*** Heaven  0.000,0.000

The Goddess of the Future was bored.

Skuld sat at her usual terminal in Yggdrasil's datacore, one festooned 
with small personal touches that she had added to it ever since she was 
first assigned here, to assist her older sisters in maintaining the 
central computer that sustained the functioning of reality.  Several 
stickers adorned the front of her monitor, with pithy little sayings on 
them such as: "There is no such thing as too much firepower," or "When 
the going gets tough, the tough call for an air strike."  There was 
even one that simply said, "Genius at work."

A small doll that looked like a super-deformed version of Belldandy, 
her beloved older sister, sat atop the monitor with a beatific smile 
resting upon its face.  Next to it was a similarly-sized doll of her 
other older sister, Urd, only this one wore a much more sultry smile on 
its face.  On the real thing, such a smile had caused men to forget 
their own name, at the very least.  Skuld had gotten the two dolls at 
the last God-Con, a gathering (not to mention the party to end all 
parties) of the gods and goddesses from the different pantheons.  They 
were a gift from one of the younger gods of the Hindu pantheon for 
Skuld's birthday, which had happened to occur during the week-long 
period of festivities this time.

A yawn escaped Skuld's lips and she rubbed gently at her eyes, a 
reminder that she'd gotten up way earlier that she would have liked.  
This morning, as had happened with all mornings in recent memory, she 
had been troubled by disturbing dreams.  Some of them had been 
prophetic, giving her brief glimpses into the future.  Others had 
simply been the result of her sampling Urd's cooking.  The rest had 
just been dreams.  Sometimes it was hard to tell them apart, especially 
when they were disturbing ones.  Take the one that had Belldandy 
marrying a lowly mortal, for instance.  That one had to be a result of 
eating Urd's cooking.

Skuld's dreams of prophecy were an ability that Belldandy had once told 
her were a sign of her emerging powers.  The jumbled weavings of an 
uncertain future were both Skuld's birthright and her dominion, a realm 
that some had called the undiscovered country.  And through her dreams, 
the young goddess could catch glimpses of possible tomorrows.

Her most recent dream had unsettled her, but it was a nightmare she had 
experienced many times before, in as many variations.  It was never a 
coherent vision, only disjointed flashes of imagery, but it still had 
the power to terrify the young goddess into wakefulness each time.

This latest nightmare had been slightly different from all the others, 
but Skuld had still awakened that morning from restless sleep, the 
incomplete nightmare having left her unable to return to slumber.  On 
those days when the dream came to her, Skuld knew that sleep was no 
refuge.  So she had come in to work several hours earlier than was 
usual for her.

The young goddess found it peaceful and relaxing here, and it helped 
her to forget the horrible visions, half-listening to the system as she 
sat and tapped away at her terminal.  Around her, Yggdrasil's datacore 
hummed, the immense, crystalline matrix processing untold enormities of 
data every moment.  As it did, the systems gave off a faintly soothing 
sound.  Adding to the serenity of the work environment, soft music was 
constantly being piped into the room as well, vaguely hymnal and low 
enough to be almost inaudible.  Skuld was in danger of falling back 
asleep.

Her two older sisters were not due to come in for a little while, not 
that Urd was ever really very much help, at least as far as Skuld was 
concerned.  Her oldest sister had once again thrown herself headlong 
into yet another relationship, in a foredoomed attempt to recover from 
her last spectacularly-failed one.  At least her present mood would be 
better for a while.  Every time one of her relationships inevitably 
tanked, it tended to make Urd surly.  Whenever Urd was surly, she 
drank.  However, whenever Urd was happy, she drank then too.  Skuld 
just could not understand her sister, so she rarely tried.  Luckily, 
Belldandy was always there to keep Urd in line, providing her usual 
comforting shoulder and listening ear.

However, Belldandy had been showing some traces of melancholy around 
the eyes for a while too.  Skuld wasn't sure what was wrong, but she 
was worried about her favorite big sister.

To occupy herself, and to hopefully keep her mind off of worrying about 
both of her older sisters (not that she would ever admit to caring what 
happened to Urd), Skuld was running some of her semi-authorized system 
monitoring tools, unique algorithms programmed during her idle moments.  
Her access clearance was sufficiently high enough to let her try them 
out, in the hopes of improving system performance, as well as flagging 
potential errors before they could manifest themselves as full-fledged 
bugs.  Skuld hated bugs with all the passion of her youth.

The Goddess of the Future hummed softly as she started up one of her 
newest debugging tools, entitled "Skuld's File Analyzer - Mark 4.0" to 
examine one of the secondary processing areas.  It was checking on one 
file archive of personal interest to her, purely as a test case.  It 
was one she had discovered by accident during a slow period in her 
work.  What had initially caught her attention was that it was deeply 
buried into the system architecture, practically part of the core 
operating system.  It rested behind a highly-secure, multi-layered 
collection of some of the cleverest and nastiest sorts of intrusion 
countermeasures that Skuld had ever seen before.  She just knew that 
whatever was behind it had to be particularly juicy.  All of her hacker 
instincts had told her so from the level of protection surrounding it.

Those same defenses had eventually fallen to her efforts, another 
obvious sign of her incomparable genius, or so she had complimented 
herself after finally cracking through them.  Behind that formidable 
set of barriers rested a single archive of data, but it was enormous.  
It seemed to have ties into the primary operating system processes on a 
multitude of levels.  That only inflamed the young goddess' curiosity.

Skuld had carefully opened up the archive to see what it contained and 
had been amazed to discover within it a large number of datafiles, each 
one detailing a specific mortal.  They had been tagged by Yggdrasil for 
special attention, by means of a subroutine with the rather impressive-
sounding identity of the Destiny Protocols.  The system designated each 
of these mortals in its master index as Probability Nodes, categorized 
by how much attention Yggdrasil paid to their actions.

Once chosen by the Destiny Protocols, these select individuals guided 
changes within the system.  Each was a soul touched by Fate, their 
choices shaping the course of human history.  In a loose sense, they 
acted like a figurative lightning rod for causality.  Their reactions 
to events would then trigger other events, in a sort of force-feedback 
loop.  History was the reflection of their accumulated choices, with 
new possibilities forged at every juncture.

Odd things tended to happen around Probability Nodes, especially those 
who were ranked Class One or Class Two.  Reality also seemed to be more 
flexible in nature around them, certain supposedly immutable physical 
laws became less so, and sometimes being ignored completely.  Lucky, 
unlucky, and preternatural occurrences were a bit more commonplace 
around such individuals.  Even physical injuries that would outright 
kill or permanently cripple an ordinary human were often not as fatal 
or serious to them.  This is not to say that they could not be killed 
or critically injured, just that it was more difficult to do.  This 
effect also spread out to a lesser degree to those with whom these 
individuals come into regular contact with.

Who they were was kept about as top secret as secrets go in existence, 
known only to such higher-order beings as Kami-sama, and conceptual 
entities such as the Princes of the Universe or the Four Zoas.  In 
fact, their identities were so highly classified that perhaps only 
Belldandy among the three sisters, being the System Administrator for 
Yggdrasil itself, possessed sufficient clearance to learn who they 
were.

Those special mortals who had finally fulfilled their purpose for being 
on the list, or died (a depressingly common way to be removed from it), 
triggered the selection of a new person to replace them on the master 
index.  The means of that selection process was the detailed set of 
guidelines, programmed into Yggdrasil a long time ago, that were now 
known as the Destiny Protocols.

Skuld had never told anyone about what she had done.  She checked the 
master index every now and then for her own curiosity, to see who was 
on it, noting changes in names as if she was following the roster of a 
professional sports team.  She thought it a relatively harmless hobby.
 
Her new program tool hummed along peacefully, examining the processing 
codes on each of the individual datafiles within the central one.  It 
beeped at Skuld after it came to the end, bringing to her attention a 
single item of note discovered among the mountains of data that were 
contained in the file.  The young goddess hummed a sprightly tune as 
she examined the log file generated by her software, pleased to have 
found something to occupy her mind.

Yggdrasil had recently upgraded two lower-ranked Probability Nodes to 
Class One status, surprisingly close in physical proximity to each 
other.  However, neither one had fit the Protocol's set criteria at the 
time of the change.  And that meant the changes had been done outside 
their purview, a bypass that was simply inconceivable to Skuld.  Still, 
both files contained the proper authentications for their new status, 
which Skuld confirmed.  And even a detailed analysis showed that they 
were legitimate, at least by every test that Skuld could conceive.  
Yggdrasil denied generating them, yet there they were in the files.  So 
where had they come from?

There was also a more serious matter.  Somehow, the Destiny Matrices of 
this particular pair were overlapping, duplicating, and sometimes even 
interfering with each other on a number of levels, requiring Yggdrasil 
to employ some rather novel solutions in an attempt to resolve things.  
Currently, it was generating a paradigm shift of unknown magnitude to 
incorporate the conflicting data into the reality matrix, currently at 
twenty-eight percent completion.  However, its rate of progress was 
climbing, and its burgeoning effects were already beginning to be felt 
in the mortal world.

Skuld called up the datafiles in question, to learn more about the two 
mortals.  When she saw their images displayed, she felt her heart skip 
a beat, for she knew them.  Both had been in her latest dream.  A stray 
thought occurred to her at that moment, that perhaps their change in 
status hadn't been an error after all.  Then Skuld shook her head.  No.  
It had to be some sort of a glitch.  Right?

Skuld's tongue became wedged between her lips on one side of her mouth 
as she began examining the two files in greater detail.  The first was 
a highly-skilled technologist (a vocation that Skuld heartily approved 
of), and the second was well on her way to becoming quite a capable 
spy.  However, those former selves had been profoundly altered.  Both 
their mental and astral patterns had somehow been reconfigured, through 
some sort of mnemonic transfusions.  The boy had received three such 
transfusions, but the girl had only been infused with one.  The changes 
done to their astral patterns had also induced similar alterations to 
their files in Yggdrasil as well, causing the system to now regard them 
as being Class One Probability Nodes.  This mnemonic transfusion had 
apparently also occurred in two others, the technologist's father and 
another girl, but their status remained unchanged.

Yggdrasil's efforts were causing a convergence event to form, with the 
duo standing right at the center of it, and it was causing a gathering 
of other Probability Nodes to join them.  Even as Skuld studied the 
files, new links began appearing to other files, cross-indexing at a 
dizzying rate of speed.  When a sufficient number had been gathered, 
the paradigm shift would be complete, and the future would change 
forever.

While Skuld continued her examination of the files, she decided to hold 
off on any mention of this to anyone else.  After all, as uncertain as 
the future was, it was hers to deal with.  But she planned to watch 
these two mortals more closely, to see what sort of things happened 
both to and around them.  They were the epicenter of the commencing 
change in the reality matrix.  Remembering her latest, incomplete 
vision, Skuld felt something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Hope.


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)
Earth  +1.612,+1.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)


NOTE: Before reading this chapter, please read "Ohtori Academy Blues," 
written by DB Sommer, the second side-story set in the QD universe.  It 
can be found at http://angcobra.jumpfun.com/dbsommer.html


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, through a device of his invention, is now possessed of the 
skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself.  He has 
just recently become engaged to three familiar girls: Nabiki Tendo, 
Ukyo Kuonji, and Kodachi Kuno.  And now, after a loss suffered at the 
hands of Utena Tenjou from Ohtori Academy, Ranma has begun to train for 
his rematch.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 14 - The Eye of the Tiger

         Whatever does not destroy us makes us stronger.

                                   - Friedrich Nietzsche

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


*** Earth  +1.612,+1.509

Ranma was growing more and more perplexed by his father's actions.  He 
was currently watching Genma Saotome perusing the newspaper, wondering 
what was going through the man's mind lately.  Dinner was already over, 
and Ranma would normally now be doing his evening training with Shampoo 
about this time.  But the Amazon was helping his mother out in the 
kitchen right now, leaving him with nothing to do but wonder about his 
father's motives.  He just wasn't acting like himself at all, and it 
bothered the pigtailed boy, like an itch he couldn't scratch.

"Something I can do for you, Ranma?" asked Genma, glancing up from the 
business section of the newspaper.  The boy had been studying him for 
several minutes, and all the scrutiny was perturbing.

That was one of the things that bothered the pigtailed boy.  His father 
seemed to avoid calling him 'Son' or 'Boy' anymore, instead just using 
his given name all the time.

"Nothing, I guess," admitted Ranma.  "Just wondering what sort of crazy 
scheme you got cooking now.  I mean, you went out and got yourself a 
job, without being asked by Mom or nothing.  That just ain't normal for 
you, Pop."

Genma sighed.  Doing nothing but sit in this house for the past few 
days and wait for his real son to contact him again had been getting on 
his nerves.  He could only train for so many hours in a day to occupy 
himself.  Genma also wanted to feel productive again, not sponge off of 
Nodoka's meager income.  Besides, he needed an income of his own for 
some projects that he had been considering.

A little careful reading at the local library over the past weekend had 
brought him up to speed on the current state of this Earth's technology 
base.  He had been right in his initial assessment.  It lagged behind 
his home in several areas by as much as twenty years, but he could use 
that gap to profit through a few patents.  Even so, he didn't feel very 
comfortable with giving this world anything significant, like fusion 
power, but there were other things he could share.  Patents from those 
would give this family a more comfortable life, but creating prototypes 
required some seed money.  Genma felt it would be better to earn the 
money himself.

"Ranma," said Genma, setting his newspaper down.  "A man takes care of 
his family, so I thought it would be a good idea for me to get a job.  
It's as simple as that."

Ranma frowned.  "Yeah, but this is you, old man.  You've never done any 
honest work in your whole life, as far back as I can remember."

"People change," said Genma with a slight smile.  "I would think that 
you'd be proud to have a father who was more like other fathers."

Ranma thought about that.  "Yeah, but it ain't normal for you.  And 
then there's that whole thing with the Tendo's."

"You wanted to be engaged to marry one of those girls?"  Genma studied 
the boy in front of him, dressed in Chinese-style clothes like his own 
son had begun wearing lately.  While he was unquestionably a brilliant 
fighter, this Ranma was unpolished and ignorant of the world.  Still, 
he was not stupid.  Genma knew it wasn't fair of him to treat the boy 
as if he was, but it was difficult sometimes to do otherwise.

"No!  Of course not!" Ranma blurted out in reply.  "But I just don't 
understand you nowadays, Pop.  You always got some scheme hatching up 
your sleeve, and I just don't want you to hurt Mom if you do."

Now it was Genma's turn to frown.  "Ranma," he began.  "I would never 
do anything to cause your mother harm.  You have to believe that."

"I don't know what I believe anymore, Pop," said Ranma, standing up.  
He should be happy that his father was acting responsibly, right?  Why 
did it feel so wrong?  Why did it feel like something out of a dream, 
one that was going to end when he least wanted it to?

"Ranma?" Shampoo called out from the doorway to the kitchen.  "We go 
practice now, yes?"  She came over to the table and smiled at both men.

That was the other thing that bothered Ranma.  His father was treating 
Shampoo nicely.  Before, the man had seemed indifferent to the Amazon.  
Now, Ranma didn't sense that from him.  It was something else that just 
felt wrong.  Not bad wrong, since it was good to be home and to have 
Shampoo there with him.  But it was wrong in a way he couldn't seem to 
explain.

"You run along and train with Shampoo, Ranma," said Genma with another 
paternal smile.  "If you slack off, she might get better than you."

"Huh, like that's really ever going to happen," grunted Ranma, before 
he realized what he had just said.

