The Scarlet Trail
Chapter 4, The Assumptions That We Make
Author's Notes: Okay, okay, next chapter's out. What more can I say? Maybe a little confusing. It was shorter then I planned it to be. E-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma sat outside the Tendo home, the old bottle in his hand and the sheet of paper in his pocket. Everyone had already gone upstairs when the 'Great Saotome Elder had awoken' and he sat here now contemplating all that he could remember of the fight. He had lied to everyone and Akane saying that he forgot what had happened to him and they had all accepted the fact that maybe the blow to the head had damaged his memory of the event. It hadn't though and he remembered every small detail of the fight...the pain...the anger...the fury...and the strange irrational fear and remorse along with guilt. Ranma didn't know where the power had came from and all he knew was that at that moment all he knew how to do was react and act...not think. He had been acting on his emotions and feelings, not his thoughts for the rational human side of him had slowly backed away to something more horrifying... something that even he himself would rather nor ponder upon.
The sky was clear today...he thought...but something wasn't quite right...
*There are no clouds...* Ranma suddenly realized. There was nothing in the sky at all...no sun...no clouds...it was just an endless sea of baby blue. It was strangly disconcerting and perplexing. The sky was bright and blue yet there was no sun... no anything...and somehow it seemed worse then having a crowded, polluted sky...worse...
Tearing his eyes from the disturbing sky, Ranma focused his eyesight on the rose bush across the street by a tree. Had that always been there? The rose bush and the tree? It seemed as if a part of him knew that it was always there and yet another part of him denied that the tree and rose bush belonged there. *This is way too strange...* the boy thought disgusted at himself and stood up ready on getting back into the house when he heard a familiar, annoying sound.
Poit...poit...poit...
The bouncing beat of an old Martial Arts pervert...
Happosai...
The old man soon appeared jumping from rooftop to rooftop until he landed right next to Ranma, a stuffed laundry bag over his shoulder.
"What are you doing here, you old lech?" Ranma asked in exasperation, too frustrated to deal with the old man right now.
The old man just gave Ranma a hard look and was about ready to leave again. Seeing Happosai about to leave, a thought once again occured to Ranma.
"Hey, old pervert, can you tell me what this thing is?" Ranma asked the elder Martial Artist as he held out the old bottle for the old man to inspect. Most likely, the old pervert would not know anything about the bottle and will just succeed in annoying the young teenage boy, but hey he had to take a chance right?
Looking at the old bottle, turning it this way and that , the old man shrugged, handed it back to Ranma and said offhandly, "It's a Greenwitch's bottle. Hm, wonder who it belongs to?" Then, with that thought he bounced off leaving an even more frustrated Ranma behind.
"Wait! What's a Greenwitch bottle?!" Ranma shouted as he ran after the pervert a few feet and stopped.
"Ranma, are you okay?" he heard a voice ask behind him and turned around to see Akane stand there on the front porch, peering curiously at him.
"Yeah, I'm okay, why aren't you in there with Kama?" he asked as he approached her, saying the name Kama like it was a disgusted phrase.
Sighing Akane looked closer into Ranma's eyes and said, "He's inside with everyone. I want you in there too."
Ranma nodded and as Akane held the door for him to enter he asked her, "Hey Akane, do you see anything wrong with the sky?" Looking up at the blue cloudless sky, Akane shook her head.
"What about over there across the street?" he asked her, pointing.
Akane looked across the street at the rose bush and the tree and she inwardly shivered. *Is that supposed to be there?* she wondered suddenly afraid and very cold. Ranma looked and saw the distress in her eyes.
"C'mon," he said, "Let's go inside."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kama, tell us what's going on here," Akane demanded, her dark brown eyes flashing with something very different from her usual quick anger.
"Why, nothing's wrong at all, Akane," he lied smoothly, saying the name Akane like a posession.
"Tell us what's going on, you jackass!" Ukyo shouted brandishing her spatula. Kama looked up at her and his eyes briefly flicked with irritation and displeasure.
