-----
Somewhere, sometime in L-Space
-----

Sestuna had flopped her legs over the arms of the chair, and was reading
with her nose nearly in the book. The plate of cheesecake lay forgotten
next to her, with crumbs scattered across it. Beside it was an empty
cup that had once held green tea. The senshi of time looked very
relaxed, very calm, very peaceful -- and very sexy to certain eyes as
she lay there.

"Ahhh, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Lady
Setsuna the sun," a silky voice drawled from nowhere. The Librarian
looked up, her magenta eyes narrowing when she saw the owner of the
voice.

She raised one eyebrow in query. Shinigami, one of the six Universal
Aspects, smirked back before continuing. " The warmth matches the
glitter, too."

Indirectly saying she was hot. The pervert never quit; apparently he
had a fetish for green haired girls, as indicated by his continuous
come-ons to his own sister (Setsuna's 'boss,' so to speak), the
Universal Aspect of Time.

"'Lady, may I lay in your lap?'" he quoted, with an overeager and
hopeful smile. He must surely be the world's oldest virgin, Setsuna
thought with a sigh.

She didn't have to put up with this sort of harassment, and they both
knew it. Still without saying anything, she took out her henshin wand,
and transformed it into the Garnet Rod, which she pointed directly at
him. He shouldn't be in the Library of Space and Time anyway, even if
he was an omnipresent force of the Universe.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Shi said, backing away with
a nervous smile on his face. Setsuna stared him down, and brought her
legs from their resting position on the arm of the chair back to the
ground.

Shi knew that she couldn't do any serious damage to him, let alone kill
him, but he also knew that he could do no damage to any woman. He chose
to retreat.

"Then I shall say farewell until tomorrow," the Aspect of Death misquoted,
just before he broke into a dead run. The last thing he heard was a
whispered 'Dead Scream' as an enormous ball of power came blasting at
him from behind.

Once he collected himself, he looked back to where the Senshi of Time
had been sitting, only to find her no longer there. The cheesecake
plate and her cup of green tea were also gone.

"Oro?" Shi said, scratching his head, then shrugged and continued on.
There were still more girls out there; ones who might respond better to
his attempt at literary cleverness.

"Words, words, words," he quoted to himself, and went toward the
elevator.

Several aisles away, Setsuna sighed and curled up on a couch. Shi
thought he was the gods' gift to women, which probably couldn't be
further from the truth. He tried to pick up any woman at any place and
any time, even ones that actually weren't defined, like the Library.
He'd probably broken in looking for his sister, or something.

Now, where had she been? Ah, chapter six. She flipped to the appropriate
page. Let's see . . .

------------

The Spice of Life
[Chapter Six]
An Herb/Kodachi fic
Requested by Prince Herb
Written by Cat Who
Beta Read by Rezantis

For Daddy . . .

------------

Overnight, Mother Nature had transformed the hotsprings at Tennin-kyo
into a snowy fairground.

Observe two tents nearly buried up to their tops in snow. The flakes,
which still fell, would soon bury the occupants in a bank of snug
whiteness, without their ever knowing. That four feet of snow had fallen
overnight was not unheard of in Hokkaido, although it was unusual this
early in the season. What was particularly unusual was that the howling
winds normally woke the sleeping campers up before they found themselves
buried alive.

Peer inside one tent. The crown prince of the Musk Kingdom of China had
no idea that his traveling companion was still asleep, aside from the
fact that she had not woken him up like they had agreed the night
before. It appeared to be dark outside, which would explain said
traveling companion's absence, but it did not explain why the Prince's
usually accurate circadian clock was telling him it was morning.

"Damn the witch," he muttered, his foul mood from the evening before not
entirely gone. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and shrugged out of
the warm cocoon of his sleeping bag. He was surprised at how warm the
interior of the tent was; last night the temperature had plummeted
rapidly.

Well, his body had some physical needs to take care of (stupid mornings)
and he'd better go see what time it was. Kodachi had a watch; like all
males in the Musk kingdom, he had learned to use the sun and moon.

He was not surprised to see that it was daylight. He was, however, very
surprised to see that the ground was now covered in a thick fluffy layer
of white.

"Oh, for crying out loud," he muttered, and shoved the pile of snow away
from his tent. As if he didn't have enough problems. Continuous snowfall
could put them a day or more off schedule, or worse if it was bad, and
they didn't have that much time to spare.