As Shampoo proceeded to show the pigtailed boy how she felt about that 
hastily-spoken opinion, Genma chuckled and picked up his newspaper once 
again.  The boy was unpolished and blunt, but it was refreshing in some 
ways.  Still, it would be good when this nightmare was over, and Genma 
was back in his own life.

"I didn't mean it like that, you crazy Amazon!" yelled Ranma as he tore 
off towards the backyard with Shampoo in hot pursuit.

"Ranma see how good Shampoo is, any second now," the Amazon promised 
ominously.

As the sounds of battle erupted in the backyard, Genma chuckled.  The 
boy definitely needed to work on his social skills.

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

Akane Tendo was an unhappy girl right now, so she did what she normally 
did when she was unhappy.

"Damn him," she muttered, her fist impacting into a cinder block.  It 
shattered beneath her blow, joining the remnants of perhaps a dozen 
others.  She still felt unsatisfied even as she stopped to catch her 
breath.  "How dare that jerk be so calm when he left!  Like it meant 
nothing to him.  Like I-"  Akane felt her eyes filling with tears once 
again, as they seemed to do ever since Ranma had left with his father, 
and that... that Chinese bimbo, Shampoo.

Ranma's departure should have been a relief, and it was, in certain 
ways.  But it had all been so unexpected.  And now everyone at school 
was talking about it, not to mention that she had Kuno pressuring her 
again.  How could that jerk have just up and left her, without even a 
backwards glance?  She hated Ranma for that, for acting so indifferent 
to her the last time she saw him, both him and his worthless father.  
Once she had blurted out her usual response to her feelings about the 
engagement, Genma had ended it.  A happy ending for her, right?  Now 
her own father hadn't left his bed in days as a result of that, and it 
was tearing Akane up inside.  How dare that jerk just leave with that 
Chinese freak?
 
From outside, Cologne had been watching the youngest Tendo demolishing 
things.  In the course of a single night several days past, Shampoo had 
up and disappeared, apparently moving on with the two Saotome men.  The 
Amazon Matriarch was admittedly perplexed at the unexpected change, and 
the Tendo family still seemed to be in varying states of shock over the 
whole matter, the father being the worst.  Cologne realized she would 
have to put off her current plans for her wayward kinswoman until she 
could learn the child's location.

Cologne started to depart, then she paused.  The youngest Tendo girl 
might prove to be more amenable to assist in her present state of mind.  
At the very least, she could be a useful source of information.  The 
elderly Amazon bounced across the yard, landing inside the dojo.

"Greetings, Akane Tendo," said Cologne, eyeing the sniffling girl.

Akane whirled around, her eyes reddened from crying, her hands held 
tightly into fists.  When she recognized Cologne, she smiled nastily.

"If you're looking for Shampoo, she's gone."

"I can see that with my own eyes," said Cologne.  "Tell me where she 
has gone, and I will leave you to your grief."

"I'm not grieving," Akane growled.  "Especially not for that two-timing 
jerk!"

"Where is Shampoo?" asked Cologne gently.  The Tendo girl seemed to be 
in a more fragile state of mind than she had initially suspected.  To 
push hard now would be to provoke a fight, and Cologne had no wish to 
waste the effort.  "What happened here, Akane Tendo?"

"Ranma left!" shouted Akane.  "His father just dissolved the engagement 
between that jerk and me, and all of them left!"  Her voice dropped to 
a whisper.  "I don't know where they went, and I don't care."

"I know where they went," said a solemn voice from the doorway.

Cologne glanced over to see Nabiki Tendo standing there.

Akane went back to destroying things, to ease her inner pain.

"And what would be the price of such information?" Cologne inquired 
with a neutral look.  She moved away from Akane.

"Come with me, and I'll tell you," replied Nabiki calmly.

Cologne bounced out of the dojo area, following a quiet Nabiki to a 
side area of the house.  Akane remained behind in the dojo, but the 
sounds of smashing items became a little more energetic-sounding.  In a 
few moments, Nabiki suddenly stopped and turned around to face the 
Amazon Matriarch.

"Do you want to hear the price before or after I tell you Shampoo's 
location?"  A hint of cold anger escaped Nabiki's self-control.

"Either way, I will pay it, if I feel it is fair," replied Cologne.

"Shampoo and the others went to live with Ranma's mother," said Nabiki 
evenly.  "I can give you the address, and even directions."

"And the price?" asked Cologne, curious to see what the middle Tendo 
daughter would ask for.

"Do whatever you want with Shampoo," said Nabiki coldly.  "Take her 
back to China to fall on her sword for getting cursed for all I care.  
I only ask for two things in return.  First, I want to see both Ranma 
Saotome and his good-for-nothing father suffer.  But I want Ranma to 
suffer most of all.  The three of them blew in here, disrupted all of 
our lives for weeks, and then just as suddenly left.  Now my father 
doesn't leave his bed, Akane is more angry at life than I've ever seen 
her before, and even Kasumi is withdrawn.  I want to see them all 
suffer for hurting my family.  I can provide you with any information 
you think is helpful.  And that brings me to the other request."

"I take it you have given the matter some thought," said Cologne dryly.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Nabiki replied sarcastically.  "I want 
Akane to help you when you deal with Ranma and his father.  She wants 
to hurt someone, and I want to see Ranma hurting.  Think of it as a 
form of closure for her.  Get the idea?"

"You want me to train her," said Cologne with a brief nod, finding the 
terms troubling but acceptable.  From the sounds of things, Akane might 
be quite motivated to help capture Shampoo.  The elderly Matriarch had 
a technique or two come to mind that the Tendo girl would find useful 
in her quest for revenge.  It was a tempting bargain.

"Do you agree to my terms?" Nabiki asked quietly.

"Yes, Nabiki Tendo," said Cologne with another nod.  "I find the price 
you ask for your aid in this to be one that I am willing to pay."

"Good," said Nabiki evenly.  She gestured towards the training hall.  
"Your student awaits.  Just let me talk to her first."

A heavy rain began to fall.  It suited Cologne's present mood as she 
waited for the middle Tendo girl to finish explaining things to her 
sister.  However, she was troubled.  Something wasn't adding up here, 
and she intended to find out what that something was.

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

*** Earth  0.000,0.000

At the Imperial Academy, classes were over for another day.

In one of the subbasement rooms of the Academy, where the maintenance 
staff seldom went, a private gathering was occurring.  By design, only 
a select few were in attendance here.  But there was also one uninvited 
guest.

Ghost Sweeper Minami stood quietly on one side of the room, the amulet 
of invisibility she had borrowed from the Mobius Institute concealing 
her presence.  Casting her spiritual senses around the room, she felt 
more of that same energy that she had been detecting since her arrival.  
It was like a slight fluctuation in the background mana, and she hoped 
that it was a sign of some spiritual activity.  She wasn't sure what to 
make of this gathering though.  Shrugging her shoulders, she continued 
to scan, while ignoring those present in the room.

"I now call this inaugural meeting of the Ranma Saotome Fan Club to 
order.  I'm pleased that you all accepted your invitations."

Minami's awareness snapped back when she heard that.  These girls were 
gathered for him?  How could any girl like that arrogant jerk?  He had 
obviously enjoyed making her look like a fool, and the redheaded Ghost 
Sweeper would never forgive him for that.  Still, she began paying more 
attention to what was going on.  Perhaps she might learn something that 
would let her pay Ranma back.

Nanami Jinnai set down the small gavel she had just used to rap upon 
the table in front of her.  She tugged down once on the front of her 
gray uniform jacket, and then she smiled her best politician's smile at 
the assembled faces in front of her.  The group was composed of some 
twenty or so girls, all dressed in either Science blue or Security 
gray.  However, despite being even in number, the two parties were not 
mixed, and both sides had been exchanging glares with each other before 
the meeting had even begun.

"I'd like to begin by taking this opportunity to welcome you all here," 
Nanami said with another smile.  She could sense the tensions in the 
room rising as each side wondered what the other group was doing here.  
Her brief welcome speech was interrupted when one of the Science cadets 
suddenly stood up.

After looking pointedly around the room, Ami Mizuno gently cleared her 
throat and asked, "Why are these Security thugs attending this meeting?  
The invitation I received by email made no mention of having any of 
_them_ present.  After all, Saotome-san is a Science cadet."  She gazed 
at Nanami quite coolly, and the other Science cadets vigorously nodded 
their agreement with her words.

"That's a very good question, Mizuno-san," answered Nanami pleasantly, 
skillfully hiding her resentment at the 'thugs' remark by some Science 
geek.  "While it is true that Saotome-san is part of the Science branch 
of the Academy, he is also a member of the full student body.  With 
that in mind, isn't it fair to admit both Security and Science cadets 
to this meeting?  Not to mention the added benefit of having Security 
cadets present, to assist us all in maintaining our privacy from those 
parties who might seek to hinder our activities."

Minami wondered who that might be.

It went unspoken by every other girl in the room who those parties 
might be, but they could agree on the identity of at least one of them.

"Fair enough," acknowledged Ami, nodding once after considering that 
for a moment.  "I can see the logic of having Security th- er, cadets 
present.  Do I take it that you are the one responsible for sending the 
invitations?  They were untraceable as to their point of origin."  She 
paused.  "Believe me, I tried."

Nanami gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you, Mizuno-san.  That is 
high praise indeed to come from one of your reputed expertise.  I made 
every effort to gather this group together in secret, while maintaining 
absolutely tight security for our mutual protection."

"And now that we are here?" asked Ami archly, raising an eyebrow.

Nanami tapped a button on a small remote unit in her hand.  Around the 
room, several posters of Ranma Saotome, each one a candid shot of him, 
unfurled.  There was a collective, involuntary sigh of appreciation at 
the sight.  Even Ami Mizuno, who prided herself on maintaining a calm, 
logical façade, felt her heart skip a beat or two at the sight of the 
young scholar.

"We are all here for one reason only," said Nanami, her politician's 
smile returning, "to share in our admiration of that quintessential 
pinnacle of manhood who walks among us at the Academy, Ranma Saotome."

Minami shook her head in wonder at that.  Quintessential pinnacle?  
Ranma was hardly that.  The Ghost Sweeper glanced around the room in 
mild disdain at these foolish girls, but she noted the effect that the 
pictures were having on them.  Admiration mixed with lust for the 
pigtailed boy could be seen in their eyes.  Still, each girl who was 
here, inexplicably pining after Ranma Saotome, meant one less girl in 
competition with her for the attentions of the rest of the boys at the 
Academy.  Minami grinned in anticipation.  She had already had a few 
dates since her arrival and was enjoying her growing popularity with 
the boys.  But she was also a little irritated that her new admirers 
weren't spurring that idiot Gosunkugi into paying attention to her too.

Ami coughed once into her fist and quickly brought her emotions back 
under control.  The slight blush on her cheeks at the nearby sight of a 
life-sized image of Ranma Saotome, clad in just a towel wrapped around 
his waist, hindered those efforts.  Around her, several of her fellow 
Science cadets gazed raptly at the sight of male musculature on display 
before them.  A few girls were even drooling a little at the sight.

"As the first order of business at this meeting, I feel perhaps it 
would be best if I offered to share the leadership of this meeting," 
said Nanami pleasantly.  "Do I have a nomination for co-leader from our 
sisters in the Science branch?"

It was with little surprise that the previously-outspoken Ami Mizuno 
was quickly elected as co-chairwoman, representing the Science cadet 
contingent.  Nanami quickly made skilled use of her abilities as a 
would-be politician to cement herself as the representative for the 
Security cadets present.  When the elections and the congratulations 
were over, the meeting returned to a semblance of order.  One change 
was that Ami was now seated at the head of the room with Nanami.

Ami flipped open the slim laptop she had brought with her, glad that 
she had thought to bring it with her.  As Nanami began to orate once 
more, Ami occupied herself with calling up the datafiles she sought.  
She was sure that the others would find them very interesting.

"Now that the preliminary business is over," said Nanami, "I thought it 
would be best to dispel some of the rumors that have been floating 
around the campus of late about Saotome-san."  She smiled when she saw 
that she had the complete attention of the audience, and basked for a 
moment or two in being the center of attention.  Nanami congratulated 
herself on coming up with the idea of organizing a club such as this, 
giving a first-year cadet like herself the beginnings of a power base 
to unseat the current queen of the campus, Nabiki Tendo.  She ignored 
the twinge of resentment she felt at having been snubbed by the older 
girl when she had sought to join Nabiki's faction at the beginning of 
the term.

"I'd like to interrupt, Jinnai-san," said Ami suddenly, setting her 
laptop to one side.  "I took the liberty of analyzing the information 
that you emailed me with that anonymous invitation, and I think it 
would be prudent to inform our sister cadets of my findings."

Nanami blinked, but she yielded the floor to Ami.  Luckily, Nanami had 
staged her meeting in one of the planning rooms used for Security cadet 
simulation missions, since it contained a video projection system that 
Ami was able to hook her laptop up to with a minimum of fuss.  Nanami 
heard the other girl clearing her throat nervously as Ami signaled that 
she was ready, and she smiled as she dimmed the lights.  It wouldn't be 
too difficult to reduce a mousy computer geek like Ami Mizuno to a mere 
figurehead leader, given enough time.

"The subject: Ranma Saotome," intoned Ami a little nervously as she 
began, clearly not used to speaking before a large group of people.  A 
still image from her small picture archive appeared on the screen in 
front of the room, taken from Ranma's own Academy ID card.  "To begin, 
Saotome-san is the first cadet ever, in the century-long history of the 
Imperial Academy, to have attained a perfect mark on the entrance 
exams."  Text scrolled up next to Ranma's picture, brief listings of 
the universities and other institutions of learning that Ranma had 
studied at during his young life.  From the audience, a few scattered 
whistles and appreciative remarks were heard.

Minami shrugged.  All that intellect, and he was still a jerk.  She 
tuned out on Ami's lecture and went back to letting her spiritual 
senses spread out.  She could still feel something in the air.

"Saotome-san's academic record speaks for itself," Ami continued, glad 
that the darkness hid the blush that had returned to her face.  "He is 
a brilliant young man, and an accomplished scholar.  Many of you have 
had the pleasure of reading some of his few published works, on such 
varied subjects as non-Euclidean mathematics, quantum mechanics, 
superstring theory, and even cosmology.  They show the workings of an 
agile mind, one possessed of eloquence and a capacity for deep 
thinking, a quality which is vanishingly rare in a boy his age."

Ami advanced to a new picture, one that Dean Fuyutsuki would have been 
very surprised to see one of his own cadets have, since it was taken 
from his own files.  "Then there are Saotome-san's physical abilities."  
The text now scrolling upwards to overlay part of the image were also 
taken from Fuyutsuki's files.  "Since his arrival at the Academy some 
few months ago, Saotome-san has been improving his physical performance 
ratings to a remarkably high level.  The numbers you see here represent 
a detailed breakdown of Saotome-san's current combat capabilities.  It 
clearly shows him to be in prime physical condition."

There was another collective sigh from the audience when the picture 
switched to a brief film clip of Ranma in action.  Ami's involuntary 
sigh was among them.

Minami rolled her eyes.  All this admiration for Ranma was starting to 
seriously grate.

At the side of the room, Nanami glanced around and smiled as she saw 
the worshipful gazes taking place around her.  Taking a risk like 
hacking into the Dean's private system and liberating these files had 
been a challenge, but she was pleased to see it had been well worth it.  
Selling photographs of Ranma from her growing collection should net her 
some tidy sums for her coffers.  She only had to evade attention from 
Nabiki's henchwomen in order to do it.  In truth, Nanami relished the 
challenge, especially since Nabiki's recent preoccupation with Ranma 
Saotome was beginning to cause a decline in her enterprises.  It wasn't 
much so far, but a little effort would allow Nanami to wedge into that 
gap.  Nabiki's time in the sun was fading.  The other girl just didn't 
know it yet.

