The Three Saotomes

Chapter 9

Two tales from China, part 2,

Betrayal.


It had been more than a month since he had been wed to Xianghua, things were looking up. Of course this wouldn't last, but he was far from aware of this fact. Ranma stood up in the middle of a large field and wiped his brow with his forearm. All around him the tiny beginnings of plants could be seen. The crops for the coming year would probably do well if the weather held out. He smiled to himself about how angry his wife would be if he missed the harvest because of his training trip.

"Ranma!" called the woman in question as she rushed up to him with a cheerful smile on her face. "Hey, you got a letter."

He sighed and took it from her with a smirk on his face. "I've been waiting for this actually."

The girl blinked in surprise at this but remained silent.

"This is from my father, he's on his way here. I'm going to have to leave you for a while after he gets here I'm afraid."

The young blonde woman's face fell slightly and she grabbed him from behind in a tight hug. "I hate that."

"Well, we talked about this. My father isn't going to like that I already got married. He's traditional and thinks I should follow his orders like some sick puppy or something. I'm going to have to work this out with him while we're on this trip." It was about this time that he realized that she was still holding him from behind. "Uh-oh."

"You let your guard down honey," said the woman with an evil grin appearing on her face. She lifted him up into the air into a suplex maneuver and slammed him into the ground behind her head first, in one smooth motion after that she pushed herself into a flip with her hands and landed on her feet in front of him. "Phoenix pulls dragon from mountain."

Ranma chuckled to himself for a moment before standing up and dusting off his pants. "Well, it seems as though you got me doesn't it?" He sat down on the ground again with his legs crossed and smirked at her.

"What are you so happy about? I just creamed you! You usually pout about that for days, until I cheer you up at night anyway." Her grin broadened as his face fell slightly.

"Sure whatever," muttered the Japanese boy as he stood up and slung his shirt over his shoulder.

"Oh, the big baby," snorted the woman as she turned away. "Hey, aren't we going to the village today or something?"

Her grandfather and brother were standing behind her with odd looks on their faces. The pair had just walked out of the home. "Um, yeah," said Fei Wu.

"Let's go then," she said with a cheerful smile.

"Uh sis?"

Her grandfather was still frozen in place with an odd look on his face, he almost seemed happy. It was starting to bother her.

"What is it?" she turned to her grandfather and glared at him. "What are you staring at old man?!"

"If you're going to the village with us, you should really put on some pants," said Fei Wu finally.

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment and a cool wind blew across the field. Xianghua's grandfather fell over as his nose seemed to explode with blood. Fei Wu was turned away with his face almost completely red.

Her mind worked for a half second before she came to a realization. Ranma had been wearing his shirt, so how could he have slung it over his shoulder? "RANMA! I'm going to kill you!" She was off like a shot after her husband, who was halfway across the field before she realized what he'd done. The pair ran off into the distance leaving the two Chinese men to themselves.

"Well, looks like bro's camping out again! Eh, grandpa?" Fei Wu turned to see the old man lying on the ground with tears in his eyes.

"Oh! I'm so proud! My little granddaughter has grown into a woman!"

"That's sick old man," grumbled the boy as he started to drag the man off by his shirt.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Genryu stared out across the valley and smiled slightly. "Nice place."

"Seems quite peaceful," agreed Genma as they started towards the town.

"This is where my brother has been staying then?"

"My understanding is that this region is quite famous for it's Kung Fu," said Genma sagely. "Come on boy, let's go pick him up."

"Right, I'm interested to see if he's gotten any better," said Genryu with a confident smirk.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma stood on top of the large boulder near the edge of the field. A quiet smile crossed his lips as he saw the two figures approaching from the east. "Well, they've made it." He jumped down and started walking towards his family.

"Ranma!" called Genryu as he rushed forward towards his brother.

"Prepare to die!" screamed the elder boy as he charged both men.

"Come on son!" cried Genma with a smile as he met the boy's charge with his younger brother.

