose, not that I'm sure how much of me 
there is in here as it is.  We're both the same person though, aren't 
we?"  The other Ranma sat down on the path between the pools and cupped 
his chin with his hand.

"You certainly don't talk like a dumb jock," Ranma said mildly to his 
seated duplicate, and both Ranma's grinned.  Ranma looked at his hands, 
the hands of a fighter now.  "The really strange thing is that I feel 
like I'm more complete for having you here."

"Thanks," said the other Ranma with a smile.  He stood up, and the 
scenery changed to that of a strange building.

"A dojo of some sort?" asked Ranma in surprise, finding himself back in 
a white gi.  His companion remained in his normal Chinese-style clothes.

"I thought we might do some sparring and a little training while we're 
together," said the red-shirted Ranma.  "All this talking is about 
things you'd understand more than me.  All I know is martial arts and 
how to get myself into strange romantic situations.  Be grateful that 
you aren't engaged to marry your version of Akane, for instance."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at the thought.  "Like that's ever going to 
happen in this life.  You don't know her as well as I do.  She's easily 
more violent and thuggish than your Akane could ever be.  She just wants 
to find a sparring partner more than a husband."

"Oh?" said the other Ranma with a smile.  "You might be surprised what's 
going on in a girl's head.  They all have an agenda, buddy.  Some are 
just more obvious about it than others.  So, shall we see how much of my 
combat experience you have?"

"Yes," replied Ranma as they both moved to the center of the dojo mat.

"Then let's begin."

                   ******************************

Soun looked in on his sleeping daughters when he finally returned home.  
He was surprised to see bandages on Akane's face when the dim light from 
the hallway fell across her face.  She had been fighting again, he noted 
sadly.  There was so much of her mother in her.

Soun closed the door to Akane's room quietly.  He trudged quietly down 
the length of the hallway and into his own bedroom.  After turning on 
the light and sitting down heavily on the bed, he rested his head in his 
hands.  There's just so much to do, thought Soun quietly.  Tomorrow I 
set the arrangements into motion for Ranma Saotome's future with my 
family.  I've put them off for too long, now that he's back in Japan.

Soun stood up and removed his uniform jacket, laying it over the simple 
wooden chair next to his desk, feeling tired from the long day.  
Following that, he removed and hung his shoulder holster and sidearm 
from one side of the chair.  He slowly removed his trousers and laid 
them across the chair, trying to be careful with the creases.  Dressed 
only in white underclothes, he pulled down the covers and sat back down 
on the bed.

Soun looked at the small picture of his wife near the bed.  He slowly 
reached out and picked it up, smiling gently at a memory of one of the 
happier times in his life.  After pouring a small glass of whisky from 
the bottle he kept in his nightstand, he toasted the picture of his dead 
wife.  Here's to my managing to make it to the end of another day 
without you, dear wife.  He sipped from the glass, setting the photo 
back down in its accustomed place.

Here's to your memory, dear wife.  I pray that our daughters will 
someday understand why I will do what I am about to do.  They'll both 
need someone to take care of them, after I'm gone.

Soun swallowed the entire glass of whisky, turned off the light, and 
lost himself in dreams.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my pre-readers for all of their 
comments and suggestions.  A special thanks goes out to D.B. Sommer for 
his experienced assistance with my clumsy writing, and also to Michael 
Allen for his help with the plot points.