"What is interesting to note is the sharp increase in his abilities 
only a few weeks ago," Ami continued, wiping away the text with a few 
keystrokes and replacing it with a chart overlaying another image of 
Ranma, the pigtailed boy frozen in mid-motion.  "His combat statistics 
altered significantly, his totals jumping upwards by several hundred 
points, primarily due to large changes in his offensive and defensive 
ratings, perseverance, and his adaptability during combat.  Physically, 
there were no appreciable changes in Saotome-san's capabilities, other 
than a minor rise in his neuroreflex rating, but the skills within him 
were somehow greatly enhanced.  An analysis of the data, taken both 
before and after the event, yields no apparent explanations for it."  A 
new picture appeared, this one taken during Ranma's victorious, last-
ditch effort against Nabiki.  There were a few scattered chuckles from 
the audience.

Minami considered that.  Perhaps he wasn't possessed, but something was 
weird about Ranma.  Nobody became a martial arts superstar overnight.

"However, the files provided by Jinnai-san also reveal a new danger 
that we should all be aware of," said Ami in more solemn tones.  "I 
congratulate her on obtaining them at apparent personal risk."

"It was nothing," Nanami said modestly.  Luckily, she had been able to 
obtain her own copies of the photographs taken by Nabiki's own people, 
by a circuitous route she had devised, rather than risking herself on 
reconnaissance.

Three images appeared on the display, replacing Ranma's.  There was a 
muted grumbling from the audience.

"Saotome-san's family is currently in negotiations for him to marry one 
of the three girls that you now see before you," said Ami.  Her voice 
trembled for a moment as she spoke the names.  "Kodachi Kuno.  Ukyo 
Kuonji."  She paused for a moment, but all present recognized the last 
girl even before the name was spoken.  "Nabiki Tendo."

There was a collective gasp of shock.  One girl in a gray uniform in 
the back immediately fainted.  A few others were not far behind.  The 
remainder simply looked stunned.

"But that's not fair!" yelped one girl dressed in Science blue.  "He's 
the most eligible boy on campus!"

"Yeah!" shouted another girl.  "And an arranged marriage is just so 
archaic."

"I thought it was strange that a noblewoman should transfer to this 
school in mid-session," noted a short girl on the right.

"He can't marry Nabiki," sobbed another girl.  "She's all wrong for 
him.  He can't marry her.  He just can't."

"Ladies," Nanami called out loudly, holding her hand up for attention 
as she raised the lights.  It took her three more tries to restore a 
semblance of order.  "Thank you.  I'm afraid there's also worse news."

"Worse?  How could it get worse?" yelped the same girl who had finally 
recovered from fainting.

"My sources indicate that Utena Tenjou spent the night at Saotome-san's 
home after beating him in their match," replied Nanami.

Minami raised an eyebrow and blushed slightly at the implications 
Nanami was making.  Kissing a boy was as far as the Ghost Sweeper had 
ever gone.

There was another collective gasp from the audience.  The girl who had 
just fainted and recovered earlier passed out again.  After a moment or 
two, the mood of the crowd turned darker.

Ami briefly flipped through her notes and announced, "Before coming to 
this meeting, I had begun compiling a psychological profile on Saotome-
san, in an attempt to determine what sort of girl might have the best 
chance of earning his affections.  This news about Utena Tenjou, while 
admittedly most distressing, possibly serves to confirm my theory."

"What?" shouted several girls.  "Tell us!"

"Lights please," said Ami.  When the room lights dimmed, she brought up 
one of the pictures.

"The first subject: Ukyo Kuonji," said Ami.  "Research into her past 
shows that this girl has been quite highly-trained in both the arts of 
stealth and combat by the eldermost of her Shinobi clan, Genji Kuonji, 
her own grandfather.  The most interesting thing about Ukyo is that her 
records from her old school list her as being male, and she apparently 
has a preference for wearing masculine clothing.  I suspect that she 
has numerous gender issues to work through."  Ami tapped a key and the 
picture changed.

Minami blinked.  What sort of a freak dressed in boy's clothes?

"The next subject: Kodachi Kuno.  Daughter of one of the wealthiest and 
most influential of the Minor Families in the nobility, she is perhaps 
best known for winning a gold medal for the Empire in the last World 
Gymnastics Competition in France.  At Whitehall Academy, she recently 
became embroiled in a series of fights with another student before 
transferring here, fights that Kodachi always won."  Ami changed the 
picture once more.

"The third subject: Nabiki Tendo.  Middle daughter of Soun Tendo, a 
high-ranking officer in the Security Directorate, and Captain Kimiko 
Tendo, missing and presumed deceased, formerly of the Imperial Special 
Forces.  Both parents excelled in their chosen fields, Captain Tendo 
having been decorated numerous times for her actions in combat.  She 
also holds several athletic records that still remain unbroken to this 
day, from her time at Furinkan Military Academy."  Ami tapped a key.

"The fourth and final subject: Utena Tenjou.  She is best-known among 
her classmates as the 'Prince of Ohtori,' a designation no doubt earned 
due to her preference for wearing masculine clothing.  I suspect that 
this girl also has gender issues to work through.  There are several 
information sites dedicated to her on the Imperial Datagrid, complete 
with numerous pictures of the girl and listings of her combat records.  
She is ranked at the very top of Ohtori's Duelists, although she is not 
part of the Student Council, as the rest are."

Ami signaled Nanami to bring the lights back up.

"Based on this information," Ami informed the audience, "it is my 
theory that Ranma Saotome subconsciously seeks to pair himself with a 
strong woman.  All four women here are strong fighters, and I believe 
it is beyond coincidence that this should be so.  I propose that his 
recent assignation with Utena Tenjou confirms my findings."  Ami's 
fingers stabbed out at the audience.  "Therefore, the key to winning 
Saotome-san's heart is to defeat him in combat.  I believe he would 
expect no less from the woman who would win his love."

"Uh, what about Akane Tendo?" asked a voice in the back.  The rest 
nodded.  Akane had beaten Ranma up on numerous occasions, after all.

Ami smiled.  She had been waiting for such a question.  "Each of those 
beatings took place before this extreme change in Saotome-san's combat 
abilities.  I believe that there has also been an alteration of his 
psychological profile to a similar degree.  Therefore, the previous 
incidents involving Akane Tendo do not matter.  However, if she returns 
to face him and manages to defeat him in a fair fight, then we shall 
have to see if that supports my findings or not."

"So what is it that you're saying, Mizuno-san?" asked one of the girls 
in the front row.  "We should begin challenging Ranma Saotome in order 
to get a date with him?"

"Exactly," said Nanami with a nod, gently shoving Ami aside and taking 
her place behind the microphone.  She now saw how she could rally these 
women.  "Two things are obvious here.  One, Saotome-san deserves a 
strong woman, so we should find it within ourselves to give him one.  
And, two, these four girls need to be driven away from Ranma.  Who is 
with me in this noble cause?"

Every girl in the room cheered loudly.  For the sake of winning Ranma 
Saotome's love, they would train hard, strengthen themselves, and begin 
challenging him to prove their love.

However, dealing with the fighting abilities of the young women who 
already had an interest in Ranma caused concern in many of them, but 
others were not as deterred.  Viewing her as the most obvious target, a 
few of the strongest and most athletic of the girls discussed how they 
would deal with Nabiki and who would go up against her first.

As the meeting broke up, Minami strolled out of the room, unseen by 
anyone.  She was happily contemplating the potentials for mischief that 
she could do to a certain pigtailed boy with a wicked grin on her face.  
She wondered if she could get Gosunkugi to help her.  It promised to be 
a lot of fun, not to mention giving her an excuse to spend some time 
with him.

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

Ranma yawned as he trudged the short distance down the hallway to the 
bathing area.  He grumbled at the faint twinges of pain reporting in 
from various spots on his body.  He was still discovering muscles that 
were not used to the sort of effort he was making them do, but those 
pains were becoming less frequent.  His body still felt rusty in its 
fighting movements at times, but that too was fading as he continued to 
adjust to having his new skills.

Tiger was proving to be as difficult to deal with as he had suspected 
she would be from his initial meeting with the catgirl.  Most of the 
aches now present in his body were due to her dedicated efforts over 
the past couple of days.  Ranma couldn't help but feel irritated with 
himself about that.  Being beaten up for two days straight was bad 
enough, but being beaten up by a girl was somehow making it feel even 
worse.  It also didn't help matters that he knew he could defeat Tiger, 
if only he wasn't being handicapped by his fears at the same time as he 
was battling the catgirl.  She was inhumanly strong and lightning fast, 
but her fighting skills lacked that unpredictable creativity that a 
true martial artist was capable of, not surprising to him since her 
skills were hardwired into her neurology.

Ranma stripped off his clothing and tossed them into the hamper behind 
him without looking at it, distracted by his thoughts.  While wrapping 
a towel around his waist, he stared into the mirror, briefly noting 
that the bruises on his face from yesterday were almost gone.  He had 
always been a fast healer, and he was very grateful for that now.  This 
training was proving to be a challenge, more than he had anticipated, 
but he was confident of one thing.  When he was done with it, he would 
be that much further ahead of Nabiki, cementing his lead over her in 
ability, and that was a surprisingly satisfying thought.

Grinning at that pleasant musing, Ranma slid open the door leading to 
the bathing area, looking forward to nothing more than soaking his body 
in hot water before he had to start training for the day.  He stopped 
dead in his tracks after taking a single step into the room.  The towel 
wrapped around his waist dipped down a centimeter or two.

Tiger, gloriously naked, stood in the furo.  She had been enjoying a 
hot bath as a little treat to herself before the day's activities 
began.  Not bothering to cover herself like a normal girl would have 
done at this time, she instead glared at Ranma as the pigtailed boy 
stood there in shock.  Her eyes glanced downwards briefly when Ranma's 
towel slipped off his waist, and then her gaze returned once again to 
meet his, her irises like chips of frozen jade.

"It's considered polite to knock, Saotome-san," Tiger commented dryly.  
The sight of Ranma's naked body before her was reminding her that it 
had been several days since she had last enjoyed her master's tender 
attentions.  The unpleasant thought that Lynx and Panther were both 
undoubtedly enjoying it in her place was irritating.  And now to be 
ogled by this pathetic boy was changing that irritation to anger.

"I-I'm sorry," Ranma stammered, averting his eyes from staring at the 
beautiful and naked catgirl, both fear and attraction triggered by the 
sight.  "I-I didn't know anyone was in here."  He started to back up 
when a wooden bucket suddenly slammed into his forehead, the force of 
the impact propelling him backwards several feet.  Ranma fell over, 
stunned, as Tiger gracefully emerged from the furo and stalked towards 
him.  Several versions of his life flashed before his eyes at the sight 
of the catgirl's ominous approach.  Fear froze him in place.

"Don't let it happen again, Saotome-san," growled Tiger, slamming the 
door shut in his face.  "I won't go as easy on you next time."

Ranma, his mind swimming in images of cat-demons that were shaped like 
human females, continued to lay there on the cold tiles.  It was going 
to be a long day in what was looking to be an even longer week.

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

Nodoka absently noticed the play of the breeze across the grass, as 
well as the scent of cherry blossoms tickling her nose.  The haft of 
her bokken rested snug in her grasp, both hands closed loosely around 
it, the blade angled downwards.  As her opponent stepped closer, her 
mind snapped into crystal clarity.  At that moment, she felt truly 
alive.

The breeze stopped.

Achika Masaki launched into a textbook-perfect assault upon Nodoka, the 
blade of her bokken lancing inward.  There was the sharp crack of two 
pieces of hardened wood meeting as the two weapons clashed.  Achika 
immediately rebounded from Nodoka's block, her weapon arcing around in 
a reverse stroke into another solid strike, only to be met by Nodoka 
once again.  Riposte followed parry, and a counterstrike flowed into a 
dodge as each blow was turned aside and responded to.  The two women 
displayed a level of combat skill born of many hours of sweat and toil.

"Not too bad for someone your age," murmured Achika during a brief lull 
in the action, her weapon briefly locked with Nodoka's.  The two pushed 
hard against each other, struggling for advantage, the strain evident 
on their faces.

"I could say the same," agreed Nodoka.  She gathered herself and surged 
forward hard against Achika, the sudden move knocking the other woman 
off-balance.  Nodoka moved in for the win, her weapon aimed right for 
Achika's ribs.

Sudden pain exploded in Nodoka's midsection, Achika's brief act of 
weakness enough to lure her into a trap.  Her breath escaped in a 
single gasp, the air forced from Nodoka's lungs by her spasming 
diaphragm.  She slumped momentarily, her weapon bracing her body to 
keep from falling.  Achika's wooden blade came to rest firmly against 
her throat for a moment, and then withdrew.

"Your form is sloppy, Nodoka," said a voice from one side.  It was mild 
in tone, yet the reproof was clear.  "You let yourself lose focus and 
become distracted."

Blinking back reflexive tears from the pain, Nodoka looked over at 
Katsuhito Masaki, sitting on a rock nearby.  She saw him adjust his 
glasses and study her, his expression grim.  Despite the protests of 
her stomach muscles, she stood up to her full height once again, the 
pain began to fade.

"If Achika had been a real enemy, she would have left you with more 
than a temporary pain in your belly," observed Katsuhito.  "If the two 
of you had been fighting for real, you would now be dead.  How does it 
feel to be dead?"

Nodoka frowned, angry at herself for falling for such a simple ploy.  
She could not afford to be less than her absolute best when the time 
came to face Kenseiko once again.  Her warrior pride demanded it of 
her.

"Sorry, Sensei," said Nodoka, turning to face Achika once again.  She 
raised her weapon to a ready position.

"That's the third time I've struck you in the last half-hour, Nodoka," 
observed Achika, a hint of concern on her face as she raised the blade 
of her own weapon.  "We should take a break."

"Very well," said Nodoka, wincing slightly.  She hid the movement well, 
only Katsuhito appearing to notice.  "But I don't understand what's 
wrong."

"You're trying too hard," observed Katsuhito, pouring himself a cup of 
iced tea from the thermos he had at his side.  "A warrior's movements 
should flow from a central core of stillness and calm emotions.  This 
challenge has been the first you have faced in many years.  It seems to 
have damaged your focus."

"Grandfather is right, Nodoka," said Achika, setting her weapon down 
and taking an offered cup of tea from the elderly man.  "Twenty years 
ago, you would never have let yourself be bothered by a challenge from 
that witch, Kenseiko."

"Remember one of the first things I taught you, Nodoka?" said Katsuhito 
as he gazed at her.  When she looked blankly at him, he sighed once and 
shook his head.  "How soon the student forgets."  He pointed at her 
forehead.  "Don't think so much.  If you have time for thinking in a 
fight, then you're moving too slowly.  When in combat, a warrior must 
let go of the conscious self and act on instinct alone."

"I remember."

"Good.  Now, keeping that in mind, let me see how well you do after we 
rest here for a little while."  He smiled gently at her and then turned 
to watch a hawk circling above a far corner of the park they were using 
as a makeshift training ground.

Achika relaxed, after passing a cup of iced tea to Nodoka.  She picked 
up her towel and wiped the sweat from her face and the back of her 
neck.  She was grateful that the weather was cool as she sat back and 
enjoyed the breeze against her skin.  She could tell that Nodoka was 
worried about Ranma, and her thoughts wandered to her own children.

