Tabula Rasa

by Rivyn Daniel

Trapped and left to live out the rest of her life in the form she hates, Ranma finds herself at the crux of a crossroads and forced to face the mistakes she's made and decisions that will shape the rest of her life... but even she couldn't have forseen where this will take her... Please R&R Warning: may contain strong language at times

35. Chapter 34: The Beginning of the End Pt4

A/N: Holy crap!

A brand spankin new chapter!

And it only took seven and a bit months…. Yeah not proud of that! I'm sorry it's taken so long. Aside from having a lot on my plate with course work at the time, looking for work, attending a pop culture convention and a lot of back and forth travel, this story has frankly taken its toll on me energy wise, but that will happen when it's something you've been actively working on almost continuously for nearly five years! Yes, in one month a ten to eleven days it'll have been five months since I started this story….. and frankly it has dragged on far longer than I intended it to.

This isn't to say I'm sick of the story or that I'm abandoning it, because I'm not. I have struggled badly on the last couple of chapters to get them done and frankly I don't always realize how much time has passed since my last upload. I do not enjoy taking so much time get chapters written and uploaded and as I've said before I tend to procrastinate badly and that's something I'm working on.

As for the chapter; this chapter was exhausting and I had to restart on several sections many times.

After this chapter, there's just two more to go!... and an epilogue.

And as such I will not be uploading anymore until the next two chapters and the epilogue are finished. However I do not anticipate them being as long as this chapter in length so I pray to all the muses in the world that I can get them done quickly. Preferably I would like to get them done in time for the "anniversary"…. I'm a fan of symmetry that way…. XD

Anyway, on with the show!

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

Chapter 34

The Beginning of the End Pt 4

The Coming Storm

The forest sung with the rustling of leafs and a chorus of life; droning insects, birds chirping. The presence of such an abundance of life belied the dreary darkness beneath the canopy of shifting hues of green, broken by shafts of dazzling sun light that gave it all an, other worldly quality that was at the same time, both amazing and foreboding; it would not have been strange if forest spirits suddenly appeared amongst the ocean of trees. It was simply beautiful and majestic in too many ways to count. The last vestiges of an ancient place not yet intruded upon by the ever encroaching world of man.

Ryoga strode at a casual pace along the overgrown and forgotten trail that wound its way through the forest, unhurried as she took it all in, carrying a basket of fruit in one hand. Still sensitive and prone to overload, her senses were assaulted by the myriad of sights, sounds and smells all around her, but it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as it had been. The raven haired young woman sucked in a deep, invigorating lungful of air, feeling her body come to life with a surge of energy from the pure, fresh air. It was almost intoxicating.

She almost didn't want to leave.

It felt like months had trickled by since they had parted ways with the others. In reality though it had barely been a week and a half, but the isolation from all that was familiar had ways of playing tricks with your perception of time after a while. This didn't bother her so much because she was used to it. She had come to appreciate the dramatic difference between this place and civilization, having spent so much time camping in the middle of nowhere. Out here there was no roar of construction, no blaring horns from traffic and nor were there crowds of people running into and elbowing you out of the way. It was peaceful and quiet. It would have even been relaxing under different circumstances...

Her mouth quirked into a slight smile - one she grudgingly knew was entirely too adorable in this form - as she hopped a tree that had bisected the path; at least this time she wasn't alone...

Ryoga glared down at her bound chest accusingly; there was of course the one black mark on an otherwise good time. Over the passing days since she had come to and discovered she had been transformed into a girl, the dark haired martial artist had gotten used to her predicament as best she could. With Ranma's help she had managed to adjust to her slightly different senses faster than she thought she would. She didn't even suffer from spontaneous, and possibly life threatening nose bleeds anymore whenever she looked down at her own breasts.

That didn't really make the experience all that much better though. Worse was when it came time to wash. It didn't matter how much she tried to distance her mind from the task at hand, she couldn't deny the perverse thrill of washing her own breasts... Nor the guilt that followed seconds later, like she was doing something bad and being judged for it. Despite the fact that it was technically her body and she shouldn't feel that way, the whole experience left a sour taste in her mouth and she came to dread the approach of the nightly wash in the river, even if it was necessary.

She couldn't wait to go back to her regular body... to feel normal again. She suspected though that Cologne intended for her to stay this way till they got back to Nerima and could have Tetsuya examine her to make sure it was safe. Ryoga wasn't sure she could last that long though... Not that she made a big deal of it openly; she had taken Ukyo's advice about keeping her complaining to herself. If not to spare Ranma's feelings than to let the volatile red head concentrate and focus on what she needed to, to complete her trai-.

Ryoga came to a sudden stop, a warning shiver racing down her spine. Emerald orbs scanned the surrounding forest as she turned with wary slowness. Somewhere amongst the endless sea of trees something snapped with shocking loudness. The ebon haired martial artist frowned as her spare hand reached behind her to grasp the hilt of her bamboo umbrella, welcoming the familiar feeling of the iron shaft that so few could lift. She noticed for the first time the silence, the eerie absence of sounds of birds and insects or the presence of life... except for the one pair of eyes she felt boring through her chest.

She was about to ease away, when the forest burst outward in an explosion of wood and leafs as a massive shape filled her vision and her ears with a bellowing snarling roar. With a dark frown and the flick of a wrist she thrust the umbrella forward like it was little more than a rapier, and jammed it into the creature's snout, bringing it to a dead stop. Without so much as flinching, Ryoga found herself glaring into the eyes of a giant, angry boar.

It was huge! Its fur was thick and matted; its tusks jutted forward and gleamed with a yellow tinge as they pierced a shaft of sunlight, putrid breath fouling the air between the two of them. It almost made Akari's Katsunishiki seem tiny by comparison.

Ryoga wasn't impressed.

'Back. Off!' she growled.

The giant beast merely roared defiantly, pushing insistently against the umbrella and the strength of her unflinching arm.

She sighed. 'Fine, have it your way.'

With the flick of a wrist she sent the boar sliding backwards, its hooves gouging massive rents in the ground to steady itself. It reared back on its hind legs slightly, snarling in a rage before it sprung forward... at the same time Ryoga brought the umbrella down like a hammer.

~oOo~

Ranma shrieked as she flew backwards, hit the ground and rolled head over ass backwards into the obliterated remains of a tree. Pain lanced through her and the air rushed out of her lungs in a massive whoosh that left her gasping for breath. Blue eyes widened with a panicked scream as she threw herself sideways a second before Cologne slammed into the stump with all the force of a ballistic missile; the stump exploded in a million pieces, showering Ranma in a storm of needle sharp splinters as she scrambled to her feet. But, when she turned around, the old woman was already gone again.

Crimson locks were glued to her forehead and sides of her face with sweat, tuffs of hair sticking out at all angles and the binding keeping her pigtail in place was starting to break, letting uneven masses of red tresses spill out in waves; covered in dirt, sweat and even blood here and there, even Ranma knew she looked an absolute wreck. Haggard and worn, she felt like she'd lost a fight with a spin dryer! Her clothes were dirty and torn in places and saturated from her exertions. Muscles were starting to cramp from the hours of non-stop training she was forced to endure, shaking and screaming in protest as she forced more and more out of her limbs, all the while trying to ignore the burning agony shooting through them.

She just wanted to rest!

Ranma spun on the spot several times, panicking as she searched for the little ghoul. Eyes wild and skitterish and panting heavily, trying to calm herself was a task all in itself. The red head tried feeling out all around her, trying to detect the old bat that had become the bane of her existence; but, she was nowhere to be found! That was even more terrifying. She wasn't sure how much more she could take. Hell, she wasn't even sure how she had lasted this long! It had only been a few days since they had started. It felt like weeks! She was so exhausted she was starting to lose track of time, and everything else. Cologne had been utterly relentless and completely ruthless in her approach, barely giving her time to recover before it was time for another round of ass kicking. And, so far as she could tell the only thing she had learnt was how easy it was for Cologne to kick her ass.

Even now she felt the old ghoul watching her, could feel her eyes boring straight through her. Problem was it felt like Cologne was watching her from everywhere at once!

The crimson haired fighter turned again, in time to see the shadowy, blurred mass fly at her, staggering backwards from the punch that clipped the side of her head. She steadied herself and turned to find the old woman when another punch came out of nowhere sending her staggering again. Over and over the punches came, sending her stumbling from side to side and forward and back but never letting her fall. It was like being trapped in a cage. Ranma snarled and threw a wild punch, and missed; a second later her left leg went limp beneath her following a sharp jab to her hip. She was on her ass in a matter of seconds. She didn't wait to see if the old woman would stop; instead she scrambled across the ground, clawing away gouges in the dirt till she smacked head first into a boulder and nearly knocked herself out...