"Witch, it's time to get up," he shouted towards her tent, and then
noticed that it too was buried in the snow. Entirely. Whereas his had
been buried only up to the top with the airhole free, Kodachi's smaller
pup tent had been swallowed completely.

Suddenly nauseated at the horrible thought of Kodachi suffocating in the
tent, Herb began to scrabble frantically at the tent flap. With numbed
fingers he finally found the plastic zipper pull, and tugged at it
impatiently.

"Kodachi!" he cried, diving into her tent. She was curled into a ball
inside her sleeping bag, her delicate lashes resting on her pale cheek,
much as they had the day before on the train. Herb froze, struck by her
simple beauty and total vulnerability. While she was asleep, her tart
tongue couldn't snap retorts at him, and her magic was a thing she could
only use while awake, as far as he knew. Herb was relieved to see she
was still breathing.

He felt a bit silly, though, for overreacting and shouting like a girl
over this . . . girl. Putting on his best manly man gruff face in order
to pretend he hadn't acted in such a manner, he gently but firmly shook
her shoulder. She batted feebly at his hand, like a kitten, then blinked
her huge gray eyes sleepily at nothing.

"Eh?" she murmured in temporary confusion, then yawned. Herb leaned back
on his heels, aware of just how small her tent was and not wanting to
impose on her personal space any more than he had to.

"It's morning, Kodachi."

"Already?" she said with another yawn, and stretched, exposing one silk
pajama-clad arm to the cold air. She quickly snatched it back, and
glared at the snowy vista visible behind Herb, suddenly awake and
grumpy. For no reason at all, Herb smiled ever so slightly to himself.
So the witch had her own limits for the cold after all, for all her talk
about coolness the day before.

Maybe she'd like the warm jungles of his home in China. Maybe she'd find
the environment tempting enough to wish to stay there with him after
this was all over. Maybe . . .

"We should go soon," he chided gently, and left her to do whatever
mysterious morning things females had to do.

Maybe she could love a half-freak like me . . . wait, she DID love a
half-freak like me . . . maybe she could learn to love . . . just me.

Herb trotted off to the restroom to relieve his bladder, his emotions
tumbling around his head like so many leaves, caught in the maelstrom of
may-bes.

* * *

That's a different way to wake up, Kodachi thought as she zipped her
tent up and changed from her black pajamas to the warm ski suit. A girl
could get used to waking up to a face like that.

He's prettier than Ranma, she continued idly to herself, recalling those
narrow scarlet eyes and aristocratic nose. Chinese or not, he was
handsome enough to put most of the boys she'd seen in Japan to shame.

By the time she emerged into the snow frosted environment, Herb had
returned from the bathroom and had already started disassembling his
tent. His cloak was pulled tightly around him, and she could see that
the cold air was bothering him. He did not belong in Hokkaido.

"Ohji-sama, shall I prepare some biscuits and fruit for our morning
repast?" she offered as she began to rekindle the banked fire. Herb
nodded in acknowledgement, and finished packing up his tent before
beginning on hers.

When his back was turned, Kodachi took out her wand and discreetly said
a fire spell that made the flames lick merrily at the tinder. No sense
in having magic if you couldn't use it, after all.

She warmed a few traveling biscuits and mixed dried apples,
cranberries, and pears with clean snow and a packet of seasonings to
make a sweet fruit compote. Before long the rich scent filled the camp,
and she heard the prince's stomach growl as he worked. She couldn't
help but grin.

Instant tea and granola finished the meal. Once Herb had their
equipment packed, he plopped down on the other side of the fire, and
Kodachi could see his nose quiver in anticipation.

She handed him a paper plate with three opened biscuits on it.

"If you prefer, you can spoon the fruit compote over the biscuits, or
you eat them separately. They're good either way, but the compote
softens the biscuits." Kodachi herself had the compote spread like jam
on the biscuits and was nibbling on one delicately.

With a shrug, Herb imitated her and began to demolish his meal. Kodachi
watched, amused, as he polished off his biscuits, the extra ones she had
made, the fruit compote, the granola, and tea, all in record time. She
herself was full after only two compote biscuits, but she was glad she
had made extra for the hungry prince.

They'd have enough food to get them to Hebereke and back today, and to
Soun-kyou onsen tomorrow, but only just. Kodachi had planned well.

Once they had finished, Kodachi cleaned up the breakfast trash and took
her turn in the bathroom, while Herb splashed the fire with water and
snow to make sure it was truly out. The division of labor between them
had come naturally; they simply did what had to be done now without
request. Kodachi liked that. She would do her part, and he would do
his, and all would be well.

