The Eye of the Beholder
Shampoo watched Ryoga lead Ukyo carefully through the forest, stepping cautiously herself so
she wouldn't stumble. The okonomiyaki chef seemed to be in some world of her own, as aware
of her surroundings as her spatula would be. The strange thing was, she wouldn't let anyone
expect Ryoga near her, for all that before she'd seemed as indifferent to him as Shampoo was. Of
course, she did think he was Ranma. That made a slight difference.
She didn't really understand what was wrong with Ukyo, not completely. Physical injuries, that
was fine. Emotional injuries, even, like Ranma's nekoken, that was fine too. But this injury of the
mind was strange and unfamiliar, and Shampoo hated unfamiliar things. She was quite familiar
with the concept of going mad, of course; who wasn't? She'd heard stories, read books, and seen
television shows where people had lost one too many marbles, but she'd never actually seen
someone go insane. No, perhaps insane wasn't the right word. Ukyo wasn't frothing at the
mouth or raving or anything. It was the little things she did, the quirks, the
singsong and rehearsed quality to her voice that gave it away. At night, she'd sometimes wake the
whole camp, screaming at the top of her lungs in her sleep, fighting whoever came near her,
telling them to stay away from her. Sometimes, when it was an especially dark night, Shampoo
would wake to find Ukyo crawling into her tent and curling up at the foot of her pallet, trembling
slightly with some terror known only to Ukyo. But during the day, if you didn't know that
"okonomiyaki" was not a pile of dirt with a few twigs and bits of grass tossed in, if you didn't
know that "Ucchan's" was some restaurant miles and miles from here, if you didn't know that
the man she so lovingly called Ranma was really not Ranma, you'd think she was completely
normal. That was what made it so hard. Shampoo found herself sometimes talking to Ukyo like
she used to and they'd get into an argument like usual, before Shampoo would notice Ukyo's
blank, unseeing eyes and turn away.
Shampoo sighed, looking back down at the ground. She hadn't realized how much she'd taken
Ukyo for granted before, nor how much she'd actually depended upon her. The real Ukyo was so
happy, and cheerful, so alive that she brought life to the camp. This Ukyo, a mere shade of what
she used to be, was happy, yes, with her "Ranma" at her side, but she was happy in the way a
young kitten is happy when it finds a patch of catnip.
After camping for two days and letting Ukyo rest, they were heading back towards the mountain,
against Shampoo's better judgement. Something about it made her want to hang back, though she
never would have admitted it out loud. Akane had suggested that Ryoga take Ukyo back to Dr.
Tofu and the others, and then meet her and Shampoo back at the mountain later, after they'd
found Ranma and come back out.
"No," Ryoga had said quietly, automatically catching Ukyo as she stumbled slightly.
Akane blinked at him, surprised at his tone of voice. "No? But, Ryoga . . . It'd probably be better
if you did, you know." She had been surprised at him, surprised that he was speaking intelligibly,
without stammering at her as well as the fact that he was firm in standing against her.
"No," Ryoga repeated. "I'm going. I'm going to find whoever did this to Ucchan, and I'm going
to kill him. But before I do, he's going to feel every bruise, every scar, every mental bit of
anguish she's going through, and he's going to feel it a hundred times worse. I might even let him
live for a while, just to watch him scream and sob his pain." His eyes were flat, and hard, and
resolute.
Akane had backed up a step involuntarily, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. "R . . . Ryoga . . ."
Ryoga glanced down at the top of Ukyo's head. "Can we keep going, please, Akane-san?"
Akane had swallowed and nodded, still looking at him with fear naked in her wide eyes. "Oh. H-Hai."
Shampoo shook her head, remembering the scene with no small amount of fear herself. It was one
thing to see Ryoga on a killing rampage back in Nerima, with his good old ikari-ki building and
him flailing his umbrella about, but this new side of him was completely different. His anger was
calm, controlled, and centered into a simple drive to destroy, hurt, kill someone. Shampoo had an
uneasy feeling that it wouldn't take much to release that pent-up anger, and woe upon the one
who did so. Needless to say, she'd been staying a good bit away from him since morning, when
Akane had the misfortune to suggest that Ryoga stay behind.
They arrived at the cave, and paused just before the entrance, all of them staring at it silently.
Ukyo made a soft noise deep in her throat, and Ryoga glanced down at her, quickly. "What?
What is it, Ukyo?"
Ukyo shook her head, smiling. "Oh, nothing, Ryo-chan. It was just a little chilly for a second,
that's all."
Ryoga nodded, and looked back at the cave. Then he paused, and grabbed hold of Ukyo's
shoulders, looking at her intently. "'Ryo-chan,' you said . . . Ukyo, who am I?" He gave her a
little shake, causing her head to wobble slightly.
She looked puzzled. "Ranma Saotome, silly. What's the matter with you?"
His face fell, and both Akane and Shampoo let out the breath they'd been holding. "A nothing,
Ucchan. Nothing at all." Ryoga straightened, glancing at Shampoo and Akane. "Well, I guess we
should go in." His voice was deceptively calm, but both Akane and Shampoo could see little dent
just below his lower lip that showed he was biting it, hard.
Akane nodded, trying not to let the sympathy she felt for him show in her eyes, lest he take it
amiss, and Shampoo tightened her grip on her bonboris in response. They stepped into the cave,
followed by Ryoga, who was still leading Ukyo by the arm. Once they got just inside, however,
Ryoga felt Ukyo tense, and looked back at her. Her eyes had gone wide, and she was staring all
around her like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Ryoga took a step towards her, his
expression cautious and questioning. "Ukyo . . . what is it?"
She took a few steps backwards, out of the cave, and then would have run if Ryoga hadn't
reached out a mere fraction of a second before and grabbed her arm. "Let me go," she cried,
trying to pull away. "Don't touch me, let me go! Don't make me go back there, Ryoga!" She
struggled, though Ryoga's vice-like grip never even faltered. "Please, please, don't make me, I
don't want to see it anymore!"
Ryoga's eyes had widened, and both Shampoo and Akane, standing further in the cave, were
staring at Ukyo. Ryoga asked intently, "Ukyo . . . What'd you say?"
Ukyo shook her head, tears trickling from her frightened eyes. "I told you not to make me go
back in there . . . Ranma's not in there, he's not, he's not! There's nothing in there, except . . .
except . . oh god, don't make me go!" She sank to her knees, her head bowed.
Ryoga blinked as the pressure fighting his arm eased, and reached down to gently lift her. He
shook his head, with a sigh. "I think she's fainted, or something," he said in a strained voice.