Pressing her back against it she looked this way and that, trembling with exhaustion. Eyes darting all over the place wide and panicky like a deer about to be devoured by a hungry wolf. The poor girl swallowed dryly, her throat feeling like sandpaper it was so parched and desperate for water as she tried to work up a spit.

'Are you scared, child?'

Cologne's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, cold and unnerving as it always was, sending shivers racing up Ranma's spine; yes she was bloody scared!

'Of a little pip squeak like you?' she managed an annoyed frown and gathered a scrap of arrogance from her damaged pride. 'Don't make me laug-'

Without warning, the ground at her feet exploded.

The red head was sent flipping forward through the air with a wild, high pitch shriek as dirt and rock bombarded her from all sides. Cologne's breaking point was so much more powerful than Ryoga's; the shock wave alone made her head ring and her bones vibrate. When she hit the ground several feet away she was covered in a new collection of rapidly forming bruises and weeping wounds. She landed on her face with her ass in the air and legs twitching like a dying cricket. Ranma groaned pathetically.

Cologne hopped up beside her calmly and poked her in the butt with the end of her staff, getting no reaction. 'Hmmm, perhaps it is time for a rest...'

'O...k...' Ranma replied in a daze...

~oOo~

Ranma was in so much pain that she didn't know where one ended and another started; it all blurred into one continuous ache that burned through all her body. All she could do was lay slumped across one of the logs surrounding the campfire, looking very much like a sloth. She could barely feel her legs, let alone care how she looked though. Hell, Kuno could have been sitting right there reciting foppish poetry, declaring his undying love for her to the heavens with one hand and fondling her ass with the other and wouldn't have cared... All she wanted, was to lay there for a few days and just sleep...

Cologne placed a metal mug in front of her. Ranma glanced at it, then at the old woman warily...

'Drink,' Cologne told her. 'It'll help you regain your strength and ease some of your aches and pain."

Ranma sniffed at the mug curiously, and immediately screwed up her nose at the sharp stench. "If it doesn't kill me first..."

Cologne shook her head patiently. "Our young ones are given this after every training session."

'Well that would explain Shampoo's brain damage," the red head grumbled under her breath, grunting as she struggled to sit up.

"What was that?"

"Nothing,' Ranma replied quickly and took a gulp of the noxious brew. Her eyes widened and she heaved violently as she covered her mouth. With an incredible amount of will power she forced back the bile rising from the depth of her stomach. She couldn't help but shudder vocally. "Oh my god... that's almost as bad as Akane's cooking!"

Cologne smirked. "I doubt that very much."

She was probably right about that, Ranma thought with a frown as she tentatively put the mug down.

"Drink it all," Cologne said without looking up, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Ranma gritted her teeth and bit back the bile that was already rising at the back of her throat. She could have thrown it out, but she feared Cologne would only make another batch and force it down her throat if she did. Swallowing back the churning nausea in the pit of her gut, she took a deep breath and downed the rest of it as quickly as possible. She gasped at the horrible taste, eye lids twitching from the sharp bitterness as her face turned a sickly green. She really hated her life sometimes...

'See, that wasn't so bad, was it?' Cologne added in amusement.

Ranma glared hatefully. 'Oh, it's just peachy!'

Cologne chuckled evilly at the red head's sickly look. As much as she hated to admit it though, Ranma could already feel some of her aches starting to lessen, like a very mild glow of anesthesia washing over her; it was almost sedative in nature as it carried her attention away from the pains. Of course that didn't stop her gut from roiling with disgust, gurgling dangerously. No wonder the women of the Joketsuzoku were so insanely tough if they were drinking that swill all the time. It also explained why most of them were just plain insane. The concoction had to be killing brain cells...

'Remind me,' she grumbled. 'Why are we doing this again?'

'Because we have to.'

Ranma almost whimpered, half whining. 'Why?'

'Because it's necessary if you want to defeat Happosai,' Cologne explained calmly. 'I've already explained that we need to increase your strength and speed and improving your technique is vital if you want to last long enough against the evil little imp.'

'Correct me if I'm wrong,' the red head couldn't help being a smart ass. 'But wasn't he already better than you?'

Cologne narrowed her eyes to mere slits at the girl, the temperature around the camp plummeting dramatically. Ranma's smart alec grin vanished in a flash and she coughed uncomfortably under that courage-shattering gaze, forcing her to look away. For a moment she thought the old woman might actually turn her to her stone like some monster of the ancient world.

'You attitude aside,' the old woman voice was colder than ice. 'If you hope to last longer than a second against him, then you need to train with someone like him so you can acquaint yourself with what it's like to fight people like us. I warned you when we started this wasn't going to be an easy or quick path to victory. Make no mistake though, even with what I'm preparing you for it will still take all of us to defeat him. It will be many years before you can compete against the like of us by yourself.'

Ranma chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked into the crackling flames. Memories of her last confrontation with the old goat played through her mind like it happened only yesterday, along with all of the other times he had played her and made her to look like a fool. The thought of her, of all of them for that matter being able to bring him down just seemed utterly ludicrous. Cocky as she generally was, for all her high and mighty attitude, the thought of facing this 'darker' and possibly insane Happosai terrified her.

He had been powerful enough without the jewel; now that it was amping him up he may as well have been invincible.

She just wanted to go back to her 'normal' life, fighting off the advances of irritating jerks and dealing with psychotic energy draining teachers. She never thought she would miss the days when all she had to worry about was Kuno or Hinako or some other nut bar of the day. It made her smile, thinking about the 'good old, simple' days, thinking of all the stupid arguments with Akane, baiting Ryoga, dodging Shampoo and Mousse, hiding out at Uuchan's. Things may have been drastically different now, but that didn't mean she couldn't wait to have the fun times back hanging Akane and Ukyo... and yes even the way too graphic and forward Shampoo...

…...Of course, they still had to defeat Happosai first.

Ranma frowned; as much as she hated to admit it there was something else troubling her about facing Happosai. As horrible and disgusting as he could be, she had seen his altruistic side many times whenever children were involved. For all his faults, there was she would grudgingly admit, a kinder, innocent side to him... and she couldn't ignore the times he had helped her... although he was typically looking to cover his own ass, but there was good in him and the idea that he was being 'corrupted' by the jewel's power – even if it was his own fault – seemed wrong somehow. Especially if she only beat him because he didn't have his wits about him. It made the thought of any victory feel hollow...

'Who's hungry?!'

Ranma looked up to see Ryoga emerge from amongst the tree, carrying baskets of fish and fruit and the carcass of a massive boar slung across her shoulders like a giant fur stole. Sweat beading off her forehead, Ryoga wore a big grin across her face.

'I got dinner!'

The raven haired girl dumped the dead beast beside the camp with a heavy thud. Ranma's stomach growled mightily and her eyes went as wide as saucers at the sight of the animal; drool ran rapidly from the corner of her mouth as she wrung her hands together and moaned in anticipation.

'Meeeeeaaaat!' in the blink of an eye she had leapt up, forgetting her aches and pains as she threw arms around the other girl and hugged her around the waist as she fell to her knees in excitement. 'Thank you! thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!'

Ryoga chuckled as she untangled herself from the overly exuberant red head and stuffed an apple in the girl's mouth. Ranma blinked for a couple of seconds, caught off guard, before using both hands to smash the piece of fruit down her gullet as she devoured the fruit, core and all with terrifying speed. Juice trickled over her lips; she looked up grinning like a child and went for another, when Ryoga quickly spun away, letting the red head trip and face plant against the ground...

'Show some self restraint, for crying out loud!' she scolded her. Ranma though looked up at her with pitiful eyes, looking ready to burst into tears. Ryoga sighed in exasperation. 'Fiiiiiiiiine!' she threw her another one. 'But that's it for now, alright! These have to last a while.'

Ranma mumbled an ok around a mouthful of fruit, earning a head shake of disbelief from the other girl.

Cologne examined the boar, nodding approvingly. 'A fine specimen. We'll get quite a few good meals out of this one... unless you two devour it all before morning.'

Ranma rubbed her perfectly flat belly as it growled loudly. 'I could eat the whole thing at the moment.'

'That's what I'm worried about!' Cologne frowned warningly at her, making the red head grin sheepishly.

