After Akane was dismissed from Hanae and Sei's lesson, Akane stalked off to take a bath. Sending off Ifuku and telling her that she did not need her help. Akane fumed as she began to strip off her sweaty kimono, violently upending a pail of water on top of her head. Akane wasn't a sore loser but she was a rather inexperienced one.

      All throughout her high school years she was second to none, the unbeaten champion in competitions. If Akane Tendo fought, she won. Akane Tendo always brought home the gold.

      When Ryoga wandered into her life, she was never beaten. Her husband has qualms about sparring with her but he was a good teacher, a patient and lenient one at that.

      In time she would have taken on the mantle of Anything Goes. She shook her head as she scrubbed herself clean, she did not expect time travel to be her downfall.

      It didn't help the matters that someone just beat her. As she played the fight out thoroughly in her mind's eye, she grimaced repeatedly over Nabiki's criticism. It was her scathing words that proved to be her undoing rather than her precise blows.

      'Is there anything worse than being given advice you haven't even asked for?' Akane thought bitterly as she remembered the way Nabiki humiliated her in front of the children. Akane winced again. 'Yes, being given advice by someone who's just beaten you.'

      And Nabiki beat her. Badly. 'Damn.'

      After rinsed herself of the soap she sighed, her anger washing away.

      It was mostly her fault. She expected she was still the best, she wasn't. Her father's words came back to her, 'Don't get too cocky, Akane. Remember that there's always someone out there who's better than you are.'

      She just didn't expect to face that person so late in her life. Akane sighed after she made sure all the soap was washed away she sank into the hot furo, the warm water easing her muscles. She could already feel her bruises forming from Nabiki's jabs. Kodachi was a person who bruised far too easily for Akane's tastes.

      Rubbing a sore spot in her side Akane looked up at the ceiling. "I have serious training problems." She wondered how on earth she was going to coerce -- err -- convince the people living with her to help her.

      Nabiki watched as Ranma initiated the next lesson he was going to teach the children. The Raging Waters attack was one of the moves in the Anything Goes School that linked two people in a fight.

      When they were younger, both Ranma and Nabiki were trained to fight independently and again with each other, a unique training that Genma passed on to them. Usually twins were trained to depend on each other to the point that when one was disabled, the other would be hard-pressed to continue.

      They have to admit that their training was one of the things that was worth thanking Genma for. Nabiki watched the moves critically, they were back to back and hands linked with each other by the elbows.

      The last time the cousins tried to do this, they didn't even manage to walk towards the entrance. The move depended on the ability of the two to second-guess what the other needed to do next, one misstep by either could make them lose momentum and get hit.

      As it was, Sei took on the mantle of leading. Hanae simply followed. It wasn't a very successful habit. She wondered how they were going to fare when they were placed on those isolated rocks in the beach, with the waters pressing hard against them... and the instructions for them not to get wet.

      She could almost see Ranma's exasperation towards the two and she smiled a bit. Ranma was an exceptional student, but he wasn't a patient teacher. Both of them weren't.

      The reason for their impatience dwelled in the fact that they learned so quickly in such a small amount of time that they became irritated at anyone whose performance rated below their own achievements. This small criterion bounded every other person they met up with.

      "Don't be too hard on them Ranma, few can learn it in two days." Nabiki smirked at Ranma's imperceptible frown. They learned it in less. "Has your students told you anything about my fight with Kodachi yesterday?"

      Without taking his eyes off the children Ranma shrugged. "What else is new? She shouts, you infuriate her, she gets her ribbon, you dodge it all, she laughs that enraged laugh, you give her one of your smirks and walk off."

     "Everything about it was new," Nabiki quipped as she walked to stand beside her brother. "She managed to challenge me."

      "She does that every time." Nabiki saw that he was determined to ignore the entire matter. Second habit when it came to Kodachi, but not an entirely wise move.

      "She used Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu." Nabiki smirked as she watched Ranma's reaction to that piece of information. He did not expect that one. "I can recognize our style anywhere."

      For a brief moment Ranma took his eyes away from his students and looked at Nabiki thoughtfully, turning back to the children he asked, "How much does she know?"

      "I'm not sure. I think the best way to find out is for a sparring match with you. Although I have a rough idea of her skill." Nabiki gazed at the cousins who were starting to try to jump. The principle of the attack was to evade all projectiles from a cyclic direction, following the flow of water. "I still think you shouldn't be lax on your hold on Kodachi. She's watching right now."

      He spared a glance outside. "I'll make her go away. Please watch the children for a while." With that he disappeared towards the entrance of the dojo.

-

      The match between herself and Nabiki opened Akane's eyes a bit. She may be a practitioner of the Anything Goes School but Nabiki has enough skill not only to beat her, but play with her while doing it.

      Truthfully, she hasn't been keeping up on her training. She was a sensei that much was true, but her father took the mantle of a teacher in the dojo more than she did. Since her marriage to Ryoga, her father was left alone to manage the big house by himself. She did visit him every day but that stopped as soon as she was informed she was having a baby. She dropped by the halls to see her father every other day, but the training was not as intense. It was just enough to maintain her level of expertise. The entire thrusting back into time complicated her training a bit.

      Still, her only work out involved a pack of bricks, a daily jog and the basic drills and exercise. It was just enough to be a sensei but not enough to improve. She wasn't as serious as Ryoga who went into training trips. It seemed to her that even her former husband would be no match for someone like Nabiki, especially if Hanae was accurate in her description of how her sister-in-law handles a sword. Ranma, it seemed was even better than Nabiki.

      Strengthened by her resolve to learn more about the art her newly acquired husband practices, she decided to start the day by looking for Ranma and Nabiki. Walking towards the dojo, Akane decided she should probably watch Ranma train the children, it was early morning, and she found out that he usually trained them before he left for whatever purposes for the day.

      What she found in the dojo made her smile: Hanae and Sei were going through in perfect unison the katas they have just been taught. She found out that after half a year of not teaching, she truly missed the job.

      Something nagged her about the moves that the children were doing and scrutinized them carefully. When she finally found out what it was she gasped for it came from some of the more advanced katas of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu.

      The two pupils were initiating moves from the Duo Jet Stream Raging Water Attack (1), although how they were going to achieve it without things flying towards them, she didn't know.

      Her watching the two stopped suddenly when her vision was impaired by red. She looked at the shirt, then at the owner of it and sighed. "Do you mind, Ranma? I was watching."

      "You know the rules, Kodachi," Ranma said sternly as he led her away from his students. "You don't watch my children train."

      "Well, fine." Akane humphed, as she crossed her arms. Fact was, she didn't know, but that information might have just aggravated the situation. If her husband wasn't going to teach her, she'd be just as stubborn about it as he was. "So would you mind explaining to me why you're using Indiscriminate Grappling? I was told only one house practiced it."

      Akane noted that Ranma's temper seemed to rise up a notch. What worried Akane was that there wasn't anything physical that indicated this shift, more of a feeling in her part. "I don't know how you determined that from watching them practice a few moves, much less put a name on it but I don't think it's your business to know what I teach my students."

      "As the heir of the Tendo School of Martial Arts, I am making it my business," Akane pointed out. His temper went up another notch higher. She seemed to be saying all the wrong things.

      From her fight with Nabiki, she should have known better to start shooting her mouth off. The wisest thing to do was shut up and find out how all of them were connected. Whatever entity sent her back must have a deeper reason for making them all inter-connected.

      But Akane wasn't at all a rational person when she was angry, and her temper got the better of her that day, she hoped she could rein in her temper now. Nabiki said that Ranma was better than she was, and Akane just received a beating from Nabiki, she didn't know if her body could handle more from a better opponent.

      Ranma was silent. She startled him. Good. She wasn't angry, just curious as how a Saotome could have gotten hold of such a specialized form. Of course, now that the words were out of her mouth she regretted it. She wasn't heir now. Just her luck if someone challenges her out of the blue. At least she didn't say Anything Goes. It would have brought more trouble than it was worth.

      "Her style is very... shall we say specialized?" Nabiki said as she walked towards them in a slow deliberate manner. It seemed that she exited the dojo as soon as the move was finished by the children. Since Akane failed to spot her initially, she was taken by surprise when Nabiki finally spoke, "Although how she managed to learn it is beyond my comprehension."

      "Who trained you?" Ranma demanded.

      "My father," Akane answered a bit uneasily shifting her gaze from Ranma to Nabiki. "What's wrong with that?"

      "Your father," Ranma echoed as he turned to Nabiki. "My sister tells me you want to train Hanae in martial arts?"

      Akane's eyes lit up, she might finally get away with not teaching Hanae swimming. "Yes."

     "How much do you know?" he asked tersely, making Akane feel like she was eighteen again, being interviewed for her first part-time job.

      "Enough," she answered wearily.

      Ranma refocused his attention on her, weighing her answer. "Enough? How are those bruises of yours healing?"

      "What?" Akane took a step back, her bruises were hidden. Nabiki couldn't have told Ranma anything about her physical state after the fight.

      "Nabiki tends to hit pretty hard," he explained as if he was talking to one of the children. "How are your bruises?"

      'Nabiki tends to hit pretty hard. In the right places, and in more ways than one... and they say Ranma's better?' Instinctively she rubbed one behind her back. "They're... fine..."

      "They'll heal completely within a week," Nabiki offered Ranma, she shrugged. "It was a test of her defenses, I didn't have to go as hard as Cologne or even pops did." Akane winced, what would have an all-out fight brought? And she gave her all.

      "I'll give you two weeks. One week to heal, one week to train. If you can beat me in a fight, I'll let you handle Hanae's training." Akane didn't know if she should be happy at the prospect or completely give up.

      "What do you get if you win?" Akane asked tentatively.

      "I don't want anything from you." Ranma turned to go.

      "That doesn't sound right, you're giving me something but you won't get any." Akane wondered why she was doing it, the odds of her winning against Ranma was not enough for what she was about to do. She has nothing to offer him.

      "My, how noble," Nabiki commented in the most pleasant voice Akane has ever heard her use. Although it matched something of a friendly note, Akane couldn't deny that there was a sadistic intent behind those pleasant tones. "If you don't give one brother, I'll be happy to think up of your reward."

      "If it's all right with Kodachi?" He expected her to protest, but she conceded quietly. Akane almost gulped at that. It was obvious that her sister-in-law did not like her. Akane's claim of being heir might be the catalyst that will manage to get her thrown out. It worried her.

      "I'll think of something up, Kodachi." Nabiki smiled pleasantly, bowed her head and walked with Ranma towards the waiting children.

