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Near Tomobiki High School, mid-afternoon…

After a satisfying meal that didn't result in her coughing up more blood, plus taking the chance to visit Nozomi's family, Shikuko eventually made her way down the street to the front gate of Tomobiki High School. While she could sense the presence of the four Seito tōshi close by, she also could sense that none of them had actually gone onto the school grounds. Odd. What on Earth could be here at this place in all of Kantō that would interest the likes of…?

Wait!

Shikuko stopped as her ki senses picked up a remarkable nexus of energy from somewhere close to the school gymnasium. Slowing down, the best fighter of Rakuyō blinked as her mind rolled through what she had just detected before her jaw dropped.

A tōshi!

There was a tōshi attending Tomobiki High School!

But HOW?!

And WHO?!

"Shikuko."

Gasping, the aqua-haired warrior spun around to find herself staring at a woman appearing to be the age of any of the Ten Attendants in this life, and then she blinked as the woman's own intensive ki pattern became known to her. On sensing THAT, Shikuko felt a chill like NOTHING she had ever felt before in her life overcome her.

This woman…

She was…

Suppressing a gulp, Shikuko then braced herself.

No.

She would not show cowardice.

Especially not in the face of THIS being.

The Black Death.

The ultimate killing machine.

A being that had defeated and killed two of her previous incarnations…

…and now had come for her.

Noting the woman before her bracing herself, Negako tried not to smirk as she sensed the faint tendrils of fear escaping the younger woman's heart. Immediately recalling the last time she — before she had "woken up" in the fifth year of Bunka — had faced a reincarnation of Lǚ Bù in the fifth year of Hōei, the grandmaster could understand Shikuko's reaction. Despite the combat knowledge and the sheer levels of training tōshi as a whole submitted themselves to, even the best of them were still pale shadows in comparison to a being that could call on the knowledge of HUNDREDS of ninjutsu masters spanning nearly a THOUSAND years of history. All crammed into one soul.

And besides…

Even if she was now dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Sebone Shikuko clearly wanted now what Moroboshi Negako had spent TWO CENTURIES dreaming of.

To be the true master of her own destiny.

To no longer be a slave to an uncaring Fate.

To not be forced to behave as others wanted her to behave.

That, Negako could understand.

"You came here to see Ataru."

Shikuko tensed on hearing that sentence, and then she blinked, though she still kept her guard up. "What about it?" she demanded.

Negako turned away. "Ataru made a promise to Nozomi before her spirit fully united with the Dào," she stated. "That promise involves both yourself and your cousin Mimōko. He will wish to know of your current affliction; there is a way to deal with it so that you will not be rendered a quadriplegic." She indicated a rather large and ancient willow tree at the northwest corner of the school campus. "He is there currently meditating as Hiromi and the others of his class enjoy their physical education period before school clean-up is to begin." A light smile crossed her face as she gazed knowingly at the fighter from Rakuyō. "All I ask of you in return is that you might consider him to be someone you can befriend. And more if you desire it."

With that, she walked away, leaving behind a slack-jawed Shikuko…

Nearby…

"Um…Unchō-san?"

"H-hai?"

"Did we both just witness that?"

Haneko blinked; her jaw was now on the ground. "H-hai!"

Asumi and Sonami looked over to see the stunned looks on their companions' faces. "Um, what seems to be the problem?" the latter then asked.

Kumomi turned to "gaze" on them, a tendon over her eyebrow twitching. For those who knew the silver-haired tōshi, a reaction like THAT was scary! "Um, Gentoku-san, we just witnessed the Black Death of all things acting as a nakōdo for Ryofu-san!" she stated as she "watched" Shikuko then leap over the wall to drop down close to an old willow tree while Negako headed off in the general direction of the Moroboshi home.

"Well…"

Eyes locked on their leader. "What is it?" Haneko asked.

Sonami was now gazing onto the school grounds. "Hiromi-san and her friends are doing tàijíquán," she said, pointing towards the gymnasium.

The others blinked, and then they turned to watch as a couple dozen students, all in white martial arts gi, perform the basic flowing movements of the Yángshì style of the widely known martial and meditative art form. At the head of the class was a brown-haired woman dressed in a black gi with a plain black belt wrapped around her waist, a familiar earring hanging off her head. Staring at their reborn emperor, all four Seito girls were taken aback as they noted the considerable similarity between her and this school's most famous current student…not to mention the fact that said girl had a TWIN SISTER — also in black gi but without magatama — helping her direct the class. And while they HAD heard the stories about Moroboshi Ataru's sisters…

"Is she training them to be fighters?" Haneko asked.

"None of them are tōshi," Kumomi noted.

"I guess she just wants to make them feel good," Asumi mused.

Eyes locked on her, and then Haneko hummed. "What is she like?"

The others also hummed…

"Are they friends of yours?"

Shikuko perked on hearing that calm question, and then she turned from gazing at the physical education class on the lawn to stare at the man who had made her cousin's last moments on Earth very happy ones. She then smirked. "They're girls from Seito out in Chichibu," she said as she knelt in front of Ataru, who was meditating at the foot of a very old willow tree that should have died and been cut down ages ago, yet still seemed alive and well. Like his sisters, he was now dressed in a black gi with black belt. "The leader of the school and her three chief advisers."