'I promise I won't eat all of it,' the red head crossed her heart. 'I can't vouch for Ryoga though.'

Ryoga thumped her on the shoulder indignantly. 'Speak for yourself!'

'If you two wouldn't mind,' Cologne gave them both a firm glare. Both of them stopped immediately. Her gaze lingered long enough to make them nervous, till she returned her attention back to the dead beast. 'Now, rest for another thirty minutes, then you two can continue with the sparring match and other training routines I've showed you.'

Ranma groaned in weary frustration, suddenly reminded of all her aches. 'I bet the others aren't dealing with any of this.'

~oOo~

Akane scowled as she panted heavily.

Sweat beaded across her furrowed brow, trickling down the curve of her jaw and dripping to the ground to make little damp patches to either side of her. Lungs aching for rest, but she refused to listen, forcing it to the back of her mind. Happosai wasn't going to give her time to catch her breath when the time came to fight. No, she had to work through it and get stronger if she was going to stand a chance of helping the others! She lifted her arm, cursing the trembling of exhaustion that shook it as she beckoned her opponent to attack.

Ukyo was all too happy to oblige.

The okonomiyaki chef flew through the air with incredible speed, slicing the air with her oversized spatula spinning above her head between her hands. Too fast! Akane skipped back at the last second Ukyo smashed the weapon down, missing her by mere centimeters as time seemed to slow to a crawl around them. The end of her obi wasn't so lucky, as it flicked out into the path of the descending spatula and was sliced away by the eccentric weapon. Akane's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, flashing first with a tickling of fear before igniting into full blown rage.

That could have killed her!

Suddenly everything was moving fast again, the floor shattered in the shape of a crater as Akane sailed back and slid across the dojo, sliding into a crouch looking like a tightly coiled spring, steadying herself with a single arm. With a snarl the youngest Tendo charged like a beast out of hell. Ukyo wasted no time in wrenching her weapon free of the ruins of the floor and swung with all her strength. Akane was ready this time though and blocked with a palm strike to the shaft of the giant spatula. The sudden shift in weight and loss of momentum caught the chef by surprise and threw her of balance; not nearly as much as looking up in alarm to Akane bearing down on her with a drawn back fist. Before the dark haired girl could blink though, Ukyo hauled a small packet at her face.

Akane screamed at the impact, snapping her head back as a cloud of white exploded all around her. She coughed and gagged on the thick cloud, staggering backwards trying to breath. Without warning something under her foot slipped out from under her and sent her crashing backwards into the dojo floor with a heavy thump.

Then, suddenly, cold steel was pressed against her throat and she froze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

She looked up at the hard gaze of Ukyo's eyes.

'Yield?'

Akane sighed and nodded as best she could. 'I yield….'

Ukyo's hard look abruptly shifted into her trademark friendly, inviting smile and used her forearm to wipe her sweaty forehead. 'Great, I really need the rest after that workout. Hooo boy!'

Ukyo helped her to her feet before wondering off to her bag and pulling out a water bottle. Akane watched as the other girl gracefully flicked her hair back out of her eyes. Chocolate colored tresses whipped the air before, settling into a cascade down the girl's back. Akane was ashamed to admit that she often forgot that there was a very feminine, beautiful young woman under that carefully constructed tomboyish exterior. It made her wonder what Ranma had ever seen in her, compared to his childhood friend who by all rights often seemed like the perfect woman. As good a friends as they were, Akane sometimes couldn't help but feel a little inferior by comparison.

Ukyo was stylish when she wanted to be, a powerful fighter, a skilled chef and always ready to lend a helping hand or simply let people get whatever was bothering them off their chest without making them feel like they were a bother. Herself though? She couldn't cook in spite of all her best efforts – she could only just boil water for crying out loud! – and she wouldn't consider herself stylish and she was starting to wonder if sheer brute force was the only thing she had going for her, despite Ranma's insistence that she had gotten better.

'Earth to Akane….. Heeeellooooo?'

Akane blinked blankly before noticing Ukyo standing in front of her waving a hand across her eyes.

'Geez, where'd you just disappear to, Sugar?' the chef asked with a note of concern carried in her tone.

Akane felt her cheeks warm a little, scrambling for a lie. 'Sorry, I guess I just spaced out for a second. I was thinking about Ranma and Ryoga, hoping they're ok.'

'Ok? Of course they're ok sweetie,' Ukyo chuckled a little. 'Cologne wouldn't let anything happen to them… unless they piss her off…. Yeah, I supposed there is reason to be concerned, huh?'

Akane couldn't help but grin at the chef's light hearted quip; she could easily imagine Ranma aggravating Cologne to no end while poor Ryoga endured the red head's special brand of teasing; probably meeting it with his own special brand of retaliatory violence if Ranma pushed him too far. They'd be lucky if Ranma made it back in one piece…... she did hope Ranma wasn't still teasing Ryoga too much though. She couldn't imagine being a girl was easy for someone as excitable and nervous as Ryoga typically was, let alone having Ranma pulling pranks on him all the time. The poor guy was just so damn gullible though!

'You've really improved the last couple of days,' Ukyo said as she tussled her hair with a hand towel to mop up some of the sweat before wiping down her face. 'A few times there you really did almost have me. I thought I was a goner for sure with that last punch.'

Akane's smile soured a little as she turned away. 'You're just saying that. I know I'm not on the same level as the rest of you. You don't have to try and make me feel better.'

The chef blinked in confusion at her.

'No, I mean it Akane,' she replied seriously. 'I mean no, you're not on the same level as the rest of us. Yet! But, you are getting there. Hell, you've been forcing me to stop pulling my punches. If I had been a fraction slower getting to that flour bomb, you would have nailed me with the punch easily and I doubt I would have been able to come back from that. If you keep going the way you are, you'll get there soon!'

Akane wanted to believe that, she really did. But, she just had a really hard time picturing herself fighting alongside the rest of them as equals.

'Hey,' Ukyo made her look her in the eye. 'You believe me don't you?'

She pulled herself free with a huff of frustration. 'Look, I know I'm a good martial artist, but let's face it Ukyo, compared to the rest of you I stink. I can take on a horde of idiot boys in the school yard fine, but it's not like I have anything to bring to the battle with Happosai. If history has proven anything, I'll probably just get in the way like I always do. I should just stand back and let you all handle Happosai so I don't scr-'

Ukyo slapped her across the face without even the slightest hint of warning. The dojo echoed with the resounding crack of flesh against flesh. Akane's eyes flew wide and her mouth parted in a small 'o' of shock as all sound was sucked out of the room. She could only stare as Ukyo scowled back at her with a fury she had rarely seen on the okonomiyaki chef.

'Don't you ever, speak like that about yourself ever again!' Ukyo snapped furiously. 'I don't give a damn about what put this idiotic notion in your head that you're useless because it's the furthest thing from the truth! You are one of the strongest people I have ever met Akane. You're strong and powerful and don't you ever let anyone ever tell you any different do you hear me? Just because you don't fight the same way as us, doesn't make you any less important to any of us. You're one of us and you always will be and you're going to be right there beside us when we take that little toad down. You're an amazing person Akane and I won't let you ever believe any different, you got that Sugar?'

Akane could only stare in muted shock, cheek burning with a mighty sting and a blush she couldn't even hope to contain. She didn't know what to say or do. She could only stand there like an idiot, holding her own cheek. No one had ever said anything like that to her, nor cared that much about her; with the exception of her father and sisters of course, but even then she sometimes wondered if they really understood her... Ukyo wasn't shy with her sincerity though.

After what felt like an eternity, she managed a bewildered nod, confounded even further when Ukyo suddenly hugged her tight. Akane believed her without question or hesitation, so much that she returned the hug…... fighting back the slight welling of tears she felt behind her eyes.

'Good,' Ukyo said finally, giving her one last squeeze before untangling herself, eyes bright and warm as ever. 'No, no more of this "I'm gonna screw everything up," crap; in fact, to hell with training for the rest of the day. Let's go get some lunch and have some fun, I think we've earned that much. Come on!'

Akane barely had time to blink before Ukyo had scooped up her bag and started heading for the door, leaving no room for argument. Akane was left standing there, her face feeling like it was on fire...heart pounding strangely in her chest, and her throat feeling suddenly dry.

Eventually she shook her head of the confusion and frowned; more at herself than anything else.

'Geez, what the hell is wrong with me lately...?'