The battle was relatively short, even Ranma couldn't last long against his brother and his father. He charged forward and punched at the elder of the pair and missed as the man shifted to the side and avoided the strike easily. His new training kicked in and he swept the elder man from his feet with a curving motion from his front leg. He extended his arm out and blocked his younger brother's punch and launched him into the air. The younger boy smirked and landed on his feet just behind him and punched at his back gaining a solid hit. Genma kicked out and missed his son's torso by millimeters as the boy dodged and jumped back.

Ranma spun around and kicked at Genryu's head missing as the boy leaned back and moved into a defensive crouch. Genma had also regained his footing and was waiting for the next attack. The elder boy smirked and charged towards Genma, he kicked out and managed to wing his shoulder in a jump kick. Genma countered by grabbing his leg and sent him into the ground behind him. Ranma rolled on the ground and attempted to rise, only to find Genryu waiting with his fist in his face.

"Well, looks like you win. You've gotten better little brother."

"What did you expect? Besides, so have you."

Ranma nodded and accepted his father's hand as the man helped him up. "Well, it was pop who was training you after all, I couldn't be sure."

"Indeed son, this is quite impressive." He pat him on the back gruffly and started to walk away.

Ranma smirked as he saw the sign with the word 'ingrate' written on it in messy kanji on his father's back. "Thought you'd get one over on me did you old man?" he muttered under his breath. Genryu stood next to him and attempted to hold in his laughter.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They came to the small hut and walked in. "Welcome to my new home," said Ranma as he gestured towards the table in the kitchen.

"They won't mind you having guests?" asked Ranma.

"They know you're coming. And why not? I'm going to inherit the place someday."

"Oh well then," Genma paused and stared at his son. "What?"

Ranma smirked at the look on his father's face as he saw a slow realization dawn on him.

Genryu appeared oblivious at the moment.

"What have you done boy?" snapped Genma angrily.

"Nothing much, I got married," replied Ranma lazily.

"Huh?" Ranma looked at his brother in surprise. "Hey, that's great!"

"Isn't it? My wife and her family went into town, they should be back soon."

"This is terrible! Do you have any idea what you've done son?" cried Genma as he put his head on the table.

"Settled down?" said Ranma in mock ignorance.

"We've got to stop this! You're engaged!" cried Genma as he took the boy by his shoulders.

"I am? Well, I hate to say this pop, but you've told me about this a little to late. Why didn't you say anything sooner?" the man was trying his best not to laugh in his father's face.

Genma froze and hung his head. "Boy, I do not consent to this marriage!"

"I don't need your permission, besides, we're quite happy here. Please be nice to your daughter in law when you meet her." He sat down at the table and crossed his arms.

The man glanced at Ranma for a moment and sighed. "I suppose there's nothing that can be done about it now."

"Not really no," Ranma gave Genryu a sympathetic glance. "Sorry to shove that Tendo girl off on you little brother," he thought to himself. He shook his head and started to make tea for them. "We'll finish our trip here in China, and then come back to pick her up. I want mom to meet her at least. We'll stay there for a while with you and then come back."

Genma nodded reluctantly; at least the boy didn't want to bring a woman along for his training. Apparently he still had some sense about him.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

"So, what's this girl like?" asked Ranma as he stood opposite his brother outside a short time later.

"You'll like her, she's very pretty, and a martial artist," the boy smirked slightly at the look his brother got.

"Oh, one of those types."

"No, she's actually pretty smart, and very good. She's better than you are brother."

"What? No way!" cried the younger boy angrily.

"Well, we'll see," Ranma gave a small laugh at his brother's attitude. Apparently time alone with Genma had taken its toll. "Ah, here she is now."

Xianghua smiled as her husband walked up with a younger boy at his side. The pair looked almost identical, accept the younger of them had a ponytail and was a half-foot shorter. "Why hello, you must be Genryu."

"Yeah, nice to meet you," said the younger boy nervously as he bowed to her. "You're the chick who married my brother, right?"