Akane said tentatively, "She . . . she called you . . ."
"My real name. I know."
"And she was aware of where she was, for the first time since"
"Yes."
Akane swallowed, and turned to continue walking. Ryoga picked Ukyo up with ease, as if she
weighed no more than a feather, and followed, with Shampoo bringing up the rear.
"Another fork." Akane's voice echoed slightly down the long stone corridor. "Which way do we
go?"
Ryoga glanced down each path, and replied, "I don't know. Pick one; we have just as much
chance with one as we do with the other."
Shampoo remained silent, looking down both paths. Akane shrugged, and started down the left
fork, and Ryoga followed her unprotestingly. Shampoo started to follow, when something caught
her eye. She peered down the other corridor, blinking to see if she was imagining things. But no,
there it was again! A faint light, as if from a lantern, proceeding down the stone hallway. She
looked back towards Akane and Ryoga, who was still carrying Ukyo, but they hadn't noticed it.
They weren't even looking in her direction. Shampoo hesitated only for a moment longer, and
then slipped down the right-hand hallway. Ryoga and Akane didn't even look back.
Shampoo tried not to laugh. This was too easy! There'd been no turns, no other possible paths to
take. She simply followed the low-ceilinged corridor, every so often seeing a glimpse of the light
she'd seen. There was no hint of the horrors Ukyo supposedly saw, nothing that could possibly
have led to her present mental state. Shampoo began to hum under her breath, thinking of how
she'd find Ranma, rescuing him from some horrible evil. He'd be so happy to see her, and she'd
run into his arms, and then she'd bring him home to the Amazon village. Her grandmother would
be beside herself, and the other girls would be so envious of Shampoo and her new husband's
happiness. And then, Ukyo and Akane would see how perfect she was for Ranma. Then, they'd
see, and Mu Shu would have to leave her alone. No more of his tagging along after her . . .
She jerked her head up, resurfacing from her contemplations in an instant. She froze, her last
footstep echoing ahead of her. What was that? Shampoo wondered, glancing around her
cautiously and listening hard. She could have sworn she'd heard something, like a faint click.
There was nothing to be seen in front of her nor behind her, except the flickering shadows cast
from her flashlight. She shined the light upwards at the ceiling, which was so low that it was only
an inch or so above her head. There, a few feet ahead of her, she saw a shaft leading upwards.
She started to walk towards it to investigate, when she felt something move beneath her feet.
Looking down quickly, she noticed a small, perfectly even square of stone depressed about a
quarter of an inch below the rest of the stone. She stared at it numbly and crouched down to
examine it, and then lifted her head with a snap. In front of her, stone slabs were falling from the
ceiling at regular intervals, closing off her path. She glanced behind her, where the same thing was
happening. She could only watch as the last stones fell, leaving her in a small chamber only a few
yards wide and long.
Shampoo swallowed, and forced herself to think. So she was trapped in a tiny box of stone, with
no food or water, far away from any human contact, and no one with the slightest clue of where
she was. Big deal. She forced herself to laugh, hoping to quell the panic rising within her. "At
least it no can get any worse," she said aloud.
Then, with a quiet, almost inaudible fizzing noise, her flashlight flickered once and went out.
"In here?"
"Y . . . Yes, I believe this is the cave."
"Oh, my! It's so dark in there!"
"I've brought a flashlight."
"Oh, to think of beloved Akane, in that monstrous cavity, alone, without me to protect her from
what vile things may be inside!"
"Kuno-baby, relax. Shampoo and Ukyo are with her, and Ryoga too. Nothing's going to happen
to her."
"Dr. Tofu, where are you going?"
"Inside."
"Why? I thought we were going to wait for them outside. Oh dear!"
"I've got a . . . a bad feeling about it all. They should have been back safely days ago. And . . . I
think that there's something in here that I might have to deal with."
"How do you know so much about this cave, Dr. Tofu?" There was a pause. "Cut it out, Kuno,
and wait for the rest of us. I told you, Akane does not need rescuing."
"But--"
"Just hold on."
"Yes, Nabiki Tendo."
"Now, again; how do you know so much, Dr. Tofu?"
"I . . . well, through research."
"Research."
"Yes."
"There's lots and lots of books about this place, is there?"
"Yes."
"Tons and tons of books about this backwater mountain that no one in their right minds have ever
heard of."
"Yes. I'm sure you read about it in your mythology textbook at school."
"Mm-hmm. A guy named Miyake, who I think was some sort of mechanic or something, and his
little assistant boy came here. Miyake got the kid to go along with him because the guy needed
some curse lifted, or whatnot. Miyake was never heard from again, and the assistant claimed not
to remember any of what had happened."
Silence.
"You don't think it was the mention of a cure for a curse in that textbook that brought Ranma
here, was it?"
"I don't know, Nabiki."
"I think I'm going to sue the school system when this whole thing gets done with."
"Oh my!"
"Dammit, where the hell are we?"
"That's supposed to be my line."
Akane glared. "Shut up, Ryoga."
"Sorry."
Akane sagged slightly, and smiled ruefully. "Sorry, Ryoga, I didn't mean to snap. It's just . . . my
nerves are tight as a guitar-string right now, and--"
Ryoga shook his head, shifting Ukyo's limp weight in his arms. "I know. I'm tense too." He
coughed, clearing his throat. "You don't happen to have any water left in your canteen, do you?
I've drunk all mine."
Not for the first time, Akane wondered at Ryoga's new ability to speak proper Japanese without
sounding like a maniac. She shook her head, with a grimace. "No, I don't. I drank it all a while
ago. But mountains often have underground springs in them, don't they? We might find one to
refill the canteens from."
Ryoga nodded. "Yeah, that's a possibility."
Akane rubbed at her arms, a sudden chill running through her. After a long silence, she asked in a
near-whisper, "Ryoga . . . What do you think happened to Ukyo? Why haven't we seen anything
that could have done this to her?"
Ryoga closed his eyes for a moment, shutting out everything but his thoughts. When he opened
them again, his eyes were troubled. "I don't know, Akane. I really don't. It bothers me, though,
that we haven't seen anything. I wonder if . . ." He looked to the side, at Ukyo.
Akane waited for him to finish and when he didn't she spoke again, tentatively. "If what?"
"I don't know. Never mind, it's nothing."
Akane looked at him, feeling a strange emptiness inside her that she'd never really felt before.