"Sit down, little girl," he said cooly and Ukyo tried to lunge at him, but Ranma jumped up and pulled her back as she swung her weapon dangerously.
"Why you little-" she shouted and Kama smiled maliciously as he said, "Aw, the little Okonomiyaki chef wants to make an Okonomiyaki out of me. Are you up to the challenge, kid?"
"I'll show you who's a kid!" Ukyo shouted, for some odd reason evoked beyond reason.
"Enough!" Nodoka yelled sternly from her seat and Ukyo shot Kama another glare before letting Ranma sit her down.
Still standing Ranma looked straight at the Immortal that looked so much like him and said, "Listen, I don't know who the freak you are nor do I care. I just know that I have three Amazons in the hospital and a girl upstairs who is seriously ill. Now, what is this thing that is getting at them and how do we stop it?"
"You don't," Kama said simply staring at his brother with ill-disguised humor and pity.
"All I can tell you is that this thing is unstoppable and the only way we can at least delay it's process is by pairing each other up, after all, safety can be found in numbers. No-chan, Gen-chan and Soun can be one group. Kasumi and the good Dr.Tofu another. You and Ukyo another group and me and Akane as the final group," Kama said smoothly, grinning victoriously at his sibling.
"Nuh uh, there is no way I'm letting you near Akane. I'm her partner," Ranma said, not noticing the pain that flashed in the Okonomiyaki chef's eyes quicky covered. He didn't notice, but Akane did...and so did Kama. *Hm...this may be useful...* the Immortal thought as he grinned evilly at the Okonomiyaki chef.
"You take Ucchan and I'll take Akane," Ranma said evenly, practically daring the other to defy him.
"Agreed," Kama smiled and suddenly Ranma wasn't so sure he made the right decision...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kama looked over at the long-haired brunette walking beside him, a sad expression on her face.
Ukyo, finally feeling his gaze on her, looked at him annoyed and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"A very cute girl," he said jokingly and gave her a one of those meltingly cute smiles the Saotomes were known and famous for. Ukyo blushed and berated herself at her reaction as she looked back down at the ground.
"I'm not going to bite your head off, Ukyo. I know things don't really look good for me at this moment but can't we at least try to get along, hm?" he smiled as he peered down at her.
After they walked awhile in silence, Ukyo decided maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be nice to this guy since he could possibly lure Akane away from her Ran-chan.
"You know," she started pointing at the metal fence, "Ran-chan always walk along the rim of this fence."
"Like this?" he asked beaming at her as he hopped swiftly on the fence and began walking. Ukyo looked up at the Immortal and sucked in her breath...so like Ranma...
She always saw Ranma walking along this fence next to Akane on the sidewalk everyday and any outsider looking upon the scene would see two people who appeared to complete the whole image and belonged together. But now it wasn't Akane...but her...who was on the sidewalk this time...getting the great Saotome smile...
*This isn't Ranma...this is Kama! Kama!* she had to remind herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma and Akane sat along the side on the bridge, looking down at the murky waters below. Little did they know, they were thinking along the same lines.
*The water seems strange somehow, weird and yet familiar. Ugh! What's wrong with me?! But the water seems so different...so...*
*...clear...like pure liquid glass...how can it be?*
"Ranma?" the girl beside him asked.
"Hm?" was his answer.
"Can you give me the Greenwitch bottle for a moment?" she asked and he looked at her shocked.
"How do you know it's a Greenwitch bottle?" he asked and she just shrugged as she took it from him.
With slow, soft movements she circled the rim of it with her hand before blowing on it with her eyes closed. Then, she shook it and another piece of paper fell out.
Looking at his fiancee in surprise, the pig-tailed boy asked, "Why did you do that?"
"I felt like it," was all she said as they read the piece of paper and a memory came unbidden to her already muddled mind...
######Flashback#######
"Akane, you're stupid if you believe he'll love you," Kama sneered at her and she flinched but just shook her head in denial and disbelief.
"No, Kama, you just don't understand," she tried to coinvince him.
"I do and I know," he yelled at her, "He doesn't love you."
"How do you know?" she asked sarcastically.