Ranma smacked him on the back of his head and rolled his eyes. "Sorry, he gets that from his father."

Xianghua laughed cheerfully and nodded. "I see. It's a wonder you didn't."

"I'm smart enough to ignore that old fool most of the time."

"Hey! You sayin I'm dumb?" snapped Genryu as he pulled his elder brother into a headlock.

"You should respect your elders," snorted Harowang as he walked up behind his granddaughter with Fei Wu beside him.

"You haven't met my father yet," quipped the boy as he pulled his younger brother off playfully. "Genryu, this is Xianghua, your sister; and these two are Harowang, my new Grandfather, and Fei Wu, your new brother."

Genryu paused and looked at them. He hadn't yet considered that this would result in new family for him. "Uh hi, I'm Genryu Saotome, nice to meet you." He bowed again. He turned towards his older brother again. "So these are the guys who taught you those new moves?"

Ranma sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes Genryu."

"Come, I'm very interested to meet your father." Harowang smiled and started walking towards the home.

++++++++++++++++++++++

A short time later, introductions had been made. Genma had been at least somewhat pleasant in his own gruff way. Ranma was wary of this; it wasn't like his father to accept something like this so quickly. It was making him nervous.

"What are you up to pop?" muttered the boy under his breath.

Xianghua had been holding onto his arm and pulled him away. "What do you mean by that?"

"This isn't like my father at all. It turns out he had some sort of arranged marriage planned for me. He'll probably do something stupid later."

"An arranged marriage?"

"Yeah, the old fool didn't tell me about it until I told him about us. To be truthful I was kind of expecting something like that from him."

"Well, it's too late now," muttered the woman as she leaned in on his chest. "You're mine."

"Yeah, well, pop won't see it that way. He'll probably kidnap me, and try to save me from you or something along those lines. If I go missing in the next couple of days I want you to know what happened. Don't worry about me, I'll be back in a month or two if that happens."

"Ranma! He wouldn't!" cried the girl in alarm quietly. She had barely managed to keep her voice in a whisper.

"I told you that the stupidity of Genma Saotome knows no bounds didn't I? If anything I've got to save my little brother from that."

"I thought you were joking when you said that!"

"Two words, Cat Fist."

"You mean you weren't kidding?" Xianghua turned and gave her father in law a blank stare.

"Nope, it's a good thing I was there. I read the next page to him and the idiot still tried it. I had to pull Genryu out when he wasn't looking sixteen times. He finally gave up after that. The poor kid still doesn't like cats much."

"He's afraid of cats?"

"No, but I had to stop him from killing a few back when he was little."

"I see."

"Come on, let's go outside," Ranma pulled his wife away from the corner and tapped Genryu on the shoulder. "Come on little brother. Let the old folks bore each other."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Genryu landed on the ground roughly and grunted in pain. Xianghua was in a low crouch with her arms extended at her sides like wings and slowly rose to her feet moving her arms down as she rose.

"He ain't half bad."

"He isn't even trying," grumbled Ranma. "Genryu, what the hell are you doing?"

"I can't fight her, she's a girl!" cried the boy.

Xianghua's eyes narrowed at this, but Ranma beat her to the punch. He charged forward and punched the boy in his gut before he could blink. After the blow Genryu fell to his knees and coughed.

"A Saotome never fights to lose!" snarled the elder boy.

"It isn't honorable to fight a girl!" coughed Genryu.

"That's crap! It isn't honorable to fight someone weaker than you! Xianghua isn't weaker than you are brother. I suggest you start taking this fight seriously."

"But..." stammered the younger boy as he looked up at his brother in confusion.

"What would Ucchan say about this?"

Genryu narrowed his eyes at this, after a moment he hung his head and stood up. "You're right."

"Who's Ucchan?" asked Xianghua playfully as she gave the uncomfortable Genryu a small smirk.

"She's an old friend from when we were younger. Genryu thought she was a boy at first. I let him believe it for a while. They used to spar together all the time."