Ataru's eyes opened as those orbs quickly took in all that was now before him. And it was quite an eyeful. "Koro Sonami-san, Seki Haneko-sempai, Koeru Kumomi-san and Haru Asumi-chan," he said as he closed his eyes, sensing a familiar rush deep within him as his mind — and other parts of his body — absorbed the stunning beauty of one Sebone Shikuko. Damn! Nozomi-chan said her cousins were pretty, but she understated it! he mused to himself as he fought down the urge to leap over to touch her. Even if there was no PHYSICAL need for him to do that these days — implanted in him by Negako after her spirit had been forced into his mind on his sixth birthday — the PSYCHOLOGICAL addiction of girl-chasing was something Ataru had to deal with, even now, months after his brain had been cleared of Hiromi's and Negako's souls and Tariko had been allowed to live her life.

"Hai," Shikuko said, fighting the urge to purr as her own ki senses picked up the strong arousal the man before her now felt because of her. And while she certainly wasn't the least bit ashamed of the fact that many men — and a few women — found her quite sexy, she had to admit that Ataru's reaction to her was worlds different that the reaction the man she knew of as "Saji Genpō" — his real name, she had learned, was Hidari Itsuji — had shown her before they had begun to seriously date two years ago.

And she LIKED that reaction.

Itsuji, after all, was a tōshi.

Planning to deal with or fighting one's fate was a thing all tōshi lived with.

And while the sex was awesome, Shikuko knew — and expected — that Itsuji was keeping his relationship with her in perspective concerning his own fate.

Ataru, however…

"So who are you?"

She perked, and then she slowly and sensuously stood up, grinning as she noted his eyes were open. "Rakuyō Senior High School, Year Three, Class A, A-rank tōshi Ryofu Hōsen…has arrived," she said as she made a pose and gave him a suggestive wink, which provoked another deep reaction within him, one he was barely able to fight back. Noting that, she purred as she allowed her eyelashes to drape over her eyes, giving her a very smoky, sexy look. "My real name is Sebone Shikuko, Ataru-kun. You had the pleasure of spending time with my late cousin, Uneme Nozomi, some months ago."

He was quick to notice her hand tracing up that lovely leg, pushing up that way-too-short skirt to reveal a good amount of hip and a flash of the white tanga panties she had on underneath. "I had that pleasure, Sempai. I assume that when you met Onē-san on the street past the fence, she told you of a certain promise I made to Nozomi-chan."

Shikuko blinked. Damn! He IS good! she mused as she allowed herself to relax. "She did," she confessed as she returned to kneeling before him, gazing into his face. While Hidari Itsuji had a rugged, he-man look that was accentuated by his slightly tanned skin, sandy brown hair and deep brown eyes, Moroboshi Ataru had a more plain look on his face, though calling him "effeminate" or "ugly" would take it WAY too far. Still, there was a deep and old soul behind those eyes, one blessed with considerable intelligence and a big heart. One that clearly had been hurt recently, too. While she didn't know the details of his so-called "marriage" to that Oni girl, their parting clearly had damaged him in the long run and still affected him to this day.

"Your body is poisoned."

She perked on hearing that comment, and then she nodded. "Hai. It's Lou Gehrig's disease. The same thing Stephen Hawking-hakase has. I'm just in the initial stages of it." She then gazed at him, quick to sense the sympathy and concern in his eyes. "Your sister — the one we know as the 'Black Death' — told me there's a way that I could be cured. I would gladly welcome that chance. I…"

He chuckled as he held up a hand. "Don't worry about it, Shikuko-sempai. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do. I'm not the man I was seven months ago, after all." He then lowered his hand. "You'll be helped. That I guarantee. It's not just my promise to Nozomi-chan to make sure you and your other cousin — the one who calls herself 'Ryomō Shimei,' I mean — are well. It's also Hiromi-chan's wish, too."

She perked. "'Hiromi?'"

"That would be me, Shikuko-san."

She then turned to see what looked like Ataru's very own twin sister standing behind her, an amused smile on her face. The magatama quickly told her something else. "You're A-rank, but I've never seen you fight before," Shikuko said as she stood up to gaze intently at Hiromi. "Who are you? And what are you doing coming to this school?"

An amused smile answered her. "I am Ryūkō Kyōrei, Hōsen-dono. Tomobiki High School, Year Two, Class Four. My real name is Moroboshi Hiromi. And I was Liú Hóng."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then…

"Majesty…!"

As people gathering around Hiromi watched, Shikuko went to one knee as she allowed her right fist to be encompassed by her left hand in a traditional military salute used in the China of old, bowing her head to the reborn emperor. Noting this, Tariko shook her head before she turned around…to see Haneko, Kumomi and Asumi doing the same thing; Sonami was politely bowing to her. "Damn, Hiromi! First the Kōshi Kasshi! Now them?!" As the visiting tōshi all gaped, she asked, "Is EVERYONE ELSE going to be doing this to you?!" she wondered as she stared in amusement at her sister.

Hiromi blushed as everyone else from their class laughed…

Nerima General Hospital, before supper…

"Are you both going to insist on staying here with your brother?"