Why was Ryoga being so closed to her? He'd always been willing to talk, however garbled it may
have come out. And at least when he didn't want to talk, he left. Generally at high speeds, after
punching something as if in frustration. She decided to let it go for the time being, and asked
cautiously. "Do you want me to take Ukyo for a while? I'm stronger than you may think."
Ryoga shook his head. "No, you remember what happened at the camp when you and Shampoo
tried to get near her."
Akane sighed, and nodded unhappily. "Yes." She didn't want to remember it, but she couldn't
help it. Ukyo had started whimpering and even screaming at them to get away from her. She only
let Ryoga near her, calling him Ranma and trying to serve him okonomiyaki. "But she's
unconscious; does it really matter?"
"What if she wakes up?"
"Oh. Yeah." Silence fell once more, their sporadic conversation dying down again. For all her
attempts at matchmaking, she'd never once suspected any real attachment on Ryoga's part to
Ukyo. But when he looked at the chef, in that sad way of his, Akane couldn't help but notice. In
a way, she was rather sad. Sad that it had taken such a tragedy for him to realize his feelings, and
sad that now that he had realized them, there was no way for him to demonstrate them without
taking advantage of Ukyo. After all, the girl did think he was Ranma, and would be perfectly
willing and even eager to-- but Akane put that thought aside. Ryoga would never do that, he'd
never take advantage of her like that. In another way, Akane was, she admitted to herself, jealous.
Ryoga was a valued friend and companion, but for a long time Akane had been afraid that she
might mean something more to Ryoga. He did act kind of odd when she was around. She liked
him and everything, but just not in that way. So why was she jealous? Vanity, she thought,
scoffing at herself. You're just upset that not every guy that crosses your path is mad in love with
you. Perhaps that had been why she had been so eager to hook him and Ukyo up; out of guilt for
not returning Ryoga's sentiments. Guilt that she'd played with his feelings and tormented him for
so long.
Akane pushed those thoughts from her mind forcibly, and forced herself to concentrate on the
task at hand: finding Ranma. She paused, surprised at herself. It was no longer 'get there before
Shampoo does,' it was simply find him and make sure he was safe. It didn't even matter to her
who found him anymore, just so long as he was safe and no one got hurt. She glanced at Ukyo.
Too late for that last one, she thought sadly. Then she turned to glance at Shampoo, to see if she
was as deep in thought as Akane was.
Ryoga was lost in thought, an onslaught of memories coming upon him. Like the time he and
Ukyo came out of the Tunnel of Lost Love together, and how well they worked and fought
together. And how everyone had teased them for being a couple, when they weren't and never
had been and never would be. Never would be . . . He swallowed, forcibly bringing his mind back
to focus, staring at the dark tunnel before him, a darkness which his lantern did nothing to dispel.
He paused, almost missing the barely perceptible noise behind him, like that of a gasp or other
such sound of surprise. He turned, to see Akane staring at empty air. "What--" and then froze. A
growing sense of fear came over him, and he tried to speak calmly. "Akane . . . Wh-Where is
Shampoo?"
Akane looked back at him, her eyes wide with fear that was not entirely for the missing group
member. "I . . . I don't know, Ryoga. She's just-- disappeared."
Shampoo sank to the ground in the dark, her back sliding against the cool stone of the wall. She
forced her thoughts to stop running around in panicked circles, and considered her options. They
were dauntingly few. She could shout herself hoarse trying to get the attention of the others, and
possibly run the risk of discovery by whoever owned the cave and was responsible for Ukyo's
madness. She could just sit there, hoping someone would find her. Or-- she paused, remember
back to just before the rock slabs had fallen, trapping her. What was it she'd seen? A long,
vertical tunnel leading upwards. She stood, tucking her bonbori into her belt and feeling above
her for the low ceiling. She moved around her box-like prison, bumping into walls repeatedly,
until her fingers encountered empty space instead of the slightly rough rock. She reached up into
it, feeling around the edge of the circular opening. There was a ridge that stood out all around the
edge, large enough to be a kind of handhold. Hesitating for no longer than a breath, Shampoo
grasped the ridge and hauled herself upwards. She found more of the ridges, spaced at even
intervals. Like a ladder. Before she had time to wonder what such a thing was doing in a cave, she
felt hands grab her upper arms, and haul her upwards roughly. Her head snapped backwards,
striking the side of the wall as her body accelerated up the shaft. Then all went blissfully black,
the pain of the arms gripping her shoulders fading as she sank into unconsciousness.
One of her bonbori slipped out of her belt and fell to the ground, where it shattered. Before the
noise faded, the stone slabs that had sunk to the floor ascended silently back into the ceiling,
blending so well that one wouldn't be able to find where the ceiling ended and the slabs began
even if one knew what to look for.
"Akane! Where are you, my love?"
"Shh!"
"Shh!"
"Shh!"
"But"
"Just be quiet, please!" Nabiki was not in a good mood. She rarely was, except when she made a
good bargain, but the mood she was in rivaled even some of her worst days. And the fact that
there was no sign of her little sister or Ranma in this cave was making her a little more than just
nervous.
"I believe . . . Yes, it's this way." Dr. Tofu had been strangely silent the whole time they were
near the cave and when he did speak, it was as if he were just waking from some sort of dream.
Nabiki couldn't put her finger on it, so she did nothing about it. Nodding, she followed, going a
ahead a ways and shining her flashlight around the corridor. As she was examining the ceiling, her
foot struck something solid but unattached to the stone floor. It slid a little, clanging, as her foot
hit it.
"Nani--" She bent down, shining her flashlight upon the object. She picked it up and turned to
show the others. "It's . . . Ukyo--" her voice faltered in spite of herself, but she didn't need to
say more. Ukyo's spatula had been lying in the middle of the path, as if it had been thrown
haphazardly down the hallway.
Kasumi's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide. "Oh . . . Oh dear . . . "
Nabiki suddenly snapped, rounding upon her sister. "No! No, this is not 'oh dear,' or 'oh my!'
This is serious, Kasumi! We could be killed! This is real life, not a happy little wonderland at
home, cooking and cleaning and keeping house for two crotchety old men and little children!
Ukyo's been-- been--" She stopped, looking down at the spatula and hardening her countenance
once more, ashamed that she had let so much go.
Kasumi stared at her sister, backing up a few steps, tears leaking from her eyes. She turned
around, as if the run from the place, but instead ran into Dr. Tofu. She felt arms go around her
against her shaking, the solid warmth of the doctor letting her forget the situation, the danger, and
her sisters' rebuke. Dr. Tofu had made remarkable progress, and didn't go insane when she was
near him. He acted a little odd, and occasionally forgot where he was and what he was doing. But
now, he didn't even seem to notice her proximity. He shot Nabiki a half-angry, half-apologetic
look, and guided Kasumi down the corridor a ways, to talk to her quietly.