      As she watched the twins retreat she looked around for support and only found one of the stone lanterns. She leaned against it and sighed as she replayed the confrontation in her head. 'Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into now?'

---

      Normally, Nabiki just stayed behind while the company went to the border and she watched things at home. Today, she decided to finally check out the discrepancies at the border. It was doing more harm than good and she was worried for the meeting.

      She glanced side-ways at Ranma. He has a frown plastered across his face and was determined to get to the border and finish the check for the day.

      'First things, first.' Nabiki didn't know if it was Ranma's temper or the hot day, but it seemed like the walk was taking longer than expected. Even at the break-neck pace that they set, it seemed they were spending more hours than usual.

      It would do well if she would lighten up his 'wife-induced' mood before they dealt with whatever attacks were happening at Hase. His mind was troubled, and troubles cannot bother someone who's going into battle. 'Well, there's no other time better now to bring this up,' Nabiki stopped at one of the trees; her hand was clasped supportively against its trunk. Noticing her stop, Ranma turned to look at her a few trees ahead.

      "What's wrong, Nabiki?" he asked, jumping towards her.

      Nabiki smiled as she sat down at the branch she was standing on and looked up to his looming form. "Come on. Let's talk a bit before the samurai catch up with us." Their usual escort was lagging. They didn't take to the trees as the twins do.

      He gave her a puzzled look but he didn't question her intent and sat complacently at a branch opposite hers. The branch swayed lightly but held him. "I have a feeling this is about this morning." He smiled ruefully waiting for her questions.

      "Why didn't you think up your prize? You could have anything." Nabiki looked at him, Kodachi would never contest the prize he would say and he could easily beat her. She didn't need to ask the question, she knew the answer, she just wanted to hear it from him. "You know you could've."

      He looked away. "It didn't feel right."

      Nabiki stared at her brother. After more than twenty years with him, it still surprised her that he tended to act noble. In between all the screw ups Genma managed to teach them, Ranma's honor is one of the real gems. It wasn't a startling revelation, she had known all along but she only just now realized why he treated wife so kindly.

      She finally realized what it was all about. It struck her as strange that he would not pick out something he would clearly have at the end. He didn't want anything from Kodachi, not because she was Kodachi, but because he knew he could beat her. It was an arrogant thing to do, but it has always been Ranma's way. She should have known.

      Nabiki frowned, her brother's sense of honor, although touching was irritating at times like this. It was the honorable way but sometimes she wished he'd just break that to show up someone like Kodachi. "You know, I never could understand why you'd do such a pig-headed thing. It's an advantage."

      "You can take whatever she gives if you want," the finality of the way he said it stated clearly there was no room for discussion. He would never take what he felt was wrongfully given.

      'Well that throws anything material out the window,' Nabiki thought as her mental list got shorter, Ranma would never consider taking it. Thinking she won't get any more from the discussion, she changed the subject, "Are you still worried about her claim on being an heir?"

      "I'm more worried about the fact that she doesn't think before she enters a fight." He stopped to think for a moment then looked at her. "Yes, she said she was heiress of something... what was it? Tano, Tenda..."

      "Tendo... the Tendo school of Martial Arts." It sounded familiar to Nabiki. She didn't know where she heard the name but it was something she'd encountered before. Looking it up would probably be a wise move. "I'll put our people on it."

      "You sure the house would be fine with only Kodachi there to manage?" Nabiki didn't know if he was worried for the house or for Kodachi. "I've never left her alone without you to supervise."

      The crackle in the bushes got Nabiki on her feet. "It looks like the samurai have finally caught up with us." She brushed her black pants but before she jumped towards the next tree giving her brother a knowing smile. "Don't worry about Kodachi. I left her with some things to do. I never actually believed she'd fall for Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces."

---

      Akane brushed her sunny yellow kimono that complimented her mood that day as she tipped her bonnet up into the sky and smiled. It promised to be a very sunny day.

      "Lady 'dachi, what are we doing picking a lot of flowers?" Hanae asked, taking a few of the flowers she fancied as she passed by them and added them to Akane's basket.

      Picking up another flower in her path and placed it in her already accumulating pile Akane reminded Hanae, "It's Akane." She wrinkled her nose with distaste as she remembered the exact words Nabiki used to describe her cooking abilities. She promptly dropped another flower into her half filled basket. "Oh, well, Nabiki suggested that I try some ikebana arrangements since I can't cook."

      "Uh... dontcha think that's too much?" Hanae asked eyeing the basket carefully. There was only one takonama that needed an ikebana arrangement, and that was the one at the dojo. That didn't need much of the flowers Kodachi was picking.

      "Don't worry about it, Hanae." In the past few weeks, Akane grew to like the girl. The girl obviously wasn't her daughter, and maybe Ranma cheated her -- or Kodachi, but she was all too nice for Akane to stay mad at something that was her parent's faults.

      To Akane's way of thinking, who the girl was born to wasn't Hanae's fault. Rather, the disregard the parents have towards their relationship. She still didn't know what to teach her though, and as a foster mother she was obliged to teach something. And she simply had nothing at hand to teach.

     "Uh... what does Sei's foster mother teach him?" Akane asked as they continued the walk. It was a pleasant day, and it seemed both Ranma and Nabiki has some business to attend to at the border. She was happy at that, at least, she didn't need to explain why she claimed his title. 'At least I won't be fighting him... not yet anyway'

      "How not to listen when you're not spoken to," Hanae answered jumping along to a tree branch. Akane frowned, it was much too high to suit her liking, yet Hanae seemed to like the place far too much. "Um, Confucius's Four Book of Morals, Book of Great Lineage, Ancestries to the Mikado, Three Character Book Morals, gener'lly books like that. But 'Nty 'kyo already taught those things to me.

(2) Oh and how to read and write, but I know that too."

"How many years older are you than Sei anyway?"

      "A year probably, not by much though, possibly even months." Hanae smiled promptly then shrugged. "But he's a better learner than I am, I don't need to learn much 'cuz I'm a girl. I'm just supposed to get an omiai so I just get a highly edited version of what he learns. I'm happy with the entire arrangement."

      "And this is okay with you?" Akane asked, disgusted. Medieval Japan. Figures.

      "Well, I already know more than most girls," Hanae answered as she smiled, plucking some leaves of the tree then letting it fall gently to the ground "What I really want is the train under the Amazons. Just like 'Nty Nabiki and daddy."

      "Amazons?" Akane asked incredulously, the child has a wild imagination. Weren't the amazons some remote tribe in Greece? Wasn't that mythological? "I thought Ranma and his sister trained in China."

      "Hmm... well, yah, under 'der Ko'lon and some 'peror," Hanae answered proudly, although Akane certainly didn't understand the words. Hanae scanned the trees in front of her and smiled as she called to her foster mother. "Hey 'da -- 'kane-san, I'll race you to the water!"

      Akane sighed, as she followed in pursuit. For a girl, Hanae could easily outrun her, and she was more than ten years her junior. She was actually very happy she has been keeping fit for the past few months.

      She frowned at the sight of the water, not wanting the implications it brought, and gulping down the impending doom that loomed over Hanae's want for the water. She ran towards the girl wishing Hanae could find some other person to ask to learn to swim.

      Out of her kimono, Hanae took out a well-hidden cat and set it free. She smiled at Akane as she patted the small creature, and waved it goodbye.

      "You like cats?" Akane asked, as she watched the girl look out longingly at the feline creature who was scampering away at the moment.

      "Hmm... oh yes. From what daddy tells me, 'Nty Shampoo makes the cutest cat you've ever seen," Hanae answered impishly, gazing out into the horizon. "She has purple fur like 'Nty Shampoo's lav'nder locks and has these sort of bells in her hair. Daddy tells me lotsa stories..."

      Akane took that Hanae's Aunt Shampoo was a doll maker or something and left it at that. She nodded as she looked at the wistful girl. "Don't you want to keep that cat?"

      Hanae whirled around suddenly, but shook her head solemnly. "Daddy and Aunt Nabiki have this aversion towards the cat-like species. It leans t'wards the safer side for us not to keep the little darlings."

      "Oh?" Curiously the girl didn't mention Ranko who seemed deathly afraid of them, surely neither would punish the children for bringing a cat home just because they hated the things. She dismissed the thoughts because Hanae managed to persuade her to finally teach her how to swim.

      Akane shook her head as Hanae walked beside her towards the beach. She wondered exactly how Hanae had cajoled her to teach her the rudiments of swimming, when she can't, for the life of her, move an inch in water.

---

      Ukyo's aunt, just as her father, was in the okonomiyaki business. Just as her grandfather, and great-grandfather before them. It was what the Kuonji line excelled in, and it is what the Kuonji line was known for.

      Another thing they were known for was the unique style of martial arts they possessed. She heard that her forefathers -- or rather, the women -- created the style because of the need to defend themselves since they could not rely on the brute strength the men have and the women sorely lacked.

      Of course, since only men could sell food, Kuonji women were forced to pretend to be men. At least the Saotomes just cast a blind eye to this. This was what Kuonji Ukyo was thinking while she was cleaning the small white plates the last customer used.

      Ranma and Nabiki Saotome thought she was a boy the moment they stole that okonomiyaki from her grill (3) all those years ago. It was a wonder that Genma Saotome thought to offer to her father the proposal for her hand, and her father -- because Kuonji women were hard to marry off -- agreed.

      It was a foolish thought -- no -- a stupid thought to think that any samurai would consider her to be wifely material. But Genma Saotome thought her to be fit... along with the hundreds of men and women he strung along for his two wards.

      Ranma Saotome was a fairytale. He was the prince that her father talked about in his stories in the deep of the night when she was about to sleep. And just like those fairytales... he was an illusion she could never hope to have.

      'I don't love Ranma, damn it.' Ukyo thought scrubbing the plate with a vengeance, not really for want to clean the already immaculate plate, but to relieve her of the stress that settled on her shoulders.

      'If you don't love him... then why do you pine for him?' Ukyo looked up at the clear sky trying to stop what she knew would be tears. With a battle against her heart, she was sure she was going to fail. And she was going to fail miserably.

      Any further brooding was interrupted by her aunt's call from the counter, "Ukyo, dear, come here please."

      Thankful for the interruption of her thoughts, Ukyo wiped her hands on the cloth beside the tub of water she was using. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself determined not to let her aunt see her distress.

      She ducked under the small curtain that separated the back of the restaurant from the small garden outside of it and smiled for the benefit of her aunt. It was an ordinary business day and a pointedly dull one at that.