Miiko smiled as she gazed over her shoulder at Dō Kazua as he came up to join her in the cafeteria. "Sensei, as long as the Nǚjiézú girl is out there, Onii-sama is in danger," she stated before sipping her tea. "And while I do hope the local constabulary is up to protecting Onii-sama while Negako-sama helps him recover, we are BOTH aware of how dangerous the Nǚjiézú are."

The doctor sighed as he sat down across from her. He had just finished his last rounds for the day and had been heading back to his office space to work on some charts when he spotted Ranma's sisters in his room, with Kikuko staying at his side while Miiko stayed close to the window, gazing outside every once in a while. The doctor and the tōshi were now down in the cafeteria as the latter had tea. "Much that I do understand your caution, Miiko-san, I personally don't believe that Shānpú will do anything as long as your brother remains male," he advised her. "After all, in that form, he is her husband."

"True, but she will notice the wound and realize what is happening," Miiko noted. "I'm not sure how those people view a place of healing, but if she is hell-bent on avenging her defeat at that tourney in her village, I doubt the sanctity of a hospital will protect Onii-sama, even if he is in a male body at the time."

He sighed. "Good point…"

"Hey!"

He then perked before he looked over his shoulder, and then he grinned. "Hey!"

Miiko looked to see a girl walk up to the doctor, dressed in a tan-orange vest sweater over a short-sleeved white shirt, a red tie helping close the collar, all that over a red plaid skirt that fell just barely past her crotch. Knee-high socks and lace up combat boots completed the ensemble; she also had gloved hands, one of which held a bag full of take-out food. She had a silver magatama hanging off her left ear, barely visible under luscious black hair with a blue sheen to it, styled in a bob-cut around her head. She had blue-green eyes, though the left eye was covered by a medical patch. She had a lean and disciplined look, the mark of a very serious martial artist.

She then watched as the newcomer and the doctor shared a hug. "So what the heck are you doing here, Mimōko-chan?" Kazua asked. "Visiting Nozomi-chan?"

"After seeing my other favourite cousin, of course," Mimōko stated with a smile, and then she turned to gaze curiously at Miiko, quickly noting the magatama hanging off the girl's earlobe. "Who…?" she asked before gazing once more at her cousin.

Kazua immediately did introductions. Hearing Miiko's battle name, Mimōko blinked in surprise; while there had been some past reincarnations of Liú Yūn, one born of the current generation of tōshi had not been revealed. "So how…?"

"I was returned to life under most mysterious circumstances, Mimōko-san," Miiko stated as the other tōshi handed the food to the doctor. "Currently, I am staying here to protect my brother, who was badly wounded by a Nǚjiézú warrior four days ago."

Mimōko blinked. "Nǚjiézú? What the hell is one of THEM doing here?"

Miiko sighed. "That, Mimōko-san, is a VERY long story…"

"Hey, Mii-chan! Hey, Doc! Friend of yours?"

Ranma gave the newcomer a friendly smile, which made Mimōko's cheeks instantly redden as her exposed eye took in what was before her. Despite his obvious wound — even if there was no blood leaking through the bandages, Mimōko was quick to notice the amount of dressings over the chest and abdomen, not to mention the lack of movement anywhere below that part of his body — Miiko's brother was clearly in excellent shape, with toned muscles that only could arise from YEARS of intensive training. And his face, quite well-formed even if there was a touch of childish softness in it…

And those eyes…

Oh, sweet gods! Those dreamy eyes…!

"Um, actually, I'm Kazua's cousin," she then said, surprising herself by how steady her voice was in the face of this prime specimen of male beefcake before her. Saji? Saji WHO?! she thought to herself as she fought down the urge to laugh in embarrassment. "My name's Sebone Mimōko! Everyone knows me as 'Ryomō Shimei.' Yoroshiku, Ranma-san," she said with a deep bow of her head as she offered her hand.

He gave her a friendly squeeze. "Pleased to meet'cha, Mimōko-san," he said in return. "Sorry if I don't get up, but Shampoo ran my back through."

Mimōko jolted on hearing that, and then she shuddered as she remembered what had happened to Hodo Amanezuke — Teifu Tokubō — in the previous year's Great Fighters Tournament. "I…I'm sorry that happened to you, Ranma-san. I hope it wasn't too bad…"

He chuckled. "To be honest, I thought I'd never walk again. But Tariko-chan — she's a nursing assistant who volunteers here — found out about me, then got her sister Negako-san to look at me. I could be back on my feet in a little over a week."

Silence.

"Tariko…?" Mimōko gasped before she turned to Kazua. "You mean…?"

"Ataru-kun's sister. Hai, that's her."

The Nan'yō senior took that in, and then she sighed. "Well, that's good…" she breathed out before she turned to gaze on Miiko, and then she looked on Kikuko before she blinked again. "You're bioroids, too…!" she breathed out before she turned to Kazua. "But why…?" she demanded; she HAD been told of how Tariko had come into being — as were Ataru's other sisters Negako (whom she knew was the soul and spirit of the Black Death) and Hiromi (she didn't know much about her though she had seen the magatama Hiromi wore in a picture once, so she clearly was a tōshi though she didn't know who she exactly was) — but she had believed that such a process was grossly restricted since it wasn't from Earth.