Until this is over, anyway, she thought with a sigh as she returned to
find the camp properly broken. They were ready to continue on their
journey.

"Hopefully the weather will stay clear, as we haven't got any time to
spare," Herb said as he shrugged on his bag. Kodachi glanced at the
sky, which shone blue although crisp and cold.

"I believe the weather will not worsen today," she said thoughtfully,
her breath clouding up in reminder of the harsh cold that had already
been visited upon them.

"Let's go."

Kodachi grabbed her own backframe, taking the map and recipe out and
pocketing them before following the prince, who had set out on the trail
to the mountains with a look of fierce determination on his face. She
caught up quickly and fell into pace beside him on the wide path. They
walked in silence again, since nothing needed to be said for now.

* * *

The sun was small and cold overhead, and Herb silently cursed whatever
gods had thought to torment him so on his journey. Was this a test to
determine his worthiness for the throne of the Musk? Or were the kami
just being cruel to spite him? Whatever the cause, Herb hated the cold
more than ever now.

Snow itself did not trigger his curse. It was cool moisture that caused
the change, not cool dryness. However, if the snow were to melt on his
skin he'd change in an instant. For protection, he kept his cloak tight
around him, and made sure to tramp down the snow where he stepped so
that none would get inside his elaborate and *not* made for snowy
weather shoes.

They'd been traveling steadily for over an hour now, only speaking when
necessary for aid over particularly rocky spots. Kodachi showed no
signs of fatigue even though this was their second day of hiking, and
Herb's respect for her went up yet another notch. She could match him
in this. She apparently could match him in fighting, both with words
and with body. She had yet to fall short of him in anything, and Herb
wondered if she ever would.

"Hebereke-yama is not far now," Kodachi said as they crested a hill,
holding their hands around their eyes to shield them from the blinding
snow reflection. She pointed to a rather smallish mountain in the
Daisetsuzan chain, unassuming and plain compared to its more dramatic
neighbors. "We should reach it around two in the afternoon."

Herb's stomach growled, and he scowled in general anger, trying to hide
the sound. Kodachi seemed not to notice, but then she turned and said,
"We'll break for lunch before then, of course. Let us continue."

Herb sighed, and then noticed water dripping off the rocks next to them.
The snow was melting. That meant even MORE cold water to contend with.

It couldn't get any worse, could it?

* * *

They paused for lunch a few hours later. Kodachi chose a quick meal and
heated up some water for instant ramen. She'd never really liked ramen
unless it was made properly, but to the hungry even ramen in a cup is
delicious.

As she sipped the warm broth, she furtively peered at the scowling
prince, who seemed to be inhaling the ramen whole from the cup his
chopsticks were moving so fast.

"I think we're about two mountains away now," Kodachi offered. "We
can't see it since its neighbor is so big, but I can already feel the
aura."

"Aura?" Herb queried.

"The aura of Hebereke-sama." Kodachi stood up and closed her eyes,
inhaling deeply, and focusing on the gentle bath of magical warmth
radiating from the pure center of the ancient witch's camp. "You should
be able to feel it too, ohji-sama," she said, spreading her arms wide to
embrace more of the magic.

She heard the prince shift, and they stayed in silence there for a
moment, the wind whipping tendrils of their hair around their faces.
The mountain beckoned to them, the magic drawing Kodachi in as if she
were coming home.

"Hey, Kodachi," the prince said, his voice sound brittle in the frigid
mountain air.

"Yes, ohji-sama?" she answered, turning to face him, opening her eyes
again, breaking the spell.

"I . . . that is . . ." The prince shifted awkwardly and looked away,
blushing slightly. "Thank you for all your help."

"It is help freely given," Kodachi answered with a genuine smile, and
took his hand. "Come along. We are almost there."

The prince allowed himself to be pulled up, and Kodachi wondered if she
had only imagined him squeezing her hand ever so slightly.

* * *

They stood at the base of Hebereke-yama, looking up at the oversized
hill with trepidition. This mountain was off the beaten path; no one
ever climbed it because it didn't present much of a challenge as far as
mountain-climbing went. Hebereke-sama had walked up it in geta almost
daily, after all.

"The cave is there," Kodachi said, and pointed up the mountain. "Right
next to that small waterfall."