      Days like this, Hanae walked up the grill and asked Ukyo to teach her how to make okonomiyaki and they'd laugh over the distorted food she managed to whip up. She didn't realize how much Hanae added into her life until she was gone. 'Get a grip, girl,' Ukyo scolded herself pulling her bangs out of her eyes tucking them behind ears. 'You make your own decisions, Hanae was one of them.'

      Even as she reminded herself of the choice she made to leave, she missed the time she spent with the girl. Hanae has the most energetic attitude that was entirely too infectious for her own good. She always made a slow day worth something. Hanae taught her things in life that made every day bearable. Ukyo's days seemed to be a lot bleaker without the carefree laughter she brought and the beaming smile she carried wherever she went.

      In the past few days that she managed to distance herself from Hanae, she wondered why she didn't stop being a foster mother before. The kami knew she could have done so a long time ago. But she didn't.

      Hanae was a headstrong character and self-reliant. She could take care of herself quite well. She was a fast learner. Maybe not as fast as everyone hoped Ranma's daughter would turn out, but quicker than most. The truth was, Ukyo needed Hanae more than Hanae needed her.

      Ranma wasn't the type of person to force a friend to do something she didn't want. Ranma has the resources and enough vassals to find another foster mother for the child. In all truths, there was nothing forcing her to stay. Nothing but her own heart.

      As she approached the counter she addressed the masculine figure hovering over the grill. "Yes, Aunt Kashiko(4)?" To everyone other than family, it was queer to address such a masculine looking person as an aunt. If anyone wondered where Ukyo learned how to disguise her femininity during her younger years, they have but to look at Kashiko to understand. "Is there something you wanted?"

      "Oh, Ukyo dear." The woman smiled pleasantly as she handed her a parchment. "I know you've always wanted to try to cook for a clan meeting."

      Ukyo looked at the parchment, uncomprehending. When she scanned it, it told her that some old samurai wanted her aunt to cook for some sort of a party in the Yuigahama area in two months. She wondered what clan meetings have to do with the invitation she held. "It seems like a good job order, Aunt Kashiko... do you want me to help out?"

      "Oh, no Ukyo-chan, I don't want you to do anything of the sort," the old woman said, flipping an okonomiyaki at just the right time, she turned to smile towards Ukyo again. "I want you to go there and do it for me."

      Kashiko was a woman in her mid-fifties, and a Kuonji 'till the end. Just as most Kuonji women -- she never married and remained in the Sagami since god knows when. She was still strong and worked diligently. It was uncharacteristic of her to pass down work of this magnitude. Her skills has not waned over the years and she was just as good now as she was ten years ago, maybe even better.

      The job order was a good one, and her aunt could still handle a gathering. It was hard to hold money, and samurai paid well for their services. At least their wives did. "If you wish so, Aunt Kashiko."

      Kashiko was the closest person Ukyo could call as mother since her own passed away when she was a child, and her concern towards her niece spurted up in all occasions. "You still don't understand me do you, child?"

      Ukyo nodded her head in agreement, folding the order into her obi. In order to obey her aunt's wishes to get to Yuigahama on time, she needed to leave soon. Maybe punctuality wasn't a prize treasured by samurai, but she abided by its rules. "No, Aunt Kashiko, I don't understand."

      The old lady smiled as she placed the fresh okonomiyaki off the grill, she was far slower now, but her age did not affect the quality of her food. "My dear Ukyo, the Yuigahama event is one that only the most elite of the Clan are invited along(5)."

She gazed into her eyes meaningfully then repeated the last part of her sentence to stress her point, "Only the most elite."

      Ukyo nodded, trying to pass a semblance of understanding while trying to plan what she would do. She would need to go to her aunt's shanty then backtrack to Yuigahama. Something was vaguely familiar about that setting that seemed to nag at her but dismissed the thought as trivial.

      Her aunt, satisfied at her nod, dismissed her with a wave of her hand to prepare. She backed out of the room gracefully as her aunt turned to the newly cooked okonomiyaki.

      Kashiko sighed as she looked at it. She wished to give it to her niece since she seemed too dejected, but had completely forgotten.

      She turned to one of her help, gave it to her, and told her to catch Ukyo. Looking at the grill with a determined set of eyes, she started to make another batch of the okonomiyaki batter.

      She noticed Ukyo's dreary mood since her arrival at her restaurant, and it was certainly a mood that Kashiko had never associated with the girl before. It was as if life was robbed out of her the way she was constantly on the verge of tears and in a perpetual state of anxiety.

      Something was troubling the girl, and Kashiko solved it the only way she could. Give her something else to work on. The events the Saotomes held at Yuigahama will keep the child from her dreary thoughts.

      Sometimes the samurai graced them with a fight or two. A spar or two. Not those duels fought to the death but rather the test of skill. It would serve as a wonderful night for Ukyo.

     There are things that the Saotome Clan has managed to hide from most of the other clans, and one of it was their fighting style. Another was the Jusenkyo curse, although she has yet to see what this curse really does.

      She was one of the more trusted vassals, which is one of the reasons she was the one ordered to cook. As she said, it was a meeting held in the strictest secrecy. But then... she wasn't going to be young forever. And Ukyo could be trusted. Besides, the girl was far too desolate to sit and watch an old woman do her chores. She needed young boys to play with.

      Yuigahama would be the best medication she could give her niece, she just knew it.

---

      The moment Nabiki arrived on the small camp the samurai were holding at the border, the scent of blood overwhelmed her. It was as if she was twelve again leading that stupid little troop just to prove that she was worthy of being samurai to the Saotome clan.

      One of the samurai came forward and bowed. "Lady Nabiki, Lord Ranma --" whatever he was going to say was cut short by the shout of one of the samurai. Nabiki and Ranma's head shot up in perfect unison.

      "They're here," Ranma muttered as unsheathing his katana in an efficient motion while taking to the trees. Nabiki shook her head as she followed. Her brother still went head on to a fray.

      Still -- aerial combat was the specialty of the Saotome School of martial arts. If their opponents took to the trees, Ranma would get them all. When he killed the first man, Nabiki landed on the ground. "Come out, come out, dear boys... time to play."

      She closed her eyes, blocking whatever noise Ranma made throughout his fight. Since she was out today and she might as well have some fun, her sword was out the moment a branch snapped towards her.

      Instinctively she raised her sword to block, and opened her eyes to one ninja. "Well, dear, I never expected you to actually dance..." She smiled as both of them jumped away from each other.

      And Nabiki remembered why she hated dealing with ninja. They were so hard to fluster, they didn't even react. Her sword was sheathed again as she dodged the small throwing knifes. One cut her cheek, the other cut her hair. She was thankful it didn't cut the dragon whisker.

      She thumbed the small cut in her cheek and frowned, maybe she shouldn't have worn her white shirt today. "I'd hand it to you if that was poisoned." Nabiki said sarcastically.

      Before she could draw her sword again, Ranma landed beside her, his opponent hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Nabiki winced as the fall broke the ninja's neck and elbow. "Now that has got to hurt."

      She turned towards her enemy again and almost cursed when she couldn't find him. "Damn, I didn't even land a blow yet, Ranma."

      "Save your energy, they'll attack again," Ranma answered then gave her a flask of water he carried for good measure. He jumped up towards the trees to see if he can spot the enemy shouting a single command, "Change." Nabiki almost forgot. She should have changed before she left. If those ninja ever let it slip she was out of Nerima, Happosai was going to giver her hell.

      Nabiki cut the white bonds in her breasts swiftly, just as the change completed, she sighed as she shrugged on her shirt. A second longer and she would have had trouble with the restrictive bind. Walking back out of the trees that shielded her, she turned towards Ranma.

      Due to the apparent likeness to Ranma the curse gave Nabiki, she mainly used his name, just as Ranma used the name Ranko to hide his girl-form from everybody else. When they appeared together, however...

      "Shizukama(6), did you see something?" Ranma called on top of one tall trees. He did not sheath his sword yet.

      "No," Nabiki-kun answered curtly as he offered the silk he brought along to Ranma so that he could wipe his blood soaked sword. "Even in the trees, I could not see where they disappeared to. It was far too fast for me to trace. And I needed to change."

      Jumping down from the trees to get the proffered cloth, Ranma didn't respond as he cleaned the red liquid out of his katana in deep contemplation of the events. Nabiki knew he wouldn't be able to see where these ninja retreated to, but he needed to try at the very least. As he foresaw, he did not even spot them.

      The situation was starting to look bad. Each attack was closer to Rose Brier, closer to Nerima. If they managed to reach that part of the border, they would be able to reach Nerima. Possibly the Tokai.

      What was frustrating was that the ninja were attacking at their weakest points. This shouldn't even happen in the first place. Samurai have been places strategically some meters apart starting from the beach near Rose Brier towards the road to Zushi, and the roads to Enoshima up to the point where the Edo met with the Sagami. Samurai have also been placed on each city in the border. Hase has been attacked and the temples Gokurakuji and Anryuuji as well. It clearly signified that they could at least break though the border guards.

      The deep flaw of this plan was that it worked when you were battling straightforward samurai warriors, but simply didn't work with ninja. Ninja who took to the dark and could slip past the keenest of eyes. The only reason the ninja have not achieved whatever they wish to achieve is that Saotomes aren't your ordinary samurai and that Nabiki and Ranma have been working to keep the ninja off their backs.

      In all aspects, they should've beaten theses ninja months ago, but no matter how they revised and re-revised their plans, they always seem to anticipate their moves. Nabiki started to suspect a leak inside, but she couldn't point her finger on anyone.

      The problem was, they didn't know what the ninja were after. They attacked just enough to hold them back and disappeared just as quickly. They didn't even finish their fights and never returned for their dead. They appeared, tired everyone out and disappeared. They could see no motive.

     Ranma and Nabiki walked back to camp just as the leader of the particular troop entered.

      "Return to your posts," he ordered as he too wiped his sword. Nabiki-kun looked at Hiroshi, he was one of their farther cousins. Not direct blood, so he wasn't trained in the art, but was a competent leader and could be trusted with his life.

      "I think I should start sleeping in the border, Shizukama." Ranma frowned thoughtfully at his sword re-sheathing it carefully. Nabiki-kun recalled it took him time to remember to call her that when she was cursed before. Now it came almost naturally. "We're losing too many samurai. I can't afford anything closer to Yuigihama. Old man Happosai's not going to like it if these attacks cost him that gathering."