~oOo~

The night arrived with an almost unsettling swiftness. Shouldering the twilight hour aside before you could even blink. The moonless sky blanketed the forest in an all encompassing darkness, but even then the tiny figure could be made out against the black of night every so often as it darted from place to place like a wraith. Cologne moved with inhuman silence as she picked her way through the shattered ruins of the forest temple; if you could even call it that anymore. There were no signs of anyone... but that didn't mean someone wasn't still around, watching and waiting.

The rest had long since cleared out, leaving little trace of themselves behind. Cologne assumed the women, whose faith in their order was weakest would have been the first to crack and flee, along with those that were no doubt being held against their will. Others would have followed soon after, but Cologne knew there would still be some around somewhere. She wasn't afraid for her safety though, she just didn't want any unnecessary interruptions, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Cologne paused to get her bearings; Ranma and Ryoga's attack had done such a number on the complex, the massive holes like gaping mournful wounds that would never heal. It wasn't exactly subtle, but in this case she had to admit she approved of the wanton mass destruction of such a despicable place. Even if it did make her job that much harder. It had already been several nights of apparently fruitless searching of the temple ground and she was starting to fear she would never find, it. Of course it didn't help matters that she was starting to think Ranma was sensing that she was stalling to continue the training she had started the red head with; she didn't think it would take this long to find what she needed though. Despite her aches and pains, Ranma was getting impatient to get down to learning the technique Cologne had promised to teach her and she could only keep her preoccupied with conditioning training for so long before they would need to move on to the next phase...

Inwardly she cursed herself for being captured and incapacitated so easily, let alone letting those women get the better of her. It was unforgivable. A disgrace to both her and her tribe. Arrogantly she had become deaf to the very idea that anyone could get the better of her, let alone take her down without a fight. Her arrogance had nearly led to her downfall, and now she was had to live with the consequences of her carelessness.

Cologne sighed; perhaps... perhaps she was too old to keep doing this. Perhaps, one day in the near future it would be time to select a successor...

'This what you've been searching for?'

Cologne whirled around to find Saki standing there, with one arm in a sling and the other holding a traveling pack; flanking the matriarch on all sides were a number of women with bandages covering arms, legs and heads and around their abdomens. All of them had a look of rage in their eyes as they gripped their weapons in readiness. Cologne's eyes narrowed in confirmation as she recognized her bag.

'I thought so,' Saki replied coolly, a little smirk of satisfaction tugging at the corners of her features. 'Especially when I saw what was inside. Not something I would expect your dull witted protégés to carry with them.'

Cologne glowered dangerously, the air around her turning chilly. 'If you have even a fraction of common sense, you would do well to return that immediately.'

'You are in no position to make demands!' Saki snarled viciously.

The silence that followed was tense. You could have heard a pin drop miles away, the silence was so absolute; even the forests surrounding the ruined temple complex were absolutely devoid of any sound, the wildlife having fled. The women tightened their grip on their weapons, knuckles turning white as the two matriarchs stood there with their gazes locked. It would only have taken the smallest of reasons to set them off, to send them charging uselessly at her...

Then Cologne chuckled.

Saki frowned, confused. 'What's so funny?'

'You're pathetic lackey's couldn't even beat my "dull witted proteges," and you think they're a match for someone of my level?' the air around Cologne turned even colder as her battle aura started to flow off her in faint waves, reaching out to suck the heat out of the air. She grinned dangerously as they shifted nervously. 'You are unbelievably stupid, child.'

Cologne was in front of the woman before anyone could blink, driving the bulbous end of her staff into the woman's stomach and bringing her to her knees before wrapping an ancient hand around Saki's throat. The other women rushed to attack, and froze in mid step a second later as Cologne's battle aura flared with frightening intensity. The women all around her shook visibly as the suffocating presence rolled over them like an invisible wave threatening to drag them into some unfathomable dark depth to be crushed. Sweat beaded off their foreheads as their knees shook and their eyes widened with terror as the battle aura coalesced above and around them into a massive creature of energy with a gaping maw of razor like teeth and a hideous smile. The color drained from Saki's face as she stared up at the old woman and the manifestation of her battle aura in horror.

Cologne snarled in a low, cold voice. 'You have no idea of the forces you are playing with! I am Cologne, leader of the Joketsuzoku! I am over three hundred years old. I have seen and done things beyond your pathetic comprehension and you think you stand a chance against me? You are nothing more than an insolent little child to me? I have endured and inflicted more pain and suffering than you can begin to imagine and your punishment for knocking me out with that smoke, will be severe...' she suddenly kissed Saki on the cheek. When she pulled back, Cologne was grinning sadistically. 'I trust you know what the Kiss of Death means, I hope?'

Saki fell backwards on her ass as Cologne released her grip, white as a ghost and trembling uncontrollably. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out as terror flooded through her body like wave after wave of pure paralyzing fear. Cologne continued to grin as she picked up the pack with the end of her staff and sneered down at the other woman.

'Fortunately for you I have more important matters to attend to, so I'll give you a head start,' she held up a warning finger. 'Remember though, it does not matter where you run to, or where you hide. I will find you. I will always, find you. The Kiss of Death is a promise. Before I'm done, you will beg me to end your pathetic existence...' Cologne walked past her towards the blasted tree line as she pulled her battle aura back, before calling back over her shoulder. "So run, Saki... run as fast and as far as your legs will carry you, because after tonight..."

She faded into the shadows.

"... your days are numbered.'

And with that she disappeared into the night with a cackling, sadistic laugh...

~oOo~

Morning came with its usual routine; rays of sun beamed through the little window of the tent, feeling the interior with a warm glow. Ranma stirred, drawn from her sleep slowly as she screwed eyes closed even tighter to block out the light, frowning slightly as waking consciousness intruded upon her dreams. She didn't want to wake up, her body slow to follow her mind in waking up, groggy and still weary from the taxing training of the day before. But, she knew it wouldn't last either way; if she didn't get up soon she knew it would not be long before Cologne dragged her into the clearing to start all over again.

Sleepy blue jewels blinked, blurry and resistant. She sighed with satisfaction as she stretched languidly,as the warmth of the morning sun spread through her limbs, filling them with energy to face a new day of torture ahead of them. Ranma would have been happier to have a day off to recover completely, but she was certain hell would freeze over before Cologne let that happen.

Then suddenly she felt something tighten around her waist, drawing her closer. Glancing down Ranma blinked at the slender arm snaked around her, above her hips. The red head smiled warmly and looked back over her at Ryoga's sleeping face, and sunk into the other girl's embrace. A month ago, she would have screamed and leapt out of the tent like the sleeping girl next to her was trying to set her on fire; but now, she felt a glow in her chest that replaced the sheer heart pounding panic of waking up in next to another person, a guy no less – technically at least at the moment – spooning with her.

It had been weird the first couple of times, waking up to Ryoga's arm around her, but she had gotten used to it quickly, realizing early on that Ryoga had no idea she was doing it in her sleep; apparently Ryoga was a hugger.

At the back of her mind it made her marvel at how much had changed... how much she had changed. She didn't feel like the same old Ranma anymore. Nor did she feel like she was a completely different person either. She was just more than she was now. Maturer in some ways even. Some might say she had changed too fast, that she had given up too quickly on becoming a guy again; but at the time her only option was to adapt; all the anger that she felt at being trapped, at everyone and everything and herself wouldn't have helped her. She had to adapt, otherwise all of the rage and depression would have eaten her alive. She wasn't entirely sure who she had become was a bad thing though.

It sure as hell didn't feel wrong... not anymore.

'Ah'em...'

Ranma's head snapped up at the sudden noise, to find Cologne standing over them at the entrance to the tent with an amused, knowing grin spread across her ancient features. With a shriek the red head leapt up, her face burning bright crimson, heart jack hammering in a mad panic.

'This isn't what it looks like!'

'I'm sure it's not,' the old woman chuckled patronizingly.

Ryoga suddenly sat up, yawning and blinking groggily. Rubbing an eye with one hand and scratching under her ribs with the other as she glanced around at the two of them in sleep addled confusion. 'What's going on?'

Chuckling again, Cologne said. 'If you two would please join me outside, there is something we must discuss.'

As the old woman left, Ranma spared a quick glance at Ryoga and blushed furiously; she was out of the tent in a flash before the other girl could say anything, wishing the earth would just open up and swallow her whole. She didn't even bother to change into fresh training clothes. When she looked up Cologne was still watching her, smirking amusedly, causing the girl's face to turn a deeper red.

'Stop that damn it!' she stamped her foot, whining desperately. 'Nothing happened!'

Cologne's eyes glinted with amusement. 'Then why are you so upset?'