Kazua smirked. "I have to get back to my notes before I can go home for the night, Mō-chan. Why don't you relax and let Miiko-san and Kikuko-san explain it all to you."

Mimōko nodded absently as he headed off, and then she turned to stare wide-eyed at Miiko. The latter was smirking as she waved the just-arrived tōshi to a nearby chair. "You best sit down and relax yourself, Mimōko-san. This will take a bit."

Mimōko blinked, though she did as she was bade…

Meanwhile, back in Tomobiki…

"So you actually found Kyōrei-sama's magatama when you were just SIX, and then kept it with you as a 'good luck charm?!'" Haneko hoarsely demanded.

Ataru nodded. Everyone had come down to Okonomiyaki Nippon after they were let go from clean-up detail so they could enjoy some snacks before parting for the rest of the day. "Yeah. I never realized what it really was, but I always felt it was something pretty important, so I never let it out of my sight."

Hiromi chuckled. The visitors from Seito and Shikuko were now seated at one table along with Ataru and Hiromi as they waited for the vegetable-filled batter cakes on the portable stove there to cook. "Onii-san was quite overprotective of my soul when Hensō was here acting as his 'wife,'" she stated as she flipped one of the cakes over. "She didn't like the 'feel' of my magatama, but every time she tried to find some way to lose it, Onii-san would catch her and blow garlic powder in her face to make her leave it alone. Same thing with Hensō's cousin Jariten. And threats of 'electro-shock punishment' were met back with being publicly accused of acting as a monster towards him." She then giggled. "That was one of the FEW times Onii-san could make Hensō fully bow to his will, much to the frustration of both Otō-san and Okā-san; at the time, they were totally smitten by Hensō and Jariten. A pity he didn't have as much control over himself as he does now; some of the things that happened until we encountered Elle-san might have been lessened if not totally prevented."

"Well, we should be grateful for that," Sonami stated as she flipped her own okonomiyaki; she hadn't enjoyed the wonderful food for a while and she was quite happy that Hiromi and her brother had invited them out to have it.

"Is this Hensō fully gone, Ataru-san?" Kumomi asked. "I do recall the 'world oil-theft' incident shortly after your tag race with her. Given how she was willing to allow THAT to happen to make you bend to her will, what's to stop her from…?"

He laughed. "Don't worry about that, Kumomi-san," Ataru said. "After Kyech — she's a close friend of the REAL Lum — found out about my 'engagement' to Elle, she decided enough was enough and it was time to let the whole galaxy…"

"At least Lum-san's parents," Hiromi cut in.

"…find out the truth about what happened to her," he finished. "When I was dragged off to Uru to get married to Hensō, Kyech crashed the wedding. Lum came with her. Onē-san sensed the truth right away and afterwards, Lum managed to do a mind-meld with my parents, not to mention people like Megane's gang and Mendō." He nodded to where his classmates were seated, enjoying their own food as they chatted with each other; the Moroboshi siblings had been quick to sense that their peers were very curious about the tōshi that had come to visit their school today. "Once I went through THAT, there was no way I was going to marry Hensō after finding out how she STOLE Lum's life from her!" He shrugged. "So after Lum taught me how to divorce Hensō, I did it, and then Kyech took me to her home planet, Okusei, to help get Onē-san, Tariko and Hiromi-chan out of my head. Two months later, we came back."

"What about Lum?" Shikuko asked.

"She was already married by then," Ataru said, a touch of regret in his voice. "Noukiites — they're Kyech's people — have allowed same-sex marriages for well over two thousand years. Lum's an Avalonian like Hiromi-chan here; she's fully bi." Seeing Shikuko's eyebrow arch and the other tōshi perk in interest, he smirked. "She met a girl named Kuhu; she was studying at a major university there. They fell in love and got engaged around the time of the Tag Race." He shrugged. "Who was I to interrupt that?"

"You wish it was otherwise," Haneko noted.

He nodded. "Hai."

Immediately, Shikuko gave him a supportive hug. "We still keep in contact with Lum-san and her friends on Okusei," Hiromi stated. "As for Hensō and the others, they're forbidden from returning to Earth again. It turns out that there was a clause in the Tag Race agreement between the Urusians and the United Nations which gave Onii-san the right to declare any Urusian persona non grata after he won the Tag Race. In other words, forbid them from ever even VISITING Earth. After he was able to think straight for the first time in ten years, he exercised that right to ensure none of that race will ever come back to Earth for the next two centuries. Hence, no Hensō, no Jariten, no Rei and no Damasu." She smirked. "That's the person we knew as 'Ran.'"

"So Lum wasn't alone in this, right?" Haneko asked.

"No. Ran-chan, Oyuki-sama and Benten-san were also affected," Ataru answered. "At the same time for the same reason as why Lum got hurt. All three of them now live on either Okusei or Kaisei — that's a world in a solar system pretty close to here — while their replicas are stuck back on Uru, Triton or Fukunokami."

"And since Hensō and Damasu aren't allowed to visit Earth, we will never have to really worry about seeing Kamen or Mienai again," Hiromi added.

"Benten-san's and Oyuki-sama's replicas," Ataru explained.