Now that Tenchi was finally settled down with a fiancée, Achika felt it 
was time to start working on her other child's future again.  However, 
she did not relish the task.  Her daughter was often as bullheaded as 
Achika could admit to being at that age, but the girl would not prevail 
in this.  That their last discussion on the matter had prompted her 
daughter to decide to go train in the mountains by the Masaki Shrine 
for the past several weeks was utterly beside the point.  At least the 
headstrong girl enjoyed improving her skills as a warrior.

Achika sighed inwardly.  What was she going to do about Ryoko?  The 
girl took after her namesake ancestress far too much sometimes.

At least Ryoko wrote now and then while she was off training, and she 
had promised in her last letter that she was returning home soon.  A 
smile briefly appeared on Achika's face as she briefly reminisced on 
the follies of her own youth, and what a trial she must have been for 
her own mother.  Ryoko had been a handful from birth, but Achika was 
very proud of her and loved her deeply.  After all, she was now only a 
year away from graduating into the ranks of one of the most respected 
group in the Empire, the Imperial Bodyguards, also known as the Blood 
Guard.  Charged with the defense of the Emperor and his kin, a Guard 
was an almost preternaturally-skilled warrior, and many in their ranks 
possessed some knowledge of Tao sorcery.  Ryoko's skills were limited 
in such mysticism, but she was a superb fighter nonetheless.

Achika sometimes feared that the only way she was going to get Ryoko to 
submit to an arranged marriage would be by force.  She glanced over at 
Nodoka, envious of the woman for not having a daughter to contend with.  
A son was much easier to manipulate for a mother.

While quietly drinking her own tea, Nodoka's thoughts went again to 
Ranma.  He was still training hard for his upcoming match at Ohtori 
Academy.  She smiled at that.  It would give him a good opportunity to 
visit again with that nice Utena girl while he was there, and Nodoka 
hoped that he would.  She had genuinely liked the girl, who reminded 
her so much of how she herself had been at that age.  Well, except for 
the cross-dressing and Utena's odd hair color.  Nodoka smiled at the 
thought of the pink-haired girl and her son together.  They made a fine 
couple.

Nodoka also hoped that Ranma's training was going better than hers.  
The Academy had been keeping very quiet on his progress, so she was 
concerned that he was doing all right, and that he was eating well 
without her cooking to sustain him.  Yet it had been several days, with 
little word.  Genma, when she had broached the subject with him that 
same morning, actually accused her of trying to coddle Ranma.  That 
totally unexpected remark both hurt and surprised her, adding to her 
present level of distraction.

Ranma was her son, and, Nodoka could admit to herself, she was still 
adjusting to the fact that he was a warrior in his own right.  She was 
very proud of him for that, and it made her love him all the more.  
Still, she considered it her right as his mother to worry about him, 
even though she was confident that he was making good progress.  After 
all, as her son, the path of the warrior was his birthright, just as 
the path of the scholar had been bestowed upon him by his father.  Ever 
since Ranma's birth, she was positive he would someday walk both with 
honor, and he would never know true defeat.

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

Ranma sat, feeling a little dejected at his latest failure to deal with 
Tiger.  The ringing in his ears reminded him that he was also on the 
edge of having a concussion, but that was beside the point.  He dug 
into his rice hungrily, grateful at having a whole plate of beef and 
steamed vegetables to himself to accompany it.  After all, he needed to 
eat to keep up his strength.

It was now day four of his training.

Tiger paused in eating her own meal, enjoying the early afternoon sun 
on her face.  The spring air smelled pleasantly of cherry blossoms and 
fresh-cut grass from the athletics fields, an enjoyable aroma.  She 
gobbled down another piece of raw salmon, enjoying the combination of 
sensations that her meal and her environment provided for her.

"Meow?" called out a timid-sounding voice behind the catgirl.

Hearing the sound, Ranma froze in place for several moments, only his 
eyes continuing to move.  Once the initial shock was over, he started 
twisting his head around, trying frantically to determine the source of 
the sound.  He froze again when he caught sight of it.

Tiger looked around, seeing a tawny-colored cat sitting on the wall 
near her.  It was eyeing the fish in her bowl hungrily.  She smiled at 
it, unselfishly pulling off a chunk of fish from the one in her bowl 
and offering the tidbit to the cat.  She had always liked housecats.

The cat sniffed at the morsel of fish held out to it, before snatching 
it from her grasp and happily consuming it.  The nameless feline began 
to purr while it ate the fish.  Tiger was still smiling at it, but she 
glanced for a moment at Ranma, absently noting that she had detected no 
motion from him for several moments.

Ranma's attention was locked onto the small housecat, a gibbering now 
taking place somewhere in the back of his mind.  When he realized that 
the gibbering was his own mental voice, he shook his head to banish it 
and laughed nervously.  Then he noticed that Tiger was studying him.  
He quickly went back to consuming his lunch, not looking at the catgirl 
or her furry companion.

Tiger wondered at Ranma's reaction, absently feeding another morsel of 
fish to the cat when it nudged against her hand.  After it had eaten a 
good portion of her lunch, it consented to her picking it up, and she 
stroked her hand down its back as it rested in her arms.  The cat 
purred its contentment at that, having just been fed and now being held 
and petted.  She stood up with the cat in her arms and began walking 
over to Ranma.

Ranma locked the gibbering part of himself that had started up again in 
the back of his mind and tried to act casual.  He smiled nervously at 
the approaching catgirl, trying to ignore the fear clawing at his guts.

"C-can I do something for you, Tiger?" asked Ranma, smiling, but with a 
wild look in his eyes.

Tiger smiled and said, "I noticed you watching my new friend here.  I 
was wondering if you liked cats?  They're so soft and cuddly."  She 
stroked the cat some more, and it sleepily blinked its eyes open and 
stared curiously at Ranma.

C-c-cat, Ranma's thoughts stuttered, even as he mustered his control 
and continued to smile.  Having the catgirl and the small cat in her 
arms both eyeing him with slit-pupilled eyes was re-awakening his 
fears.  He sprang back involuntarily, food bowl still in hand.

"L-like c-c-cats?" babbled Ranma.  "O-of course I like them.  Who 
wouldn't l-like a c-cat?"  He saw Tiger studying him with an odd smile 
on her face, vaguely predatory, and that wasn't helping matters.

Tiger set down the cat and watched it scamper away.  She turned back to 
face Ranma and bared her fangs a little when she smiled at him once 
again.  Seeing the pigtailed boy visibly blanch at her confirmed her 
initial suspicions, and she patted Ranma on the cheek.

"Relax, Saotome-san," said Tiger, with a purring undertone to her 
voice.  "You seem a little tense."

"Oh, I-I'm just eager to get back to training," said Ranma.  "Let me 
just finish this."  With a blur of speed, he consumed the bowl of rice 
and several large chunks of beef.  "I'll see you inside."  He dashed 
into the dormitory building before Tiger could even blink.

"Interesting," murmured Tiger, her predatory smile returning.  She had 
a fun, new game to play, and she liked to play with her chosen prey.

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

"How is the training going, Coach?" asked Dean Fuyutsuki as he sat 
behind his desk, studying Fujinami seated across from him.

"Fairly well, sir," Fujinami replied.  "Even though it's only been a 
few days, Ranma's skills are showing definite improvement.  Perhaps not 
as quickly as I had hoped for during such an intensive program as we 
have him on now, but he's getting better.  Pain has always been an 
excellent motivator for improvement in the martial arts, and Tiger is 
working the boy harder than Nabiki ever did.  I'm quite confident in 
saying that he should defeat Utena Tenjou and regain the Academy's 
honor.  Saotome's a good kid, and he deserves that win after what we've 
been putting him through."

"Excellent news, Coach," said Fuyutsuki, a smile briefly crossing his 
face.  "How are your other two special students doing?  I assume that 
Coach Takami has kept you appraised of their progress?"

"Well, his reports say that without Ranma around, the two of them are 
acting much more open in their mutual dislike," replied Fujinami.  "He 
also thinks that the Tendo girl seems to enjoy lording her superior 
skills over the Kuno girl a bit much, but that's apparently making 
Kodachi work even harder to close the gap.  However, there's still a 
large difference between their relative skill levels, and, from the 
reports I get from Takami, I don't see that gap dwindling soon."

"Why is that, Fujinami-san?" asked Fuyutsuki with interest.

"Well, Nabiki has apparently been pushing her personal training even 
harder than ever," replied Fujinami, smiling a little.  "I think her 
own loss to Ranma shocked her deeply.  Takami also reports that she's 
been showing up at classes with her hands bandaged.  He isn't sure what 
she's doing on her own, but her speed is showing marked improvement.  
Ranma's going to have his hands full when he gets back.  He's getting 
better, but I think Nabiki's new level of speed is going to give her 
the edge over him.  I see the two of them having another challenge 
match not too long after Ranma finishes his business at Ohtori."

"Interesting developments, indeed, Coach," said Fuyutsuki, as he folded 
his hands together on his desk.  "Have you heard Ranma mention anything 
about this fighting style he's using?"

"Just the stories I hear from the cadets."  Fujinami flipped open the 
folder on his lap.  "I have it written down somewhere."

"The Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts?"

"That's the one, sir.  The same one that Nabiki Tendo apparently uses."

Fuyutsuki paused, and said, "I did some research, and I discovered the 
school was listed.  But my initial search found it in the archives of 
the Security Directorate, of all places."

"The Security Directorate?"

"Yes," answered Fuyutsuki, nodding.  "I did some further investigation 
into the matter and discovered many intriguing, perplexing things.  The 
Anything-Goes School is designated as a variant of Kempo, and scattered 
records of it indicate that it first came into existence over a century 
ago.  Yet, other than a few records about its founder's petty criminal 
activities, it was apparently never passed on to any students.  The 
school's founder is listed only by the singular name of Happosai, but 
he's not listed on any family registers.  I suspect that he wasn't even 
of Japanese ancestry, perhaps Chinese instead.  To double-check that I 
wasn't missing anything, I even did an in-depth search for the name 
using the genealogical archives at the Ministry of Information, but I 
found nothing.  As near as I can tell, this Happosai person was never 
born, never attended formal schooling of any sort, and he had no record 
of any military service.  Other than a criminal record that ends at the 
turn of the century, the only thing Happosai ever did that was of any 
significance to the Empire was to be credited with the founding of this 
mystery school of martial arts."

"Next you'll tell me that he never died," said Fujinami with a slight 
smile.

"No," said Fuyutsuki with a smile of his own.  "There you would be in 
error.  According to the records at the Security Directorate, Happosai 
once molested the Empress of that time.  He was tried, convicted, and 
executed for treason, all in a single day, in the year 1901.  The books 
and scrolls of his martial arts lore subsequently vanished, and there 
is no record of the school having surfaced since."

"Until now," said Fujinami, a little stunned.

"Yes," agreed Fuyutsuki with a slight smile.  "Until now."

"I've been watching both Ranma and Nabiki very closely ever since you 
brought me in to supervise their training," said Fujinami, a hint of 
amazement still in his voice.  "Frankly, their style is like nothing I 
have ever seen before.  I'm at a loss as to how to teach them.  I can 
work their physical skills, and set them loose upon each other in 
freestyle sparring, but they need a better instructor than me to train 
them.  And that's something I never would have expected to hear myself 
say."

"I know," said Fuyutsuki, standing up from his desk and moving to look 
out the window.  "However, because of the delicacy of this situation, 
the Tendo girl being the daughter of a highly-ranked official in the 
Security Directorate, I have decided to proceed with a good measure of 
caution.  The skills that Ranma and Nabiki both now possess lead me to 
wonder how they came to learn them.  I have a few theories, but I 
confess to being even more intrigued by the mystery they represent to 
me, now more than ever.  I have decided to play a waiting game for the 
present, and I'll watch how things proceed for just a little while 
longer, before I make a decision."

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on, Coach.  I have the utmost faith in your abilities."

"Yes, sir.  Thank you, sir."

Dean Fuyutsuki and Coach Fujinami exchanged bows, and then the larger 
man departed.  Fuyutsuki turned to face the window once again, his 
thoughts on Project Phoenix, and the implications of these startling 
new developments upon it.

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

The small fire blazed away, crackling merrily as Nabiki fed it several 
small twigs and a few larger sticks.  She sat back on her haunches and 
considered the flames.  As she did so, she slowly began to unwrap the 
cloth bandages from around her hands, letting them fall into a pile.  
She had been pushing her body to its limits to increase her speed, and 
enduring the pains of her burns stoically.  Perhaps only Ranma could 
understand why she was doing this.  That thought brought an amused 
smile to her face, since it was because of him that she was here now.

The Amaguriken Technique.

She had been training hard to master it for over a week, and still it 
continued to hover somewhere just beyond her grasp.  Her analog had 
done it faster, but the gap between them had narrowed substantially 
because Nabiki had been pushing herself so hard lately.  So what was 
taking her so long?  Why wasn't she fast enough yet?

Nabiki closed her eyes and began to meditate, to calm and focus herself  
before trying once again.  Her thoughts refused to be still, drifting 
to contemplations about her counterpart, blissfully living out her own 
life on another version of Earth.  That other Nabiki was a much more 
action-oriented girl, and far too impulsive for her own good, but some 
of that Nabiki lived in her now.  It had changed her in ways she was 
still discovering.  She wasn't fully the cold-hearted girl she had once 
been, but she also wasn't the impetuous jock that her analog was.  Just 
who was Nabiki Tendo anymore?

Losing to Ranma had been a blow to her ego, and her decision to train 
herself in the Amaguriken Technique had been an admittedly impulsive 
reaction to that loss.  But Ranma was not a better fighter than she 
was.  Before his own experiences with the resonator, he had been less 
of a fighter than even her old self had been.  She could even admit to 
feeling angry at Ranma for beating her, in front of the whole Academy 
yet.  She knew she was his superior, and she intended to prove that to 
him.  But, each time she failed to master this technique, it only 
further aroused her desires to succeed.

Nabiki's thoughts paused.  How did she really feel about Ranma?

Fact: Ranma was her fiancé.

Fact: Ranma was her rival.

That was the core of her present emotional dilemma.  Her counterpart 
was not one for self-analysis, a product of her upbringing, but gaining 
that Nabiki's experiences had caused her to re-evaluate herself, her 
feelings about Ranma, and how she wanted to live her life from now on.  
Things were also changing around her, in so many ways.

How did she feel about Ranma?  And why did her thoughts keep coming 
back to him?  Nabiki growled deep in her throat at feeling so out of 
control of her emotions.  Before gaining her analog's memories, she had 
possessed an almost total control over her feelings, emulating the cold 
nature of her father in some subconscious quest for his approval.  But 
things were different now.  Intellectually, she knew she didn't have to 
go through life alone, but it felt scary to open herself to someone, to 
drop her defenses and be so vulnerable.

Ranma Saotome.  He had been such a quiet sort before, devoting himself 
to his research project and his studies, never even associating much 
with his fellow Science cadets.  As far as she knew, Ranma still didn't 
have any friends to speak of, other than herself and her rivals for his 
attentions.  Yet, was she much different?  Sure, she had her own little 
entourage, sometimes going out with them to clubs and such.  Only Yohko 
Mano came close to being what Nabiki would call a friend.  "Trust no 
one," had long been her credo, and so no one had been permitted entry 
into Nabiki Tendo's private life.

That had been true until that night in Ranma's lab changed her forever.