"Oh, I see," said the woman lazily as she walked up to Genryu and helped him up. "Come on, we'll finish this then. Are you ready this time?"

Genryu gave her a hard stare and smirked. "Of course."

Ranma smiled to himself and nodded. It wasn't much, but at least he had undone some of the damage.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Three days had passed; Genma was relatively quiet over this time. Most of the time he sat at the table with Harowang and talked. Ranma and Genryu spent most of their time out in the fields with Xianghua and Fei Wu, either helping with the crops, or training. The pair of Japanese brothers had scared the two Chinese siblings several times with their training. It seemed that all the training their grandfather had put him through was nothing compared to the Saotome regimen of training. The pair improved at an alarming rate in each other's presence.

That night though, Genma looked over at Harowang. "What's that temple I keep seeing in the mountains? It looks like a giant Shinto Temple."

The old man sighed. "That is our curse. The reason no Japanese man will ever be welcome in the village."

"Yes, it happened during the rape of..." Ranma started.

"Son!" snapped Genma angrily.

"Oh yes, I had almost forgotten. It never happened right?" The boy leveled a stare at his father and smiled. "Well then, during our occupation. A man named Kuruso entered the town with his battalion. He was a captain in the Japanese imperial forces. While our people were busy to the south, he continued to push northward. Far out of Japanese controlled territory. He came to this village and conquered it easily. Rather than turn the conquest over to the government, he set himself up as Emperor. He went quite insane apparently. He started to wear a suit of golden armor; this armor was said to make him invincible. Apparently he came under the influence of a powerful demon. The things he did here were nothing compared to what our country did. One of the orders he gave when he first arrived was for all the male children in the village to be raped. It only got worse from there. Human sacrifice, slave labor, starvation, demonic rituals. He even had a brothel composed of nothing but children, all under the age of twelve. Some of the survivors still live. They have scars from the tortures they endured, I've seen them when they come here to visit the temple that lies on these grounds. It's best to avoid them completely, they don't like us much."

Genryu paled at this. "That's why you told us to go around the village isn't it?"

"Yes, you would have been thrown out like he was. He was lucky he wasn't killed I suppose. They're hostile, but not violent. A few villagers have complained about him being this near to the village," said Harowang with a grave nod.

"To say nothing of what they'll say if they find out two more just arrived," agreed Fei Wu.

"What happened to that guy?" asked Genryu.

"Eventually one of his own men killed him. Shot him in the head while he was sitting on the throne he built in that temple after he removed his helmet."

Harowang spoke up again. "Yes, the cursed armor still rests there. That place is pure evil. With his dying breath he uttered a terrible curse. He said that one of his own countrymen would come one day and he would rise again. He would then feed upon the living and become immortal. This is why men of your country are not welcome in that village. Ranma has sworn never to step off of these grounds towards the temple to the east. He is tolerated because of this, and the honorable actions he has shown since coming here."

Genma nodded at this. "Hmm, a most tragic story indeed."

"Yeah, you said it old man," agreed Genryu.

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

Late that night Ranma lay in bed awake. He looked at his wife as she slept silently under the sheets. Genma had surprised him, the man took the news much better than he had expected him to. He sighed and closed his eyes in an attempt to fall a sleep. That was when a tiny noise caught his attention. His eyes snapped open just in time to see a fist slam into his face.

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

"Hey pop? What the heck are we doing?" said Genryu as the larger man slung his unconscious brother over his shoulder.

"It's time we left this place boy. We've got a long road ahead of us and Ranma can't learn much more from this place. That old fool tricked him into marrying his daughter. The poor boy had to or he wouldn't teach him. This foolish son of mine was forced to marry that unwomanly beast!"

"Are you sure that's what he told you?" muttered Genryu uncomfortably. The girl had seemed nice enough to him.

"Don't argue boy! Let's get moving."

"Where are we going pop?"

"To that temple boy, don't be silly!"