      Nabiki frowned, it wasn't possible. Ranma was needed in Rose Brier as well. As it is, it was their weakest spot. It was attackable from both Zushi and Enoden. The rest of the Sagami might be safe, but Rose Brier was still on the border. He said so.

      "I know, but this is crazy!" Ranma said looking around him wildly. He then began speaking in Chinese, "<I should be in Hase, in case of a second attack. I may be a daimyo, Nabiki, but I'm just a vassal of the old lech. I should be in the front of the lines.>"

      "<Then let me stay here.>" Nabiki answered, she thought about this while they traveled to the borders and thought that it would be a good solution for both her worries and her brother's.

      "<No. Much as that would be a good solution as my presence, you know I can't run the house. You're the only one who can. There's no way you can leave for that long a period without the house going to shambles,>" Ranma answered frustrated, but then gave her a small teasing smile. "<Besides what am I supposed to do? Sit there and tolerate Kodachi while you have fun.>"

      "<All right... how about a compromise?>" Nabiki drawled, light smile playing on her lips, when Ranma didn't answer immediately her smile grew wider. "<Here's what we do...>"

---

      Kodachi Saotome steeled herself for the convulsion that came as her muscles regenerated itself. She wished she could retch out the muddy taste in her mouth, but the worms that came out extremely sickened her.

      She watched in fascination as muscle clung to the bone and settled. In a few minutes, the second layer would cling out. She had worried about her hair not growing but it seemed to regenerate as well.

      She consoled herself with the fact that the face had not yet decomposed when it was bestowed to her. When she accepted the offer, she had expected a fully functioning body... not a half body of month long dead woman. At least Gosunkugi didn't make a fuss about her first appearance. He just fainted. If he screamed, she would have been forced to knock him out, and she barely had muscles back then.

      She needed to recover fully but their hideout completely disgusted her. If she didn't need Gosunkugi, she would have scrapped the entire idea of putting up with the place altogether. But she needed to heal and the eta village was the place to do so. Hardly anyone steps foot in the eta village, no one would try to seek her out there. It was foul grounds, and whatever happens that may seem queer will be left alone.

      'I swear if I get a single louse on my kimono I'm going to burn this damn house.' She stopped as another convulsion passed and inspected her right hand.

     The regeneration was taking longer than she expected, but at least she was regenerating. In a week she could probably get out of the house and meet with people.

      When she first opened her eyes, she thought she went to hell. It took her a complete day to break out of the coffin. It would help if the person whose body she's currently invading is actually a samurai, but the girl who sent her down wouldn't even give her that. She settled for a degenerate peasant.

      'I've lost time already.' Kodachi thought as she wrapped her hand with a white cloth she managed to acquire in the village. She hoped Gosunkugi could get all those mercenaries ready, because the Yuigahama meeting only happens once a year. The ninja attacking the border wouldn't last long without the leaks she was handing to them, and they were so close to the meeting.

      'Let Nabiki think what she wants from those attacks, I don't care.' The only purpose she continually sent them the attacks was to startle them, make them unstable. To keep all their resources at the borders, the cities would be virtually defenseless with all the samurai there, and she would be able to make her move. 'After all... nobody knows their enemy is inside their cities themselves, do they?'

      First she needed to take out the Akane girl and that wasn't going to be easy. Bringing out the special quill for the pigeons she started to write to her brother. 'I wonder if brother still searches for that girl he has devoted his soul to?'

      Maybe her brother has heard of her supposed amnesia but she was smart enough to use the exact codes their father entrusted to them when they were children. Tatewaki would recognize it was from a trusted Kuno source.

      Then again, Tatewaki was a maniac and would go wherever his love was, regardless of who sent it. He was still dumb enough to search for that woman blindly. Even in Saotome territory.

      Her brother can bungle up this one all he likes. He's made her life a living hell, let's see if he can do so now, with her in someone else's body. Finishing the small note she brought the pigeon closer to her and inserted the small parchment into the cylinder at its leg.

      "Let's see if my brother can still use all his resources when he's trying to get something he wants." She smiled as the bird flew away. "Go my pretty, find my brother for me."

      Kodachi watched as the bird flew and she laughed. Back in Nerima, Akane shivered as she turned to look at the sky.

---

      Akane leaned against the bark of the tree as Ifuku handed her a soft towel for her perspiration. Akane gave the woman a weak smile as she slumped down.

     She ran her farthest and fastest today and Ifuku seemed to be less ruffled than she was. If Nabiki or Ranma found out about it, she'd die of humiliation. Being outmaneuvered by her own maid was not a comforting thought. "Do all the servants run as fast as you do, Ifuku-san?"

      "No, Lady Akane," Ifuku answered, taking back the cloth and giving her a comforting smile. Akane suspected Ifuku was just trying to make her feel better. "When I was young, I wanted to be samurai so much that I tried to train as they did."

      "They grant samurai status?" Akane whispered as she sat down on the soft ground for a rest. From all the history books, she knew it was a title that came out of birth.

      Ifuku smiled wistfully, she did not wear a kimono for the run and dressed up in one of Akane's... creations. "I was a child. Children tend to dream." Akane wondered how Ifuku rose above that particular wish.

      "It's nice of you to offer to run with me, Ifuku, but it wasn't all that necessary," Akane said kindly as she took out a small fan. "I dug myself into this trouble, and I have to get myself out."

      "Won't you consider giving up Lord Ranma's challenge? He is very skilled." There was concern in Ifuku's eyes and she wondered, not for the first time, what the odds against winning over her husband were. "Lord Ranma is trained to kill. You have not picked up a ribbon in five years and you have amnesia. You must reconsider."

      "Wait a minute! You think he's won already with the way you're speaking. Well I'll show Mister High and Mighty Ranma Saotome. We'll see who wins in two weeks." Akane shook her head. It was a matter of pride. She didn't want to back down now. Her husband would think she was a coward and Akane was certainly not a coward.

      Ifuku stood up from the ground and offered her hand. "Then you must drive yourself to the limits, Lady Akane. Lord Ranma is honorable, and he will not take unnecessary shots at your body, but he is stronger and faster than Lady Nabiki. He has not fought you in a sparring match for seven years. He will not know how to pull his punches."

      "I don't want him to pull his punches!" Akane snapped angrily. The last time someone fought her with a handicap was when she was seven years old. She refused then, and she was going to refuse now.

      "I'm sorry, my lady. But if you don't want Lord Ranma to pull his punches, then I don't think I can help you. Lord Ranma's skill can match against any Saotome trained samurai and he wins. He always does. I don't think you can survive if he turns all out, and I'm sure you've never seen a chi blast."

      "What?" Akane asked, irritated over the maid's assessment of Ranma's skill. They put Ranma on a high pedestal that no one has ever reached. She heard several stories of Ranma's fighting prowess and he has no losses. He was their daimyo but they revered him as their shining god, their golden boy, their lucky star. No one could compare.

      "Lady Akane, Lord Ranma surpasses every trained Saotome samurai in speed and agility which makes up for his strength. He's not that strong, but he's stronger than most. In one punch he could break your bones, I'm not joking. Saotome samurai use the sword to kill not because they need it, but because they want to underplay their abilities. In all truth, the clan detests the use of any kind of weapon. All they need are their hands."

     "How..." Akane asked in small wonder and a little amount of disbelief entered her voice. Such feats seemed surreal to her, especially since the last powerful blow that she saw just managed to break her classmates' ribs. "How do you know all of this?"

      "I'm a loyal servant of the household. I have served the Saotome house for years. One of the reasons I guard you is because I am trusted." Ifuku paused, she was telling the truth, but telling the naked truth to Kodachi Kuno tended to get you killed. "I am here because I can protect myself if necessary."

      "Where do your loyalties lay, Ifuku?" Akane asked suspiciously.

      "There can be no question towards my loyalties." Ifuku bowed her head even lower than Akane could have thought possible. "I am loyal to the Saotome clan, and I am loyal to you."

      "It's a direct clash," Akane murmured, looking at the bent head. "Your loyalties."

      "No, Lady Akane, I was never loyal to Lady Kodachi." Akane was surprised to hear that. It was the first time she heard the names Akane and Kodachi spoken in the same sentence. It was the first time someone has faith enough to believe her. "I can't promise your victory, Lady Akane, but I can train you to survive. If I learned anything when I was young... I will teach you how to survive."

      Akane placed her hand on Ifuku's shoulder. "Get up, Ifuku-san. You don't need to apologize. My temper has gotten away with me. I'm sure you can help me."

      Then adopting the bow Ifuku used towards her Akane said reverently, "Ifuku-san, please train me."

-

      In the trees, Hanae watched silently. Ifuku would keep Kodachi from being killed in a fight against her father. Although she was sure her father would never try to hit a girl... he had revised his philosophy regarding Kodachi after the first few beatings she delivered to the household help. She didn't know whether that was bad or good news. She stroked the cat she held silently. It looks like she might not learn swimming or gymnastics from Kodachi after all.

      She set the cat down silently, another one cast away from Rose Brier. She wondered how long it was before an accident happened with the sudden population of the little critters.

      As it scampered away, Hanae turned to go towards the house when Sei appeared and dropped another kitten at her side. "You know..."

      He fell silent as he watched Ifuku and Akane run then turned to talk to his cousin. "I didn't know Ifuku-san could run as fast as she did."

      "I didn't know she could run at all," Hanae answered as she turned towards the house, she paused for a minute wondering. "Should we tell anyone what we saw?"

      "Kodachi learning to fight from Ifuku?" Sei thought about it for a moment then looked at Hanae inquiringly. "Does Ifuku-san know anything at all?"

      "Apparently she has a great deal more endurance than Akane and judging from the way she runs, a great deal faster too." It was the only assessment she could give, other than that, Ifuku's skill was a mystery.

      Peasants did not train in martial arts, what they know was just enough to keep them safe from robbers. If they were attacked by even low-class samurai, Hanae was sure that samurai would win. Of course... there were exceptions to the rule.

      "Would Ifuku-san training Kodachi help in any way?" Sei asked, he was like his mother in that. He asked questions and rarely gave answers.

      "Probably not. Ifuku-san doesn't know the style... and daddy is very skillful." There was worry in her voice although Sei was sure it wasn't for their father.

      "Father will beat Kodachi regardless of training Ifuku-san gives. Will warning father accomplish anything but betraying the trust Kodachi gave you?" Kodachi would never know told Ranma about Ifuku's training, and Ranma would have never told Kodachi how he found out. But the children would know among themselves, and Sei wanted to keep Hanae's deceit to a minimum. Loyalties were a difficult thing to choose. "But we should probably tell father that Kodachi is training and her bruises are healing nicely."