The visitors all nodded. "So you're pretty much unattached," Shikuko noted as she allowed her hand to reach down and grasp one of Ataru's.

"Pretty much so, Sempai. Why?" he said as he gave her a rakish look.

She awked as Haneko and Asumi laughed, Sonami giggled and Kumomi politely hid her smirk. "Well, if you desire my blessings as Matriarch of the Clan, Onii-sama, you may have them. I would believe Shikuko-san would make a lovely wife," Hiromi stated.

Shikuko gasped as more laughter filled the room…

Nerima General Hospital, after supper…

"Excuse me?"

Tanaka Tomoko perked on hearing that polite voice, and then she looked over to see a smiling woman of about twenty or so standing at the desk where she and her co-workers monitored all the rooms on their floor. "Hai? Can I help you?"

The newcomer blushed. "I'm sorry to bother you, but which room is Saotome Ranma in?"

Tomoko blinked. "May I have your name, please?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Tendō Kasumi."

The nurse was quick to suppress a sigh. Much that she would prefer NOT to do this — Kasumi did seem like a nice person — she had her orders. "I'm very sorry to inform you of this, Tendō-san, but no member of your family, much less Ranma-san's father, are permitted to visit him at this time," she then stated.

Kasumi's face instantly fell on hearing that. "Oh, I see. Is he still in critical condition?" she then asked as she gave Tomoko a hopeful look.

The nurse smiled. "Actually, he's out of critical condition. Despite the severity of the wound, his constitution is strong and he is making quite the recovery. I think he'll be out of the hospital within the next two weeks."

Silence.

"Oh, my! That's wonderful!" Kasumi gasped, her eyes tearing. She then paused before she turned her eyes down, the smile fading as she realized what was now going on. "I see, then." She then took a deep breath as she seemed to calm herself. "Would it be possible to pass on a note from me to him, then? Is that permitted?"

"It depends on the note."

"Tomoko-san, what's going on here?"

Stunned to hear what sounded exactly like Ranma when he was a she, Kasumi then turned…before her jaw dropped in shocked disbelief on seeing a woman the height of Ranma's male self walk up. And despite the considerable difference in her body proportions and the darker hair worn loose — not to mention the evergreen magatama earring — it would be too easy to mistake this woman as a close relative of Kasumi's would-have-been brother-in-law. And that wasn't because she was dressed in Ranma's preferred red tang shirt and black trousers. "Oh, my…!" she gasped as her hand flew to her lips.

"Miiko-san, Tendō-san is here to see your brother," Tomoko announced.

Miiko blinked, and then she gazed at Kasumi for a moment with eyes that seemed far older than she appeared to be. As Kasumi ducked that penetrating stare, the tōshi then sighed before she gazed at the nurse, a light smile on her face. "Tomoko-san, I'll take Kasumi-san down to the cafeteria so we can have some tea and talk. Mimōko-san is still visiting Onii-sama. I would prefer them not to be disturbed."

The nurse nodded as a relieved smile crossed her face. "I understand, Mii-chan."

With that, Miiko headed to the nearby bank of elevators. Kasumi blinked, and then she moved to follow as the tōshi pressed the down button. "'Miiko'…?"

"Hayashi Miiko," the younger woman firmly stated.

Kasumi blinked before her eyes went wide…

"So Ranma-kun is actually allowing his grandmother to do that to him?"

Miiko nodded. "She is. Obā-sama called us about an hour ago and told us that her lawyer had already spoken to the family court judge in Taitō-ku. He rendered judgment right then and there. Officially, Onii-sama is now 'Hayashi Ranma.' The necessary modifications to both the Saotome and Hayashi koseki were done right then and there. The notifications will be sent out to all the applicable parties tomorrow morning."

Kasumi took that in, and then she sighed. Both were now in the staff cafeteria enjoying late evening tea; the staff had taken well to Miiko and Kikuko, so they were allowed free reign (within reason) here. "Was it hard for him to make that decision?"

"At first, it was," Miiko replied. "Onii-sama values keeping his promises — or upholding promises made in his name — quite highly despite the callous way Genma has treated his honour and personal safety in the past. He was very happy to learn that Nodoka was alive and well; he wanted her to be informed right away about what had happened to him." A sigh escaped her. "Thank the heavens for Tariko-san, of course. When she heard that Genma had been made to change his family name on marrying Nodoka, she immediately suspected something could go wrong. And thanks to Obā-sama…"

Kasumi closed her eyes. "To believe something like THAT!" she hissed out. "A SEPPUKU agreement of all things?! In THIS day and age?! Why?!"

The tōshi shrugged. "I do not know. When she met with us today, Obā-sama did hint that Nodoka does take personal honour to rather odd extremes. And there were things she felt she had to hold back so that Onii-sama didn't feel deluged all at once." She sighed. "I fear that whatever Obā-sama is holding back will destroy whatever good feelings Onii-sama still has for his mother. When she gets the notification…"

"Will she come here?"

"I would suspect she would seek her husband out first to learn what happened that led to something like that," Miiko stated. "If she knows Genma is staying with your family, she will make her way there first. You best prepare yourselves."