There were also her rivals to consider.  Akane was getting involved 
with Furinkan's Combat Club, and she was sure to find a boy there who 
suited her tastes.  Kodachi was proving to be irritating, bringing 
Ranma sumptuous lunches and subtly enticing him with her wiles.  Ukyo 
was a relative unknown, and it had been a surprise to see her at Ohtori 
Academy earlier that day.  Still, Nabiki doubted that Ukyo would be any 
sort of challenge.  That brought her to the last rival to contend with.

Utena Tenjou, the so-called "Prince of Ohtori."  She refused to believe 
that Ranma had slept with the girl, but something had happened between 
the two of them that night.  Nabiki's quest to find Utena and explain 
things to her in no uncertain terms had been an utter failure.  All she 
had gained for her efforts today was to get into a meaningless conflict 
with one of Ohtori's cadre of Security cadets, a girl by the name of 
Haruka Tenoh.  She had been dealing with the crop-haired brute fairly 
well, until more of Ohtori's Security cadets had shown up.  If it 
hadn't been for Toga Kiryu intervening, things could have become a bit 
difficult.

Nabiki opened her eyes when she felt a blush flood her cheeks.  Toga 
had possessed a certain charm, and a presence that was undeniable.  His 
touch had been electric, very similar to the sensations she felt when 
Ranma had held her hand.  It would serve Ranma Saotome right if she 
flaunted another boy in his face, especially a handsome one like Toga 
Kiryu.  She shook her head.  She was getting off track.

Ranma's current sparring partner was another concern, a biomechanical 
love doll who could also fight.  A tremor ran down Nabiki's back at the 
thought of what she was, a catgirl.  Tiger was her name, part of an 
impressive trio of females that accompanied one of the underclassmen 
around, a boy named Kinnosuke Kashuoh, a Science cadet from a wealthy 
family.  Nabiki had once considered him to be her secret nemesis, but 
had ultimately rejected the notion.  After all, why would someone that 
wealthy want to bother with taking over her business enterprises?  He 
had loaned Tiger to the Academy to prepare Ranma for his upcoming 
rematch at Ohtori in a few days.  It had been the talk of the student 
body this week.

Nabiki had seen Tiger around campus for months, strutting along behind 
her owner like a faithful hound.  The boys on campus envied Kinnosuke 
for having his own harem, and the girls were jealous of the trio for 
their looks.  Nabiki shivered again at the thought of them, a clear 
sign of the Neko-ken asserting itself within her.  She hadn't seen 
Ranma running in terror around the campus, so either his counterpart 
hadn't undergone the Neko-ken training, or he was somehow keeping it 
under control.

The fire was burning down, so she fed it a few more sticks.  Taking a 
deep breath and letting it out, Nabiki realized that she was as ready 
as she ever would be.  She flexed her hands, her focus narrowed upon 
the flames before her.  She would not fail again.  She had to be the 
best.  Picking up the open bag of sweet chestnuts next to her, she 
tossed the contents into the flames.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Nabiki's hands became blurs, streaking in and out of the flames.  When 
it was over, she raised her fists to the sky, her hands unburned.  A 
throaty chuckle bubbled up from deep within her.  She looked forward to 
showing Ranma Saotome just who truly was the better fighter between 
them.  The next time she faced off against the pigtailed boy, she would 
be the winner.

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

Kuno stood still, his blade poised in his hands, as his father watched 
for the slightest flaw in his technique.  He eyed the target, his hand 
shifting his grip ever so slightly.  For days he had been perfecting 
his skills with the sword, and dealing with his father's blunt teaching 
methods.  He was a far different instructor than his former teacher had 
been, harsher in manner and offering fewer words of praise.

Lord Kuno tapped his bokken against his knee and looked a little bored, 
but it was all an act.  His son had proven to be a very apt pupil, and 
he could confess that it had been enjoyable to train the boy in the 
finer aspects of the Kuno Family style of swordsmanship.  Memories of 
time spent with his own father had come back to him during the last few 
days, before his own youthful rebelliousness had driven a rift between 
father and son.  It was a rift that had never fully healed even at the 
time of his sire's death.  Lord Kuno's obligations at court had acted 
to prevent him from performing his paternal duties to his own son and 
heir, but he was resolved to correct that oversight now that he had 
awakened to its existence.

"Focus your will on the point of your blade, my son," said Lord Kuno, 
almost gently.  "Let the power of your chi flow through it."

"Yes, Father," said Kuno, as a soft, bluish glow began to emanate from 
his body.  He gathered his will to a single point at the tip of his 
blade, and then he released it as he thrust forward, the energy somehow 
accelerating his blows even faster than he had ever performed them 
before.  "Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!"

The wooden target disintegrated under the power of Kuno's rapid-fire 
blows, and even the wall behind it began to buckle and warp from the 
air pressure generated by them.  The wood and stone were reacting as if 
caught by the focused force of a hurricane.  With a last shattering 
wrench, a two-meter wide hole was ripped through the wall, scattering 
chunks of stone and shards of wood out across the grass outside.

"Excellent, my boy!" cheered Lord Kuno in congratulations.  In truth, 
he was both pleased and astonished that his son had managed to master 
the technique so quickly.  Less than a week had gone by, after all.

The last traces of chi fire fading from his bokken, Kuno saluted his 
father with the weapon.  Never before had he felt so powerful.  No, he 
was now invincible.  Ranma Saotome would fall to this new technique, 
and Kuno was eager to demonstrate it to him.  After his inevitable 
victory over his foe, and with Ranma's beaten body in tow, Kuno would 
be in a much better position to demand that his sister have nothing 
further to do with the pigtailed boy.  But there was a more immediate 
concern for the young heir to the Kuno Family.

Tomorrow night was to be the marriage meeting with the Tendo family.  A 
vision of the two sisters filled his mind, inciting him with desires 
for them.  The two girls were certain to be enamored of him, when they 
saw the wealth and power that would be theirs by joining themselves to 
him, especially when combined with his magnificent physical appearance.  
It was a most glorious time to be Tatewaki Kuno.

Lord Kuno wasn't sure why his son suddenly broke out into a gale of 
laughter.  He could only attribute it to youthful exuberance at having 
mastered a new combat technique.

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

Kenseiko paused in her workout, feeling her shoulder muscle spasm a 
bit.  She gritted her teeth at the brief pain, a sign that she wasn't 
quite as young as she used to be.  Sometimes, she felt she might be 
getting too old for such a childish thing as revenge, but then she 
remembered the old anger that Nodoka's re-appearance in her life had 
resurrected from the dead.  She was still young enough to close the 
book on her business with that particular she-demon.  Her resolve re-
affirmed, Kenseiko eyed the results of her handiwork as she kneaded the 
muscle in her shoulder with one hand.  She absently noted with approval 
the precision of her strikes upon the training dummy.  As she studied 
it, one of the dummy's arms came loose and fell with a clatter, and she 
smirked.  She had gotten much better with her chosen weapons, and 
Nodoka Saotome would soon enough learn who the superior warrior was.

"There is a flaw in your technique, my dear wife," said Lord Kuno from 
the doorway.  He quirked his lips slightly at the glare she gave him in 
reply, before she realized who he was.  Rubbing the sweat from his neck 
with a towel, he stepped into the room.  His training with his son was 
done for tonight, and he had been on his way to the baths when he heard 
Kenseiko's efforts.

Her lips a little tight, Kenseiko asked, "Perhaps My Lord would care to 
show me where this flaw is?"  She took up a stance, her warfans firmly 
gripped in her hands.  "I confess that I don't see it."

"If you insist, My Lady," said Lord Kuno coolly.  He eyed Kenseiko in 
her workout clothes: skintight leotard pants and a loose top, done in 
greens and purples, and black boots on her feet.  He took a moment to 
admire her sculpted body, and how well she had kept her figure all of 
the many years that they had been married.

Without preamble, they engaged in combat, Lord Kuno's bokken versus 
Kenseiko's twin warfans.  There was the sound of weapons clashing as 
they fought, the ring of steel and the crack of hardened wood.  It was 
a battle of skill, and it re-ignited memories of their past youth.

"My Lord has lost none of his famed skill," Kenseiko noted with a 
sultry smile.  It had been months since they had last dueled, and she 
was pleased that he was still as capable as ever.

"My Lady is too kind," replied Lord Kuno, as he circled his wary wife.  
She had improved since last time, but he could still see the old flaw 
in her technique.

Kenseiko said with a broader smile, "Perhaps My Lord imagined the flaw 
that he claimed to see."  She rushed to engage him, sensing a momentary 
weakness in his defense.

"No," said Lord Kuno, swiftly ducking under one of her warfan attacks 
and narrowly evading a solid kick that would have disabled him if it 
had connected.  "I can still see it, and the flaw is there."  As he 
spoke, he struck out, the point of his bokken passing through the small 
opening in her defenses.  He succeeded in tapping his wife's shoulder 
quite easily, and she blinked.

"I-it's true," Kenseiko said in a small voice.  She slumped to her 
knees, looking upwards at him.  "How long have you known?"

Lord Kuno knelt down and put an arm around Kenseiko, surprised to feel 
her trembling.  He said gently, "You've always had it, my dear wife, 
for as long as I can remember.  I kept it to myself, an old habit from 
my youth whenever I found a flaw in an opponent's defenses.  I am sorry 
if I have hurt your feelings."

Kenseiko went from trembling, on the edge of sobbing, to gradually 
giving off a throaty, almost seductive chuckling.  She looked up at her 
husband through lowered eyelashes, the sultry smile back upon her face.

"Help me eliminate this flaw in my technique, My Lord," said Kenseiko 
huskily.  "I have a very old score to settle, and this would aid me 
greatly."

Caught by surprise by the violent passions in his wife's gaze, Lord 
Kuno could only nod.  He was knocked off-balance when Kenseiko flung 
herself at him, their bodies coming to rest with hers astride his.  She 
bent down and kissed him passionately.

"My Lord has earned his wife's gratitude," said Kenseiko, beginning to 
remove her top.  "Let me show you how wondrous a prize that is."  And, 
in the back of her mind, she imagined how sweet her victory over Nodoka 
would be, after all these years of delay.

Feeling passions bubbling within her like she was a teenager again at 
the thought of the revenge finally to be hers, Kenseiko began to show 
her husband just how grateful she would be for his help.  The servants 
thoughtfully closed the doors to the training hall, to give the pair 
some privacy as she did so.

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

With night fully settled upon Tokyo, Kozo Fuyutsuki strolled down the 
streets of Nerima, a small leather satchel under his arm.  He nodded 
politely at the pair of Peaceforcers in their little booth and briefly 
sniffed the air.  A fair number of restaurants lined both sides of the 
street here, a neighborhood known as having some of the best in the 
region.  Each of them added their own touch to the scents in the air.  
Foot traffic was lightening, the dinner crowd fading off.

He passed a vacant lot, stopping in front of the building next to it.  
Inhaling, he caught the distinctive aroma of cooking okonomiyaki, and  
nodded at finally having located his destination.  Yu-chan's was pretty 
famous locally, but Fuyutsuki had never eaten there before.  He was 
looking forward to sampling the cuisine while he discussed the nature 
of his visit with the owner.  He slid open the door and stepped inside.

"Welcome to Yu-chan's," said Yumi reflexively, briefly looking up from 
her cooking to see a stranger standing in the doorway.  She flashed a 
friendly smile at him.  "What can I get you?"  She swiftly flipped two 
okonomiyaki onto plates for her other remaining customers.

"A shrimp okonomiyaki would be nice," replied Fuyutsuki as he settled 
himself at the counter.

Yumi nodded at him and said, "One shrimp special coming right up."

Fuyutsuki smiled back at her and watched as she turned around and 
poured a puddle of batter on the grill.  The smell coming from the 
cooking okonomiyaki was tantalizing, reminding him that he had skipped 
lunch again.  He watched her mix in a healthy portion of shrimp even as 
the dough began to simmer, and he was rather surprised to find himself 
admiring Yumi's backside while she worked.  He noted that she was tall 
for a woman, possessing an athletic build overlaid on a solid frame.  
But, she still moved lithely, and with a dancer's grace.  Fuyutsuki was 
a bit surprised at himself for gawking like an adolescent at a woman, 
considering himself to be too much the detached scientist, as well as a 
confirmed bachelor, to pay much attention to such things.

"Nice place you have here," said Fuyutsuki somewhat inanely, glancing 
around the room.  The other two customers, salarymen on their way home 
after a long day at work, ate without talking.

"Best okonomiyaki you'll ever find, anywhere in the Empire," said Yumi 
proudly.  She flipped over the cooking okonomiyaki at exactly the 
perfect moment by well-trained instinct, letting the other side begin 
to brown.

"Sounds like I'm in for a treat."  Fuyutsuki sniffed the air, the smell 
of the food bringing back memories.  "You're Yumi Kuonji?"

"You got it, handsome," said Yumi with a twinkle in her eyes.  She had 
sensed him studying her when her back was turned, and it was flattering 
to know that she could still catch a man's attention.  "Yumi's my name, 
okonomiyaki's my game."  Her ponytail bobbed as she turned around to 
casually flip the finished product of her efforts onto a plate.  She 
slid it in front of Fuyutsuki and waited expectantly.

Fuyutsuki inhaled the aroma rising with the steam, and said, "Smells 
delicious."  He took a bite and blinked.  The taste was extraordinary, 
the best he had ever eaten.

Yumi smirked with pride at the look of enjoyment on Fuyutsuki's face.

Fuyutsuki continued to eat, savoring the flavors, as the two salarymen 
finished gulping down their own meals.  They paid and left, hurrying to 
get home.  His own was also finished a short time later, but he wasn't 
in any rush to leave until he had taken care of his business.

"Anything else I can get for you, sir?" asked Yumi pleasantly.  She 
waited for his reply, briefly glancing at the clock.  Ukyo still hadn't 
gotten back from her little hunting trip at Ohtori yet, and Yumi was 
beginning to get a little worried about the girl.  But, a moment later, 
she realized how motherly she was sounding and shook her head ruefully.
 
"Well, I did have some business that I wanted to discuss with you," 
said Fuyutsuki as he picked up his satchel and unbuckled the straps.  
He pulled out a picture of Ukyo from within it, taken at her last 
school, and laid it on the counter.  "It concerns your niece, Ukyo.  
Allow me to introduce myself.  I'm Kozo Fuyutsuki, Dean of the Imperial 
Academy."  He handed Yumi one of his business cards.

"Shouldn't her parents be the ones to talk to about something like 
this, Fuyutsuki-san?" Yumi asked, glancing at the card.  "Ukyo's just 
staying with me."

Fuyutsuki nodded and said, "Well, Ukyo was already offered a spot at 
the Academy several months ago, but she was still involved in training 
with her grandfather at the time and couldn't accept.  So, when I heard 
that she was in the area, I decided to come meet her in person.  Is she 
here?"

"Ukyo's out taking care of some personal business tonight," replied 
Yumi evasively.  "I'm not sure when she'll be back."

Fuyutsuki nodded, picked up the picture of Ukyo and put it back in his 
satchel.  "I understand," he said.  "But have her call me in the next 
couple of days.  Your niece has a lot of potential, and I truly feel 
that the Imperial Academy would offer her more opportunities than she 
could get anywhere else.  I'll also leave some forms for her to fill 
out, if she decides to attend."

"I'll pass them along, Fuyutsuki-san," said Yumi, taking the small 
stack of papers that he offered her.  She watched him close up his 
satchel bag and set some money on the counter.  She bowed, a slight 
smile on her face.  "Perhaps you could return sometime.  I would be 
honored to cook for you again."