      Hanae nodded, she gave her complete trust to her cousin regarding matters that needed to be thought out. "Come on Sei-chan, before Sasuke finds out we're skipping Kyudo practice."

      "We needed to get rid of cats," Sei grumbled as they turned to walk towards the house. "That's a good enough excuse for him."

---

      Ranma walked back to Rose Brier late that night stumbling into the first steps of the house, barely slipping off his Chinese slippers, thoroughly exhausted from the fights of the border and his trip back. All he wanted to do was rest.

      Of course, there were still things that were left unattended to and Sasuke's sudden appearance at the entrance reminded him of this. The ninja bowed and smiled as he began on a detailed report what has happened since his leave. The ninja's first attempts to do that startled Ranma, not expecting anybody to welcome his arrival. Now it became more natural, just as the people calling him lord and all other idiosyncrasies that came with Rose Brier.

      "Sasuke, are the children still awake?" Ranma asked in a hushed tone, although the answer was already obvious. If the house was sleeping, within five minutes of his arrival at the border of Kamakura city samurai would have already gone ahead to rouse those who were asleep at Rose Brier. It was a custom he was sure he would never understand.

      "They have been waiting for your arrival, Lord Ranma," he answered in the same hushed tones Ranma used, "The Lady Ko - Akane is waiting for the Lady Ranko, lord. It's the latest my lord has arrived since the attack at Hase."

      "Yes, I had some trouble. Shizukama needed to be left at the border." Even though Sasuke was a ninja that lived inside the house Sasuke still didn't find out about their curses. It was uncanny and Ranma admitted to himself that he was sometimes scared of the seeming incompetence of the ninja. Still... it was an added bonus to the twin's part. "It's probably going to get worse. I'm going to leave for a few weeks. Ranko is going to stay here in my place until she switches place with Shizukama at the border."

      "And Lady Nabiki?" Sasuke asked noticing Lady Nabiki's absence. "Where will she be?"

      "She's doing something for me. We're trading places before the Yuigahama gathering," Ranma stated, wanting Sasuke to know the surface of his plans so he would not dig for more. Hopefully, that would keep his curiosity for a while. "Thank you, Sasuke."

      The ninja bowed and disappeared into the night to do his other duties.

      Hanae was the next person who found him, with a glass of water and a change of clothes. She smiled impishly. "Daddy, you should change before you see your wife."

      Kneeling down beside the girl he patted her head. "I don't think the hallway is appropriate, Hanae. Come here, Sei."

      The boy, who was slightly behind him, was not surprised at Ranma's beckon. It was obvious that Ranma already sensed his presence the second he had stepped to hide behind him, which was exactly when Hanae had smiled.

      The boy bowed first then ran towards him to stand beside Hanae. "Good evening, father. Is mother coming home?"

      "Good Evening, Sei. I'm afraid not." Ranma smiled, not regretting that he told the boy to continue to call Nabiki mother even after the adoption. "Nabiki-chan has been detained for a while. I'll be handling most of your lessons while she's gone."

      "Will the Yuigahama party still cn'tinue?" Hanae asked worriedly. It was something she always liked, even though she only heard stories of the happenings through her father and her aunt.

      Ranma nodded as he stood up, carrying the two children in his arms easily, Hanae was still holding the kimono and glass. "Yes, Lord Happosai would be extremely disappointed if something happened to prevent it."

     "Father, how long has Lord Happosai been head of the Saotome clan?" Sei asked curiously. It was a reasonable question, although Happosai looked like a venerated figure, he certainly was not. "It seems he has held that position for a thousand years and yet he has so few political ties."

      "One hundred years, possibly more. The title is hereditary. Lord Happosai has made a lot of enemies, Sei," Ranma explained patiently to a boy who would be experiencing the old man's beckon soon enough, especially if he were to be Ranma's heir. "A long life does create time for ties, but long enough to break them, too."

      "Then I wish I would never live as long as Lord Happosai," Sei wished fervently. "If I ever hold the Clan I wish I won't be cursed to live as long."

      "Me too," Hanae piped up, just as Ranma reached the front of their rooms. "Daddy, are we sleeping alr'dy?"

      "Yes," Ranma answered as he put the children down in the hallway, patting the children's head he smiled as they tried to stifle identical yawns. "You two are tired and I'm the one training you tomorrow."

      Both scampered to their rooms, Ranma went to visit Hanae first, as she pulled up her blanket towards herself he blew out the light of her lantern and stroked her forehead gently. "Good night, Hanae." He did the same thing to Sei as well.

      He sighed as he headed for the furo. He certainly needed another bath. The trip was dusty, and far too long. The blood and his sweat mixed into his skin that he was sure a long scrubbing would still leave remnants of the trip.

      'Nabiki was right, we should switch places. It's the wisest thing to do.' He just hoped he could pull of the part where he stayed as Ranko most of the time. The curse simply didn't follow any wish to curb it.

      Sometimes he even wondered if it was sentient. Maybe it willed water to touch him. He had been lucky thus far. But for how long?

      He also needed to deal with Kodachi. Anything Goes martial arts should remain to the Saotome name only. Such were the rules that Hanae and Nabiki, being women, are not allowed to show any part of the art to their husbands or their children.

      Any ordinary adopted child was not allowed to learn the art, but being Nabiki's son, and being re-stated into the Saotomes though Ranma's adoption, made Sei special.

      Hanae was that too, but Rian was an Amazon, and was entitled to the art. He couldn't very well give her back to the Amazons when his friend entrusted her to him. Besides, her record showed that he is her official father and only Cologne, Ranma and Hanae herself knew otherwise.

      'When did my life start to get complicated?' He wondered, it certainly didn't seem so when he was younger, learning the art with Nabiki.

      Maybe it was when he had married into the Kuno family. Wasn't Kodachi the root of all his problems? Maybe it was when he returned from China. Wasn't that when the fiancée wars started? Maybe it was when he and Nabiki won that battle. Wasn't that the whole reason they were sent away? Maybe it was when they were trained in the art. Wasn't that training a curse and a blessing as well?

      Maybe it was even before that. Before he was born. The past has a way of searching you out. It is only a matter of time until it caught up. It was his time now. He was probably paying up for some past life. 'Karma,' he thought, then shook his head ruefully, for a Christian, he still thought back to his Buddhist and Shinto beliefs. He really didn't believe in Christianity that much, it was more of an order from Happosai that kept him from converting back rather than faith.

      "Why do we have to wake up when he arrives anyway, Ifuku? It's not like he wakes up every time we come home."

      Kodachi's firm but almost groggy voice startled him out of his reverie. He was surprised to hear her. He looked over his shoulder and saw that he already crossed the corridor towards what they branded as "her side of the house". Though they moved rooms when he ordered it or when they were in danger, the servants were always instructed to have his quarters far from Kodachi's own, and separated by a long corridor. He already passed it and he barely noticed, 'I must really be tired.' His actions were never automatic unless he was thoroughly exhausted.

      There was irritation in the voice. Kodachi in her best mood was hard to handle. Irritation was one of the many things that made her incorrigible. He did not want to deal with an overly distraught wife, not now. He wouldn't know how to handle her. He heard her demand through the shoji, "Would you please explain all of this? I'm confused enough as it is."

      "My lady, it is customary that the lord arrive to an alert home." There was a sigh. Ranma, because he was already there, decided to enter the room. He changed his mind at the last minute, leaning against the paper-thin doors opposite Kodachi's own and listened to the conversation instead.

      The shoji made listening in a joke and watching them a farce. The lantern that projected their shadows made him visualize the room to its exact detail. For someone who was trained to watch details, it was not a hard task. "It has been that way for our ancestors, as it is for you, as it will be to your descendants."

      "My mother waited for my father to arrive, but it wasn't strict. He let her sleep when he arrived and she was tired waiting up for him coming home from work!" Kodachi retorted indignantly, Ranma thought she must not have come from a close knit family. "Honestly, when do we get to sleep? I'm not much of a night person myself."

      "When my lord sleeps, the whole house may sleep, except for the samurai that guard the night," Ifuku explained, the shadows against the shoji suggested that Ifuku leaned to give Kodachi some tea. "We must wait 'till Sasuke tells us that the lord is asleep."

      "I just wish that he'd sleep soon." There was a yawn that followed. Slightly exasperated she complained, "I can't imagine how I'm going to teach Hanae how to swim. Why can't Nabiki believe me when I tell her I can't even tread in water!"

      "My lady will find a way to teach Lady Hanae," Ifuku reassured her, Kodachi fidgeted. Ranma looked at the shadows wearily, he knew Kodachi was an agile swimmer, and even if she cannot teach any martial art technique with swimming, she will be able to teach Hanae its basics. "I have my faith in my lady."

      "Is... Is Ranko Hanae's mother?" it was a tentative question, and there was a tinge of... something in her voice that Ranma couldn't place. There was a pause, and Ranma waited expectantly for Ifuku's answer.

      Ifuku was one of his most trusted servants, which was the reason he let Kodachi keep her as a maid. She was an invaluable vassal, a loyal girl. She was also one of the few people who knew about Ranko and Shizukama. Her answer would be interesting.

     There was a pause as Ifuku regarded her lady's question and worded her answer carefully. "Is my lady not Hanae-san's mother?" Ifuku asked gently. "Is Ukyo-san not Hanae-san's mother?"

      There was silence, and presumably a nod then Ifuku continued, "In a sense Lady Ranko is Hanae-san's mother. It does not matter who birthed her into this world, Lady Akane, it is who cares and loves her."

      That was a surprise. It seems Kodachi has won Ifuku's trust as well. She started to call her Akane, and Ranma has not said anything about anybody calling her in that name. If Ranma was truly honest with himself, he knew he was beaten. He was losing the war that he pitted against his wife. Kodachi was slowly winning everyone.

      "I guess you're right..." She sighed then let a tinge of irritation in her voice as she was reminded of the other girl. "Where is Ranko anyway?"

      "Maybe with the Lady Nabiki," Ifuku offered. She managed to tell Kodachi his supposed whereabouts without revealing the curse.

      There was small lag in their conversation and another yawn. "I really wish Ranma would sleep, I'm getting tired of waiting for him."

      "M y lady, forgive me if my question sounds impertinent..." Ranma tensed, Ifuku never asked for forgiveness before she did something. It must mean that she saw it as something wrong.

      "Ask me, and I'll tell you," Kodachi answered, her answer suddenly as guarded as Ifuku's.