Kasumi nodded, her mind already turning over. She had come to the hospital — at Nabiki's prodding — to see if there was some way to mend relations between the Tendō family as a whole and Ranma personally. Coming here, she had NOT been prepared to encounter such a wall of guarded hostility protecting Ranma from her and her whole family, to say ANYTHING of learning that the sweet yet naïve boy that had lived in her home for the last month or so was now about to legally — and HONOURABLY! — sever all ties with the Tendō family, to say anything of his own birth family…!

"If it is anything, Kasumi-san, I really hope that your family will endure what is happening now without serious injury," Miiko then added.

Kasumi perked, and then she smiled. "That is very kind of you, Miiko-san." She then sighed. "Still, I don't think this will go over, especially with Akane-chan."

Miiko's eyebrow arched. "Why? I would personally think that once she's free of the 'disgusting sex-changing pervert,' Akane-san would gladly jump for joy!" she stated, her voice layered with a flood of sarcasm as she sat back in her chair.

The elder Tendō daughter winced on hearing that. "Akane isn't…!" she began before taking a deep breath. "Hai, I suppose you have a right to believe that."

"Why are you so quick to defend her…?" Miiko asked, and then she stopped before wryly smiling. "My apologies, Kasumi-san. Despite her considerable anger issues, she is your sister and your loyalty to her is quite apparent."

Kasumi then smiled. "And your loyalty to Ranma-kun is just as apparent, Miiko-san. And you have every right to defend your brother, especially from what Akane-chan has done to him since he came to the house." She then blinked. "He overhead us, didn't he?" As the woman across the table from her arched her eyebrow in curiosity, Kasumi added, "When I talked to Akane-chan about curbing her temper that one time."

Miiko nodded. "Hai, he did. He was actually coming to see Akane to apologize to her for his own behaviour. But when he heard her words that day, he decided she didn't deserve an apology." She sighed. "It is a wonder to me that he still likes her…"

"As much as she likes him," Kasumi finished. "Certainly, none of us have done much to help it along," she then admitted. "My own unwillingness to step in and try to make the situation better, Nabiki-chan's blatant abuse of Ranma-kun's private space, to say anything of what Otō-san and Oji-san always pulled on them…"

"Hai. And Onii-sama is certainly not blameless in that matter, either."

"Well, given what you've just told me about what his father put him through…" Kasumi said as she felt her stomach roll. Miiko had tried to gloss over the whole matter with the Neko-ken, but what she had said had been more than enough to make even Kasumi's hardened constitution shatter and send her to a nearby bathroom to throw up her supper. To believe that Genma had done THAT to his son…!

"I suspect we will learn much more over the next few days," Miiko stated, and then she sighed. "Kasumi-san, let's be honest. What would you want to have happen?"

"Truthfully?" A smirk then crossed the older woman's face. "To have my own chance at him."

Miiko blinked, and then she laughed. "Well, I certainly can't hold THAT against you!" she then stated before she sobered. "You will have to apologize, of course."

Kasumi nodded. "I'd be more than glad to do that." She then took a deep breath. "Still, given how far Ranma-kun is being forced to go to regain his honour, I doubt Otō-san will allow that to happen anytime soon, if at all. And there is Tōfū-kun as well," she then admitted, an amused glitter in her eye. "If he can simply overcome his own silliness whenever he's close to me, of course." She then sat back in her chair. "I doubt Chiaki-obāsan will allow Ranma-kun to come back together with Akane-chan anytime soon, if at all. She'll be brokenhearted over that," she then stated.

"There is Hibiki, of course," Miiko then stated. "She trusts him." She then rolled her eyes. "And I pray that trust will survive a certain revelation."

The older woman perked. "What revelation?"

A sigh answered her. "Please forgive me, Kasumi-san. But since Onii-sama has made a promise on his honour — and one he feels is a very VALID promise — I can't say anything more. But what I CAN tell you is that your father — and most likely Genma — are aware of this secret Hibiki has forced Onii-sama to keep. And should something happen that would make that secret go public, I can GUARANTEE that Akane-san's reputation would be in tatters." Miiko finished her tea before standing. "My advice to you, Kasumi-san, is this: Use THAT to make your father see reason so that this secret will not come to hurt Akane-san more than she needs to be hurt. Despite her anger problems, Onii-sama does care for her, thus I find myself caring for her as well. His honour traps him, thus my honour traps me. You are not so restrained. For your sister's sake, act!"

Kasumi stared at her, and then she nodded…

"Reitei-sama…? She's ALIVE?!"

Mimōko was nearly at the point of fainting.

"Yeah, but she doesn't like that name," Ranma stated as Kimiko helped him sip down some ice water. "She uses 'Ryūkō Kyōrei' instead. Her given name and the name given after her death as they're read in Japanese." He shrugged. "Then again, I think she'd just prefer 'Moroboshi Hiromi.' It's how she sees herself even if Mii-chan calls her 'Majesty' and 'My Emperor' all the time." A chuckle then escaped him before he gazed in curiosity at the older woman. "So how high are you?"

She perked. "What do you mean?"

"Your earring," he said as he pointed at his ear in emphasis. "Mii-chan's earring is green, but I remember it being almost black when I found it in China."