For once, Kuno was silent. He merely looked back at Nabiki, meeting her eyes. They were
frightened, something they rarely were, and Kuno couldn't help but intervene. "We don't know
that anything happened to her," he said in a soft voice. "The girl might have just dropped it."
Nabiki shook her head, too upset to notice that Kuno wasn't talking in garbled poetry, and that
he was speaking sense for once. "I know-- knew her, Kuno. She'd never go anywhere without
her spatula, at least nowhere dangerous. And she wouldn't just leave it lying in the middle of a
cave."
Kuno's expression was worthy of the title of Nabiki's stony ones. He said nothing, waiting for
Nabiki to continue.
She did. "And now, that's one less person to help my sister--" Again her voice faltered, and she
looked down so that her hair shadowed her eyes and face from Kuno's gaze.
"She still has Shampoo and Ryoga," Kuno pointed out reasonably. "She can't be in any danger
with them around."
"Ukyo was!" Nabiki nearly shouted, and Kuno noticed tiny dark circles appear on the stones
beneath her feet. She was crying.
"Nabiki . . ." he said tentatively, unsure of how to deal with her. "It's alright, there's nothing--"
"Stop it!" she said, wiping her eyes angrily. "Just-- Just stop it!"
Kuno was clearly taken aback at this strange mood in Nabiki. She'd always been solid,
dependable-- if a little cold-hearted, sometimes. Too surprised to use his own flowery language,
he said hesitantly, "But . . . Everything's going to be okay. It always turns out right in the end in
stories and legends, doesn't it? And those are based on truth."
"But they're not real life! You don't understand! You all live in a fairy-tale world, all of you! You
don't understand pain, or death, or poverty! How can you? You've never had to experience it, so
why bother trying to know what it means? You're all just--"
Before he knew what he was doing, Kuno reached up and slapped her, hard, across the cheek,
cutting off her hysterical babbling. She looked up at him, her jaw hanging open in surprise. Then,
just when Kuno thought he had maybe done wrong to hit her, she sagged, her very frame wilting.
He did the only thing he could think to do-- she'd just had a shock, an emotional overload. He
reached out, and she sagged into his arms. It wasn't romantic, or anything close to it. It was
simply a comforting gesture, and Kuno thought that maybe she understood that.
"It's just-- I'm so frustrated! There's nothing I can do to help Akane; I don't even know where she
is, or even if she's beyond help right now! I don't know what's happened to Ukyo-- I knew her,
Kuno, saw her and spoke to her! I'm-- I should have been able to do something to help to
prevent . . ."
Kuno stroked her hair, as he would with a child. "I know. I know how you feel. It's alright. You
don't have to be ashamed."
"You have it so easy, wearing all your emotions like a hat that you can just take off at will,
changing whenever you want. I can't be like that. You just don't see things the same way I do."
"Maybe we're both different from other people, with normal emotions," Kuno said quietly. Nabiki
was silent, and after a while, Kuno felt her tense muscles relax and her flushed face cool, and he
released her.
She took a few steps back, giving him a puzzled look. He smiled, that same stupid, soppish smile
he always had. Nabiki shook her head, in exasperation. "You . . . You . . . You're confusing,
Kuno. But thanks."
Kuno bowed a little at the waist. "Thou art most welcome indeed, Nabiki Tendo."
Nabiki glanced down in the direction Dr. Tofu had taken Kasumi, rubbing at her eyes. "Ah--
Kuno? I . . . would appreciate it if . . ."
Kuno gestured for silence with a finger against his lips. "If I didn't mention this? Of course not.
Silence is golden."
Nabiki swallowed, and steeled herself. She hated asking this of any person, but she'd put herself
into the situation, so it was her fault. "How-- How much do you want?"
Kuno looked momentarily surprised. "What? Oh, it's alright. Consider it a favor, Nabiki Tendo."
Nabiki looked just as surprised. "Oh. Okay, then."
At that moment, Dr. Tofu came back with a slightly vacant-looking Kasumi, not that vacant was a
new look for her at all. "Are you alright?" Nabiki asked, swallowing her pride.
Kasumi nodded, smiling. "Of course! It was just a momentary dizziness. I don't know what came
over me." Nothing in her tone of voice or expression laid any blame on Nabiki at all.
Nabiki turned away, trying to settle the guilty roiling of her stomach. One couldn't stay angry
with Kasumi for long; and she never got angry at anyone. "Then, let's go." Nabiki took the
spatula with her, awkward though it was. If there was the slightest chance that Ukyo was still
alive, she might have need of it later. The others followed her, the rear brought up by Dr. Tofu.
Although he nor any of the others took any notice of it, there was a vertical shaft above a stone
out-cropping to the left of the cave. From the stone out-cropping a small spring trickled down the
rocks, looking almost like a bleeding wound.
Shampoo awoke feeling as if someone were trying to split her head open with a nutcracker. She
started to raise a hand to her head to rub at her temples, and found that she couldn't. Surprised,
she shifted in place. She was standing upright, her hands and feet tied with her back at some
round, hard surface. It felt like stone, but she couldn't be sure. She opened her eyes, and saw
blackness. So they had to put me in the dark, did they? She then noticed that fuzzy bits of light
were coming to her eyes. Her first thoughts were of panic, that 'they' had somehow blinded her
while she was unconscious, that she'd never see true light again. Then, as her eyes grew more
accustomed to trying to see, she realized that she wasn't blind, but blindfolded instead. Just then,
she heard a small noise; like the scrape of a shoe against a stone floor, perhaps.
"Who there?" she called, hoping she sounded as intimidating as someone who is bound and
blindfolded could sound. She was pretty sure she failed at it.
"Ah, the little bird awakens." It was a deep, masculine voice. Shampoo recognized it but at the
same time, she didn't recognize it. It was so full of scorn and hatred that it was twisted into
something strange and unfamiliar. For a moment, Shampoo thought she could almost put her
finger on whose voice it was. But then the scrap of recognition flitted away, back into the regions
of her subconscious.
"Wh-Who is you?"
Shampoo suddenly felt a blow across her face, jarring her bones and causing her to bite her
tongue, and she tasted the salty taste of blood. "Speak normally!" the voice said again, filled with
scorn.