"Thank you, Kuonji-san," said Fuyutsuki with a bow of his own.  "I 
would like that.  Until next time."  He picked up his bag and departed.

After he had left, Yumi flipped the sign in the window from "Open" to 
"Closed" and pulled the shades.  She took a deep breath and let it out, 
then bopped her forehead once with her fist.  She reviewed the recent 
scene in her restaurant and shook her head.

"I would be honored to cook for you again, Fuyutsuki-kun," said Yumi to 
the empty air, her voice sugary and her eyes wide and innocent-looking.  
Returning her expression to normal, she wrinkled her nose and shook her 
head again.  "Where the hell did that come from?  That didn't sound 
like me at all."  Watching her niece go all soft in the head over some 
boy must have started to affect her too.  She snorted and continued to 
lock up.

Ukyo came in the back door while Yumi was finishing up in front.  As 
she locked the door, the young ninja was startled to suddenly feel a 
presence behind her, and she swung around a fist in reflex.  The blow 
was turned aside, but no counterstrike was thrown at her.

"You're late, young lady," said Yumi calmly.

"Sorry," Ukyo mumbled.  She tried to avoid showing her aunt the bruise 
she wore under one eye, replacing the healed one that Utena had given 
her a few days ago.  All she wanted to do was to go to her bed, fall in 
it, and sleep.

"I take it that things didn't go so well?"  Yumi turned Ukyo's face to 
better see her niece's blackened eye.  "Utena again?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," said Ukyo sourly.  Seeing her aunt's 
sudden frown, she gulped.  "Sorry, Auntie.  Can we talk about this 
later?  I'm really tired."

Yumi nodded and said, "I understand, Ukyo-chan.  I was young once, too.  
Just call me the next time you're going to be so late, okay?  If you 
don't, I might have to get medieval on you.  You wouldn't like to see 
me when I'm really angry."  She grinned disarmingly.

"Okay, Auntie," laughed Ukyo, already feeling a little better.  She 
headed off to bed, thinking of nothing more than blessed slumber.

Behind her, Yumi smiled and shook her head.  Her niece reminded her all 
too much of herself at that age, when all she cared about was food, 
fighting, and pursuing a certain boy who had held a special place in 
her heart, not necessarily in that order.  Ukyo was heading down the 
same path, and all Yumi could hope was that she could give the girl the 
benefit of her experience.  She shook her head again.

"We're both idiots."

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

Ranma absently picked at the food on his plate, wondering once again 
why he was letting the Dean put him through this abuse.  He glanced 
over briefly at Tiger, seeing the catgirl comfortably perched on a 
chair as she consumed her own dinner.  She chose that moment to flick 
one of her catlike ears, and Ranma gulped involuntarily at the sight.  
Quickly busying himself with the task of consuming his meal, Ranma 
tried to keep his mind off of his sparring partner.  His match against 
Utena was in just a couple of days, and he had to focus on that thought 
to keep the fear at bay.  When that was all over, then he could turn 
his full attentions back to rescuing his father.  Who knows what sort 
of chaos could be besetting him in that other world?

Tiger sensed Ranma's attention dropping away from her, and she smirked 
for a moment.  Even after five days of time spent with the pigtailed 
boy, she had yet to grow bored with tormenting him.  It was a very 
pleasant diversion in some ways.

Pathetic coward, thought Tiger disdainfully, before quickly consuming 
another large piece of raw tuna.  To think that a great warrior like 
her beloved Kinnosuke-sama would even consider a weakling like Ranma 
Saotome to be any potential challenge at all was laughable.  Still, she 
was following his orders to her with the utmost diligence.  The bruises 
she could see on Ranma's face were the signs of just how dedicated she 
had been in obeying them.

I'm a scientist, not a warrior, Ranma mused, eating his meal with more 
vigor.  I should be in a lab, not getting my body beaten black and blue 
by some c-c-c- by some weird girl with ears.  What the hell was I even 
thinking?  Do I really care if the world thinks I lost to Utena?  He 
stabbed at the meat on his plate, impaling it on his chopstick.  The 
morsel quickly disappeared into his mouth.

Her own meal finally finished, Tiger set down her bowl and stretched 
luxuriantly.  A few minor kinks in her shoulders and lower back worked 
themselves out, and she briefly sighed with pleasure.  She was looking 
forward to another invigorating session of beating Ranma unconscious a 
few more times, followed up by a snack, and then a nice, hot bath.  The 
look of terror she could sometimes see in his eyes when she sparred 
with him was an added bonus.  It appealed to her nature, the thrill of 
tormenting her chosen prey.

Ranma swallowed another mouthful of food, then blinked when he realized 
that he was done with his meal.  He set his bowl down and relaxed for a 
moment, while keeping his eyes turned away from Tiger.  He had gotten 
this stupid phobia from a version of himself that existed on a world 
where Shampoo was cursed to turn into a guy.  That other analog of 
himself, the one where he had initially gained his fighting skills 
from, had never suffered through that horrible training.  The pigtailed 
boy closed his eyes, once again reminiscing though memories not his own 
to try and bring them all into some semblance of order.

Days spent fighting to control this fear, while also trying to fight 
Tiger, had been wearing away at his nerves.  But Ranma ardently refused 
to surrender to it.  His logical side kept telling him that he had 
absolutely nothing to fear, even as his emotional side wanted to run 
away in terror.  The combination of stresses were getting to him.

Ranma Saotome wasn't a coward, something he had to remind himself of 
now and again, and he was certain he would conquer this fear.  He just 
needed to simply hold out against it for long enough, to build up his 
mental resistance like he would strengthen a muscle.  But there lurked 
that constant temptation, to just give up and let the Cat Fist take 
him.  After all, it was supposed to be an invincible technique, one 
that the replicant girl would not be able to match.  The problem would 
be in explaining it afterwards.  No, he would have to deal with this 
without resorting to the Neko-ken.

"You ready for another round, Saotome-san?" asked Tiger pleasantly, her 
half-purring tones interrupting Ranma in mid-thought.  She came over 
and stood in front of him, almost striking a pose, her fists resting 
against her hips.

"Gimme a minute, okay?" Ranma replied.  When she didn't move from in 
front of him, he risked a brief glance at her.  "What?"

"You're really not much of a warrior, are you?" Tiger observed.  "You 
just don't seem to have the stomach for it."

That casual statement hurt, surprising Ranma.  How was it that words 
spoken by someone else, even ones similar to his own recent thoughts, 
could make him feel a wound to his pride?  It didn’t make sense to him.

"You don't know what you're talking about," said Ranma quietly, looking 
away once again.  He couldn't even explain the vacillations in his own 
thoughts to himself.  Sometimes, he felt an eagerness within himself 
for the challenge of a strong opponent, to have another chance to test 
his skills against another.  Then there were times like now, when Ranma 
just wanted to go back to being the way he once was.  But the pigtailed 
boy could admit that his periods of regret were becoming fewer.  And 
his life was continuing to evolve in ways that brought with it a sense 
of wonder.  In a certain way, he liked what he was becoming, enjoying 
the new skills he had.  But it also sometimes bothered him, deep down 
inside, to see how easily he was adapting to being this new Ranma 
Saotome.
 
Tiger snorted disdainfully at Ranma's words.  She glanced at the clock, 
noting that Coach Fujinami wouldn't be back for a short while yet.  She 
returned her gaze to Ranma, who was still avoiding looking at her.

"After spending a few days with you, I think I have a good idea," said 
Tiger with a grin.  "You don't like fighting, do you?"

The mocking tone in her voice bothered Ranma, more than he would care 
to admit.  Whenever Coach Fujinami was around, Tiger was very polite, 
cheerful, and even deferential to them both.  But whenever he was alone 
with her, the catgirl displayed more personality than Ranma had ever 
suspected a mere replicant could possess.  It was as if she was toying 
with him for some reason, but he couldn't figure out why she would ever 
want to torment him.  Until a few days ago in the Dean's office, he had 
only ever seen her from a distance, her and the other two catgirls who 
acted as bodyguards for one of his fellow Science cadets.

Tiger's words also brought Ranma back to his own musings, about how he 
really felt about fighting nowadays.  Losing oneself within competition 
against another was... fun.  It was something that Akane Tendo had once 
told him, but to find himself in agreement with it was perplexing.  It 
bothered him to learn that he could feel that way about an activity as 
primitive as fighting.  It went against his self-image.  But was that 
self-image still true?  Who was Ranma Saotome anymore?

"You're wrong," Ranma said softly.

Tiger cocked an ear forward and leaned down a little.  The maneuver 
would have given Ranma an excellent view of her cleavage displayed 
within her gi top, if he had just lifted his gaze from the floor.

"Am I?"

"Yes," growled Ranma.  The sudden surge of anger within him brought his 
eyes up reflexively, the goal being to give her a defiant glare, but 
the up-close view of Tiger's bosom stopped him in mid-motion.  A slight 
trickle of blood leaked from one of his nostrils, and Ranma gave off a 
sort of squeaking, swallowing sound.

Tiger took that as her cue.  She hauled the pigtailed boy up by his 
shirt before he could react, and hurled him as hard as she could in the 
general direction of the training area.  The solid wall that had once 
separated them from it acquired a new opening, pleasing the catgirl.

As she strolled towards the training area, Tiger was delighted to note 
that Ranma hadn't yet lost consciousness.  She smiled as she watched 
him groggily regaining his feet, absently cracking her knuckles for a 
few moments.  The catgirl then launched into a devastating series of 
punches and kicks against the pigtailed boy.  After all, she had been 
instructed to toughen him up, and it amused her to see how few of her 
blows Ranma could take before falling.  As much as her beloved wanted a 
strong opponent, Tiger just could not see it as ever being Ranma 
Saotome.

To his credit, Ranma managed to sustain a fairly credible defense by 
sheer reflex alone, even while half-stunned.  But it only lasted for a 
few seconds before it was torn down, allowing the catgirl to begin 
pummeling him with impunity.  Ranma's second to last thought before 
consciousness left him was to wonder what the girls had been up to 
while he was training.  The last one was to wonder why he would think 
that.

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

Soun Tendo had heard many startling things in his life when it came to 
his daughters, going all the way back to when Kimiko had announced that 
she was pregnant with Kasumi.  This time was no exception.  Luckily, he 
was well-schooled in hiding his emotions, so his startlement was not at 
all apparent.

"I'm sorry, Your Lordship," said Soun calmly.  "But, what did you just 
say?"

Lord Daisho Kuno looked a little bit uncomfortable.  He glanced over at 
his wife, noted the firm set to her jaw, and sighed internally.  He 
hadn't thought that Soun Tendo would agree to anything like this, but 
he had to follow through for form's sake.

"My son desires to take both of your two daughters as his concubines, 
pending his marriage to a daughter of noble blood," said Lord Kuno.

Kodachi smirked, ever so slightly, as she regarded her rivals for 
Ranma's attentions with an otherwise detached look.  This was very 
entertaining for her.

Akane blinked.  The subtle smirk that Kodachi was giving her from the 
other side of the table was not helping her mood.  Her gaze slid over 
to meet the lustful regard that Tatewaki Kuno was giving her at that 
moment.  A frown crossed her features, and her hands tightened into 
fists beneath the table top, bunching the cloth of her yukata.  How 
dare this pompous lordling look at her like she was some sort of sex 
object?  Besides, she knew she was destined to be Ranma's wife, if she 
had any say in the matter.

Nabiki's attention focussed briefly on Kenseiko, meeting the older 
woman's gaze.  The two regarded each other coolly, and Nabiki was 
satisfied when she saw Kenseiko break eye contact first.  She smirked 
slightly at that.

Seeing that expression on Nabiki's face startled Kenseiko, but she hid 
it well.  Still, Nabiki was reminding her more and more of Kimiko, and 
that was raising unpleasant memories.  She's got her mother's smug 
attitudes, Kenseiko thought sourly, her face still betraying no sign of 
her feelings.

Nabiki turned her gaze to Tatewaki, not quite glaring at the nobleman.  
The urge to toss him through the nearest window was tempting, but she 
resisted for now.  Her expression remained calm.

Tatewaki Kuno saw the two Tendo sisters looking at him, and he basked 
in their regard.  He noted that both were obviously speechless with 
gratitude at the chance to become his concubines, and Kuno resolved 
himself to proving himself worthy of their love.  They were both so 
beautiful, he wondered how he could live without possessing them.  He 
had to have them both.

"While I am honored that your son would seek to make such an offer to 
my daughters, Your Lordship," said Soun in his best diplomatic tones.  
"I am afraid that I promised their departed mother that I would see to 
it that all of them became wives.  I hope Your Lordship can understand 
my situation."

Tatewaki blinked as his pleasant fantasy involving himself and both 
Tendo sisters imploded with an almost audible pop.

"Of course, Tendo-san," said Lord Kuno magnanimously, grateful at 
having been offered a chance to save face.  He turned to look at his 
wife.

"The wishes of a mother should be paramount when it comes to the future 
happiness of a daughter," said Kenseiko grandly.  She was grateful that 
Nabiki would never become a part of her household, even if only as a 
concubine to her son.  The girl's eyes were clever, too clever by far.  
She could also see a bit of her old nemesis' thuggish tendencies in the 
younger daughter.  The thought of her beloved son ever siring children 
on these two was a repellant notion, now that she had met them.  She 
was glad that their father was rejecting the matter.  That would leave 
her free to put all of her attentions on getting Tatewaki engaged to a 
girl that would be far more suitable to him.

"Tendo-san!" cried Kuno in dismay.  He glanced at his father and mother 
in shock, before returning his gaze to Soun.  "I offer your daughters 
an honored place amidst wealth and splendor!  How can you refuse this?"

"Some things just aren't meant to be, Kuno-kun," said Nabiki, rising 
from her seated position.  "Perhaps it will happen in another life."

"Yeah," said Akane, also rising to her feet.  "Thanks, but no thanks."  
There was only one man for her, and she wasn't going to let anything 
get in her way of claiming him, especially not a weakling like Kuno.  
After all, he hadn't even beaten her in a fight.  How could she love a 
man so weak?

Kodachi watched her brother visibly deflating as his dream faded, and 
she was suddenly inspired.  Her brother never could resist a challenge.

"Alas, brother dear," said Kodachi, looking at Kuno with false sadness.  
"I fear your desires shall remain unfulfilled.  Even if Tendo-san were 
to change his mind, you would still be unable to possess them.  They 
both require a strong man to be with.  Isn't that right, Nabiki Tendo?"

"That's right," agreed Nabiki with a nod, and then glanced at Kodachi, 
noting the guileless look on her face.  The noblewoman had played her 
well, and she was irritated that Kodachi had been able to do so.

"I am a strong man!" roared Kuno.

"Then prove it, brother dear," said Kodachi with a calm look.  "Nabiki 
Tendo here fancies herself to be a strong fighter.  Challenge her and 
prove it."

Nabiki glared briefly at Kodachi for her remarks, and grimaced slightly 
when she noticed Kuno looking her over.  If he did decide to challenge 
her skills, she was obligated to accept, for her counterpart's code of 
honor required no less.  It was annoying to find herself bound to obey 
such bushido rhetoric, but she accepted it philosophically.

Sometimes you just can't fight fate, mused Nabiki.  And this seemed to 
be one of those times.  Still, the thought of fighting with Kuno was 
kind of intriguing, since she did find him to be attractive on some 
deeper level, something she was still a little surprised at herself to 
feel.  Not that he would be any real challenge, especially with her new 
speed, but it might be fun for a minute or two.