Ranma's mouth flew open, ready to unleash a torrent of protests and excuses... and nothing came out. Cologne arched an eyebrow, waiting expectantly. The words wouldn't come and she stood there poised, mouth opening and closing silently. Then Ryoga finally emerged, glancing around looking as oblivious as ever, and Ranma rocked back on her hills and looked away with a huff.

'Never mind,' she muttered, before adding more loudly. 'What is it you want anyway?'

'Ah yes,' the old woman replied, as if having forgotten the reason shewanted them for. 'Now, there are some things we must disgust. First and foremost, you are no doubt aware that I have been stalling somewhat with your training. While what we've been doing is important for what's to come and preparing you for fighting Happosai, but it's not all there is to it.'

'So why stall then?' Ranma frowned

'Because the training equipment needed for you to master the technique was in my travel pack and I had to find it amongst all the damage you two cause at the temple,' she replied dryly, causing the two of them to shift sheepishly. Cologne shook her head at them and turned to the beaten up pack next to the log she was perched upon. 'I have to admit, I did not have high hopes that we would find what we were looking for at the temple. In case I was right, I brought some insurance. Now that I've found it again, we can proceed with your training, but I feel I must once more give you the option to say no, and return to Nerima. We may be able to find another way to defeat Happosai.'

Ranma let out a sharp hiss. 'What is it with you and this technique?! You've been going on and on about how dangerous it is and getting me to turn tail and run, but you won't tell me why and I'm sick of it! I deserve to know what the hell is going on."

Cologne met her irritated gaze silently; Ranma wasn't about to back down though. Finally though the ancient matriarch nodded with a slight sigh.

'You're right,' she said. 'The techniques that I have taught you in the past, were ones that had been passed down for hundreds, even thousands of years through my tribe. The one that I'm training you to learn now... I invented it in my younger years, shortly after been awarded title of Master... and it nearly killed me.'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out!' Ryoga made an 'X' with her hands. 'You're telling us you're trying to teach Ranma something that nearly killed you? You!? You of all people nearly died using this technique?'

'No,' she shook her head, causing Ryoga's shoulders to sag with relief. Then Cologne added calmly. 'I was never able to execute it.'

'What!?' both girls snapped.

Cologne sighed heavily. 'I forget how I old I was exactly but, I had left my tribe to go on a training journey, to meditate and reflect upon my life and to perfect several new techniques I had been working on. One of these techniques was what you would call the Tenryū no kiba; the Fang of the Heaven Dragon... I journeyed to a remote mountain, where I knew I would not be interrupted and could train in peace. When I was finally ready to try the completed technique, I discovered that it was far more powerful than I had anticipated... and I nearly paid for that mistake with my life.'

'What happened?' Ranma asked, curious and hesitant at the same time. 'What kind of attack is this?'

'It's my own contribution to the Hiryu Shoten Ha,' Cologne explained. 'Needless to say, the strain on my body nearly ripped me apart... I was left severely weakened and injured. It took me many days before my strength started to return and even then it was weeks before I was at full strength again. I am not ashamed to admit that I had never known real fear until that day. I decided then and there that I would never use that technique again and nor would I teach it to anyone else. Unfortunately circumstances have forced my hand.'

'You can't be serious,' Ryoga replied incredulously. 'If you couldn't use this technique without nearly killing yourself then what makes you think Ranma can?!'

Ranma punched her in the shoulder. 'Hey!'

'Well face it Ranma, you're good but you're not that good,' Ryoga snapped defensively as she rubbed her arm. 'If Ranma tries to use this attack it will kill her!'

'I won't lie, that is a very real possibility,' Cologne agreed softly. 'However, in all my years I have never met a martial artist quite like Ranma. Her talent lays in more than just the knowledge and execution of techniques. She has proven time and time again her ability to learn and adapt attacks in the most curious of ways. I believe that if anyone can use this attack effectively and survive, it will be her. But, I will not stop you from leaving if you say no. I will understand.'

Ranma chewed lightly on the inside of her cheek as she stared at the old woman; her ancient features were completely unreadable but Ranma got the distinct feeling Cologne was almost hoping she'd say no. That in itself scared her. Glancing at Ryoga, at the dark haired girl's worried expression she knew without a doubt that she wanted nothing more than for her to say no. Part of her wanted to, but really what was the alternative? There was no chance in hell they were going find another way to stop Happosai that they hadn't already tried before. If this was something Cologne had made and hidden for all these years, then he would never see it coming.

No, there wasn't any other choice.

'I've never ran away from a challenge and I'm not about to start now,' she shook her head, ignoring the frustrated frown of exasperation from Ryoga as Cologne nodded softly. Finally she made a nod at the bag next to the old woman. 'Yah gonna show us what the training equipment is?'

Cologne managed an amused smile and over turned the bag, dumping the contents on to the ground at her feet. Ranma's stared for a second, before her face screwed up in confusion as she looked at the familiar tangle of straps and tensions attached to wrist cuffs and pads for the elbows, knees and shoulders. The red head remembered this particular torture device all too well. It was the same get up Cologne had made her wear to learn the Hiryu Shoten Ha in the first place.

Ranma groaned, making Cologne chuckle.

'I had to adjust it for your female form,' she explained. 'I also had to make it ten times more sensitive for the purposes of this training.'

Ranma sighed. 'Let's get this over with...'

~oOo~

Ranma let fly with a stream of colorful curses as the tensions snapped shut like a spring loaded trap, hogtying her for the umpteenth time once more. The red head screamed and raged as she rolled about struggling to free herself, causing the harness to pull even harder at her joints as she lost complete control of her ki, letting it turn from cold to an inferno in a few seconds flat. Her face was colored with frustration and sweat turned it glossy as it dripped freely from the soft curve of her jaw. It didn't help that Ryoga was practically rolling on the ground with laughter at her plight. Cologne simply sighed in frustration.

'You're not concentrating hard enough,' Cologne told her critically. 'Until you take this training seriously you're going to keep eating dirt.'

Ranma forced back the new flurry of curses rising angrily in the back of her throat. 'I am taking this seriously damn it! You're the one that made this thing so damn sensitive!'

'As I have repeatedly told you,' Cologne replied coldly. 'It has to be that sensitive so you can master this aspect of the technique. If it was possible to make it any more sensitive you better believe I would. Now, calm yourself and try again.'

The red head glared up at the two of them with frosty blue daggers, biting her tongue hard against the smart ass remarks she had brewing. Instead she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing and finding her center. It was never an easy task calming down once you were worked into a fury by countless hours of frustrating failure, but minutes later she somehow managed it. The tensions loosened and her limbs flopped free. Ranma was on her feet immediately, trying to rub the pain out of her shoulders where the tensions had nearly ripped her arm out of the socket. She hated the damn contraption and part of her hated Cologne for deciding that it was absolutely necessary to the training. She was at the knife's edge of her patience; so much in fact that she was almost ready to let Happosai keep the damn Jewel and let fate played out as it may. She missed her bed, she missed hot, nearly scolding baths and hell she even missed school at this point.

'Again,' Cologne's voice invaded her ranting thoughts. 'Push everything out of your head and focus on the task. One step at a time. The most important thing to remember is to maintain the Soul of Ice no matter what. If you don't think you can move on to the next step without activating the tensions, don't. Wait till it feels right. Trust your instincts and you'll know when the moment is right.'

Ranma grumbled under her breath as she turned her back on the two of them and crouched down in a runner's stance. You can do this, she told herself over and over again, taking deep calming breaths as she pushed her previous failures out of her mind and drew around her the void of indifference that made up the Soul of Ice. Cloaked within it properly, there were so few things that could penetrate it so long as you had it mastered. It was exhausting though in its own way, and with tiredness the Soul of Ice grew steadily weaker each time you had to submerge yourself within it. Ranma wasn't sure how many more times she could keep this up without a long rest to refresh her.

But, right at that moment, it didn't matter... nothing mattered.

Without needing to be told she blasted forward at a sprint. Within seconds she was running around the clearing at her top speed, ignoring the sweat beading off her forehead or the burning in her thighs. Nothing mattered. There was only the task at hand. She drew on the strength of the Soul of Ice to push away the burning of her muscles. To force away the rising heat of her body, to convince it that wasn't straining. She had to not only keep her ki cool, but her entire body as well, the tensions were that sensitive now. She couldn't let it build or she'd end up on her face again. To make matters even harder, she had to use the Soul of Ice to draw more speed and endurance out of her already weary limbs without her ki exerting too much heat; she had to go beyond her limit if Cologne was ever going to teach her the rest of the technique.