"Because you're still alive," was all he said and needed to say.
######End of Flashback#######
######Flashback########
The hallway in the large manor was dark and the floor creaked a little as she tiptoed down it, a candle flickering in her hand. It was late night and everyone was in bed... but now...now she was going to get some answers from her baka. But as she neared his large door she saw light on and voices shouting. Usually, Akane was not one to pry in someone else's business but she heard her name shouted and so she neared the door and pressed her ear on it.
"Get out of bed, you bastard!" she heard Kama's voice shout and apparently, from the sound of it he had dragged whoever it was bodily out of bed.
"What are you doing here, Kama?" she heard Ranma's bored, disgusted voice ask, "Shouldn't you be over in your fiancee's bedroom."
A banging sound was heard as though someone was slammed against the wall and Kama's voice boomed, "You liar, you had all the girls you could have possibly wanted on your training trip, why are you trying to get to her? I know her all my life and she means more to me then you know."
"Tell me, oh great big brother, did you tell her about the curse or did you simply lie? How am I the liar?" Ranma's voice spat out.
"You told her you loved her!" Kama shouted and Ranma's soft, whispering words could barely be heard by Akane, "I do."
There was a moment of absolute silence as they all digested that and Kama's feared voice shook, "You can't. You can't."
"It's not like I planned it big brother. I know about the curse! I didn't plan for it to happen, it just did! But I should have known, shouldn't I? That's why they took me away from here...because I had been falling in love with her...so they took me away on a 'training trip' for ten freakin' years shoving girls after girls in my face. I didn't plan it and if I did it wouldn't have been your fiancee!" Ranma's voice was so loud it vibrated the door and walls.
Suddenly, she heard a body being slammed into the wall and Kama's voice shouting, "I will not have her die! Do you hear me! I will not have her die and I will pull out your heart if I have to to stop it from happening!"
"Let me down, Kama," Ranma's cool voice said calmly, "I'm stronger and better then you are. I've had more training too...and I'm about this close to killing you and making Akane free."
She heard Kama let him go and say, "But you won't...because you know it'll kill her...and like me...you would rather stay away from her then let her die..."
######End of Flashback######
"Akane, what's the matter? What does this mean?" Ranma asked as he shook his fiancee. Akane looked at him through tearful eyes and said, "I-" but then she stopped herself and her eyes grew wide as she realized the full implication of the note. With a yelp she screamed, "Kasumi!" and stood up before running towards the Tendo home. Ranma read the note once again before chasing after her...
{...The Saotome Curse was not seen as a curse to them at all, but as a gift from the kami. They believed it was the thing that had kept them thriving while the other Eleven Families died and declined. Power was all the Saotomes wanted and needed and they taught their children that...power...but all power has a price and the curse held more merit then they had thought. It was terrible...it was horrible...it was the Saotomes answer to life and survival. After all, who needed love when you had power and influence? But the Saotomes failed to notice the dark side of the curse...death...there was always death for the curse to work correctly and effectively...always death...}
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He felt it then...the tingling on the back of his neck that had always alerted him of danger. With a quick movement he flicked his eyes cautiously around his surroundings and his gaze landed on Ukyo...the Okonomiyaki chef beside and below him. She was in serious danger.
"Ukyo, move!" he shouted and he moved on instict, pushing her away from the danger as he felt the three razors whiz pass them.
Ukyo looked up at and stared into a pair of dark blue, crystal eyes that looked at her for one second before assessing the neighborhood again and got off of her. Blushing she looked tentively at him and said, "T-Thank you."
"No problem," he brushed offhandly while he thought, *Dammit! That was close! If this thing keeps attacking people it'll soon land back to Akane. Besides, I can't have this girl die before she comes to use.*
"Come on, let's get back to the Tendo dojo," he ordered and jumped onto a roof. Ukyo stared after him in awe a moment as she thought, *He saved my life. He's supposedly cold, why would he save my life?* Then, with a wide smile she ran after him.
Ukyo Kounji was beautiful, intelligent, and very witty and fun to be around with... but she had one fault...she always read more into something then was really there.