"Are you nuts pop? You heard what that old man said!"

"Don't be foolish boy! There's no such thing as demons! It's just a story they made up so they could keep that armor here! It's a national treasure of Japan! It is our duty to return it to the rightful owners! The people of Japan!" Genma could see the yen signs in his head as he said this. A golden suit of armor would no doubt net him a nice reward as well. Besides, it was his duty as a citizen of Japan to return such artifacts to the country.

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

A short distance away Fei Wu shadowed behind the pair. He had yet to catch up with them. "Damn! That fat fool is fast! Where the hell are they dragging him off to?"

The trail was still fresh, so he knew they couldn't be more than a few hours away. He had been watching the two newcomers closely. The moment he let his guard down they took off with his brother in law. He knew Ranma well enough to know he'd never leave without saying goodbye to his wife. That left one thing, the two idiots kidnapped him.

He continued to follow the trail in hopes of finding their destination. He had no doubts that Xianghua would try to kill the old fool when she saw him if he didn't get Ranma back first. She would no doubt be right behind him when she woke up. It was still dark and he had a few hours left before that happened. "Where the hell are they going?" He stopped and looked up in the middle of the trail with a horrified realization. In the distance, just above the treetops was the shadowy form of the old temple. "Oh shit!" He rushed forward in a sprint. If he was lucky he'd make it before they did.

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

Ranma groaned as he slowly stirred awake. "Damn it pop."

"So, you're awake?" Genma tossed him onto the ground and snorted. "It took you long enough boy. You're going soft."

"What the hell are you talking about? Where the hell are we?" Ranma shook his head and slowly stood up. He looked down the side of the hill they were standing on and saw the village below, the wrong side of the village. "No." He slowly turned around and backed away as he saw the huge wooden gates of the temple not more than ten feet in front of him. "What the hell are we doing here?"

"What do you think boy? We're going to recover that armor for our country."

"The hell we are!" screamed Ranma angrily. "These people earned the right to have it old man!"

"My own son, a traitor to his country!" said Genma dramatically.

"You don't fool me for a minute old man! The only thing you're thinking of is all the money you'll get to stuff your fat face with it! You're not setting foot inside this temple!"

"Foolish boy! Don't be an idiot! That armor belongs to our country!"

"That armor belongs to this village! The only way you're getting it is if you go through me!"

Genma looked back at Genryu and nodded. "You see son, they've brainwashed him."

The younger boy simply watched the scene play out with a growing discomfort. "Pop, let's just forget about this."

"We will not, this is the only way we can bring your brother back to us."

Ranma's anger was growing with each passing moment. Despite the darkness Genryu could see the older boy's hair begin to stand on end.

"Pop!" Genryu rushed forward and kicked at his brother's head. Ranma swerved to avoid the blow and grunted as Genma took advantage of the situation and connected with a hard kick to his stomach. The younger boy looked at his brother with terror in his eyes. "You were gonna kill him!"

"Genryu, listen to me. Go back to the farm, tell them what's going on here," pleaded the elder boy. His younger brother was beyond that though, he knew that if he left now, Genma might not survive the encounter.

Both Saotome's fell on their own, the battle was over in seconds. Ranma lay on the ground unconscious. Genma looked down at his son and snorted. "Come on boy."

"Pop, I ain't going in there," said the boy finally.

Genma looked down at Ranma and then back to his youngest again. "Fine, look after your brother." He turned away and walked inside the gigantic building.

After a few minutes, Fei Wu ran up the path towards the scene. He rushed up beside Genryu, who was kneeling over his fallen brother.

"What happened?"

"Stay back!" warned the younger boy as he took up a defensive stance.

"We've got to get you out of here! What happened to Ranma? Do you know what the villagers will do if they find you here?"

Genryu was torn, he had to listen to his father, but Ranma had been quite upset with the man. Something was wrong here, and he had no idea what to do. Finally he looked up at the Chinese boy and sighed.