With an incredible amount of concentration, she could feel her body cool and her ki stabilize where it needed to be, and the pain in her legs had been reduced to a dull throb. It was now or never.

She reached out to the ki flowing all around and throughout her and focused the flow into her legs. The dull throb disappeared in a flash and she felt herself propelling forward faster and faster each time her foot left the ground. She felt the power rushing into her limbs. Her crimson locks and ponytail whipped behind her as she raced onward. More, she ordered; she needed to go faster!

And then the tensions snapped into action!

Ranma crashed into the ground with a shriek as her limbs folded painfully behind her. And like that, the Soul of Ice was shattered into a billion pieces... She rolled onto her side and howled with a fury. She all but banged her head against the ground in aggravation, gnashing her teeth together. Cologne shook her head and Ryoga burst with laughter again. When she was calm enough that the tensions released her, Ranma tore them off.

'That's it!' she snarled. 'I've had it!'

And with that she stormed off.

'Ranma!' Ryoga called after her. 'Come on, don't be like that. Come back!'

Ranma didn't wait though. She stomped off into the forest without even slowing or looking back. She was pissed and frustrated and she couldn't do it anymore. Cologne had even said she wasn't sure she could learn this technique, and obviously she was right! This was something she either wasn't ready to learn or it was beyond her ability to ever learn; either way the point was that she didn't have time to waste trying to learn something she couldn't. It was time that could have been better spent learning something useful to take Happosai down. Or maybe she just didn't give a rat's ass anymore if they stopped Happosai!

She didn't stop until she came to the river they had been using to bathe in. Seriously what did she care? It wasn't her responsibility to clean up Tetsuya's mess. It was his Jewel. What gave him the right to drag her into this stupid mess?

Ranma let loose a furious screech of frustration.

She didn't even bother to turn around when she heard someone come up behind her.

'There you are!' Ranma's eyes widened and she whipped around to find Ryoga standing there... in his male form!

'Ryoga, what are you doing?!' she demanded shrilly, panicking. 'Have you lost your damn mind?! We agreed that you should stay in your girl form until we got back to Nerima so Tetsuya could give you the ok!'

'I don't care about that at the moment,' he replied calmly. 'I wanted your undivided attention.'

'You're an idiot! Change back and wait till we get back to Nerima,' she told him in a panic; she didn't want him to risk getting stuck with his female form because of her if he didn't need to.

'No,' Ryoga frowned. 'Look, I'm sorry for laughing. I know this training is hard, but you can't just run off because you're frustrated. That's not what you do.'

'Well maybe it's what I do now!' she snapped, whirling on the other girl. 'For days I have been repeatedly beaten black and blue and struggling to figure out what Cologne needs me to do and I can't do it! Maybe if I had years to work on it, but we don't have that long if we're really going to fight Happosai, let alone beat him. Seriously? Do you honestly think we stand a chance of doing that? Think about all the times we've taken him on. Even when he's not serious, he still beat us without breaking a sweat. There's no way to beat him if he's going to be serious about it, no matter how much Cologne prepares us. And that's not even considering the fact that he has the Jewel super charging him!'

Ryoga shook her head. 'No one said this was going to be easy, but we can't not try to stop him.'

'Says who?'

'Says everyone!' he snapped, much to her surprise. 'We all know how powerful Happosai is but we're not going to let that stop us from trying. He has to be stopped.'

Ranma wanted to claw her own brains out in frustration. 'We can't stop him though! That's the point! Even if I learn this technique there's no guarantee that it's going to be enough to stop him. He won't be stupid enough to leave himself open to a surprise attack.'

Ryoga placed his hands on her shoulder and held her there firmly as he stared her straight in the eye. 'Ranma... you are the most tenacious person I have ever known. You don't let people beat you. You don't even let a bad situation beat you. You always fight back. You always find a way and I know this time will be no different. That's who you are Ranma; you're relentless, unyielding and completely and absolutely infuriating in every single way possible... and that is what makes you so incredible... If any of us stand a chance of getting the better of the old goat, it's going to be you. This technique Cologne's trying to teach you might be hard. It might be pushing you to your limits... but I know you can do it. If I believe in one thing Ranma, I believe in you.'

Ranma stared at him speechlessly, cheeks burning furiously. She didn't know what to say to all that. She felt her resolve to quit, melt away under his intense gaze, fixing her to the one spot. The silence between them was deafening, so much that she could hear her own heart beating a thousand miles a minute.

'Now,' he smiled. 'Shall we go back and try again?'

Ranma wanted to say no. She wanted to turn and run away. Run back to Nerima and pretend that it wasn't her problem to deal with... but she knew that wasn't an option to consider... not really. Ryoga was right. Giving up wasn't her thing. She had to figure out a way to make this work, even if she did have her doubts about fighting Happosai.

'Ok,' she replied a little breathlessly, nodding slightly.

'Good,' Ryoga smiled widely and grabbed her hand before she could protest and pulled her along.

In the wrong direction.

'Wait, Ryoga! Not that wa-arrrggghhh!' she screamed as he walked them straight off the river bank and sent them splashing into the water. Fortunately she landed on top of the directionless idiot, sparing her from being completely drenched. That didn't stop her from cursing loudly though as she heaved herself up slightly 'Damn it all Ryoga, you stu-'

She froze in mid sentence as she found herself staring down at Ryoga still in his male form. She looked at him in shock as a slight steam wisped from his body and the surrounding water, but there was no heat; the water was colder than it had been since they first set up camp in fact. He looked at her in equal surprise, neither of them knowing quite what to say at first.

'You're cured,' she gasped in disbelief down at him. She patted her hands rapidly all over his chest in shock and confusion. 'I mean... you're completely cured! How is this possible?!'

'I...I dunno,' he stammered, then he blushed up at her. 'Uh... Ranma...'

She blinked slightly, before realizing she was straddling and leaning close to his face. She blushed, but she didn't make any move to jump away as she had so many other times before when they had been in this compromising situation; nor did he for that matter. They simply stared at each other in complete silence, very much aware of one another in that moment, adding to the plethora of confusion that was the storm of her mind lately.

Then without warning, Ryoga vanished from beneath her and she pitched face first into the water with a shriek, flailing like a panicked cat. When she managed to push herself up, she fell backwards on her ass in confusion, staring at the empty spot where Ryoga had just been as she coughed and spluttered. Then, just as suddenly, a little black pig broke the surface, little legs flailing wildly.

Ranma stared at him silently... before breaking into a fit of laughter, much to his annoyance if the look on his piggy face was anything to go by as she picked him up with both hands.

'Ok...' she admitted. 'So maybe not completely cured.'

P-chan heaved a heavy sigh.

~oOo~

The night sung with the chorus of insects as Ryoga carefully carried the sleeping Ranma into the tent, laid her down and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. She snored softly and curled, drawing her knees up high nearly against her chest beneath the covers. She was so drained and exhausted from all the training that she had fallen asleep before she could even finish her meal. He had never would have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself. He had to admit, she was unbelievably cute when she was sleeping...

Ryoga smiled softly down at her, before leaving.

He stretched as he stepped out of the tent; it felt so good to be back in his real body again. Accepting that he had to stay in his temporary female form for a while, but it hadn't made it any easier to deal with. Maybe with time he could have gotten used to a female form as Ranma had, but knowing it was temporary only served as a reminder that there was a time limit, and the idea that he could be stuck with it against his will did not help to make it any better. Would he still willingly curse himself with the Nyannichuan if it made things easier for Ranma? He wanted to think he would if it came down to that, his feelings for her were that strong.

'She has a lot of work ahead of her,' Cologne said calmly.

Ryoga nodded. 'I wish I could be of more help.'

'Then heed my advice and go back to Nerima,' she eyed him seriously.

He couldn't help but frown. 'What? Why? What did I do?'

Cologne sighed wearily. 'You have done nothing wrong, but you are a distraction. I know there is something happening between the two of you at the moment. Something neither of you want to talk about. I'm not blind. I don't care though, but whatever the matter is, your very presence is a distraction and right at this moment the last thing Ranma needs, is a distraction. She needs to focus on learning this technique and she cannot do that while you are around. So please, return to Nerima so I can have her undivided attention.'

Ryoga echoed her sigh as he hung his head; she was right of course. Ranma had a lot on her mind between psyching herself up for the upcoming fight with Happosai, learning this, so claimed all powerful technique of Cologne's and dealing on top of all this with the fact that Tetsuya can restore her male form... The fact that he was also dealing with the implications of the last one was just as obvious and his frustration over it was no doubt starting to affect Ranma as well, trying to figure out what he was so wrapped up thinking about.