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Chapter 4, The Assumptions That We Make
Author's Notes: Okay, okay, next chapter's out. What more can I say? Maybe a little confusing. It was shorter then I planned it to be. E-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma sat outside the Tendo home, the old bottle in his hand and the sheet of paper in his pocket. Everyone had already gone upstairs when the 'Great Saotome Elder had awoken' and he sat here now contemplating all that he could remember of the fight. He had lied to everyone and Akane saying that he forgot what had happened to him and they had all accepted the fact that maybe the blow to the head had damaged his memory of the event. It hadn't though and he remembered every small detail of the fight...the pain...the anger...the fury...and the strange irrational fear and remorse along with guilt. Ranma didn't know where the power had came from and all he knew was that at that moment all he knew how to do was react and act...not think. He had been acting on his emotions and feelings, not his thoughts for the rational human side of him had slowly backed away to something more horrifying... something that even he himself would rather nor ponder upon.
The sky was clear today...he thought...but something wasn't quite right...
*There are no clouds...* Ranma suddenly realized. There was nothing in the sky at all...no sun...no clouds...it was just an endless sea of baby blue. It was strangly disconcerting and perplexing. The sky was bright and blue yet there was no sun... no anything...and somehow it seemed worse then having a crowded, polluted sky...worse...
Tearing his eyes from the disturbing sky, Ranma focused his eyesight on the rose bush across the street by a tree. Had that always been there? The rose bush and the tree? It seemed as if a part of him knew that it was always there and yet another part of him denied that the tree and rose bush belonged there. *This is way too strange...* the boy thought disgusted at himself and stood up ready on getting back into the house when he heard a familiar, annoying sound.
Poit...poit...poit...
The bouncing beat of an old Martial Arts pervert...
Happosai...
The old man soon appeared jumping from rooftop to rooftop until he landed right next to Ranma, a stuffed laundry bag over his shoulder.
"What are you doing here, you old lech?" Ranma asked in exasperation, too frustrated to deal with the old man right now.
The old man just gave Ranma a hard look and was about ready to leave again. Seeing Happosai about to leave, a thought once again occured to Ranma.
"Hey, old pervert, can you tell me what this thing is?" Ranma asked the elder Martial Artist as he held out the old bottle for the old man to inspect. Most likely, the old pervert would not know anything about the bottle and will just succeed in annoying the young teenage boy, but hey he had to take a chance right?
Looking at the old bottle, turning it this way and that , the old man shrugged, handed it back to Ranma and said offhandly, "It's a Greenwitch's bottle. Hm, wonder who it belongs to?" Then, with that thought he bounced off leaving an even more frustrated Ranma behind.
"Wait! What's a Greenwitch bottle?!" Ranma shouted as he ran after the pervert a few feet and stopped.
"Ranma, are you okay?" he heard a voice ask behind him and turned around to see Akane stand there on the front porch, peering curiously at him.
"Yeah, I'm okay, why aren't you in there with Kama?" he asked as he approached her, saying the name Kama like it was a disgusted phrase.
Sighing Akane looked closer into Ranma's eyes and said, "He's inside with everyone. I want you in there too."
Ranma nodded and as Akane held the door for him to enter he asked her, "Hey Akane, do you see anything wrong with the sky?" Looking up at the blue cloudless sky, Akane shook her head.
"What about over there across the street?" he asked her, pointing.
Akane looked across the street at the rose bush and the tree and she inwardly shivered. *Is that supposed to be there?* she wondered suddenly afraid and very cold. Ranma looked and saw the distress in her eyes.
"C'mon," he said, "Let's go inside."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kama, tell us what's going on here," Akane demanded, her dark brown eyes flashing with something very different from her usual quick anger.
"Why, nothing's wrong at all, Akane," he lied smoothly, saying the name Akane like a posession.
"Tell us what's going on, you jackass!" Ukyo shouted brandishing her spatula. Kama looked up at her and his eyes briefly flicked with irritation and displeasure.
"Sit down, little girl," he said cooly and Ukyo tried to lunge at him, but Ranma jumped up and pulled her back as she swung her weapon dangerously.