Herb winced and made a note to himself to avoid that side of the cave
altogether. He didn't even have to be involved in gathering the spice;
Kodachi was the only one who could touch it, and once she had gathered
it, it would remain tightly sealed in the jar she had brought along.

The began climbing, following a gentle grassy slope that sharpened to
bald rock outcrops near the middle. They had to stop to catch their
breath after a particularly nasty incline, and then they were there . .
. at the mouth of the cave of Mt Hebereke-yama.

They dropped their equipment onto the ground, and stretched for a few
moments, trying to work the kinks out of muscles sore from hiking. They
had made it.

"All right then, witch," Herb said, after they were reasonably
comfortable again. "Where is this spice at?"

Kodachi took out the recipe and directions, and pored through them for a
bit. Herb admired the way she pulled her lips into a pout while she
concentrated, as if she was annoyed that whatever task she was doing
wasn't going fast enough.

Finally, she placed her thumb over the answer, and smiled at him
triumphantly.

"It's behind the waterfall." She pointed to the stone behind the cold
rush of water, where a faint blue green glow seemed to emanate from the
mountain face itself. "Way up high."

Herb felt the blood drain from his face. He had a sudden sense of
horrible dread.

Kodachi movied over to the waterfall, not minding the heavy drops of ice
cold water that splashed on her face and neck. She reached up, and
jumped a little, but even Herb could see that she was several feet
short.

"Ohji-sama, I believe I will require your assistance for this," she
called, and leaned directly into the water, getting instantly soaked, in
another attempt to reach the spice.

"No," he balked, and actually backed away a few steps.

Kodachi frowned, stepped out of the waterfall, and shook her hair off,
spraying cold water all around her. "It's just a little water, ohji-
sama. Water never hurt anyone."

Easy for you to say, he grumbled to himself, and crossed his arms over
his chest like a stubborn two year old.

"I don't want to. Use your magic, witch."

Kodachi stamped her foot. "Ohji-sama, this is for your kingdom! The
least you can do is help me out by lifting me up. I don't have a spell
to scrape moss off the wall, and besides, my magic could damage the
healing properties of it."

Herb took a deep breath. Well, she was going to have to find out sooner
or later. Wildly, he hoped by some stroke of luck that the water was
warm, but judging by the way Kodachi was already shivering in the
mountain air, he doubted it.

Resigned to his fate, he pulled his cloak tightly around him and went
over to the waterfall, hoping that the cloak could handle five gallons
of freezing water a second gushing onto it.

Step into the water . . . no change. So far so good. He leaned down,
careful to keep his feet firmly on the ledge, away from the water, and
picked up Kodachi by the knees easily, hefting her first to hip height,
then up to his shoulders.

Her suit was wet, but her body heat had already warmed it, so that he
remained male. The place the moss grew protruded from the mountain a
bit, so that while Kodachi's head got wet, the rest of her -- and him --
stayed dry. Herb was amazed at that stroke of luck right there.

Kodachi grabbed handfuls of the spice-moss, stuffing it into the basket
she had brought along, until it could hold no more. Herb let out a
breath in a rush. He had almost made it . . .

"Down, ohji-sama," she said, tilting her soaked head to the side to look
at him, inadvertantly flinging a drop of ice cold water onto one exposed
hand.

The drop's splash seemed to echo for a moment, and then everything seemed
to go to slow motion as Herb's body rapidly shrank. Kodachi suddenly
became inbalanced by the near-instant change, and they both toppled.
Herb landed in the waterfall, clutching the ledge with one hand, while
Kodachi managed to stay on the ledge while miraculously keeping hold of
the precious spice.

Dammit. She had been so fucking *close* . . . She dangled, the water
rushing down on her, threatening to knock her off at any second. It was
a long, long way down.

The water pushed Herb's hood away, revealing her panicked expression of
helplessness at the gender change and precarious situation. The cloak's
fastener finally gave entirely and snapped under the weight of water. Kodachi
quickly -- but carefully -- set the spice aside, then grabbed Herb's hand
and hauled her up in a mighty display of determination.

They collapsed in each other's arms, gasping in relief for a few
moments. The ice water dripped heavily from Herb's cloak, forming a
puddle around their feet that started to freeze as soon as it hit the
stone.

Then Kodachi noticed something odd, and Herb jumped back, quickly
yanking the cloak around her body. But it was too late, too late . . .

Kodachi stared at him in faint horror.

"Ohji-sama . . ?" she said in in a slightly higher than normal voice.