He didn't want to leave though... but she was right...

'I'll leave in the morning,' he promised quietly... miserably.

'You've a good heart, child,' Cologne replied sympathetically. 'You're doing the right thing.'

Ryoga could only nod.

~oOo~

The morning came and Ranma woke to the feeling of warmth spreading slowly across her cheek; she rolled over and buried her head in her pillow, bunching the blanket up under her chin, screwing her eyes closed tighter. She didn't want to wake up. She was too comfortable. She just wanted to lay there all snug and cocooned and drift back into the lands of dreams where it was cozy and warm and she didn't have to worry about anything. She felt so relaxed; whatever was in the tea Cologne had given her last night was a miracle! She didn't even remember going to sleep, let alone crawling into her tent.

She smiled as the answer came to her, unbidden. Ryoga; he must have carried her in... She could practically smell his scent, an earthen smell of dirt and grass that seemed imbued in his very being. It was something she had tried hard not to take notice of, but it was so hard. Even in girl form Ryoga's scent had remained unchanged... Ranma frowned that that was something she noticed now... or even more disturbing, something she found comfort in...

Finally, with a reluctant sigh she stretched out all cat like, groaning with satisfaction as tendons stretched and joints popped. A few seconds later she crawled out of the tent and, yawning obnoxiously loud, stretched her arms over her head and then breathing in deep the fresh morning air as she scratched absently just below her breasts. She stared around, attempting to get her bearings. It had been a long time since she had slept so soundly that she'd wake up feeling so relaxed and groggy, like she was still half asleep. A small sound of delight escaped her lips as she suddenly breathed in a delicious scent.

She found Cologne working over a metal can brewing one of her concoctions.

'That smells good,' she yawned as she sat down. '…...for a change."

Cologne ignored that last part. 'Hibiscus and cinnamon tea... with a few of my own extra ingredients. It is the perfect way to start the day after using my sleep inducing herbs.'

'Hmmm,' Ranma nodded eagerly as Cologne served up a cup of the brew. She took a deep breath of the sweet liquid, savoring the scents with a smile of anticipation. Then her eyes snapped open in confusion. 'Wait, what are you talking about? I didn't take any sleep...inducing... damn it! You drugged my dinner didn't you!?'

Cologne's evil smile was all the answer she needed. Was nothing sacred anymore? Drugging a person's food of all things!

Ranma sat back with a huff and sipped indignantly from the cup. It did not help that the brew was one of the most delicious things she had ever tasted and it took all the will she possessed not to throw her head back and chug all of it in a single go. She wouldn't give Cologne that satisfaction. That being said, she could feel her body coming awake, shaking off the last dregs of groggy sleep. She felt like she could face anything at the moment.

She glanced around suddenly, blinking at what was missing. 'Where's Ryoga?'

Cologne kept fussing about with her brew and sorting through her traveling supply of herbs and other ingredients, without looking up.

Ranma frowned. 'Cologne, where's Ryoga?'

'He's gone,' the old woman replied simply.

'What?!'

'I asked the boy to leave and return to Nerima,' Cologne explained patiently, much to the red head's confusion. 'Your concentration needs to be here and now if you are to master this technique in time. Ryoga, though he meant well by wanting to be here, he was a distraction, and you are one to him as well; albeit unintentionally. Trust me, this is for the best.'

Ranma bit her own tongue and sucked in a deep breath to fight back the urge to just completely lose her shit. Worse was the fact that Cologne wasn't wrong. That wasn't the point though!

'When did he leave?' she asked finally with clenched teeth.

'Now Ranm-'

'When did he leave damn it!?'

Cologne sighed in exasperation. 'About half an hour ago... He headed west after I repeatedly told him to head south.'

Ranma was gone almost before Cologne could even finish. The red head moved with blistering speed into the forest, cursing furiously. The idiot may have had a thirty minute head start, but with her steadily increasing speed she knew she could cover that distance in a fraction of the time, and when she caught up to him she was going to give him what for! How dare he leave without even speaking to her first and asking what she thought! She couldn't believe Cologne, making these decisions for her. She didn't give a rat's ass if the old witch was right. Ok sure, yes, she had been distracted. Who wouldn't be after the last couple of weeks with everything that had happened and then Tetsuya topping it off with that little nugget of a revelation. She was distracted and with good reason, but that didn't give Cologne the right to tell either of them what to do and Ryoga was a jerk for listening to her!

No one made decisions for her but herself! No one!

She bounded off trees and through the canopy, leaping from branch to branch when it suited her and taking to the ground when the path opened up more. Sharp ended branches clawed at her exposed flesh and twigs and leafs caught in her hair, but she didn't care. Time slipped away from her as she ran, and worry gnawed at the back of her mind that the stupid dolt may have made a random turn at some point and could have ended up anywhere…

Till she heard a familiar howl of frustration…. followed by the thundering crash of a toppled tree.

There!

Sure enough, a few seconds later she found Ryoga wracking himself over a map next to a fallen tree, clouds of dirt still lingering about the scene; she didn't even slow down as she slammed a kick into his back. The Lost Boy flew forward and tripped on the tree, crashing face first into the ground with a scream. Ryoga was on his feet in a flash and whirled around with a snarling look of rage….

'Who the hell do yo- oh crap!'

….. that was just as quickly replaced with one of alarm as he found himself staring into the steely eyed red head that seemed to loom over him ominously, arms folded across her chest in a way that said just one thing; she was pissed!

Ryoga swallowed uneasily. 'Oh… hey, Ranma….'

'Baka!' she snapped. 'Did you really think I'd just let you leave without a word? Who the hell do you think I am? Neither you or Cologne get to make decisions about me! I'm the only one that gets to do that, you hear me?'

'I think China can hear you….'

'Shut up!' she hissed venomously. 'Do you think so little of me that you'd just up and leave like that? Do you think I'm incapable of making my own decisions that you'd listen to Cologne instead of talking to me? What? Just because I'm a girl now you think my opinion doesn't matter?! Maybe I would have agreed with her, did you ever think about that? No, you didn't. You just accepted what she said and left with your tail between your legs while I was asleep!'

Now it was Ryoga's turn to frown. 'I was trying to do the right thing! And while we're at it, what about my choice? Do you think it's so impossible that I can make my own decisions!?'

'Yes!' she wanted to snarl, but she thought better of it. Instead she replied. 'Don't you dare turn this back on me! You should have at least told me damn it. Instead I have to hear it from Cologne! At least have the guts to look me in the face and tell me you're going! I think I deserve that much. If you had, I could have told you that it's not you that's distracting me.'

Ryoga's features softened and he shook his head. 'I know.'

'Exactly,' she huffed. 'You went off half cocked an–'

'No Ranma,' he cut her off gently. 'I mean, I know...'

She frowned in confusion. 'What do you mean? Know what?'

Ryoga sighed, his shoulders heaving. 'I know what's been distracting you... I know about the choice Tetsuya gave you.'

Ranma felt her heart literally stop for a second as she froze on the spot, staring at him in alarm with wide eyes. Her blood ran cold and her mouth dried dramatically. The silence that settled between them was deafening. She had been stressing about telling him for over a week now and now he tells her he knows? For how long?! She could feel her heart starting race as her brain scrambled to make sense of this. He must have thought she was a total jerk for not telling her. Oh god, how was she was going to explain this!?

'What do you mean you know?!' her voice rose several octaves in panic, before her eyes narrowed suspiciously. 'Did that son of a bitch tell you to cause trouble? I swear when I see that bastard again I'm gonna break his frea-'

'No, no that's not it,' he said quickly before she could completely lose it. 'When I chased after you, I actually found you pretty fast, but you were already talking to Tetsuya and it seemed like you had a lot you needed to get off your chest and I didn't want to interrupt... I heard everything you were talking about... as well as him giving you the choice... and after that I just didn't know how to tell you that I knew...'

The color drained from the red head's face. 'Oh man, I'm sorry... Look Ryoga, I d-'

He held up his hand to stop her. 'You don't have anything to apologize for or explain. I get it, I understand. After spending a week as a girl, believe me I get it. I know I haven't been able to stop thinking about what he told you. That's why I've been distracted and distant lately. I've been trying to figure out what was going through your mind... when I should have known it was none of my business and nothing to do with me...'