"I-- I speak Chinese, I no can--"
"You know you can. You've lived in Japan for more than enough time to learn proper Japanese."
Shampoo was startled. She'd never thought about it, beyond punishing anyone who had the
audacity to make fun of her for her way of speaking. "Who . . . Who are you?" she asked,
carefully.
"That's better." He sounded smug. "And as for your question-- I'm hurt that you don't
recognize me, Shampoo."
"How you know-- How do you know who I am?"
"I know everything about you."
Shampoo was too frightened to think clearly. "But-- But how . . ."
The person speaking leaned towards her, his face close enough to hers that she could feel his
breath brushing her cheeks as he spoke. "How? How is not important. The laws that apply to the
world that uses 'how' do not apply to me. The point is, Shampoo, that you belong to me.
Completely and totally."
"I no belong to anybody!" she cried, lapsing back into her usual mode of speaking.
"Such spirit! But you cannot fight me. You can't even make an attempt to resist."
"Coward! Fight me like real man!"
"I don't need to fight you." Shampoo felt a light finger trace down her cheek, then her neck, and
her shoulder. "You've already succumbed to me. You just don't know it yet."
Shampoo shrunk away, or tried to within the limits of her bonds. "At least you take off stupid
blindfold!"
The voice laughed, a chilling, humorless laugh. "But that would take all the fun out of it. Come
now, little bird. You can't fight me, so you might as well accept your fate gracefully. Who
knows-- you might even enjoy it after a while, if you're a good little girl." His face drew even
closer; Shampoo could feel his body heat on her face. "This is what you came to me for. Why are
you fighting it?"
Shampoo struggled at her bonds briefly, and then spat in his face. "I fight until I die! You no can
have Shampoo-- all is for Ranma, and no other man!"
He laughed again, she sound sending chills down Shampoo's back. "All the better! You even
surrender yourself to me through your words."
Something was nagging at the back of Shampoo's mind, that brief flash of recognition she'd had
earlier. If only the scorn would leave his voice for a moment, she'd be able to tell who it was. "I
no surrender! If you take this body, Ranma will get revenge for me! He no let you get away with
it!"
"Oh, I'm sure he will." He traced that finger trace back up to her neck, caressing her skin.
Shampoo tried to get out of the way, her skin crawling with revulsion. "You have such a beautiful
body, little bird." Shampoo felt his other hand on her neck as well, palm flat against her skin. She
couldn't do anything but listen in horror as he spoke on. "So angry, but yet so fragile and
delicate. A bird's neck can be wrung with a simple twist, you know. It's not hard. Just a quick
little wrench, and it's all over." His hands closed around her neck, and she closed her eyes
beneath the blindfold, hoping that it was as quick as he said.
"But no--" And his hands left her neck, Shampoo heaving a sigh of relief. "No, I think I will wait
to snap that lovely neck of yours. First, comes pleasure. Pleasure that you only get from life."
Shampoo almost wished that he had killed her. She didn't say anything, her head bowed, still
tasting the blood in her mouth from when she'd bit her tongue.
"I believe you have the wrong impression, little bird." A faint sound could be heard, like the
scrape of metal scraping against metal. "I don't want you for that. Did you know that witnessing
pain can be just as exquisite as enjoying your body?" Shampoo again felt his hand on her face,
curving around her cheek. "You are so lovely, you know. So delicate and yet so temperamental."
His fingers suddenly closed on her chin, holding her head in place so she could no longer move it.
"So perfect. But true beauty comes from imperfection. Didn't you know that? I shall sculpt you,
create an imperfect work of art. You shall be so beautiful, a vision of pain." Shampoo felt
something prick her left cheek, above the cheekbone and below the eye. Slowly, excruciatingly
slowly, the point moved downwards, slicing into her skin. It lasted for an eternity, and Shampoo
would have collapsed if not for the ropes holding her up. She could feel the blood flowing from
her cheek, pulsing in time to her heart beat. She concentrated on it, with almost a morbid kind of
fascination. She didn't realize she was screaming.
"That's enough now, anata." The new voice was feminine; soft but commanding, smooth as silk
but cold as ice.
"Hai." Shampoo immediately felt his presence leave her side, and nearly passed out with relief.
She felt a trickle of blood dripping down her chin from the knife wound on her cheek. Strange,
she thought distantly, the itch of the blood is bothering me more than the pain of the wound . . .
Again, the new voice spoke. It was a beautiful voice, soft and . . . almost fuzzy. "You don't want
to wear her out, after all. You must let them recover before you hurt them again."
"Of course."
"Shall we go, anata? We have other visitors to attend to."
"Hai."
"I think shall take off her blindfold, just for amusement's purpose."
"Yes." The voice was now flat and obedient, without any of the hate and scorn it had held earlier.
If Shampoo had been able to think clearly, she'd have been able to recognize it in an instant.
Shampoo felt the blindfold taken off, gently. She opened her eyes, seeing a blurry white form in
front of her. Her eyes were so clouded by the pain of her cheek that she couldn't see clearly, but
what she thought she saw behind the white-clad female figure made her heart skip a beat. She
thought she saw a tall, masculine figure wearing black pants and a red shirt. Two things she could
see very clearly. He was smirking, and his hair was in a black braid down his neck.
Before Shampoo could see anything more, the room spun dizzily, and then everything went black
again.
"Do you have any more batteries?" Dr. Tofu sounded worried. "It won't be good to walk around
here in the dark.
Nabiki was frowning at the faint, flickering flashlight in her hand, and nodded. "Yes, I do, but . . .
Well, it shouldn't be about to go out yet. I put new batteries in right before we went into the
cave."
"Well, you have been using it a lot, Nabiki," said Kasumi, a slight wrinkle of worry marring her
brow. She obviously didn't like the idea of wandering around in the dark.
"But not enough. They're supposed to last a lot longer than this." She sighed. "I'll put in new
batteries, though. Maybe these are defective, or something." She crouched down, setting her bag
on the ground in front of her. She rummaged through it, coming up with a pair of batteries,
smirking triumphantly. "See? I told you I had more." She exchanged them for the old ones,
throwing the old ones negligently into the pack and zipping it up. She clicked on the flashlight,
which burned brightly, and then looked up at the others. "Much better, ne?"
All three of her companions were staring at her hand, the one that held the flashlight. "Wha--"
she looked down at the light. It was faint, and flickering unsteadily. "Oh, this is bad," she
announced. No one saw fit to disagree with her.