Herb muttered a few choice imprecations to herself, then sighed and took
off her cloak. She started wringing it out.

"Better get a fire going, witch," she said, hating that her voice was
even higher than Kodachi's had been. "This is going to take a while."

Kodachi, still not quite believing what she was seeing, followed the
prince's orders mechanically, conjuring up a small pile of firewood and
setting it on fire with her wand. Herb was so miserable and cold that
she didn't bother chiding Kodachi for using her magic.

-----
Nerima, Tokyo, Honshuu Island
-----

"Shampoo not quite understand what you want," Shampoo said honestly.
She had just come to deliver ramen, after all, but Nabiki and Kuno had
jumped her, tied her up, and proverbally held the Ranma video in front
of her nose like a tantalizing treat. It lay on the floor in plain
view, Ranma's name clearly on the label. Shampoo could have easily
broken out of their weak rope, overpowered them, and escaped, but the
Ranma video ensured her compliance for the moment.

She was planning on escaping the ropes, overpowering them, and grabbing
the video before either of them knew what had happened anyway, but for
the moment she would play along. This was interesting.

"We wish to have the recording place into its appropriate unit, post
haste, in order to view it." Kuno explained in his typical archaic
fashion.

"What Kuno-chan means is that we want you to put the tape in the VCR."
Nabiki grimaced, then nodded toward the tape that still lay so
innocently on the floor.

"Why you no do it yourselves? Shampoo has deliveries to make." Shampoo
started loosening the ropes around her wrists expertly.

"Because we thought you might want to see it too," Nabiki said. Shampoo
raised one purple eyebrow in disbelief.

"Shampoo not see reason for not just showing it."

"The foul beast Ranma would probably want only someone so pure as
yourself to touch his possessions, being the evil lecher that he is. As
such, I shall respect his loathesome wishes and leave it alone." Nabiki
wondered if Kuno was serious or not, but the answer seemed to satisfy
Shampoo. Then she absorbed the full impact of what he had said.

She frowned. Okay, yeah, in one respect she was no longer quite as pure
as Shampoo . . . Kuno had seen to that, and despite her misgivings about
his intelligence level, he WAS rich and the sex HAD been good. Even so,
Kuno was going to have to learn not to insult her so publically if this
was going to work.

Shampoo shrugged, slipped out of the ropes just to show that she could,
and picked up the tape. She had taken but one step toward the VCR when
she screamed in pain.

Nabiki and Kuno watched in horror as human Shampoo grew a lovely set of
kitty ears where her real ears had been, which slid up onto her head
until they were in the proper cat-girl position. Claws formed on her
hands, and her pupils narrowed to slits in pale lavender eyes.

"What you do to Shampoo?!" she cried, and dropped the video.
Immediately the claws retracted, but her eyes and kitty ears remained.

"Damn," Nabiki swore under her breath, and plopped into the Kuno couch,
frowning as she thought. Things that didn't involve money usually
didn't interest her, but money itself was a kind of magic, and as such,
Nabiki recognized strong magic when she saw it.

Shampoo was tearing at her ears, but they stayed stubbornly on top of
her head. Tears started running down her face, and she had to wipe them
away quickly, lest they cool down too much and activate her curse.

"This is getting serious, Kuno," Nabiki said, dragging her newly
acquired male onto the couch with her. Kuno, who had apparently enjoyed
the night before as much as she had, did not resist. "First you getting
electrocuted, then me getting . . . you know, and now Shampoo becoming a
catgirl? What sort of indiscriminate magic IS this?"

"The twisted sister is, as I've said, a powerful, evil witch. This may
very well be one of those Forbidden Spells she often goes on about."

"If they're forbidden, she wouldn't be doing them."

"Is Kodachi, Black Rose," Shampoo reminded Nabiki, and sat on one of the
living chairs gingerly, as if she were afraid she had also grown a tail.
"Nothing beneath her."

"The Chinese Amazon speaks truth, Nabiki Tendou."

Nabiki pounded her fist into her other palm. There just *had* to be
some sort of connecting thread to all this . . .

Shampoo's cat ears suddenly receded, and her eyes also returned to
normal. Like Nabiki's curse, Shampoo's had only been temporary.

"Shampoo human again! Now, pay for ramen. I leaving. You can keep
video." Shampoo glared at them, and Kuno handed her several hundred
yen.

The Amazon left in a huff, leaving them no further along than they had
been when they had ordered ramen.