"Why you little-" she shouted and Kama smiled maliciously as he said, "Aw, the little Okonomiyaki chef wants to make an Okonomiyaki out of me. Are you up to the challenge, kid?"
"I'll show you who's a kid!" Ukyo shouted, for some odd reason evoked beyond reason.
"Enough!" Nodoka yelled sternly from her seat and Ukyo shot Kama another glare before letting Ranma sit her down.
Still standing Ranma looked straight at the Immortal that looked so much like him and said, "Listen, I don't know who the freak you are nor do I care. I just know that I have three Amazons in the hospital and a girl upstairs who is seriously ill. Now, what is this thing that is getting at them and how do we stop it?"
"You don't," Kama said simply staring at his brother with ill-disguised humor and pity.
"All I can tell you is that this thing is unstoppable and the only way we can at least delay it's process is by pairing each other up, after all, safety can be found in numbers. No-chan, Gen-chan and Soun can be one group. Kasumi and the good Dr.Tofu another. You and Ukyo another group and me and Akane as the final group," Kama said smoothly, grinning victoriously at his sibling.
"Nuh uh, there is no way I'm letting you near Akane. I'm her partner," Ranma said, not noticing the pain that flashed in the Okonomiyaki chef's eyes quicky covered. He didn't notice, but Akane did...and so did Kama. *Hm...this may be useful...* the Immortal thought as he grinned evilly at the Okonomiyaki chef.
"You take Ucchan and I'll take Akane," Ranma said evenly, practically daring the other to defy him.
"Agreed," Kama smiled and suddenly Ranma wasn't so sure he made the right decision...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kama looked over at the long-haired brunette walking beside him, a sad expression on her face.
Ukyo, finally feeling his gaze on her, looked at him annoyed and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"A very cute girl," he said jokingly and gave her a one of those meltingly cute smiles the Saotomes were known and famous for. Ukyo blushed and berated herself at her reaction as she looked back down at the ground.
"I'm not going to bite your head off, Ukyo. I know things don't really look good for me at this moment but can't we at least try to get along, hm?" he smiled as he peered down at her.
After they walked awhile in silence, Ukyo decided maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be nice to this guy since he could possibly lure Akane away from her Ran-chan.
"You know," she started pointing at the metal fence, "Ran-chan always walk along the rim of this fence."
"Like this?" he asked beaming at her as he hopped swiftly on the fence and began walking. Ukyo looked up at the Immortal and sucked in her breath...so like Ranma...
She always saw Ranma walking along this fence next to Akane on the sidewalk everyday and any outsider looking upon the scene would see two people who appeared to complete the whole image and belonged together. But now it wasn't Akane...but her...who was on the sidewalk this time...getting the great Saotome smile...
*This isn't Ranma...this is Kama! Kama!* she had to remind herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma and Akane sat along the side on the bridge, looking down at the murky waters below. Little did they know, they were thinking along the same lines.
*The water seems strange somehow, weird and yet familiar. Ugh! What's wrong with me?! But the water seems so different...so...*
*...clear...like pure liquid glass...how can it be?*
"Ranma?" the girl beside him asked.
"Hm?" was his answer.
"Can you give me the Greenwitch bottle for a moment?" she asked and he looked at her shocked.
"How do you know it's a Greenwitch bottle?" he asked and she just shrugged as she took it from him.
With slow, soft movements she circled the rim of it with her hand before blowing on it with her eyes closed. Then, she shook it and another piece of paper fell out.
Looking at his fiancee in surprise, the pig-tailed boy asked, "Why did you do that?"
"I felt like it," was all she said as they read the piece of paper and a memory came unbidden to her already muddled mind...
######Flashback#######
"Akane, you're stupid if you believe he'll love you," Kama sneered at her and she flinched but just shook her head in denial and disbelief.
"No, Kama, you just don't understand," she tried to coinvince him.
"I do and I know," he yelled at her, "He doesn't love you."
"How do you know?" she asked sarcastically.