"That makes her E-rank," Mimōko stated. "She'd be seen at the bottom of the pack. It's normal for all of us starting out. If the earring turns red, that's D-rank. C-rank is bronze, B-rank is gold and A-rank is silver."

He nodded. "Sort of like belts in normal martial arts. How's it determined?"

"By the amount of fights you get into and how varied are your fights," she answered. "I've been through some odd-ball things. That's why I have this patch over my eye." She pointed to her covered eye in emphasis. "These days, I'm seen as being one of the top twenty tōshi throughout Kantō. My cousin Shikuko — Ryofu Hōsen — is tied for first place with her schoolmate from Rakuyō, Tadasu Suguta; he's Tōtaku Chūei. Second place is held by a woman named Seki Haneko — Kan'u Unchō — over at Seito."

He perked, and then he smirked. "Kan'u Unchō, huh? She got the guāndāo?"

She grinned. "Hai, she's got it. Even calls it the 'Reienkyo,' too!" The smile then faded as she sighed. "I'm sorry, Ranma-kun. Much that it might seem weird, the past history between Haneko-san and I does weigh down on both of us." She then perked. "So where did you read of Lord Yúncháng, anyway? The Sānguó Yǎnyì?"

A nod answered her. "Yeah. It was one of the few books Oyaji ever let me read."

"Did it happen?" Kikuko then asked.

Mimōko perked. "What?"

"The Oath of the Peach Grove?"

The tōshi blinked, and then she laughed. "Actually, something like that might have happened," she admitted before shrugging. "That's part of what we go through with these things," she said as she pointed to her left ear. "What's real for us? What's just a legend? What did happen back then? What was just a story?" She shrugged. "Who knows."

"A lot of meditating might help," he admitted. "I've been meditating a bit ever since Negako started working on my back. Never did much of it when I was on the road with Oyaji. He never really held much value to it. Now…" A shrug rolled his shoulders.

"He was just your sensei, you mean?"

Ranma blinked, and then he sighed. "Yeah, he was."

Mimōko shook her head. "I don't even know what to say to you, Ranma-kun," she then admitted. "I mean…" A shrug then rolled her shoulders. "Well, all of us, when we start interacting with the magatama, end up believing that it's our fate to live out our lives like our predecessors did. It's both an annoyance to us…and it's a comfort, too. But you…" She shook her head. "You could have become anything you wanted, Ranma-kun. But to hear what you just said about what you've been through all these years…"

"My life was stolen from me, you mean. Sort of like what Negako said about Oyaji 'brainwashing' me into caring only for the martial arts."

She nodded. "Yeah."

He shrugged. "Maybe. And maybe if Tariko and Hiromi and Negako and all of you didn't come along, I would've felt that my life WAS stolen from me thanks to Shampoo." He then shook his head. "I dunno. I try not to dwell on the bad stuff; life's too damned short to worry about things like that. Still…"

She nodded. "That's a pretty mature attitude to have, Ranma-kun," she noted, and then she perked as footsteps echoed from outside. Turning to look, she then smiled on seeing Miiko step into the room. "Konban wa, Miiko-san."

"Konban wa, Mimōko-san," Miiko replied. "Onii-sama, Kasumi-san was here."

Ranma perked. "Is she okay?"

A sigh answered him. "I believe I managed to calm things down between us and her family for the time being," Miiko stated. "Tomoko-chan was quite firm with her when she came to see you. It hurt her. She was willing to apologize for her behaviour towards you when you were at her house. She struck me as fundamentally honest about that."

"How's Akane?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Kasumi-san did think she'll be heartbroken when she learns about what Obā-sama is about to do." Miiko shrugged. "Then again, I can't say. We know how much Kasumi-san cares for her, don't we?" As Ranma nodded in understanding, she then smirked. "By the way, I managed to put a hint on Kasumi-san concerning P-chan."

He tensed. "You didn't…"

A firm shake of the head from his new sister. "No, I did not. But I did point her at her father and Genma since both of them know that story and choose to do nothing about it. You have to agree that since they are the 'authority' figures in that house…"

A snort came from Ranma's other new sister. "Some authority figures," Kikuko muttered.

"What's this all about?" Mimōko asked.

Miiko smirked. "Abused honour. The story of Onii-sama's life."

The Nan'yō senior perked, and then she nodded. "Right…"

To be continued…

WRITER'S NOTES

1) Ikkitōsen character notes:

Teifu Tokubō (Hodo Amanezuke) first appeared in manga episode #12. He is the current incarnation of Chéng Pǔ (unknown birth date, believed to have died sometime after 210 C.E.), one of the more loyal generals who served under the Sūn Clan until after the famous Battle of Chìbì (otherwise known as the "Battle of the Red Cliffs") fought between the Imperial Hàn and the forces of the future Shǔ Hàn and Dōng Wú in the winter of 208-209. Chéng would later die of complications from smoke inhalation after ordering prisoners to be burned to death. In this incarnation, Amanezuke was one of the Nan'yō Academy's representatives in the 2009 Great Fighters Tournament before he was crippled and blinded by Kōso (Ki Hajime) in a replay of the Battle of Xiāngyáng in 191 between the forces of Sūn Jiān and Liú Biǎo (as noted in Long Way Home). This differs from the flashback scene in episode #12 of Ikkitōsen; there, it was Bunshū (Kazaru Tagurō) who crippled Amanezuke.