      "Does my lady really feel nothing for my lord?" Ifuku asked, her hands reaching out for Kodachi's. Ranma frowned, his sudden softness regarding Kodachi must have been so evident for someone to comment on it.

      "Oh, I do feel something for him," Kodachi answered lightly, Ranma stood there shocked, it was not the answer he expected from someone like her. "I detest him."

      Now that was the answer he was expecting. So why did his heart feel so heavy all of a sudden? He looked at the room disgusted. This is what he got for listening in, especially to people like Kodachi.

      He eyed the kimono and the water that he held in his hands. He turned towards his room, his want for the furo gone. He could take his bath in the morning. As filthy as he was, he wasn't going to rouse the maids to fetch the water, and he certainly wasn't going to cross the room to ask Ifuku for soap.

      He didn't need to sleep in Kodachi's room in the first place. Ranko was the one who swore, and he wasn't Ranko at the moment.

-

      The Lady Akane, Ifuku sensed, was in a foul mood. She was roused from her three-hour sleep because of the late arrival of Lord Ranma and was feeling rather distasteful that Lady Ranko was nowhere to be found. All of this she blamed on their Lord.

      So rationally, now was not the time to ask the Lady Akane for her feelings towards Lord Ranma. She was obviously angry and such a question would only provoker her. But Ifuku wanted to know and she would not get a better opportunity than that night.

      Thinking she calmed the lady enough, Ifuku tensed as she asked the question that she wanted to be answered for so long. "Oh, I do feel something for him." Ifuku's heart soared, because it could only mean that her Lord has hope and that... "I detest him."

      Ifuku's high spirits plummeted almost immediately. Apparently, she was wrong. Either Lady Akane wasn't calmed down enough or... she didn't love her lord. She was wishing it was more of the former rather than the latter.

      Her soft ears picked up a small rustle in the shoji, a sound almost muted to silence, that she was not sure if she imagined it or not. Her heart skipped a beat. There were only a few people in the whole household whose footsteps she could hear through the tatami.

      A good number of those she could sense were servants as herself, but from the lightness of the tread, she was sure it was samurai. There were few reasons why samurai would mis-step like that.

      One reason would probably be her lady's declaration of hate towards the lord.

      "What is it Ifuku?" Akane asked, sensing the abrupt silence from her maid. "Is there something wrong?"

      "Nothing, my lady. It's probably the wind... Would my lady excuse me?" Ifuku whispered when Akane nodded, she stood up going over to the shoji peering at it closely, "I see something near the shoji."

      Ifuku moved towards the door, certain that she would find nothing of importance, sliding it noiselessly aside. She stifled her gasp when she saw what was there, bending over she picked up the items left by her lady's door.

      "What is it, Ifuku?" Akane asked.

      Turning around slowly Ifuku showed her the sleeping kimono that Ranko usually wore folded neatly in her hands and a cup of cool water. Akane frowned at this, not understanding what the items meant.

      "I thought Ranko was with Nabiki."

      "She is," Ifuku answered, knowing then for sure that the Lady Ranko would not be sleeping at Lady Akane's room that night. "It must be Sasuke, his signal for the Lord's sleep."

      "His... signal?" Akane repeated.

      Sasuke appeared shortly then nodded to her and bowed to Akane.

      "Yes, Lady Akane, Lord Ranma has retired to his quarters," Ifuku whispered, Akane nodded as she greeted a cheery good night and for the second time, retired to her futon.

      Ifuku bowed slowly to her lady then moved out of the room to her adjoining quarters, but sleep would be longer in coming than that of her lady. Because she knew something her lady did not know. She knew the truth behind those items.

      'Lord Ranma has heard the worst from my lady...' Ifuku thought as she stared at the dark ceiling, 'It could be the only reason why he left that.' She frowned, sure that Ranko would not step over towards the other side of the house, where Akane resided.

      But the implications on Ranma's part were also clear to Ifuku. Her lord would not have been hurt if he felt nothing for her lady. And her lady would not have protested so vehemently if she truly loathed her lord.

      To her eyes, the two led such a tragic love that was almost as painful to watch.

      Ifuku sighed, every time Lord Ranma and Lady Akane seemed to find something to bring them closer to one another, something drove them infinitely apart. 'Karma, maybe theirs truly was destined to be a arduous love.'

---

      Ifuku went about cleaning the room humming in a pleasant tone that her mother sang to her when she was a child. Two of the younger servants were cleaning the shoji. Their happy chatter distracted her, but brought her memories of how she learned to be what she was now.

      "Lady Akane had a fight with Lord Ranma and Lady Nabiki yesterday," the smaller one said in a hushed tone. Ever since Lady Akane's amnesia, everyone has their gossip, even the young ones enjoyed whatever they saw.

      "Well, Lady Nabiki won against her," the older one, Sara if Ifuku wasn't mistaken, spoke. She didn't mind their loose tongue. Everyone has a right to speculate. "I think Lady Akane wanted to redeem herself. Lady Nabiki did manage to humiliate her in front of Lord Sei and Lady Hanae."

      "How can she redeem herself if she claims the name Tendo? It doesn't really make sense."

     Ifuku's head shot up at the name, dropping the blankets that she was preparing to store. She turned to look at the children who peeked in to find out what was wrong.

      "What did you say?" Ifuku asked in the calmest manner she could muster. The children just stared at her blankly, not knowing what she was referring to. "What was that name Lady Akane said?"

      "Tendo, Ifuku-san. It was Tendo."

      Ifuku paled at the words. She did not mishear. 'What could she know?' Ifuku thought as she stood up murmuring an excuse to the children and asked them to finish cleaning Lady Akane's room for her.

      When she was sure the children were busying themselves with the task, she went towards Lady Nabiki's room and took the inkwell and brush, while swiping some paper as she scribbled a note.

      She wondered how Lady Akane could know of the house, but if the Saotomes didn't know if it by now, they would try to learn of it later. The Tendos... they were far from the sphere of influence. How could they possibly hear of the house?

      Rolling the paper quickly, she stole out of the room quietly praying that she would have a chance to send it in time.

---

      Cologne walked back to a place she never thought she would visit again. For all the bad blood between her kind and the twins, she'd never thought that she would come back to Japan to seal an alliance with the Saotome Clan for the Joketsuzoku.

      It was desperate times, and for them to need outside help to survive -- it was desperate times. She needed a place for her great-granddaughter to learn. Only the Saotomes came to mind. They were the only ones who could wake Shampoo up. It was a long shot, but she needed her great-granddaughter back.

      Already the girl looked dejected. The nearer they approached Rose Brier, the more she frowned. She looked down at her feet rather than straight ahead, which was a sign the girl was still demoralized. Cologne didn't know if the trip to Japan made matters better or worse for the girl.

      Expecting Nabiki to greet her by the gates of Rose Brier, it came as a surprise when it was Ranma -- in his cursed form -- who bowed and welcomed her in. It was unnatural for the man to be the one who welcomed such visitors and it wasn't much of a shock that he did so as a girl.

      "Good day, Matriarch Kuh Lon." Ranma-chan gave her a deep bow, which she returned, then turning to Shampoo she bowed in greeting again. "Good day, Xian Pu. Welcome to Rose Brier. What makes you venture to these parts?"

      "Is there any other reason why we would go to Rose Brier, Ranko-chan?" Ranma would not find out the reason of their stay, and she just left the answer to the boy's imagination.

      "Could I offer the ladies... something?" Ranma just shook his head as he entered the house with Cologne. It was apparent to Cologne that even though he has the time to get used to his girl from, he did not train much in how one should act, especially when receiving guests.

      It looked like Nabiki still received guests for him and managed most of his household. He has a long way to go in learning the arts of hospitality. Cologne declined his offer graciously and so did Shampoo. "And how is your lovely wife?"

      "I don't have a wife," Ranma answered lightly guiding them towards a room where they could talk. "Though if you are asking of Lord Ranma, he is by the border of the Sagami, by Yuigahama shore."

      'So they decided to keep the curse from the household of Rose Brier, just as what they did in their house in Nerima. The twins traded places. Who else would be at the beach if not for Nabiki? Ranma wouldn't tell me something like that if one of them wasn't there.' The information was of some significance. "And the Lady Kodachi?"

      "Sick with a mild cold." Ranma opened the shoji that led to the garden for some of the fresh air to come in, taking some of the zabuton(7)  she offered it to them. "She seemingly forgot how to swim."

      "It would be of great pleasure if Hanae and Nabiki's son grace us with their presence." Cologne answered as she looked at Ranma-chan closely, gauging his expression. It didn't change.

      Taking a small bell from inside the folds of her obi, Ranma raised it and rung it several times. The moment he stopped ringing, a young girl arrived and bowed once towards him then at the two guests. "What is it Lady Ranko?"

      "Please call Sei and Hanae." After Ranma gave the order, the servant bowed and left, only to return in a short while with the two children then bowed again to leave. Cologne turned her attention to the new arrivals.

      Sei held a distinct resemblance to his mother and a small resemblance to his uncle. At five, he was already a charming lad. Although from what she learned, Sei took more of his appearance from his father's side.

      Hanae, as she expected, was the exact image of her mother. Except for the long red locks she neatly tied in a pony-tail, Cologne could just imagine staring at her lost heir. Her resemblance to Shampoo could not go unnoticed as well, and she wondered how long it would take for her heir to notice that the young girl in front of her was an Amazon.

      "Elder Kuh Lon, Xian Pu, the young Lord Sei and Lady Hanae of the House Saotome." Ranma introduced the children as they bowed to the Amazon guests. "Sei, Hanae, I would like you to meet the Honored Matriarch Kuh Lon and her heir and great-granddaughter, Xian Pu from the Joketsuzoku."

      Hearing this, Hanae's eyes widened in surprise and delight but refrained from clapping. Sei remained as passive just like Nabiki when she had been introduced to Cologne the first time. The boy really did take up after his mother after all.

      "Great-grandmother... she..." Shampoo's voice trailed off. Cologne nodded in affirmation to the unstated question. The girl did not notice the similarity to Rian from the portrait, but upon seeing her close, its implications dawned on her. A hurt look crossed her face as she stood up. "May I be excused?"

      She didn't wait for a yes and fled down the hallway, leaving Ranma and the two children confused at the sudden departure. Cologne just gazed off after her, a soft and rare frown appearing on her face as she thought about Shampoo's departure.

      "Uh... was it something I said?" Ranma asked, uneasily switching his gaze from Shampoo to Cologne. "I--"

      Shaking her head, Cologne sighed. She thought Shampoo was better than this. Jumping to conclusions was one thing an elder of the Amazon Village needed to do away with. "She thinks you betrayed her."