"Because you're still alive," was all he said and needed to say.
######End of Flashback#######
######Flashback########
The hallway in the large manor was dark and the floor creaked a little as she tiptoed down it, a candle flickering in her hand. It was late night and everyone was in bed... but now...now she was going to get some answers from her baka. But as she neared his large door she saw light on and voices shouting. Usually, Akane was not one to pry in someone else's business but she heard her name shouted and so she neared the door and pressed her ear on it.
"Get out of bed, you bastard!" she heard Kama's voice shout and apparently, from the sound of it he had dragged whoever it was bodily out of bed.
"What are you doing here, Kama?" she heard Ranma's bored, disgusted voice ask, "Shouldn't you be over in your fiancee's bedroom."
A banging sound was heard as though someone was slammed against the wall and Kama's voice boomed, "You liar, you had all the girls you could have possibly wanted on your training trip, why are you trying to get to her? I know her all my life and she means more to me then you know."
"Tell me, oh great big brother, did you tell her about the curse or did you simply lie? How am I the liar?" Ranma's voice spat out.
"You told her you loved her!" Kama shouted and Ranma's soft, whispering words could barely be heard by Akane, "I do."
There was a moment of absolute silence as they all digested that and Kama's feared voice shook, "You can't. You can't."
"It's not like I planned it big brother. I know about the curse! I didn't plan for it to happen, it just did! But I should have known, shouldn't I? That's why they took me away from here...because I had been falling in love with her...so they took me away on a 'training trip' for ten freakin' years shoving girls after girls in my face. I didn't plan it and if I did it wouldn't have been your fiancee!" Ranma's voice was so loud it vibrated the door and walls.
Suddenly, she heard a body being slammed into the wall and Kama's voice shouting, "I will not have her die! Do you hear me! I will not have her die and I will pull out your heart if I have to to stop it from happening!"
"Let me down, Kama," Ranma's cool voice said calmly, "I'm stronger and better then you are. I've had more training too...and I'm about this close to killing you and making Akane free."
She heard Kama let him go and say, "But you won't...because you know it'll kill her...and like me...you would rather stay away from her then let her die..."
######End of Flashback######
"Akane, what's the matter? What does this mean?" Ranma asked as he shook his fiancee. Akane looked at him through tearful eyes and said, "I-" but then she stopped herself and her eyes grew wide as she realized the full implication of the note. With a yelp she screamed, "Kasumi!" and stood up before running towards the Tendo home. Ranma read the note once again before chasing after her...
{...The Saotome Curse was not seen as a curse to them at all, but as a gift from the kami. They believed it was the thing that had kept them thriving while the other Eleven Families died and declined. Power was all the Saotomes wanted and needed and they taught their children that...power...but all power has a price and the curse held more merit then they had thought. It was terrible...it was horrible...it was the Saotomes answer to life and survival. After all, who needed love when you had power and influence? But the Saotomes failed to notice the dark side of the curse...death...there was always death for the curse to work correctly and effectively...always death...}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He felt it then...the tingling on the back of his neck that had always alerted him of danger. With a quick movement he flicked his eyes cautiously around his surroundings and his gaze landed on Ukyo...the Okonomiyaki chef beside and below him. She was in serious danger.
"Ukyo, move!" he shouted and he moved on instict, pushing her away from the danger as he felt the three razors whiz pass them.
Ukyo looked up at and stared into a pair of dark blue, crystal eyes that looked at her for one second before assessing the neighborhood again and got off of her. Blushing she looked tentively at him and said, "T-Thank you."
"No problem," he brushed offhandly while he thought, *Dammit! That was close! If this thing keeps attacking people it'll soon land back to Akane. Besides, I can't have this girl die before she comes to use.*
"Come on, let's get back to the Tendo dojo," he ordered and jumped onto a roof. Ukyo stared after him in awe a moment as she thought, *He saved my life. He's supposedly cold, why would he save my life?* Then, with a wide smile she ran after him.
Ukyo Kounji was beautiful, intelligent, and very witty and fun to be around with... but she had one fault...she always read more into something then was really there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~