Part 4: Tragedy

"Ranma, where are you off to?" Akane asked.

"None of your business, Akane," Ranma replied.

"Why don't you just answer her question, Ranma?" Ryoga asked getting a little annoyed.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Ryoga." Ranma turned toward Ryoga who stood behind a very worried Akane. It seemed weird to Ranma. Akane usually never worried for him. That he knew of anyway. H caved in and sighed. "I'm going out to find Rahzar. Happy?"

"I'm going with you," Akane blurted.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Fine! Just don't come close to me, okay. And I guess that means you're coming too?" He turned to Ryoga who nodded. Ranma gave a low growl, indicating his disapproval.

Everyone in the house was asleep. They were the only ones awake. Ranma moved toward the door with Akane close behind. Ranma turned slightly. She moved away a couple of steps, remembering what Ranma had told her. Ranma was still angry with her. She slept with the enemy. Why? What the hell had gotten into her. She probably wanted to give it up so badly that she didn't care to who. Deep down Ranma knew better though, but he didn't want to know better. He didn't want to think that maybe Akane had actually thought she was sleeping with him. If she loved him as much as she implied she did, then why couldn't she tell him apart from Rahzar? She knew him. She knew everything there was to know about him, didn't she. Then why had it been so hard for her to figure out that it wasn't the actual Ranma. The redhead shook her head slightly, wanting to make everything disappear.

She reached out for the door knob. She opened the door and walked out. Akane and Ryoga followed her in a straight line. After a long period of time they were in the woods. The trees seemed to loom over them as they walked on. The night grew colder and neither one of them had brought any sleeping bags. They didn't think catching Rahzar would take very long. But they were far from the dojo and they had to rest. At least Akane said it'd be a good idea and of course Ryoga agreed. He had said that the better rested they were the more awake they'd be and they'd last much longer out in the woods. Whatever. They sat around a warm fire which had been made from scratch. Ranma was the one who volunteered to go off and look for wood as Ryoga helped Akane begin a fire. Ranma came back from a third trip and placed the wood in her arms in the fire. She turned and walked toward a stump about three feet away from the fire. Akane and Ryoga were sitting next to each other in front of the fire. Ranma didn't want to be part of it. No one said a word.

Soon they were each laying on the ground. Ryoga and Akane were asleep. Ranma, though was not. She was wide awake. Memories of Rahzar's little experiences in Ranma's body revealed themselves to her. From the beginning. And she knew that she was going in the right direction. Rahzar had a small camp set up in these woods. She knew where it was. She could see it in Rahzar's memories which now belonged to her as well.

A sound not to far away pulled Ranma away from her thoughts. She shot up and looked around tying to find whatever it was that had made the sound. A small figure walked away. It seemed to have been watching her in the shrubs. Ranma stood up. She moved toward the figure. Akane had woken up and noticed Ranma moving. She sat up and crawled forward. Behind her was Ryoga who had woken up from the sound which had gotten Ranma's attention. They all crept closer, watching the small figure move. It hesitated for a slight moment and then continued to walk. They were soon very close. They hid behind the shrubs as they watched the small figure enter an old cabin. Once the figure entered, Ranma stood up and walked forward with Ryoga and Akane close behind. They crept toward the small cabin and peered inside the windows for any indication of the small figure. Not seeing any movement they moved toward the door, opened it, and stepped inside. They looked around, but the figure was no where to be found. It was like it had just vanished. The sent of roses and lilac filled the air.

The cabin wasn't completely dark. A small flickering flame lit the corner. The light that came from the flame had been very dim, but Ranma could see the flowers which had been placed all around the room. Small bottles of liquids blue, black, green, in all colors filled the shelves on the wall to the right opposite of the flame. Flowers of different sizes and colors were placed around the selves for decoration.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up, Ranma," a small voice said. Ranma looked up. A short woman with silver hair appeared in the doorway leading to the hallway of the cabin. Her face was thin and pale. Her eyes where soft, but tired. Her skinny body looked weak and frail, but when she walked, she walked with grace.

"How'd you know my name?" Ranma asked as the woman walked to him. Ranma stepped away the closer the woman got.

"I know a lot. Now, you're looking for an antidote. To get your body back. Am I right?"

Ranma froze in complete and utter shock. This woman did know a lot. Was she some sort of witch or sorceress?

"Actually, I was looking for Rahzar, but an antidote would be good."

"I'll get you one. It's the least I could do," the woman replied as she turned toward the shelves filled with bottles of liquids. She looked guilty as if she felt that what Ranma was going through was her fault. Akane found that to be strange, but then maybe the old woman had compassion for others and truly felt for people, but she wanted to ask.