After a few moments of staring in horror at the flashlight, someone cleared their throat. Everyone
looked up, startled, and Kuno grinned sheepishly. "If this flashlight isn't going to last much
longer, I say we get moving while we still at least have the flickering. We'll at least get someplace
before we run out of light."
Everyone nodded; this was a sensible course of action. Nabiki led the way with her flashlight,
though the unsteady quality of the light was not entirely due to faulty batteries. The ceiling kept
getting lower and lower, until Kuno and Dr. Tofu had to stoop slightly. After a long, monotonous
walk, Nabiki stepped on something that made a sad little crunching noise. Everyone froze. "Uh . .
. oops?" she said.. She bent down, and picked up a colorful shard. "This is . . ." She looked
around, and picked up another piece, larger, in the shape of a round handle.
"One of Shampoo's bonboris . . ." Kuno finished for her. Another silence fell over the group,
heavy and somber. Nabiki sank to her knees, sifting the fingers of one hand through the pieces on
the floor. The slight tinkling noise they made was the only sound.
After a period of time in which no one spoke, Dr. Tofu cleared his throat. "There is a shaft
leading upwards."
Everyone looked up.
"I-- don't think--" Nabiki began, but Kuno interrupted her.
"She had to have gone up this way. Look, the tunnel is blocked up ahead." And it was, with a
strangely regular slab of rock.
"Oh m-- um," said Kasumi, glancing cautiously at her sister.
Nabiki said nothing, glancing up through the vertical tunnel.
Kuno reached up and felt around the rim, and then announced, "I'll go first."
Dr. Tofu stepped forward, saying firmly, "No, Tatewaki-kun. I'll go first. You come last, staying
to help the others get up the tunnel."
Kuno nodded. "Right."
And so the four of them proceeded up the shaft, with Kasumi following Dr. Tofu and Nabiki
following her sister. Kuno was the last one up, so there was no one to se his foot barely miss,
only by an inch or so, a small square of stone sticking up only a fraction of an inch above the rest
of the floor so that if someone were to step on it, it would depress into the stone.
For the second time that day, Shampoo awoke wishing that she'd just been able to stay
unconscious. It was easier that way the pain in her head and in her cheek weren't there in that
blissful darkness, and she didn't have to wonder how she was going to get herself out of this.
"Xian Pu?"
Oh gods, I'm not ready for this again . . . It was that female voice again, the soft and almost
fuzzy one. Maybe if I pretend I'm still unconscious, she'll go away.
"I know you're awake, Xian Pu." The voice sounded almost kind. But Shampoo was too wary at
this point to trust her ears. She realized then that she was relying only on her ears; she opened her
eyes, taking a few moments before she could focus on the figure in front of her. It was slender,
wearing a long, sleeveless robe of white, entwined and trimmed with vines.
"What you want?" she said, in a voice hoarse from exhaustion and lack of water.
"You must be thirsty," said the woman, stooping for a moment. When she straightened, Shampoo
felt her press something against her lips. "Here, drink this."
Shampoo was too tired to resist, and thirstily drank down the contents of the cup. It turned out to
be simply water, lukewarm but clean. "What you want?" she repeated in a clearer voice.
"I want-- to talk to you." The woman's expression appeared slightly puzzled, as she examined
Shampoo.
"Talk? About what?"
"Where did you come from?"
"Amazon village." Shampoo didn't see the point in refusing to talk to the woman. If she was
going to be nice, let her be nice.
"Really? Why are you here?"
"To find my fiancé."
"Oh." Shampoo thought that the woman looked vaguely disappointed. "In that case, I believe that
this belongs to you." Suddenly, the woman reached up and had retied the blindfold before
Shampoo could react.
"What-- why you doing this?"
She laughed, a chilling sound in the echoing cavern. "Because it's fun, my dear. I love to see the
blood spill out onto the stones. So many years, and these stones have never been stained. But
some day, perhaps, the red will stay. Red is such a lovely color, don't you think?"
Confused, Shampoo could only move her mouth, trying to form her jumble of thoughts into
coherent words.
"Anata! She's recovered, I think."
"Oh? That's good. I was beginning to get impatient." It was the man's voice again, the
disorienting effect of that recognizing yet not recognizing once again throwing Shampoo into
confusion. She began to tremble as she heard his footsteps approaching, shutting her eyes tight
despite the blindfold.
"Please," she whispered. "Please, don't"
"Are you begging now? You who were so proud and full of spirit just hours ago?"
Shampoo didn't answer. It was safer that way.
"You are easily broken. You presented no challenge to me. Even that Ukyo was more fun than
you've been."
Something flared up inside Shampoo, and she straightened imperceptibly. "You? You did that to
Ukyo?"
"Oh, so you liked it, did you? I thought it was rather good, myself. Unfortunately, her little pet
ran to her rescue before I could really have fun with her."
Shampoo almost sagged with relief. So Ryoga had been correct, and he had scared off Ukyo's
assailant before he could do anything to her! But that still didn't explain why he had ben able to
drive Ukyo mad in those few moments. Mad enough to think Ryoga was Ranma, and think that
she was back in her restaurant in Nerima. Ranma . . . mad enough to think that Ranma . . . That
nagging sense of near-recognition came over her again, and a growing sense of horror passed over
Shampoo as a thought came to her that she didn't want to acknowledge but couldn't ignore.
"You you're"
"I grow tired of you." The voice sounded lazy. "I think perhaps I need to see your pretty face
marred by pain again." Shampoo felt something touch her hand, and loosen her bonds enough to
slip her right hand out of the ropes. They were tightened again immediately, but Shampoo didn't
notice because she was concentrating so hard on her hand.
"Yes, Nayami-sama will be pleased." Shampoo supposed that Nayami-sama must be the woman
whose voice she thought sounded soft and fuzzy. The man continued, "You have far too much
loveliness for your own good, you know. Even your hands are beautiful."
Shampoo didn't say anything. There was nothing she could say. At least both of his hands were
touching hers, so he couldn't be holding a knife.
His fingers traced hers, gently. Deceptively gently. "I wonder if your bones are as delicate as your
face. Shall we find out?" Before Shampoo could think of anything to say in order to stall him, a
growing pressure on her index finger distracted her.
"What" she said, faltering. "What you doing?" The man didn't respond. The pressure increased,
until it reached the point of pain. Shampoo gasped, trying to draw her hand away. But his other
hand was firmly holding her wrist; she could hardly move, much less pull away. Her vision swam,
a red haze coming into her eyes. At the same time, though, it was as if she were watching the
whole thing from some vantage point up above. She felt the pain, and yet was detached from it as
well. The pain reached an unbearable level, and yet somehow kept continuing to hurt more.