      "What?"

      Through the years, Ranma's denseness towards the other sex became an amusing show that she indulged in but at times like this, it was a rather painful task of explanation. It was a wonder that his sister was so keen at it. Because she didn't want to blurt out Shampoo's feelings to everyone in the room, Cologne spoke softly in Chinese, "<She thinks you're Hanae's father.>"

      There was a moment of confusion before understanding dawned on Ranma as he stood up to go after his friend. Cologne's outstretched staff stopped him in an instant. "What? I have to go after her, she doesn't understand..."

      "Let her think first," Cologne advised, withdrawing her staff from Ranma's path. "Then talk to her, she might be more receptive to the truth after she has time for herself. For the moment, I want to see your students perform, neh?"

---

      Sobbing, Shampoo ran, she found solace in the forest, the only place in Japan she could picture as her home. Even a few months off mainland China brought a heaviness in her heart that she knew was from homesickness.

      She missed China already. Yet she missed Ranma most of all, no, she missed their times together when they were young. Those were carefree times where she sought his hand or his sister's head.

      She jumped up to one of the trees and sat on its branches, pouring her heart out. Her nails clinging on to the soft fabric of her dress, her tears making dark splotches against the beautiful red silk, not minding that she would probably get reprimanded for ruining such a prized gift from her cousin.

      All this years she thought that even if Ranma didn't love her, even if he didn't believe in the laws, that he had at least been honest with her. That he told her the truth.

      She fast learned that Ranma Saotome's word was worth nothing at all.

      He told her he wouldn't marry, because he didn't and couldn't. His honor demanded that he marry all the girls he was engaged to, and he never wanted that... which resulted to the fiancée wars. Yet he married Kodachi Kuno in a blink, someone who he wasn't engaged to in the first place.

      It was a slap in the face she could not and would not take. That was the reason she returned to China. The humiliation he forced her to endure was too great for her to remain in Japan. She tried to attack Kodachi Kuno, blindly tried to kill the woman who stole her love from her, but Ranma defended her. Even if he showed nothing but contempt towards Koachi. Even if he loathed her.

      Then he swore that he did not break the law, that she has as much chance as Rian in his heart. Then he slept with Rian. How else could the child look so much like her cousin? She was convinced Hanae was indeed her cousin's daughter, and the red hair proved that she was her father's.

      He twisted the knife that was already sticking out to her back and it hurt her far more than she wanted to admit. Because after all this time of loathing Ranma, the most terrible realization came with her tears... that she still loved the man.

      Damn him, Ranma was a liar... and yet she still loved him. He betrayed her... and she still loved him... 'What am I going to do?'

      'I'm nothing but a lovesick puppy.' Shampoo thought, her sobs racking her whole body and moving the branch she was sitting on violently, 'I'm no better than that idiotic Mousse who pines away for me. At least he lives in his own dream world. I don't even have the comfort of oblivion.'

      Her crying seemed to last forever, until someone tapped her shoulder, sitting down beside her in the branch. She didn't turn to look who it was, she knew for certain it was him. Who else could it be?

      "Hey, Shampoo..." he murmured softly... he had changed back to his male form before he caught up with her.

      "Hey..." Shampoo's voice broke off, she couldn't think of anything else to say. Anything more threatened to spill more of the tears that were lurking behind her eyes and she vowed not to let him see her pain. For the moment silence seemed to be enough.

      He smiled at her, just as she remembered back when they were young. He was still as handsome as he was six years ago. Her heart shot up the unmistakable pain of longing through her body that she hoped to squelch but could not. "Did Cologne tell you anything... after I got married?"

      "No..." Shampoo's eyes traveled to his shirt, a small chain with a cross was imprinted through the thin wet top. It was an unfamiliar object that Shampoo did not see him wear before, and it bore implications she did not want to think about at the moment. "Grandmamma chooses to tell things when thinks Shampoo is ready."

      Her Japanese was better, but still not flawless. "What you follow me here for?"

      "It's getting late..."

      Shampoo turned to look at the sky. The sun has indeed set. She must have been out longer than she thought. But she has all the time in the world. She needn't hurry back to the village, no one was waiting for her there, and she needn't go back to the house, for the only one she wanted to have did not want her. "I no need your concern."

      It was one of those times that Ranma wisely decided to keep his mouth shut, opting to watch her silently. Shampoo just stared on the grass below her stoically. Finally, deciding that the conversation would go nowhere she breached the topic she did not want to discuss. Speaking in Chinese so that she could express her feelings adequately she asked, "<Is my cousin Hanae's mother?>"

      "She is."

      Shampoo's slap rang across the night, it was the first time she has ever tried to intentionally hit him in his boy form, and the first time she has ever meant it. This was no longer a game of two sixteen year olds, they were adults, it was time they came to the real world. Accusation was laden in her cool eyes. "Why?"

      "Why what?" Ranma asked his eyes not leaving Shampoo's. His hand didn't even come up to his defense, and Shampoo knew that he let her slap him. It troubled her to no end. Ranma never let anyone intentionally hit him before, no one.

      "<Why did you do it?>"

      "<Because Rian was a friend.>"

      "<I'm your friend too and you don't see me sleeping with you!>" Shampoo looked at him, tears streaming down her face. Her resolve not to cry broken by his confused state, she desperately wanted to believe that he did not betray her, but knew that he has.

      The last she heard of her cousin was that she married a samurai... too many coincidences. "<How is she?>"

      Ranma averted his gaze. There were some things bound too much by secrecy that it cannot be parted with, even with close friends. "<As best as she could be... I guess.>"

      "<How is your consort, then?>" there was steel in her voice. "<Great-grandmother talked to Nabiki before we went home, I never got the chance to see her. To know her. All I know is that you have one.>"

      There was a puzzled look in Ranma's face that Shampoo grew to despise, she did not know that he was that good at deception, maybe he learned from his sister. "<I don't -- oh... you must be talking about Ranko.>"

      Ranko? Who the hell? Wasn't this where he was supposed to admit that he took Rian in? "<No! I mean my cousin!>"

      "You think I took Rian as a consort?" he asked perplexed.

      "<Isn't she?>"

      "No!" the denial was too vehement and automatic to be fake.

      "<Then Hanae's father...>"

      "<... is dead.>"

      "<Then who-->"

      "<I'm not allowed to tell anybody too much.>" Ranma sighed as he looked at her, "<The fact that you know I'm not really Hanae's father will already get me into too much trouble...>"

      "<You don't have to tell me anything,>" Shampoo said as she turned to watch the scene below. It was not much and merely foliage, but she found it interesting at the moment. It was better than to look at Ranma's pleading eyes, because she knew that if she looked at him, her resolve would break, and she'd find herself desperately wanting to kiss him just as she had when they were young. "<Please leave me.>"

     He seemed like he wanted to say more to her, but he didn't continue past his open mouth. He nodded and left her to her thoughts. His departure was almost as silent as his arrival, leaving her to ponder on her thoughts once more.

      How did Rian's hate for him turn to love? How did hers? They were mere children, she was twelve and Rian fifteen when they met... and far too young...

||---------------------||

      "<Do I sense a touch of resentment, cousin?>" Shampoo asked in Mandarin as she walked along the palace gardens. Rian was sent under the Imperial Palace to train when she was twelve, and had been staying there for three years. She has never been defeated, and it smarted for an outsider to do so. The fact that Ranma really was a man rankled even more.

      And for Rian, who prided herself as heir, to be beaten by a man with such a handicap as Ranma at that time... the implications did not sit well with her. Rian found herself in a constant irritable mood which Shampoo exploited every chance she got.

      Rian's dagger was pointed at Shampoo quickly, not a threat, but a warning nonetheless. Rian seems to think Shampoo overstepped her boundaries. "<Do not insult me again! I am the best of our generation! The only reason you won that tournament is that I am here. I do not think a match will yield you good results.>"

      Rian also has no sense of humor. It was probably because she was so young when she was taken away, and so driven by her mentors to be the best that she forgot the basics: how to laugh and be a child. Rian was forced to grow up so soon, so quickly. Shampoo pushed the dagger away. "<I was merely joking.>"

      Rian sheathed her dagger quickly, it was one of her most prized possessions and she guarded it as jealously, as she did her honor. Shampoo noted her cousin liked to put the weapon in her hair. The thickness and her hair color hid it well. "<Jest all you like, I do not like to be defeated by a man.>"

      "<You do not want to be defeated, period.>" Shampoo stopped then turned to face Rian. Asking understanding from her cousin she said, "<Do you think I like being beaten by the lower class?>"

      "<Maybe. I don't know. I've been away from the village for far too long.>" She continued to walk even though Shampoo just stared at her, they needed to tell their great-grandmother what happened. "<Maybe the time has robbed you of your warrior's pride.>"

      Pride was something that was dominant in all Amazon women... especially undefeated champions. But then, they were undefeated champions no longer. Nothing lasts forever. Defeat has always been something that loomed in the future. Amazons just didn't train to lose, that's why it came as such a hard blow -- then again... who trained to lose anyway?

      It was then that the person she previously known as the red-haired girl-- now appropriately dubbed Ranma -- walked across the garden, with a girl, presumably his twin sister, by his side. It came as a surprise to the two Amazons that it was the boy of the two that wore his hair long rather than the other way around.

      Rian watched them through guarded eyes. "<Is that Ranma's uncursed form?>"

      "<Yes.>" There were no formal introductions. The emperor thought it wise for the two parties not to associate with each other just yet. She has to admit, Ranma was good looking and his sister seemed like a strong enough warrior...

      "<I don't think I'll manage to fall in love with him,>" Rian said disgusted then turned towards the gates of the palace, the roads that would lead to the end of the city and the trail to the village. "<I'm thankful he bested you first.>"

      Shampoo looked at the two walk towards the garden, they were laughing at something they saw by the cherry trees. "<You don't know ... maybe he'll manage to surprise you. I'm starting to like him, and that's just by looking.>"

      "<I will never love him.>" With that Rian turned to report to the village, jumping from roof to roof. Shampoo looked at her for a while before she followed.

||---------------------||

      'Oh, Rian,' Shampoo thought as she closed her eyes, they were cousins, friends and rivals at the same time. She watched Rian fall in love with Ranma, watched her change her attitude towards him. How could she not? Ranma was a man easy to love.

      He was a naïve, sweet and terribly uncouth boy that certainly endeared him to both of their hearts. He has his share of faults, but no one was perfect.