"Pop kidnapped him. He carried him here, and when he woke up he tried to stop him from going into the temple. I had to stop him, he was going to kill the old man."

Fei Wu's face went completely white. "You mean Genma's inside the temple?"

The young boy nodded.

"Kid, even if he escaped Ranma, what's inside there will kill him for sure! We've got to stop him!"

The pair looked up at the sky and noticed the swirl of dark clouds that started to blot out the stars overhead. "Hurry! We've got to find him!"

At that moment Ranma sat up, his face was a mask of anger. He brushed the dirt off of his cheek with the back of his hand and stood up. "Old man, you've gone too far this time." He stalked towards the temple doors.

"Genryu, stay here if you want, but I'm going to stop him."

"Ranma! Wait for me!" cried Fei Wu as he rushed after him.

If Ranma hadn't noticed his presence yet he made no indication of it then.

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

The interior of the temple was a large open room. Great stone pillars lined the walls and the floor was covered with an exotic looking marble tile. There was no light save a few windows, but the darkening sky outside did not help matters any. In the center of the room rested a huge throne, it was worn and dirty with the passage of time, cobwebs covered everything, but the yellow shine of the golden armor looked as if it was newly polished. Genma slowly walked up to the figure that seemed seated in the throne. The armor was empty, but rested as if there was a man inside of it. He slowly reached out for the helmet.

"Don't touch that!" screamed a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hmm, you recovered much faster this time," commented Genma as he pulled his hand away.

"If you touch that armor, I will kill you old man," snarled the angry teen as he stalked forward.

Genma snorted and grabbed the helmet.

"NO!" screamed Fei Wu.

A black fire burst forth from the metal and consumed Genma completely. He jumped back and rolled across the floor attempting to put out the flames. They finally subsided and he stood up. He was unharmed by the fire, but the pain still lingered somehow. "What was that?"

"What have you done old man?" gasped Ranma in shock.

A dull red glow started to form inside the eyes of the golden mask that lay inside the helmet.

"Run!" screamed Fei Wu as he pulled at Ranma's sleeve. Genma had not quite recovered his senses yet and followed close behind them.

"I am, revived!" roared a voice from the chamber behind them.

"What the hell did you do?" screamed Genryu as he met them in the hallway. They rushed past him and Ranma grabbed his collar as he passed. The scene outside was far from encouraging. The swirl of clouds above had grown worse and now spread as far as the eye could see. A purple light seemed to shine through centered on the temple. The group turned to see the armor standing in the doorway behind them, it was staring at them coldly.

"You who have released me. Know this, the flesh of your blood shall become my flesh. I shall consume all of your blood relatives and live again! Such an honor is a fitting reward! Come, become part of a god!"

"What the hell is that?" screamed Genryu.

"The curse, Wai Mei Kai," said Fei Wu quietly.

Ranma stood next to him with his fists held up. "I guess it's up to us to put it back then?"

Fei Wu nodded coldly. "Let's do this."

The pair charged forward attacking full force. The armor stood still and allowed their fist to connect, they met with a wall of impenetrable black fire. Both men were thrown back onto the ground.

Ranma snarled as he stood up and spread his feet. "Eat this!" He thrust his arm forward and a ball of blue light shot from his palm slamming into the creature and exploded with a loud boom. Energy crackled across the metal, but otherwise the thing remained unharmed.

"It didn't work?" gasped Genryu as he watched.

Fei Wu was more than a little surprised by the display. "I'll ask you about that later bro. This is going to be harder than we thought."

Ranma frowned and widened his stance. "Monster! I won't allow you to touch my family!"

The armor moved towards them with slow deliberate steps. "Then stop me." It pulled a sword from its hip, an expensive looking katana. The blade was ablaze with the black fire and it held it ready.

Fei Wu stepped in front of Ranma and snarled. "Get back where you belong demon!"

"Out of my way," said the thing calmly. It slashed down without giving the Chinese boy much of a glance and continued forward.