Finally, there was a sick snapping noise, like a damp twig, and the pain changed. There was no
more pressure, and her finger merely throbbed in time with her heartbeat. Shampoo smiled with
relief, and then once again darkness threatened to overwhelm her. Her head drooped, and she felt
her torturer drop her hand. Her finger bounced painfully off the post she was tied to, but at an
impossible angle. She heard the faint sound of musical laughter to her side.
"You're getting better at this, anata."
"No crying or anything this time?" His voice sounded vaguely disappointed. "Perhaps I should
break another one, hmm?"
Shampoo started to form words, but was interrupted before she even began. "Stop it!" cried a
voice, one that she recognized immediately.
She lifted her head, dizzily. "Doctor . . . is you . . ."
"What are you doing?" Dr. Tofu sounded appalled, his voice thick with emotion. "Ranma--"
"Is no longer here," the voice finished. It was flat now, the rage in it barely concealed. Shampoo
recognized it.
"But . . ." That was Nabiki. Shampoo would recognize her voice anywhere. "Ranma, why are
you doing this? Even if you got tired of Shampoo following you around, you would never have
stooped to torturing women!"
"Are you jealous that I've invested so much time in beautifying my little bird here? Perhaps I shall
kill her soon, so her beauty will never fade."
"Oh-- good lord, what did you do to her?" The choked exclamation was Kasumi's. Shampoo
heard light footsteps hurry towards her, and then the dull thudding noise of flesh meeting flesh.
Then she heard Kasumi's body hit the ground, and heard her gasping where Ranma had hit her.
"Where are you going?" he asked. Shampoo could almost see the sneer on his face. She didn't see
how she couldn't have recognized his voice before. Perhaps she hadn't wanted to be able to
recognize him.
"I . . ." Kasumi's voice was frightened, almost like a little child's.
"Never mind. I know where you were going." There was a pause, and Shampoo heard Kasumi
get up again, and continue towards her. This time nothing stopped her, and Shampoo soon felt
light hands on her face, untying the blindfold and stroking her feverish forehead. She dizzily
opened her eyes, to see Kasumi's worried face peering at her. Shampoo glanced over Kasumi's
shoulder, and noticed that Ranma's attention was no longer on them. The lady in white, the one
called Nayami, was standing next to him, and he was looking at her with such a look of adoration
on his face that Shampoo's heart contracted painfully, even now.
"Anata, who are these people? These aren't the ones you said you saw on the road."
Ranma shrugged. "Others from my memories. They're not important. None of them pose a threat
to either of us."
Dr. Tofu swallowed, and kept glancing from the lady to Kasumi. Shampoo wondered why, and
then suddenly realized that she didn't remember a single detail about what the lady looked like;
and she somehow couldn't focus on her now. Her eyes kept sliding around her face like water off
a duck's back, unable to see anything clearly. "Look," said Dr. Tofu in a shaky voice. "I know
who you are. Don't you know me?"
The lady turned her attention to him. "I've never seen you before in my life," she announced.
Then, after a silence, the lady made a small, strangled sound.
Ranma looked at her in concern, asking, "Nayami-sama! Is something wrong?"
"No!" she called, and then moderated her tone. "No, anata. Nothing is wrong. Please-- leave this
man with me. Take all these others, and go."
"But . . ."
"Go!"
"Hai." And Shampoo was shoved roughly through a stone doorway along with the others, the
silence of the room behind her stretching out like eternity.
"So you do recognize me, then," said Dr. Tofu almost sadly.
"No."
"Then why did you send everyone away?"
There was a pause. "I . . . I do not know."
Dr. Tofu forced himself to look into her face. "You must recognize me. I was the first. The first
in a line of many, of which Ranma is the latest."
"I . . . was not here at that time."
Dr. Tofu was surprised. "Then you're not . . . not Nayami . . ."
"I am."
"But"
"You think far too much like a man, Ono. Nayami is only title, one more thing that rests upon my
weary shoulders. My predecessor was a kinder woman than I. She had reason to be. I never did."
"How do you know my name?"
She looked startled, and momentarily frightened. "I . . . I heard someone say it, I think."
"No one calls me that anymore. You know me from somewhere, don't you?" Dr. Tofu took a
step forward, still focused upon her face, although it cost him.
"Why did you leave me, Ono?"
"I didn't. You-- one of your predecessors sent me to spread the tale of a mountain where your
heart's desire would come true."
"You don't recognize me."
"I can't," he pointed out as gently as he could. "The scroll changes your appearance for each
man, remember?"
"I know." She paused. "Tell me, Ono. What do you see in the illusion , when you look at me?
What is your heart's desire?"
Dr. Tofu swallowed, looking at Kasumi's face, into Kasumi's large, liquid brown eyes. "I see a
beautiful woman. She is kind, and sweet. She never argues, but somehow I'm always compelled
to do what she wants without her needing to argue. She's . . . I've loved her for a long time. I
don't know how long."
"I see. Perhaps I shouldn't have let Ranma hit her, then, should I?"
"How did you know it was her?"
"I saw you glancing at her and then back at me the whole time. I'm not stupid."
"Who are you?" Dr. Tofu asked, something tugging at the back of his mind, something that
wasn't quite right.
There was no reply for quite a while. Then, softly, she said, "Strange how one can forget one's
past. Especially the things that are the most important."
"Have I forgotten something? Remind me."
"It was-- oh, about twenty or twenty-two years ago. I lived in a small village in China, but it was
a proud village. One day, a young Japanese man came to our village. He was skilled in the ways
of medicine, and soon became our village's doctor. We came to him for everything, though it was
traditionally unheard of in our ways for a man to be a skilled worker. Men were only for
breeding, and tending the houses while the women took care of the important things. He and I
grew close, during his time there, very close. I was at the age where most girls take husbands, and
there were already several young men looking to take my hand. But I didn't have any eyes for
them. My heart was completely for the doctor. But one day, he had to leave. He told me that he
would come back for me, and that we would be married. And he was gone. I never saw him
again."
Dr. Tofu didn't speak.