"Very well," said Kuno, calming down.  "Nabiki Tendo, I challenge you."

"I accept your challenge, Tatewaki Kuno," said Nabiki.  She smirked as 
a sudden inspiration struck her.  "If you win, then I'll go out with 
you on a date.  If I win, you'll leave me and my sister alone for a 
week."

"Done!" cried Kuno.

"Your Lordship," said Soun, hoping to regain control of this situation.  
"I respectfully ask that you put a stop to all this."

"Don't worry, Daddy," said Nabiki confidently.  "I'm not going to lose 
this fight."

"We shall see, Nabiki Tendo," murmured Lord Kuno, ignoring Soun for a 
moment to study the girl.  "We shall see."

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

Nabiki watched Kuno limbering up with a lazy look.  After all, Ranma 
had defeated this version of Kuno several times now, so he wasn't very 
tough.  She was contemplating ways that she could prolong the match a 
bit, since she didn't want to utterly humiliate him.  Nabiki absently 
fingered the borrowed gi she was wearing, one of Kodachi's, as she 
thought about it.

"Good luck, Sis," said Akane with a sincere smile, clapping her on the 
shoulder.  "I'll be rooting for you."  The youngest Tendo was genuinely 
looking forward to watching her sister fight, but she also had ulterior 
motives.  Since Nabiki still refused to teach her any of this new style 
she was using, Akane realized she would have to learn it by watching it 
in action.  It would be a challenge to do so without Nabiki realizing 
what she was doing, but Akane had always possessed a strong gift for 
picking up new combat techniques.  She would memorize her sister's 
movements and break them down later, analyzing each one's strengths and 
weaknesses to add to her own repertoire.

Akane's own fight with Sakura Kasugano was set for this Saturday, only 
two days from now, and she had been training hard to be as ready for it 
as she could be.  She wanted to join the Combat Club as badly as she 
wanted Ranma Saotome, and she had never before imagined that she could 
ever desire a boy as strongly as she loved to fight.  She had also been 
mulling over her disappointing trip to Ohtori, and also the unfinished 
business she still had with a certain pink-haired bimbo.  She was still 
puzzled as to why Nabiki had been at Ohtori, since her sister's answers 
during the ride home were unsatisfying.  She stepped away when their 
father approached.

"Are you sure about this, Nabiki-chan?" asked Soun, concern leaking out 
through his emotional controls.  While waiting for Nabiki to change for 
the match, he had smoked several cigarettes, but they had done very 
little to calm his nerves.  He hadn't felt this nervous for a long 
time, but he could admit to also feeling proud of his daughter too.  
She looked fit and ready to take on the world, so much like her mother 
had once been.  He absently pulled out another cigarette and lit it up.

Across the mat of the training hall, Lord Kuno studied the Tendo girl 
and noted the confident casualness of her stance.  She was ready for a 
fight, without looking ready.  It was a most difficult technique to 
master, and the sign of an almost preternatural skill in the martial 
arts.  He was interested in seeing how his son fared against her.

Kenseiko was torn in her desires, watching both sides of the training 
hall with equal interest.  She didn’t want her beloved son to lose to a 
daughter of Kimiko's, but the thought of Tatewaki sullying himself in 
the embrace of one was equally as concerning.  As a loving mother, one 
who only desired the best for her little boy, who should she root for?

Kodachi was enjoying the little drama unfolding before her when Akane 
Tendo came over and stood next to her.

"I don't understand what your game is, debutante." Akane remarked in 
greeting.  She dropped down onto the bench next to Kodachi without 
waiting for an invitation and helped herself to some of the tea from 
the pot.  She studied Kodachi as the other girl quietly sipped her tea, 
studiously trying to ignore her.

Kodachi inwardly restrained herself from attacking Akane for acting so 
familiarly with one of her social betters.  She also made a mental note 
to pummel the girl for her rude impertinence at a more opportune time.  
Ignoring her did not appear to be working, since Akane was making no 
moves to leave her presence.

"Your sister is a skilled fighter," Kodachi said with reluctance.  "But 
so is my brother.  I am curious to see how they fare in a match-up."  
She smiled at her own wit, a double meaning that she was certain a 
dullard like Akane wouldn't pick up on.  It was astonishing to the 
young noblewoman how such a muscle-bound barbarian as Akane was could 
possibly think that she could take Ranma away from a woman of her wit 
and obvious refinement.

"Ranma beat him," Akane pointed out.  "And, as much as I hate to say 
it, even though she's my own sister, I think she's as good as he is.  
Your brother is going to get pounded."  She paused for a moment and 
lowered her voice.  "Just like you're going to get pounded, if I catch 
you going near Ranma Saotome."  Akane glared at Kodachi.

Kodachi snorted dismissively.  "As if I fear you, my thuggish nemesis.  
Ranma Saotome is far too good a man for one such as you."

"Why you arrogant-"  The remainder of Akane's remarks were set aside as 
the match between Nabiki and Kuno began.

Nabiki dodged aside as Kuno immediately went on the offensive, and she 
was a little surprised to see that he wasn't holding back against her.  
Combined with the pleasant tingling that Kuno's nearness was causing 
within her, that upped her interest level in the fight a little.  She 
evaded his strikes by only centimeters on purpose, supremely confident 
in her skills.  It made their duel look more dramatic, after all.

Kuno paused in his attacks, studying Nabiki as she gracefully settled 
in one place after evading his efforts to strike her.  She fought like 
that accursed Ranma Saotome did, dancing around him like he was almost 
standing still.  It was extremely annoying to be taunted by her like 
this, but that was only fanning the flames of his desires for Nabiki.  
He yearned to take her down, to prove his masculine superiority to the 
smug-looking girl.  He would defeat Nabiki Tendo.  It was time for him 
to unleash his new technique on the girl, the one he had been saving 
for use on that insufferable peasant, Ranma Saotome.

"Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!"  Kuno's 
bokken stabbed through the air, appearing to be everywhere at once.

Nabiki was pleased in a way to see that Kuno had a little more fighting 
ability to him than he had previously shown her.  Still, she could feel 
her body straining a bit as she dodged through the storm of rapid-fire 
weapon strikes coming at her, and there was a moment of intense pain as 
one of them actually glanced across her lower ribs.  Her body still 
wasn't quite up to a level of performance that would have made this 
fight look as effortless for her as it would have been for her analog, 
but her training in the Chestnut Fist technique was helping.  However, 
the pain of the strike had quickly ended her amusement.  Kuno was going 
down as soon as she got a moment to counterattack.

Lord Kuno was amazed at Nabiki's capabilities, demonstrating both speed 
and agility that bordered on inhuman.  He watched the girl dance like 
some sort of elusive phantom between the high-speed strikes of his 
son's weapon, somehow evading them.  She was well-skilled, but he noted 
that his son had managed to get at least one blow in.  That was cold 
comfort, at best.

Nabiki suddenly dropped down below Kuno's guard as his attacks wound 
down, before snapping her body upwards in a blur of motion.  A rapid-
fire series of punches impacted into Kuno as her body rose, each strike 
moving slower than an unleashed Amaguriken would have done, but she was 
saving that maneuver for Ranma.  She swiftly completed the acrobatic 
move and flipped backwards, landing a short distance away from Kuno.  
She grunted a bit at the intense pain coming from her ribs, but she 
could tell nothing was broken.

Kuno toppled over, an astonished look upon his face.
 
"Awesome," Akane blurted out, before getting up and hurrying over to 
Nabiki.  She had barely been able to follow her sister's movements 
during that last maneuver, Nabiki's punches had been moving so swiftly.

"Your daughter is a most skilled combatant, Tendo-san," said Lord Kuno 
with icy calm.  "I feel certain that her abilities shall bring your 
household great honor."

"Thank you, Your Lordship," replied Soun absently, still surprised at 
Nabiki's extraordinary display of fighting skill.  Kasumi had told him 
all about her recent improvements several days ago, but it was another 
thing to witness his little girl in action.  He felt a tear welling up 
in one eye, born of a father's pride, and he made no effort to wipe it 
away or hide it.  She had reminded him so much of her mother while she 
was fighting.

Kodachi casually strolled over to Nabiki.  She noted that both sisters 
turned to eye her, Akane being more open in showing her dislike for the 
approaching noblewoman.  Kodachi tipped her head slightly to Nabiki, 
acknowledging her rival's skill.  She had hoped that Kuno would have 
done a little better against the insufferable girl, but his loss played 
into her hands as well.  Her brother would never accept such a defeat 
gracefully, and he was certain to challenge Nabiki Tendo again.  With a 
little careful effort on her part, Kodachi was certain that she could 
gradually steer the pair into a relationship, for they already had a 
certain amount of passion towards each other.  Her scheme was working 
out well so far.

"Congratulations on your victory, Nabiki Tendo," said Kodachi with 
diplomacy.  "How is your own injury?"

"This?" scoffed Akane, quickly ramming her hand against Nabiki's side, 
to show the pompous noblewoman that a Tendo girl was made of much 
sterner stuff than other women were.  "This is nothing.  Right, Sis?"

Nabiki blinked back tears for a moment before replying, "Sure, Akane.  
No problem."  Gathering herself, she stood up straight and smirked at 
Kodachi.

"I see," said Kodachi, smiling slightly.  She turned when Kuno came up 
behind her, impressed at his recuperative abilities.

"Nabiki Tendo," intoned Kuno, gazing at Nabiki.  "Know that I shall not 
rest until my skills can overcome thine."  He then turned to look at 
Akane.  "Ah, fair lioness, thou art the equal in charms to those of thy 
lovely sister."  He turned back to study Nabiki, then once again to 
Akane.  Suddenly, he leaped at the startled pair, crying, "I must have 
you both!"

Nabiki felt Kuno's arms clamp shut around her and Akane for a moment or 
two, both of them caught up in his unexpected hug.  Her ribs flared 
painfully from the embrace, quickly prompting her to slam her would-be 
paramour to the ground.  She saw Akane finish him off with a kick to 
his face, sending Kuno back into slumber.

Lord Kuno shook his head and sighed.  Days spent training him, and the 
boy gets taken down by a slip of a girl nearly a head shorter than he 
was.  But Lord Daisho Kuno wasn't finished with Nabiki Tendo yet, not 
quite.

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

Coach Fujinami sighed as he watched Ranma sail across the room once 
more, the boy's body propelled by a solid kick to the chest.  He winced 
as he saw Ranma slam into the unyielding, hardwood walls.  Glancing at 
Tiger, he thought he saw a brief grin cross her face as she surveyed 
the results of her latest handiwork, but he could not be sure.  The 
catgirl was still an enigma to him, even after almost a week watching 
her spar with Ranma.  She displayed far more personality than he had 
expected from a replicant, combined with a gung-ho attitude.

The match against Ohtori was tomorrow, and Ranma was looking about as 
ready as he would ever be this week.  The boy had improved a fair 
amount during this intense training, so Coach Fujinami was going to 
give the boy the remainder of the day to recover.  Ranma's recuperative 
abilities were impressive, so a good night's sleep should leave him in 
good fighting shape.

Remaining at her position on the mat as she dropped her leg, Tiger 
quietly enjoyed the sight of Ranma's plight, happy to be fulfilling her 
master's wishes.  She was also beginning to wonder at Ranma's combat 
abilities.  For the past week, she had kicked him, punched him, body 
slammed him, and generally spent her time knocking him around with only 
token resistance on his part.  Admittedly, her Genom-bioengineered 
speed and strength gave her a tremendous advantage over any mere human 
(except, she quickly amended, for her beloved Kinnosuke-sama), but 
there was a nagging uncertainty in the back of her mind.

Ranma was improving.

Of course, that had been the general idea, and the very reason why her 
beloved master had loaned her to the Academy, to assist in Ranma's 
training.  But there was something troubling about his improvement.  It 
bothered Tiger to discover that each savage beating she administered to 
him seemed to strengthen something intangible within the pigtailed boy, 
building it a little bit more each day.  It was inconceivable to Tiger 
that someone like Ranma Saotome could ever pose a credible threat to 
her, let alone to her beloved Kinnosuke-sama, but she still felt a 
little distraught by what she sensed in him.

Shrugging her shoulders, Tiger banished the worrisome thought to a back 
corner of her mind.  She took a moment to relax, stretching her spine a 
little as she replaced her previous, worrisome thoughts with pleasant 
ones about her beloved.  She missed him, especially late at night while 
she lay all alone in the bed provided for her.  Tiger's right hand 
closed into a tight fist as she imagined how Lynx and Panther must have 
been taking advantage of her absence.  The sooner she returned to her 
master's side, the better.  However, until she was released from her 
labors, she would continue to follow her orders.

Besides, Tiger thought with a brief purr in the back of her throat, she 
had already learned of a crippling weakness that Ranma Saotome had, a 
surprising phobia that she had been using to her advantage for several 
days.  At first, she had thought he was afraid of her, being that she 
was a replicant, but it turned out that he was afraid of felines.  She 
purred softly once again as she remembered the stray cat that had been 
prowling around the back, coming up to her during a mealtime break as 
if sensing a kinship.  The look of stark terror suddenly appearing on 
Ranma's face at the sight of the cat had been priceless.

Since then, Tiger had been playing up her own feline nature, testing 
out her theory before she presented it to Kinnosuke-sama for his 
decision.  Even as little as a flick of her catlike ears, or a sharp 
glance at him from her slit-pupilled eyes, could induce a hesitation in 
Ranma during a sparring match, making it even easier to pummel him.  
Tiger only wished that it could have been Nabiki Tendo instead.  To 
have her hated nemesis too terrified of her to resist would be true 
justice, not to mention a delicious irony.  The thought of the Tendo 
girl cowering before her was a sight Tiger would enjoy sharing with 
Lynx and Panther, even as they exacted their vengeance upon Nabiki for 
attracting their master's attention away from them.

Oh, if only you did fear me, Nabiki Tendo, thought Tiger with regret.

"Tiger?" said Coach Fujinami.  He stepped up next to the redhead.

"Yes, sir?" replied Tiger, standing in a pose of relaxed readiness.

Fujinami gestured at Ranma's semi-conscious body with his thumb.  "Put 
Saotome through his paces for another hour, and then you can consider 
your assignment here finished.  I'm giving the boy the rest of the day 
off, so that he'll be fully recovered for the match tomorrow."

"Are you leaving, sir?"  Tiger's eyes brightened a bit.

"Yes.  I have some paperwork to deal with that I've been putting off, 
so I'll be in my office if you need me for anything.  Do you have any 
questions?"

"No, sir," Tiger replied with a smile.  "I understand."

"Farewell, Tiger."  The Coach turned and walked out the door.

Now all alone with Ranma, Tiger paused to crack her knuckles.  An hour?  
She could inflict a fair amount of pain in an hour.

Across the room, a battered-looking Ranma slowly slumped to his knees, 
his face sliding down the wall.  He blinked as consciousness slipped in 
and out of his grasp.  His training was almost done, he mused.  Only 
one more day until he faced Utena again.  If Tiger didn't kill him 
first.

"Get up," suddenly said a voice from his right.  "You've gotta get up, 
bookworm.  You bested Nabiki, and you can win here.  So get back on 
your feet."

Ranma blinked and tried to clear the fog in his head.  Leaning against 
the wall felt pretty good right now.  His thoughts continued to drift.

"You're just a punk kid playing dress-up," he heard Genma's voice say.  
"You're not a real martial artist."

"You're a wimp, Ranma Saotome," Ranko's voice taunted.