Now, about some characters I've invented for this story: The Ten Attendants (in Mandarin, Shí Chángshì, literally meaning "Ten Personal Secretaries [of the Emperor]") were ten eunuchs who held the true power during Liú Hóng's reign over the Middle Kingdom. Because of the total lack of any check on the Attendants' influence over the court in Luòyáng, the mechanisms of government effectively broke down and ensured that no one could respond properly to things such as the famine that struck China before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The Attendants' influence over the court in Luòyáng eventually came to be seen as the root cause of all the evils that plagued the land. Thus, in the wake of Liú's death in 189, the Attendants tried to manipulate the succession to the throne by influencing the Dowager Empress Hé (birth date unknown, died 189) into supporting the ascension of Liú Biàn (176-190) to the Dragon Throne. In allowing the Dowager Empress such influence over the Middle Kingdom, the Attendants effectively welcomed her brother, Grand General Hé Jìn (birth date unknown, died 189), to influence the court. General Hé moved to exterminate the Attendants and the other eunuchs at the court, but he wound up killed by them instead. This gave military forces surrounding Luòyáng at the time (all summoned by Hé Jìn) the chance to exterminate the eunuchs…and pave the way to allow Dǒng Zhuó to seize power. The current incarnation of the Attendants and the Hé siblings first appear in Part 28.

2) Translations: Bunka — Literally meaning "Cultural Achievement," this was the era name (in Japanese, nengō) for the period from January 1804 to April 1818, the fifth year of which was 1808; Hōei — Literally meaning "Perpetual Treasure," this was the nengō for the period from March 1704 to April 1711, the fifth year of which was 1708; Dào — Literally "pathway," this is the term used in Taoism to describe the essential principle underlying Existence as a whole, which would be that faith's interpretation of the Sagussan word Te'a; Persona Non Grata — Literally "an unwelcome person," this is the diplomatic phrase used to describe someone who has been denied the right to enter another nation; Ku — Name-suffix for a city ward; Reienkyo — Japanese pronunciation of the Mandarin Lěngyènjù ("Frost Fair Blade"), the primary weapon once welded by Guān Yǔ, which can also be called the Seiryūengetsu-dō (in Mandarin Qīnglóngyǎnyuè-dāo, meaning "Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade"); Sānguó Yǎnyì — Literally "Commentary on the Three Kingdoms," the proper way of addressing the book by Luó Guànzhōng (circa 1330-1400) we know as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

3) The ancient willow tree at the northwest end of the Tomobiki High School grounds made its first appearance in the Yatsura manga story "Terror of the Willow Ghost" (manga episode #127). Okonomiyaki Nippon first appeared in the manga story "Food Fight" (manga episode #106).

4) Nakōdo (literally "go-between person") is the term applied to people who act as the matchmakers in formal omiai (literally "looking at one another") meetings between prospective marriage partners. A very honourable tradition, it would be more than understandable that the tōshi would be rather shocked to see Moroboshi Negako (given how much tōshi as a whole look on Negako as the living personification of the Angel of Death; hence her nickname "Black Death of the Martial Arts") act in this manner.

5) Tàijíquán is the formal Pīnyīn way of writing what is often known in English as T'ai Chi Ch'uan, the martial art form that is practised worldwide for its many health benefits. The phrase literally means "Supreme Ultimate Fist." The Yángshì (literally "Yáng Family" but most often interpreted as "Yáng-style") school of tàijíquán was developed by Yáng Lùchán (1799-1872), a farmer and practitioner of Chángquán (literally "Long Fist") who was later impressed by a demonstration of tàijíquán by a student of the famous master Chén Chángxīng (1771-1853). After studying under Master Chén, Master Yáng would be granted the chance to form his own school in Běijīng, where he became known as "Yáng The Invincible" for having never lost a fight AND never seriously injuring an opponent. One of Master Yáng's students, a Manchu cavalry officer named Wú Quányòu (1834-1902), would eventually develop his own school of tàijíquán, which would eventually spread to Shànghǎi and Xiānggǎng (Hong Kong), thus allowing non-Chinese to learn of this martial art form.

6) Shikuko's way of introducing herself to Ataru was inspired by one of the Anime Addventure stories that ultimately provoked my interest in Ikkitōsen and made this story possible: The Fate of the Sacred Bead, created by Iridium Heart. The specific episode where that phrase was said was in the episode "Undeniable" by Nuclear Death Frog (episode #217941).

7) Hiromi and her peers first met the Kōshi Kasshi in Long Way Home.

8) The Koseki (literally "family registry") is the official record of each family in Japan. The koseki serves as a catch-all recording of the following events that affect a family: births, acknowledgements of a child's paternal ancestry, adoptions, disruptions of adoptions, death, marriages and divorces. All koseki are kept at the local registrar's office. All events such as the change of Ranma's family name from "Saotome" to "Hayashi" becomes legally effective once said changes are recorded in the applicable koseki. Of course, births and deaths are seen as effective the day and time they happen, but such events must be recorded in the koseki as soon as possible.