#includedisclamer.std //if you understand this you are officially a nerd

Hey, I'm back, my insomnia has returned and this means i can start updating. This one is fairly short compared to some of the last one, but much longer than my first few, so it should hopefully not be too bad for you to swallow.

*---------*

Half an hour after her explosive anger attracted the unwanted attention of everyone else in the terminal Akane fidgeted nervously, awaiting the arrival of their plane. She hated the thought of all of those strange people staring at her. She did come to the conclusion however that if she were to see someone act so childish in a public place like that she would probably stare too. She would frequently glance at the clock and try mentally to force it's hands to move, anything so that she could just board the plane and get out of here.

She fidgeted some more, accidentally bumping into Ranma's body. She had to find something to do other than just sit here and remain the focus of attention to all of these other people. She couldn't go get a newspaper or a magazine because then she would probably have to go through security all over again. Besides, she didn't have any money with her and she doubted that Ranma was carrying anything but the bare necesities.

A pleasant female voice announced over the intercom that the plane was just arriving and after unloading it's current passengers would begin a brief moment of cleaning and restocking before passengers would be allowed on board. Akane mused on the thought of what this woman would look like and saw an image much similar to one of Kasumi. Despite the lovely sound of her voice and the polite way she said it, Akane was still irritated by how many delays she was encountering.

Great, another thing that she hadn't thought of for her to wait on. She decided that all she could do was perhaps play a game with herself to pass the time. She looked at the other passengers and imagined what they were going to China for. A mother and her children, perhaps they were visiting family or were on vacation. Several men in suits, either businessmen or perhaps a meeting between the yakuza and some of the Chinese triads. It was difficult for her not to romanticize about all of the exciting possibilities, having so many adventures in the past made her think about things of the sort.

She looked out the window and saw her plane pulling up towards her gate. A small feeling of excitement passed over her. Sure, in her adventures with Ranma she had gone much farther than this before, but never in first class! She could hardly contain her excitement. Much more fidgeting ensued.

*----------*

Hikaru Gosunkugi realized that he was weaker than most people, he realized that he was often laughed at or picked on. These were things that had been with him for years and he now accepted them as fact. He even understood why people would think those sort of things about him, he was small, he was weak, and he had very few friends. What he couldn't understand was why the fishermen aboard this ship avoided him.

They acted like he was the devil in the flesh. They avoided speaking directly to him and in fact would bully the captain who let him on in a drunken stupor to tell him any small thing. He wasn't that much of a threatening person, at least he didn't think so. He was developing suspicions however that his new 'friend' was the source of their behavior.

How could this have happened to him. He never really summoned evil spirits... ok well maybe just a few times, but it never worked before. He shook his head as if her were trying to wake himself from a dream and silently shed a tear. Whatever waited for him in China was something that he knew he would never return from.

Again he was alone, shunned. If it weren't for the fact that he knew that this was the shadow's doing, he would certainly feel smug about himself.

*----------*

As the plane finally started to board, Ranma looked back at the airport terminal. This was most likely the last time he would be on Japanese soil for a while. He would never admit to it, but he was almost a little scared of this whole thing. China, why does it always have to be China?

He let out a sigh as he walked the corridor down towards the plane. Shampoo was in front of him a definite sag in her walk, while Akane was walking at his side. He was behind a few business travelers, some speaking Japanese, some speaking Chinese, probably attempting to negotiate another deal to use cheaper Chinese labor in a government owned factory.

The musty smell of a too-often cleaned cabin with it's recycled air rushed at him like a gentle breeze. The air was slightly warmer than it was outside with the lingering odors of refreshments served and those awaiting to be. Attendants in gray uniforms greeted the passengers as they entered with hearty smiles, alternating their speech in mandarin and Japanese. At least they sounded a little better than Shampoo.

Shampoo.

He felt so sorry for her. He wished he knew how to help her but was unable to do so. She seemed so lost and alone, almost withdrawn. She had lost everybody in her life, her grandmother, Mousse, him. No, she hadn't lost him, she may have lost her 'airen' but he could still be her friend and ally.

After all, they were going to be fighting side by side once more. Against what he didn't know, but there were two things he was sure of Saotome Ranma never backs down from a fight and he never loses. Not from anyone or anything.

He took hold of Akane's hand and held on tightly, both assuring her and himself that they would make it through this. He then placed a hand on Shampoo's shoulder to at least let her know that he would stand by her as well.

*----------*

Nabiki was just a little worried. Correct that, Nabiki was extremely worried. She couldn't find Akane anywhere. She had checked most of the house, the dojo, and even asked some of her friends, but couldn't find a trace of her.

She had just begun searching the house again. She was pretty sure she wouldn't find anything and she realized that she probably looked ridiculous doing this, but something, some strong powerful instinct in her screamed that something was wrong. She didn't know how but she knew that her sister was in danger. Panic struck her as hard as a hammer striking someone's soft skull and she looked more and more stressed as her search continued.

Rushing around the upstairs of the house, she began opening all of the bedroom doors and looking inside. She had systematically checked all of them, all of them except one. She really didn't have a reason to check there. It wasn't that she didn't mistrusted them or anything.

Nabiki slowly creeped open the door to Kasumi's room. She had almost expected to find something in there. Nothing was out of the ordinary except for the fact that it was immaculately cleaned. 'Kasumi really did have such old fashioned tastes Nabki thought noting her decor 'but it does seem to suit her.

Nabiki hadn't been here since she was a much younger child. Despite her hobbies of photography and planting bugs, she did respect her sister's privacy. She had an honor code of her own at least. The two most important things were her family and profit, deciding between the two was sometimes difficult, but she felt that she had made most of the right decisions so far.

Unable to contain her curiosity, she opened a few drawers and peered at their contents.
Nothing unusual.
She decided to look in her jewelry box.
Again, nothing unusual.
Why not check the closet. To at least see if she only had the one dress or a dozen duplicates.
She opened the closet door slowly and found something most unusual. In fact, if it had happened a few days earlier, it would be even more so.
Bodies.
More specifically the bodies of her father and one Genma Saotome, hacked up almost beyond recognition and lying in a heap in the middle of her elder sister's closet.

"Oh my Nabiki, what have you found there?" a voice came up from just behind her.

It was Kasumi.

At least it looked like Kasumi, only with a slightly larger grin on her face and holding a dirty hunting knife in her left hand.