      They lived in a village where every woman was above any man, he lived in a country where every man was superior to women. They were so different, and yet on the fleeting moments they trained they were the same. Battle was an equalizer of men. They stood on equal ground... and the moment they parted everything changed.

      Both Rian and Shampoo actively pursued him but they each had different reasons for doing it. Rian always wanted to bash him more than hug him, and Shampoo was the one who constantly tried -- and succeeded -- to kiss him.

      Somehow... in the middle of the frenzy, Rian's barrier of hate crumbled. They said there was a thin line between love and hate, Rian crossed the final lines and her growing love for Ranma, hurt Shampoo more than she cared to admit. Rian increasingly tried to kill him more because it kept her on the edge, knowing that she would never win rather than truly maiming him. Ranma was a great sparring partner, and so was his sister. Both were extremely challenging on their own fields.

      Then... Rian disappeared... with only minuscule clues to her whereabouts.

      ... And now ...

      'You lied to me too.'

---

      Ifuku walked past the samurai, her hands almost shaking. If anybody ever found out what she was doing, she would die. They would kill her regardless of what her reasons were, regardless of her longstanding loyalty to the clan.

      She was sacrificing her life for a secret that she never wanted in the first place. She entered the pigeon house without question from the samurai. The pigeons fluttered restlessly at her entrance.

      Bringing out the small rolled parchment she kept beneath her robes, she placed it on one of the cylinders and set the bird free. Sending out a small prayer for its safety, Ifuku closed the windows and leaned against its frame.

      From the moment she heard of the fight that morning between the Saotomes, she had been in a perpetual state of worry. She knew how these people worked... If he did not get it in time... they might have no chance at all.

      "What did you send out?"

      Ifuku didn't turn quickly, now her life depended on her ability to stick to the truth without revealing too much... to lie if necessary. To lie to the people who took care of her since her childhood. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "A letter, what else?"

      "I'm not playing games, Ifuku-san. What did you send out?" If Ifuku was not sure who it was before, she knew now. She turned slowly around to look at Omokage. She cursed for her incompetence.

      "Can I not send a letter to my husband?" She needed to retain their trust, because most of all, she needed to survive.

      There was uncertainty in Omokage's eyes. That would buy her some time, but would that time be enough? "I did not know you have a husband."

      "No one has ever asked," it was the most subversive voice she ever used. 'Sohin, Be safe. I just need some more time before he can warn any other samurai. A few more minutes before that pigeon flies free.'

      "No one needed to ask. You grew up here!" his accusation was as loud as any slap her mother could have given her. She made a mistake, she should have known to tell more people about her wedding, but it was a ruse and she was a peasant.

      She heard the faint sound of running and she knew this could only end with her death. Her jailers have come to arrest her. A samurai barged in, the dead bird in his hands. It was her last chance of survival.

      Omokage got the bird and opened the small cylinder with the letter in it. He read it aloud, "Sohin, Lady Nabiki searches for answers regarding the Tendos. Please tell her what you know -- your wife, Ifuku."

      "Is there something in my letter that displeases you?" Ifuku asked as she watched him, she dare not let a smile play on her face. She was not out of trouble yet.

      "Do you know what would happen if this falls in enemy territory?" Omokage demanded as he threw the dead bird at her feet. "You're lucky our archers were astute. Lord Ranma and Lady Nabiki always inform samurai if they send out anything. Lady Nabiki handles the letters, and she isn't home at the moment."

      "Gomenasai, Omokage-san. I was not thinking." Ifuku proceeded to kneel in the most abject manner possible and bowed before him. "May I ask who the Lady Nabiki has asked for information for the Tendos?"

      "Why do you wish to know something that is not of your concern?"

      "Because my husband would be the perfect spy for her," Ifuku answered, murmuring her words through the tatami. 'Please let him agree with me.' "Let my husband look into the matter."

      "Why have you not told Lady Nabiki of this yourself?"

      "I was afraid that she might not agree."

      Ifuku dared not to look up at his face. "Lady Nabiki is very intelligent. Her refusal of your offer will have good reasons." He was by her side in a second and he lifted her face off the mat. "You've been here as long as I have Ifuku. Are you willing to lose everything you've ever held for a gamble?"

      "I have faith in my husband," Ifuku answered as she stared at Omokage's eyes. She willed acceptance in his eyes. He needed to believe in her for her message to be relayed. He needed to understand her if she was to have a chance for her life instead of an order for her death. "He will not let me down."

      Omokage turned towards the samurai who shot down the bird, and for a moment, she thought he was going to order her death. "Deliver this letter to her husband."

      Ifuku almost cried at his words. He trusted her. She thanked the gods. "It is fortunate that he is currently in the Temple of Gokurakuji. He will be accompanying a boy and his foster mother. Just ask the monks for him."

      As the man left for the day's journey, he paused to look at Omokage, when he nodded he left. Ifuku turned to Omokage and bowed again. "Arigato gozaimashita, Omokage-san," it was the most abject of all the words of gratitude.

      She could feel his gaze upon her. "Do not thank me yet, Ifuku. If anything happens to that samurai. If that man of yours doesn't push through with that information... I will have to kill you."

      "You don't need to do that, Omokage-san." She intended to die first before anybody else reached her. She wasn't going to be a pawn in this game. She didn't know if he understood her intentions or not, but he let it rest.

      "When does your husband leave the temple grounds?"

      She knew where the questioning was going to lead... but to lie now... "A week from now."

      "And when do you take your yearly leave, Ifuku-san?"

      She hoped her voice would not break. "A week from now."

      "And this is something you do yearly?"

      "Yes, Omokage-san." She waited for the next question, but it did not come. Omokage was intelligent enough to put two and two together. If he ever decided to tell the Saotomes she was meeting Sohin behind their back, she didn't know what would happen to her. The Saotomes knew mercy, but would they think her case was worth it?

      He left as soundlessly as he came in. Ifuku's head shot up from the tatami, her under kimono sticking to her sweaty flesh. The encounter scared her more than she cared to admit. Omokage would not tell Lady Nabiki what she committed that evening, because he let her escape. She just hoped Sohin would push through for her.

---

      A full month later Nabiki-kun headed home and was more than surprised to find Kodachi with a bowl of something, for a lack of better term to call it, badly cooked on a small lacquered tray. Nabiki-kun gulped at Kodachi's more than eager eyes.

      The last time she managed to eat Kodachi's cooking, she enjoyed the savory taste, but was paralyzed for half a day. Now it seemed she wouldn't even manage to have the small luxury of her taste buds being intact.

      "Ranma! I made this dish for Nabiki's return. Want a taste?" Kodachi piped eagerly as she offered the small bowl to her. Nabiki flinched at the burnt smell and Ranma-chan, who was actually leaning on one of the paper doors, was languidly watching the exchange.

      In the fiancée wars, the twins have been served everything and endured all from each one of their suitors. One of the things that didn't sit well with Nabiki was that Kodachi was one of the best cooks the fiancée wars produced and she was damned set on poisoning them as well.

      Mostly it was Ranma who was the hapless victim of the girl... but since she quite conveniently forgot everything and she was currently in Ranma's form, her timing couldn't have been worse.

      "Maybe we should wait for Nabiki," Nabiki-kun suggested as he raised his eyebrow questioningly at the substance. Whatever it was, prolonging its way to his stomach seemed to her, a better idea.

      Kodachi smiled pleasantly. "You know Ranko just said that. You both must hold Nabiki in high regard."

      Nabiki looked at her twin who was looking at anywhere but at her. She decided that he was probably getting his revenge from all those times she pretended to be him with one of her fiancés. She usually said she loved the taste of the food which, more often than not, was more unappetizing than mud.

      Kodachi pulled on his arm. "Is it such a bad idea to eat with your wife?" There was a pleading glint in her eyes and her tone was so pitiful, Nabiki almost gave up.

      "Actually," Nabiki started as she turned towards the rooms looking at Ranma meaningfully. "Maybe we could..."

      Ranma's eyes widened, not really knowing what Nabiki was implying, then pulled her away from Kodachi's grip "Ahh... hehehe, Na - Ranma?" He always stammered and forgot to call her by his name when he was nervous. It was a good sign. "Could I speak to you for a minute? Don't worry Kodachi, I'll return him to you just as soon as we have that talk."

      Kodachi started to say something, but Ranma managed to drag Nabiki away before either could protest. When Ranma managed to get them by the dojo ground he frowned at her sternly. "Really, Nabiki."

      "What? You started it." Nabiki crossed his arms against the dirty silk shirt she wore. What she truly wanted was a nice bath and a long soak in the furo... a very hot furo and her female form rather than fighting with her brother -- currently sister.

      "It is a bad idea to eat with my wife," Ranma lectured sternly as she walked around. "And you know it."

      "I don't know, brother," Nabiki drawled out rather lazily as he noted the nice flowery black kimono Ranma was wearing. Nabiki has to admit that Ranma could choose the drabbest clothes and still look gorgeous in his female form. "It seems you like spending time with her, why else wear her clothes?"

      Nabiki knew that retort was rather below the belt but hell would freeze over before he backed down. Kodachi was getting closer to Ranma every day. She was still the violent maniac, mellowed out probably, but still a maniac. "We already had this conversation."

      "Are you sure that's the reason, brother?" Nabiki murmured softly as she looked into his troubled blue eyes that dimmed slightly at her statement... in his female form they were so much lighter. "Or are you just making excuses?"

     Ranma didn't know how to answer to that accusation, but didn't avert his eyes from hers. "You're starting to doubt me?"

      "No, merely trying to question you. One doesn't necessarily mean the other." Whatever anybody said, Nabiki was loyal to her family first and her brother the most. To see him make a mistake over Kodachi for the second time around would devastate her. "It's my job."

      "Let's not get into this whole Kodachi issue, Nabiki. For the first time in weeks, you're home. How was Yuigahama?" His hand balled into a fist. "Can the old lech still hold his party there?"

      "If the old man wants something..." Nabiki trailed off, there was no need to continue, the end was apparent. They heard the discreet shuffling of feet and turned towards the house. In a few moments, Kodachi appeared holding out what seemed to be two identical letters.

      From the wax seal outside the letters, both knew exactly who the summons came from before they even held it. "Ranma, it seems to be an invitation of some sort." On the back of the letters, Ranma's name was scrawled in kanji and Nabiki's in hiragana, both with their appropriate honorfics. Kodachi handed them both to Nabiki-kun.

      Looking at them, Nabiki rolled her eyes then handed her invitation to Ranma. "Here, open Nabiki's letter for me."

  &nb