"I soon became ill; I felt weak and disoriented, and occasionally I would wake up nauseous and
unable to keep anything down. I went to our wise woman, a wizened old woman who was the
only thing we had close to a doctor, and she told me something that I had hoped never to hear, at
least not for a long time. Not until the young doctor returned. She told me-- that I was with
child. I tried to keep it a secret for as long as I could, but I could tell that everyone knew. I was
disgraced, cast out by the village. I had everything I needed, a home, food, care; but I could see
how everyone whispered behind their hands when they thought I wasn't watching. I knew that
their 'hospitality' would disappear the moment they could get rid of me, this woman who'd slept
with a man before she was married. I had the child, a strong, healthy daughter. She was
everything a mother could have wanted. She was beautiful, with a delicate face. She had my voice
even at that age, and she'd inherited my dark, violet-colored hair. I named her Xian Pu. I lovely
name, to fit a lovely daughter. As soon as she was healthy enough to be cared for by the other
women of the village, though, I left during the night. I couldn't stay, and I knew that. Only the
wise woman of the village saw me off, and wished me luck. I don't know what drew me here, but
I somehow found my way here. I came inside the cave, meeting no resistance at all, and saw a
scroll lying on the floor. I picked it up, and a change came over me. And now well, now you see
what I am." She laughed, a bitter laugh. "So different from the woman I once was, aren't I,
Ono?"
"I . . . I never thought that--"
"You're right, you never did think. Strange, isn't it, how fate led me to the same place you got
your eternal youth? That same youth and vitality that you shared with me that night before you
left our village, that night I saw you for the last time. How long has it been since you were sent
out by my predecessor to spread the myth of the mountain? How long since you had those
mythology books published and distributed to the schools? Well, are you happy now that you've
fulfilled your mistress's demands?"
"I'm not the same man I was when I was with you, Xi Nao. I've changed."
"You can't change! You're eternal!"
"Eternal doesn't mean unchanging. The world doesn't have to be the unhappy place it was, you
know."
"Doesn't it? Men are filthy, corrupt. They just need an excuse to unleash it."
"But can't you see how mankind is striving to better itself-- and how it needs help, salvation
before all honor and loyalty go to the winds?"
"Mankind." She spat the word out, as if it were distasteful. "You speak of it as if you were one of
them."
"I am one of them."
"No. You gave up humanity centuries ago, when you came to the mountain as a young man, in
the company of the other."
"Even though I am eternal, I am still just a man."
"Just a man. That speaks volumes, doesn't it?"
"Return with me-- leave this mountain behind, Xi Nao. Leave the scroll here for some other poor
woman to find in the future."
"I cannot."
"Why?"
"I am bound here, until a replacement comes. And that will only happen when the fates decide I
am ready."
Dr. Tofu took a step back and, without saying another word, turned and walked out of the cavern
the same way Ranma had taken his companions. Xi Nao watched him go with a hard expression
on her face. When he was out of earshot, she sank to her knees, covered her face with her hands,
and wept.
"I can hear water," Akane said in a hoarse voice. "I'm so thirsty . . ."
"Me too," Ryoga said softly. He was still carrying Ukyo. There was silence for a while as they
walked onwards, until Ryoga felt something shift in his arms. He glanced down. "Akane," he said
quietly. "I think she's waking up."
Ukyo opened her eyes and looked around. The first thing she saw was Ryoga's face peering
anxiously down at her. She made a startled noise, and he gently set her down. She staggered once
before he reached out and steadied her.
"Ukyo?" that was Akane; Ukyo turned to look at her, blinking her eyes to focus them. "Ukyo,
how are you feeling?"
"I've got a hell of a headache," she muttered. She paused, and then glanced at Ryoga. "Why . . .
Why were you carrying me, Ryoga?"
Ryoga stared at her for a moment, and then took her by the shoulders. "What did you say?" he
said, almost reluctantly.
Ukyo blinked, confused. "I asked you why you were carrying me."
"No-- what'd you call me?"
"Um . . . Ryoga? What's wrong with you?"
Ryoga took a step back, and then sank to his knees. "You . . . you're back . . ." he whispered.
Ukyo glanced at Akane, who was just staring at her, mouth agape.
"Back? What are you talking about?" She just then noticed her surroundings. "Where are we?
What happened?"
"It's-- you were-- never mind, Ukyo, it's not important." Ryoga drew himself to his feet again.
"Right now, we're following the sound of the water."
"Oh. Okay, then" As she glanced around, something seemed strangely familiar about this
particular corridor. She had an odd sense of deja vu, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. She
shivered, a chill running down her spine.
The corridor soon widened into a cavern, the trickling sound getting louder. "There!" called
Akane, pointing. "There's the water!"
Ukyo followed her pointed finger, to see a ledge of rock, where a trickle of water was running
down and staining the rocks dark, almost like blood. Almost like blood . . . Suddenly, memories
of this cavern, with its trap-like ledge and spring of blood, came rushing back to Ukyo, even as
protective barriers she had erected in her mind slammed down upon them. "No . . ." she
whispered, backing up a step." The room spun dizzily, as more doors closed in her thoughts,
blocking off memories. Ryoga-- Ranma . . . Her last thought, before she knew no more,
dissipated into nothing.
Ryoga stopped, hearing Ukyo whisper something almost too quietly for him to hear. He turned,
to see her standing on the threshold of the cavern, like a deer caught in the headlights of an
oncoming car. Her eyes were wide, and unseeing. Ryoga started towards her. "Ukyo!" he called,
praying to anyone who would hear him that he was wrong, that what he thought was happening
wasn't happening. With every passing moment, her eyes grew less and less intelligent, and more
and more like they had been for the past few days. He was losing her again. Something about the
cavern they were in had triggered something in her mind, and he was losing her again. "NO! I will
not lose you! Stay! Don't go!" But it was too late. Ukyo looked at him, blankly, and then turned
and sprinted from the cavern, tripping and falling once, only to pick herself back up and keep
running.
Ryoga started to follow her but then stopped, remembering Akane. He paused, struggling, unable
to solve the turmoil in his mind. He loved Akane, always had. And yet-- Ukyo, she needed him
now, more than Akane ever would or ever had. And recently he'd felt so close to Ukyo that he
wasn't even sure of his love for Akane anymore. But he couldn't just run off and leave her alone
in this place. At the same time, however, he couldn't let Ukyo run off by herself, either.
Akane smiled at him, sadly. "Go," she said simply. "It's okay."
Ryoga didn't need to be told twice. He looked at her for a moment longer, almost sadly, and then
began running after Ukyo, the light from his lantern soon disappearing around the corner.
Akane stood by herself in the cavern, her lantern burning low. The slight noise of the trickling
water did nothing to stifle the strange echoes that floated through the place, the kinds of noises
that one hears only when one is completely and totally by oneself. She was alone, and slowly
realizing that her scanty lantern was casting far too many shadows for her comfort.