Ranma gaped slightly in shock and shook her head. 'Ryoga, I should have said something. I wanted to, I just didn't know how to and then everything happened at the Temple and it just got more and more complicated and then you got turned into a girl and I was having so much fun teasing you that I just kept putting it off and putting it off trying to pretend it was something I could put off till after we dealt with Happosai.'

Ryoga simply smiled softly, nodding lightly.

Ranma shifted awkwardly. 'What do we do now?'

'We, don't do anything,' he shook his head, much to her confusion. He took a deep breath to steel himself. 'After spending a week as a girl, I know this decision... It can't be about us. It's about you and what you want. I can't ask you to give up this chance. It's your decision, what you do... and it's a big decision, one that you can't make lightly and having me around I'm guessing doesn't make it any easier on you... So, that's why I decided to leave...'

Ranma could only stare at him, not knowing what to say. When did Ryoga become this understanding? They had both changed so much over the last few months, but she didn't realize just how much until now... She could see how hard it was for him to tell her that, fighting with the part of him that would have thrown her under the bus six months ago. She didn't regret her life... well not all of it, but they were only seventeen for crying out loud... this wasn't the kind of crap that they should have to deal with... at least not on a regular basis.

Ryoga put a hand on her shoulder, putting on a smile.

'You have to get back to Cologne and focus on learning this technique. That, is more important than anything else at the moment... and you have a lot to think about. I'll see you back in Nerima,' he told her, hesitating as they stared at each other quietly with lingering looks. 'Take care of yourself.'

And with that, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the forest. Ranma could only stare after him, wanting to go after him... but her legs were rooted in place, refusing to move. She had an overwhelming feeling that everything was changing...

And it terrified her.

A while later she strolled back into camp at a subdued pace; she didn't stop till she was standing before Cologne who stared up at her silently. Expectantly. Ranma closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep, centering breathing. When they opened again, they were set like hard cold sapphires piercing the world around her, lips pressed together in a thin line of sheer unshakeable determination. If everything was changing again, if her life was about to be turned upside down again... then it was going to be on her terms.

Ranma nodded ever so slightly. 'We've got work to do...'

~oOo~

Chingensai sat cross legged between the two fiery oil burners, casting long dancing shadows throughout the old dojo that hadn't seen any real students in more years than he cared to think about. Sucking on the long stemmed pipe he exhaled large wobbling rings of smoke into the air; it wasn't often that his thoughts were so muddled with conflict, or with anything for that matter than didn't have to do with peeping on the young women in the locker rooms at the college nearby. That brought a small smile to his ancient features.

But it vanished quickly.

If it was one thing he had learnt in all his years, that no matter how much you tried to live your life as carefree as possible, there was always going to be times when you have to do things you didn't want to. And in three hundred years, there were many things he had done that he didn't want to and you could only remove yourself from the world for so long before you needed to deal with your problems...

'Chingensai...'

One way or another...

His eyes opened as he was drawn from his thoughts, and stared silently at Happosai. It took every bit of self control he had, not to gape in alarm at the sight of him. It wasn't fear of him. It was fear born of concern for him. His old friend looked like he had just crawled out of a grave. The clumps of remaining hair behind his ears were unkempt, dirty and stuck out all angles. His cheeks were gaunt, his clothes hung off him and his skin had a sickly pallor to it... then there was the look in his eyes... a dead look that did send shivers down his spine...

What had the Jewel done to him?

'I got your letter,' Happosai approached the little table between them and sat down without being invited to, and helped himself to the fresh pot of tea. He sipped from the steaming cup. 'I can guess at what you wish to discuss.'

'Can you blame me, old friend?' Chingensai asked as he poured himself a cup.

'So those fools came to you?' Happosai shook his head, snorting nastily. 'I'm going to have to teach those two stupid ingrates a lesson about respect.'

'I don't believe they were wrong in coming to me Happy,' Chingensai replied calmly. 'I've known you for a very long time. I know who you are, inside and despite what you may want others to believe about you, you're not an evil person... Childish at times perhaps, selfish even, but you're not a bad person. I remember the Happosai that tried to do the right thing, to help those that would have rather seen him dead in a ditch instead and expecting no gratitude at all. What you're becoming though... that is not you, and I cannot in good conscience sit by and watch you become warped and twisted into something you are not. Please, let me help you. Don't force my hand old friend.'

Happosai smiled, coldly as he swirled the liquid of his cup. 'You think you can take me do you?'

'It has been a long time since we tested ourselves against each other,' Chingensai shrugged, sucking on the end of his pipe.

Happosai's eyes darkened slightly. 'I have spent a long time searching for this Jewel. I will not let anyone take it from me now. I offered you the chance once a long time ago to come with me to find it and you said no. The Jewel's power belongs to me, not to you!'

Chingensai stared silently in disbelief; was his old friend really this far gone?

'I want nothing of that poison,' he shook his head as he slowly got to his feet. 'But I will save you from yourself my friend. I promise you that.'

Happosai growled warningly as the other grand master sucked in a deep lung full of smoke. 'The Jewel is mine… and no one else's!'

Without warning Happosai send the table and old tea cups and tea kettle flying at him with a sudden kick. Chingensai barely flinched as he stopped the table with the end of his pipe and flung it back over his head into the wall. At the same time the grandmaster exhaled the smoke in a great blast till it had completely consumed his old friend. Chingensai bounded across the space between them and dove head long into the smoke, and slammed into the other man. Both of them came rolling out the other side, leaping to their feet. Happosai was already throwing a Happo fire bomb, the small fuses hissing away. Chingensai battered it aside with his pipe, leaping clear of the blast as it went off a second later and tore a great hole in his floor.

Happosai's battle aura ignited around him like a wild fire, filling the dojo as it transformed into the immaterial beast that left many warriors quaking in their boots. Even Chingensai almost faltered at the incredible power that pulsed from it. Happosai's eyes glowed a brilliant blue as he roared in a rage. The battle aura lashed out like a dragon, smashing into the floor and tearing it apart as Chingensai leapt away, landing just as the aura dragon made a sudden sharp turn and slammed him into the wall. Stars of pain exploded in front of the little man's eyes, sending his head spinning as he dropped to the ground in a heap.

He looked up in time to see the dragon speeding towards him.

A second later he was sent flying through the wall into the temple courtyard, hitting the ground hard and rolling across the cracked and beaten cobblestone ground. Happosai leapt through the hole and landed several feet away, grinning dangerously with an almost deranged look in his eyes.

'You can't beat me old friend,' he laughed, almost sounding like his old self for a brief second. 'No one can.'

Chingensai coughed, pushing himself up with the pipe, staggering a step before finding his balance. 'I won't be beaten so easi–'

Happosai appeared in front of him, slamming a fist into his stomach with such power that the breath rushed up out of the old man's lungs and lifting him off his feet. Chingensai felt darkness creeping in from the edge of his vision as black spots appeared in front of his eyes, pain wracking his ancient body. He couldn't breathe, couldn't catch his breath as the world seemed to slow to a stop around them. Then Happosai smashed him into the ground, shattering the cobble work beneath them into a crater.

Chingensai could only lay there, twitching uncontrollably, his body refusing to listen to him as he desperately sucked in what little air as his lungs would allow. Happosai towered over him ominously, looking a dozen feet tall instead of two, as the sun behind him cast him into shadow; except for his glowing eyes.

'The Jewel is mine!' the old man hissed. 'Try to take it again and I promise, I won't hold back next time.'

Before Chingensai could even respond, Happosai vanished in a single bound, disappearing beyond the temple grounds. He could only lay there, gaping at the sky in disbelief, his mind spinning like a stripped gear, only able to hold on to a single thought, a single terrifying realization…..

There was no way to stop Happosai…..

To Be Continued!

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

A/N: Woooooooooooo!

So glad that chapter is over! I seriously considered splitting it into two chapters but decided to upload it as is. Also, I tried to find as many mistakes as possible, no doubt there is still plenty that I missed but frankly I don't want to hear about it. I don't have a beta reader and this late in the game I'm sure as hell not going to look for one, especially when there's only two chapters and an epilogue left to go.

I think the biggest thing to address is Happosai. I'm hoping this chapter will highlight once and for all that the Happosai they're dealing with has been acting out of character because of the Jewel, not because I dislike him; which I don't but I don't let that affect me when I'm writing a character.

As for anything else; well with only two chapters left I'm not screwing around fixing up things just because some people don't like it.

Anyway, with that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As for me, I'm gonna take a short nap and then get started on the last two chapters _

Hopefully see yah soon _