Fei Wu slumped down holding his stomach. Blood oozed from his mouth and he coughed with a look of complete shock on his face. The blow had been too fast for him to see. He felt a warm, slippery, wet sensation in his hands and laughed despite himself as he realized what it was. He was holding his own intestines. Finally he blacked out and lay still.

"FEI WU!" screamed Ranma as he rushed forward.

"No! Brother!" Genryu jumped forward as well.

"No boy!" Genma reached for the youngest in an attempt to hold him back. It was too late.

The demon slashed down as Genryu pushed his brother out of the way. The young boy screamed in pain as he was cut across his back. He slumped forward in Ranma's arms and passed out.

"Nooo!" screamed the elder boy as he picked up his brother and pulled him away from the slowly advancing monster. Finally he managed to pull himself together enough to jump away. Genma appeared behind him and grabbed him across his neck with his arm. He forcefully pulled the boys away from the scene and into the wilderness.

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

No more than fifteen minutes had passed since that time. Xianghua and her grandfather came upon the scene and stared at it in shocked horror. Fei Wu was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

"Brother!" she pushed the old man aside and rolled him over onto his back. He was still holding his innards in place with his hands. His eyes opened suddenly and he smiled at her.

"Hey sis," he muttered.

"My grandson!" Harowang fell to his knees and could not move or speak after that.

"What happened? Who did this? Where is my husband?" screamed the woman as she cradled him in her arms.

"The armor is gone," said the boy.

"Don't speak! We've got to get you to the village!"

"NO!" his voice was more forceful than even he thought he was capable of. "Sister, I'm already dead. You must find him."

"Who? Tell me what happened?" screamed the girl in a panic.

"Wai Mei Kai, Ranma, you must..." the boy's head fell back. His mouth still open from his last words.

"No! Brother no! NOOOOOO!"

Harowang stood up slowly, he hung his head and was silent for a long moment while the girl cried over her fallen brother.

"We have been betrayed," said the old man finally.

"I will find him," spat Xianghua as she cried into her dead brother's chest. "I swear it. I will find him and make him pay!"

"Granddaughter..." started the old man.

"NO! I swear it! I will hunt Ranma Saotome to the ends of the earth and destroy him!"

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

"And that's what happened." Xianghua clenched her fist and a look of anger crossed her face.

"So, he really did kill your brother," said Akane quietly.

Nabiki had gone completely pale, there was nothing she could even begin to say.

Kuno nodded at the tale and frowned. "So after you tracked him to this temple, you found your brother a short time too late. Most tragic. Fear not, my blade shall fell this monster soon enough."

"Do what you must," said Xianghua finally. "I'm not so petty as to stop you from protecting her from him. Know this though, if I face him again before you kill him, stay out of my way. I won't hesitate to remove you if you fall in my path."

The trio of teens sat around the woman for a long time in complete silence. A gentle rain was the only sound that could be heard from the outside of the clinic.

"Come on Akane, we need to get home," said Nabiki as she stood up. She almost fell over as her legs almost gave out. She steadied herself against a counter and moved towards the door slowly.

"The hour is indeed late," agreed Kuno as he stoically walked out of the room.

Finally Akane followed after her sister leaving the woman alone with her thoughts. After the teens were all gone she spoke up. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

Tofu appeared from behind doorway and smiled at her. "This Ranma, he is as dangerous as you said?"

"Infinitely more so," said the woman with a coldness appearing in her voice.

"It gets worse?"

"Ranma Saotome is more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"Not now, I'm tired."

"All right," Tofu seemed agitated, but let the matter pass.

"They are in no danger now. He feels safe for the moment with me in this condition. We have time before he recovers, don't worry."

"Yes, time indeed," said Tofu as he walked out of the room again and let her sleep.

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

TBC...

For those of you who were wondering. Wai Mei Kai: It's Chinese, Cantonese I think, it means 'Foreign Demon Armor'.

Next time: Soun and Genma's reaction to the story, and Ranma's problems get worse. [Of course.]