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

"I was the one who gave Rahzar the potion to get into your friends' body. He slipped it into something he was drinking."

They were stunned. They didn't know whether to trust her or not. But the woman seemed so friendly, so innocent. How could they not trust her. She was after all helping them.

"How could that be? I would've see him," Ranma argued.

"No, you couldn't possibly have. He was only a spirit at the time. Or a ghost. An apparition. You can't always see a ghost. You only see them when they want to be seen," the old woman explained.

"And what about Shampoo? Was she given the potion while she was drinking something too?" Akane questioned.

"No. Sasami had given the potion to Shampoo while she slept. She figured that at night while the girl slept it would be easier to begin the process of taking over her body. This way the girl wouldn't have any suspicions that something was wrong. Rahzar was not so thoughtful. Ranma found out about him not long after Rahzar's first attempt to take his body."

Akane looked at Ranma. Ranma looked away. So then Ranma did know something was wrong, but he refused to tell her. Why did he refuse to tell her?

"But why did they want new bodies?" Akane asked as she turned to the old woman.

"To finish some unfinished business," the woman replied.

"They wanted to get married," Ryoga added.

"What?" Akane inquired.

"When they were alive years ago, they planned on getting married. They ran away from their feuding families and came here to have the wedding of Sasami's dreams, but before they could, Sasami was killed by one of Rahzar's fathers' men," Ranma began.

Akane turned to Ranma once more. Ranma knew about it all. The background story? But how?

"Correct. Years ago in China, Rahzar and Sasami lived as you and I. They met and had fallen in love. There was only one problem. Their love was forbidden. The relationship was doomed from the start. Just as their lives had been. Rahzar's family opposed of his love for Sasami. For she belonged to a Japanese family which Rahzar's family opposed of. Rahzar's family despised the whole Japanese family and it was the same with Sasami's family. Her family despised Rahzar's Chinese family. They felt that it would've been best to marry within their own race. But neither Sasami nor Rahzar cared. They both ran off together far from the family. They ran to Japan. Tokka didn't want to stay either so he went off after his brother. The three of them wondered around China. They walked, they rode in the back of a truck, and they rode on a ship for weeks at a time until they reached Japan. There they spent the rest of their days. They planned on marrying and having a family together, but their families had caught up in time. Rahzar's father had sent his men after them and Sasami's father had sent his own men after them. Both fathers were very powerful men. Each leaders of very powerful and cruel gangs.

"One night, on their way back to their small home from shopping, Sasami was shot and killed. Rahzar hadn't seen who had done it until it was too late. Sasami died in his arms that night. It only took one shot, but she suffered for more than an hour. No one wanted to help and others ignored Rahzar's screams of pain and sorrow. Tokka had found them outside and ran to them. There was nothing that anyone could do, but watch Sasami die. No one even called for help, thinking it was a joke. Or simply just not wanting to. Pretty soon Sasami's father's men appeared. They caught sight of Sasami, dead in Rahzar's arms and thinking that he was the one who killed her they open fired," the old woman explained.

"Rahzar died that night as well," Ranma added. Everyone turned to her. Both Ryoga and Akane were surprised to see her crying. Tears were still streaming down her face. "He too suffered a cruel death. Not only was he feeling the pain of his broken heart, but the pain of the wound from the bullet. He still cradled Sasami in his arms as he died. He saw who pulled the trigger, but he could do nothing about it. It was a close friend of his and Sasami's. Keno. He worked for Rahzar's father, but that night Rahzar figured out that Keno was lying to them all. Not only to him and Sasami, but to his father as well. He just found out too late. He had been betrayed by the person he trusted most." Ranma clutched her heart as if she felt the pain that Rahzar had gone through that night.

The woman continued on, "Toka lived through his suicide attempts after watching his brother die. He lived alone on the streets, unable to return home. He was only 9 at the time. Two years later he escaped the streets of Japan and got on a ship home and returned to his family. He went to live with his family again until he turned 16. That's when he had moved out and began life here in Japan once more. Rahzar and Sasami began visiting him weekly soon after Tokka visited the very spot where they died. Their unfinished business in the living world have left them wandering between both the dead and the living world."

"So they wanted my body and Shampoo's to finish what they couldn't during their lifetime," Ranma finished.

The woman nodded. Ranma took a deep breath.

"You remember it, don't you?"

Ranma nodded as the tears continued to stream down her face. "Like it was just yesterday."

The woman looked at Ranma.

"I'm so sorry. I knew I shouldn't have. I knew it was wrong. I just - "

"Didn't have a choice," Ranma added. "Both Rahzar and Sasami threatened to kill you if you didn't give them the potion. With Tokka's help. I understand."