"You can be my sidekick, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki from his memories.  "I 
heard you lost your big fight in under five minutes."

A surge of anger shook away some of the cotton enfolding Ranma's mind.  
He placed his hands on the floor and began getting up.  He was not 
defeated.  He would get up as many times as it took to prove that.  He 
would find a way to win, both against his fear and against Tiger.

Tiger flicked an ear forward, as she watched Ranma getting up.  She 
waited at her place on the mat, her eyes studying him.  When he began 
coming towards her, she raised her hands into loose fists, her body 
moving into a defensive stance.  She shifted her position as he circled 
her, a glint of amusement in her eyes as she saw the slight trickle of 
blood still coming from his nose.

The fear filled Ranma's guts, sapping his strength.  However, he could 
feel something else rearing up in the back of his skull, a slight buzz.  
It was somehow pushing the fear aside as it rose up, and Ranma smiled 
when he realized that.  He had almost forgotten that he had another 
option, aside from the Neko-ken.  Ever since his fight with his two 
assailants from the Wolf Pack, he had been aware of it.  Something 
powerful coiled in the cells in the back of his brain, only waiting to 
be unleashed.

Ranma could feel the buzz moving through his brain, releasing an almost 
erotic sensation in its wake.  It was building in strength within him, 
yearning for release.  He savored the feelings, his mind instinctively 
cataloging each passion for future reference.  In those last, blessed 
moments of clarity, Ranma's fear left him.  The buzzing finally became 
too insistent to ignore any longer.  It reared up and demanded release-

-and Ranma boosted.

His heart raced, and blood roared through Ranma's head.  The subliminal 
control programs buried in his brain were triggered by the awakening of 
this primitive self within him.  His system flooded with adrenaline, 
endorphins, and other complex serums from the genetically engineered 
glands laced throughout his body.  His muscles surged with vitality, 
his senses expanded, and his thoughts flew lightning-fast and clear in 
his mind.

Tiger could see the change in Ranma's eyes, and she knew she was in for 
a real fight.  That was fine with her.  An opportunity to cut loose was 
always welcome.  Fighting was what she was designed for, after all.  
She was planning to enjoy this.

No words were spoken by either combatant, and none were needed.  They 
charged each other, each instinctively recognizing the other as an 
opponent that needed to be taken down as quickly and as efficiently as 
possible.  Witty banter had no place in that.  Instead, they conversed 
in movements, a symphony of combat taking place between them.

Ranma struck out at the catgirl while simultaneously blocking and 
evading her own attacks.  His earlier pains were gone, wiped away by 
the cocktail of biochemicals now filling his bloodstream.  Every motion 
was born of reflex, leaving his conscious thoughts disconnected in a 
way from the rest of his body, free to enjoy the fight.  Doubt was 
gone, and so was fear.  For these precious moments, he felt invincible.

Tiger's jaw came close to becoming dislocated when Ranma's fist came in 
and penetrated her defenses.  Only her beloved Kinnosuke-sama had ever 
struck her when she was fighting in full combat mode, but he was the 
exception.  Her subliminal combat programming reacted far faster than 
her conscious mind could absorb, shifting to a more defensive mode.  It 
was only a single blow.  It meant nothing.  Her neurology contained an 
expansive repertoire of pre-programmed, hardwired maneuvers capable of 
dealing with anything.  It could deal with Ranma Saotome.

Ranma dodged aside from Tiger's kick, but the blow grazed him.  His 
elbow came down at the catgirl's knee but missed, and a brief moment of 
disappointment filled him.  It was gone in the next instant, his body 
already reacting to a blow that Tiger's had barely begun to throw.  He 
could feel what she was about to do, rather than see it.  Since his 
conscious mind was only along for the ride, it was difficult to explain 
what he was experiencing, even to himself.

Tiger maneuvered their battle over to the wall, pressing hard against 
Ranma's defenses and forcing him to give ground.  He ducked at her next 
punch and her fist went through the cinderblock wall like it was paper.  
The fraction of a second that delayed her enabled him to land another 
blow, this time into her midsection.  She backflipped away from him 
before he could inflict any more damage.

The clock on the wall had hardly moved, a single glance from Ranma 
showed, barely thirty seconds having passed.  He charged Tiger, driven 
now by an irresistible need to conquer her.  With each passing second, 
the two exchanged a flurry of blows.

After a minute, Ranma felt something happen to him.  His body suddenly 
dropped out of boost, the change triggered by some sort of subliminal 
limiter within his brain.  Even as the accumulated stresses hit his 
system all at once, a solid blow from Tiger's fist knocked him across 
the room, and his body slammed into the wall hard enough to leave an 
impression this time.  He sagged on the edge of unconsciousness.

Tiger staggered where she was, shaking her head.  She felt her ribs and 
grimaced.  One of Ranma's punches had bruised or possibly even cracked 
a few of them.  She was astonished.  Ranma had the boost, like her own 
master did.  Luckily, his body must be unused to it, or he would still 
be fighting.  Her Kinnosuke-sama could sustain it for several minutes, 
but he needed to rest and eat soon afterwards to recover.  The boost 
burned through the body's reserves at a prodigious rate.

Ranma staggered back to his feet by sheer willpower, only to be slammed 
back against the wall and held there by Tiger.  His feet left the floor 
as she held him aloft by his throat.  He grasped at her arm with both 
hands, struggling to catch a breath.

Tiger growled, "You.  Hurt.  Me."  Her eyes blazed with fury, her ears 
flat on her head.

Staring down at the catgirl, Ranma saw his nightmares personified in 
Tiger at that moment.  Struggling to breathe, he tried to summon up the 
boost once again, but it had gone away somewhere.  His fears surged up 
as his vision slowly turned gray, his brain beginning to starve for 
lack of oxygen.

"Wake up, Saotome-san," purred Tiger, slapping her hand hard back and 
forth across his face.  "It's time to die."

The pain helped Ranma to focus on a single notion.

Cat.

A cat had him trapped.

Cat equaled pain.

Ranma shuddered in Tiger's grasp, held fast against the wall by her 
iron grip on his throat.  Fear filled him, flooding all corners of his 
being.  His hands dropped away from Tiger's arm as his mind went away 
somewhere.  Battered from the fight, and drained by the Boost of any 
reserves he might have had, the fear he'd been barely holding back over 
the past few days broke free.  His last conscious thoughts, before the 
numbing warmness washed over his mind, was to curse Genma Saotome, and 
to hope to hell whatever was happening to him, worked.

Tiger slammed Ranma back against the wall, sensing the pigtailed boy 
weakening in her grasp.  It was almost over.  All she had to do was to 
tighten her grip, and Ranma Saotome would cease to be a concern for 
anyone.  The boy had hurt her badly, and he could be a serious threat 
to her beloved Kinnosuke-sama.  Her hand began to squeeze.  Ranma 
seemed to be trying to say something, and she released her grip long 
enough to hear what his last words would be.

"Meeeooowwww," growled Ranma-neko.

"What?" Tiger blurted out in confusion.

Ranma-neko lashed out at the catgirl holding him by the throat, batting 
her away with a reverse swipe of his hand.

Tiger landed gracefully on her feet, surprised that Ranma still had any 
strength left to resist her.  She felt her jaw, almost dislocated for a 
second time that day by the boy standing in front of her.  She saw him 
crouch down and growl.

Ranma-neko eyed the female in front of him.  She had been hurting him, 
and he didn't like that.  It was time to teach the female who the 
dominant one around here was.  With a leap, Ranma-neko tackled Tiger, 
taking her down like she was an unruly cub.  A brief struggle ensued, 
only ending when Ranma-neko finally pinned Tiger underneath him.  He 
batted away her efforts to free herself, and grasped the back of her 
neck in his jaws, his chi forming fangs that pressed against her flesh.

Tiger froze, surprised and a little frightened at how easily Ranma had 
overcome her.  She had reflexively ceased struggling when she felt his 
fangs on the back of her neck.  She blinked in surprise when she felt 
Ranma's tongue beginning to groom her.

Ranma-neko paused in his grooming efforts, batting aside the silly 
female's renewed efforts to free herself.  When she continued them, he 
pinned her firmly and grasped the back of her neck once more.  He held 
on until she relented.  When she did, he went back to grooming her.

Tiger felt Ranma's breath tickling the back of her neck as he groomed 
her, gently licking the back of her neck and the side of her face.  
After a while, she was surprised to find herself purring from his 
attentions, responding to him as her instincts demanded.  She closed 
her eyes and relished the sensations, something that Kinnosuke-sama had 
never done for her.  Now, here she was in his designated foe's grasp, 
submitting to him like a female cat would to a male cat, a prisoner of 
her biological imperatives.  It was irony at its best.

Ranma-neko felt the female shifting underneath him, but she didn’t seem 
to be trying to escape.  He felt her lips begin nuzzling against his 
face, her tongue moving across his skin.  He rumbled a purr low in his 
throat, enjoying the sensations, and continued to groom the female now 
that she had accepted his dominion over her.  Life was good.

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

Cherry paused in preparing his afternoon meal, the small fire burning 
in front of him choosing that moment to spit out a few sparks.  The 
little pot suspended over the flames bubbled over as the monk eyed the 
skies, a few grains of rice falling to burn in the fire beneath.  He 
could sense something in the air, as if a far away storm was announcing 
its presence with a faint breeze.

Unsure whether or not to trust his own instincts, the diminutive monk 
pulled out a small ivory bowl, and a matching set of small, ivory 
sticks.  He picked the sticks up in one hand and scattered them into 
the bowl.  One of them bounced out and almost landed in the fire.  He 
scooped it off of the ashes before it could be damaged.

"A bad omen," whispered Cherry, studying the errant stick.  His rice 
cooker bubbled over some more, and he immediately snapped back to more 
important matters.  Ominous fates were one thing, but his lunch was far 
more important.

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

Tiger was pensive as she stood outside the gates of Kashuoh Manor, her 
uniform resting immaculate upon her body, her military-style cap upon 
her head.  A stray lock of red hair blew past her eyes.  Absently, she 
tucked it back behind her ear.  She pulled open one side of the heavy, 
wrought-iron gates and stepped inside, closing it behind her.  She 
trudged up the driveway to the mansion, her little carry-bag in hand, 
briefly stopping to sniff the flowers.  A melancholy smile appeared on 
her face, as she remembered when her beloved master had presented her 
with one of these flowers on her first day in his service.  She still 
had it, pressed between the pages of a scrapbook she kept.  She stood 
up when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Tiger," greeted Lynx, smirking a bit.  "So, how went your mission?  
I'm sure you'll be quite pleased to hear that Panther and I kept 
Kinnosuke-sama satisfied while you were gone.  Mainly me though."

Tiger's gaze suddenly hardened.  Before Lynx could even react, she 
backhanded the other catgirl hard across the face, knocking her into 
some shrubbery.  Picking up her small bag, Tiger nodded to the stunned 
Lynx.

"My mission went satisfactorily."

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

Ranma awoke several hours later, alone in his bedroom in the dormitory.  
He couldn't remember how he had gotten there.  That last fight with 
Tiger was nothing but a blur in his mind.  He sat up and turned on the 
lamp.  His stomach rumbled demandingly with hunger.  A tray of food was 
on the desk, calling to him.  He ate it quickly.  It was delicious.

There was no sound from Tiger's room.  The bedding was folded up and 
her bag was gone.  He breathed out a sigh of relief.  His nightmare was 
ending at last.  He briefly wondered what Nabiki and the other girls 
had been up to while he had been involved in his training.

After bathing and soaking away his aches in the bath, Ranma returned to 
his room.  After tomorrow, he would finally be returning home, to sleep 
in his own room.  Rebuilding the resonator would be his next task after 
his rematch with Utena, a project that had been too long delayed due to 
the extra training the dean and head coach had forced upon him.

Ranma flipped open his notebook and studied it.  He had been giving his 
father's rescue a great deal of thought this week, those few hours when 
he wasn't getting beaten up or spending unconscious.  An analysis of 
the data left him with depressingly few options, but at least he now 
understood what had happened.

While the two Earths had been linked through the resonator, a brief 
period had occurred when the superspace paraequipotential flux reached 
a state of hyper-alignment.  It was during that window of opportunity 
that the resonator's capacitor had chosen to overload and spontaneously 
discharge.  The power surge reversed the polarities of the system, 
casting his real father into that other world and bringing that Genma 
Saotome to his own.

The problem was that it was extremely difficult to pre-determine when 
the next window of opportunity would occur, due to the large number of 
variables involved.  There was even a possibility that there wouldn't 
be another one for years, if ever.  Even more discouraging, Ranma also 
calculated that there existed an excellent chance that the procedure 
could wipe clean the minds of both men, leaving them as vacant husks.  
Shuddering at that notion, Ranma struggled to avoid being pessimistic 
in his thoughts.  The concept that his real father could be forever 
trapped in that world was unthinkable.  There had to be a way to bring 
him back safely.

Ranma dropped the notebook onto the desk and rubbed his eyes.  He was 
going to find the answer to this problem.  Every problem had a solution 
to it.  That was one of the last things his father had said to him.

Glancing down, Ranma noticed that his notebook had fallen open to the 
incomplete equation and circuit diagrams that he had purloined weeks 
ago from his female counterpart's Earth.  He idly studied the equation 
that filled one page, losing himself in the flows of numbers, a method 
of relaxation for him.  The last part of it was missing, tantalizing 
him.  He examined it a little more closely, and the solution suddenly 
seemed to leap off the page at him.  Ranma set pen to paper and wrote 
in the final piece of the equation, then he stared at it.  He began to 
laugh.

Ranko had been wrong.  Her device wouldn't generate an anti-gravity 
field at all.  Instead, when the superspacial paraequipotential flux 
aligned just so, activating it would punch a hole from an originating 
timeline tangent into an alternate one.  But, without some method of 
charting a course, the results would be random.  This quantum tunnel 
would only last a short while before collapsing again, when the flux 
moved out of the proper alignment.  Ranma sincerely hoped that Ranko 
had discovered this risk before testing her device, otherwise the 
chances of her ever seeing her home tangent again would be vanishingly 
small.

Luckily for Ranma's needs, his own work provided a method for charting 
a course to a destination.  A much less sophisticated variation of the 
quantum flux coil could be set up to emit a broadband signal that would 
be detected from across superspace, acting as a sort of transponder 
beacon.  Circuitry installed in this quantum tunneling device could 
lock onto that signal, allowing the portal to open to the desired 
tangent.  And by leaving a functioning quantum transponder on his home 
Earth, he could return safely.

"I am a genius," Ranma muttered to himself.  Creating this quantum 
tunneling device would not be difficult with his world's technology, 
and he was certain that even a much less technologically-sophisticated 
world, such as the one his real father was on, could provide the needed 
materials for a transponder.

He would, of course, have to test it before getting his father's hopes 
up, but he was confident it would work.  He also noticed an obvious 
synergistic refinement to her device, by combining aspects of his own 
work with it.  He scribbled down modifications for adding a digital 
readout to the device, by having it analyze the paraequipotential flux 
energies and calculate the time remaining until the next window came 
about.

Sitting back, Ranma closed the notebook and smiled.  He felt confident 
that his father's rescue was near at hand.  And once that was finally 
done, he could turn his attentions back to exploring other worlds, both 
through the windows of the resonator and the doorways that the quantum 
tunneler would open for him.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Thanks to my pre-readers for all of their help and advice:

David Eddy
DB Sommer
Doug Whiddon
Jeremy Fogelman
Jim Bader
Stardragon
Stephen Sparrow