"Well, damn," Nabiki said, glaring at the video, which was beginning to
get a little battered.

"I hope that wherever the twisted sister is, she is recieving a suitable
punishment for putting us through all this."

"Karma works in mysterious ways, Kuno-chan."

* * *

-------
Mt. Hebereke-yama, Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido
-------

"So you . . ."

"Have the same curse as Ranma," Herb finished before she could even
start. "I didn't want to tell you. I don't want anyone to know if I
can help it."

Kodachi blinked, oozing sympathy. Herb hated her pity.

"But how did Akane manage to curse you as well?"

"It wasn't the half-bi -- it wasn't Ranma's fiance, it was the cursed
training grounds in China, Jusenkyo. Both of us fell into the 'Spring
of Drowned Girl.' Now, whenever we get splashed with cold water, we
become female."

"Powerful magic. So, you too seek a cure for it, then?" Kodachi looked
very sad as Herb nodded. "So was everything about your kingdom a lie?"

"No!" Herb denied vehemently, standing up in anger at her presumption,
then realized that with all the information overload she was getting, it
was quiet easy for her to jump to such a conclusion. She sat down
quickly, calming herself. "No, not at all. I'm not that vain. I could
have lived with it until the Jusenkyo springs, including the Spring of
Drowned Boy, were restored -- a messy battle between Ranma and a Chinese
kingdom ruined them a few months ago -- but the Cologne and I thought
that this might be a cure, too. She wants it for Shampoo." She sighed,
and started setting up a cooking pot to heat water. "The disease that
struck my kingdom is real, and they danger they face is genuine. Any
curse-curing was going to be just a bonus."

"I see," Kodachi said, staring dejectedly at Herb's preperations. "But
I saw you in the springs before . . ."

"Hot water reverses the curse, but only until the next time. My biggest
enemy is rain -- and waterfalls, for that matter."

Kodachi said nothing as Herb stirred the water, waiting for it to heat
up. Herb didn't have anything to say, really, either. It was all out
in the open now. He had no more secrets; unless she was keeping
something from him, they were now completely honest.

Herb felt wretched.

Now she'll never be able to like . . . to want to be with a freak like
him. She had loved Ranma blindly, believing him to be just a victim of
some black magic. But now . . .

"I'm surprised no one has deactivated the training grounds, if they're
so dangerous," Kodachi suddenly piped up, interrupting Herb's moment of
self pity.

"Deactivated them?"

"Yes. Something dangerous enough to allow Muggles such instant contact
with magic . . . it's probably because of politics in China, I'm sure,
but it's still bad to allow something like that to simply sit there,
cursing people left and right."

"It's a tourist attraction," Herb explained, and tested the water by
holding his palm just above it. Not quite warm enough yet. "It brings
in much needed money to an economically deprived area. China may be a
world power, but that doesn't mean it isn't still very poor in some
areas."

"So people pay to have a dangerous encounter with the occult?"

"Essentially. It doesn't make much sense, if you put it that way . . .
well, if I recall correctly, the park itself is a public place, but a
few inns and restaurants eke out an existance by offering their services
to the tourist trade."

"Oh." Kodachi moved one boot away from the fire, where it had been
drying, and moved another wet garment a bit closer. The fire was
quickly drying the wet clothes, and it also quickly warmed the
teenagers.

Herb tested the water again, and decided another few minutes would be
needed. If it was ready, it would have triggered the reversal just with
him testing it with one finger, but like most Jusekyo victims, he
prefered the water on a central body part. Being one gender in one part
of your body and another in the rest is extremely nauseating, and a full
body splash minimized that moment of change.

"Ohji-sama, I'm sorry for putting you through this," Kodachi said, and
hugged her knees close.

"Don't be. It's something I've learned to live with." She stood up, and
stretched a bit. "We're only halfway through this journey; we still
have to make it to China now."

Kodachi nodded, and rearranged the clothing again.

Herb decided that the water, which was beginning to steam a bit, was
more than ready. She picked up the pot, and took a deep breath, then
threw it on her chest.

"Much, much better," male Herb said, and wrung out his shirt. "As soon
as we're dry, we can continue on."

Kodachi stared at the fire, her dark gray eyes reflecting a dozen shades
of orange and red within them.

"Ohji-sama . . . I . . ," Kodachi began, then broke off.

"What, Kodachi?"

"Never mind. It's nothing."

Herb did not press her.

---------

End Chapter 6