Void Contract

by obsidian-fox

(Divergence & Crossover) Before leaving China, a demon attack initiates a fix in the relationship between father and son... and Ranma is attached to a few more girls. (On hiatus.)

7. Sweat and Tears

Void Contract

Chapter Six: Sweat and Tears

obsidianfox

Started: Aug 07, 2004

Last Updated: Aug 28, 2004

Some say everything started with a word from kami. However, before kami could speak, kami must have inhaled. Therefore, everything starts with breath.

-- Genma Saotome on the Importance of Breathing

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

"So, child, you're the first person to ever get back up after being struck with the Gotenhira Happashin. It makes me doubt that you're human," says Pai Mei as he returns from the antechamber. The old man carries a small pad of paper and glances sidelong at Shiina, who sits curled up with her chin behind her knees on a bench in a distant corner. He sits on the bench across from me. A cup of steaming tea sits in front of me.

"Of course I could take it!" I snort derisively. "It ain't much to get back up after a few slaps to my chest. I've taken worse."

My eyes wander the dimly lit chamber. Buddha statues line the walls; each is painted a dull green and sits on a white rendai (a lotus seat designed to support Buddha statues). The motif of white lotus on green is prevalent throughout the temple. Although the actual furnishings aren't particularly expensive or impressive, the gestalt leaves me instinctively fighting a growing sense of humility. Besides Pai Mei, Shiina, and me, the temple feels devoid of people, although I've glimpsed a few shaven monks moving about silently.

"I don't think you understand, you arrogant piss. When I say no person ever gets back up, I mean it quite literally. Now for a test," says Pai Mei. At this, he lifts a piece of paper from his pad of what I vaguely recognize as ofuda (paper magic), and he tosses it across the table in my direction. The ofuda darts through the air towards me like a knife. Sitting as I am, I choose to swat the paper aside with one hand rather than dodge awkwardly. However, when my hand contacts the paper, the paper sticks and starts burning with white fire. I hiss in pain, then stamp the flame out on the table top with my hand several times while glaring hellfire at Pai Mei.

"Whaddya' do that for?" I demand as I caress my injured hand.

"What sort of demon are you? Are you hanyou, half oni or youkai? Or do you carry older demon blood, like Happosai?" Pai Mei asks casually, as if such things aren't particularly uncommon.

"Hey! I'm not a demon! I'm HUMAN!" I shout angrily. Then I snarl, "Demons should just DIE."

Pai Mei's eyes flash in anger. "Racism is a trait unbecoming a martial artist, you Japanese maggot. Build yourself a cocoon and grow into a real man."

"HA! As if YOU'RE one to speak, Mr. 'I despise Japanese'," I say triumphantly.

A small smile mars Pai Mei's stern visage. "I am not racist, idiot child. I hate everyone equally. Anyhow, it matters not what you are; you'll make an interesting student to say the least."

As the venerable man gazes into my eyes with his, I detect idle curiosity mixed with sakki (killing intent). I shudder involuntarily at the disturbing feeling, but sense no attack, so for the moment I ignore it. Instead, I grin widely; finally, I found someone to teach me! And the day is only half over! "When can we start?"

Pai Mei gazes into my eyes a few moments, as though pondering, then walks off to another room. I sip my tea, wondering if he'll be returning soon, then my attention returns to Shiina. I turn to look at her and find her staring back at me with some hostility. Then I notice drying tracks of recent tears glistening on her cheeks, and my stomach twists up inside me. I put the tea down and walk over to her. "Shiina? Don't cry. What's wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Then she backs away from me, keeping me from getting close to her. I halt my approach nearby a stone Buddha and its white rendai. She couldn't be crying because of something I did, could she?

"What a teary-eyed slip of a girl. All women ever do is cry and make babies... and spend a man's money. This one... she'd make a good waitress or geisha if someone trains her properly," says Pai Mei, returning from whatever room he left for earlier. I turn to glare at the abrasive man who will surely make Shiina cry some more, but only see a fistful of scrolls shoved into my face. "Return when you've read and understand these and accomplished what they describe; then your training will begin, and thus it will have begun," Pai Mei intones seriously. Then he adds, "Heh. I don't ever expect to see you back here, worms-for-brains, and I'm not willing to push you through the basics. I'll send some monks with food. After you two eat, depart at once."

I gather the scrolls into my hands, then Pai Mei again turns and leaves. I spend a moment wondering how to carry them conveniently before I give up and decide to find a means later.

When I turn to look at Shiina again, she's staring angrily at Pai Mei's retreating back. I can almost see the fire dancing in her eyes. My stomach relaxes, slipping out of its Gordian knot because the tears in her eyes have been replaced with fire. Then she turns to me. "YOU! " she growls, angrily jabbing a finger into my chest; she winces and withdraws her hand while caressing her finger. "What are you? Those wards against evil... they held you away from the temple, and they burned you when you touched them. I'm sure Pai Mei killed you with his final blow; I've seen more than enough death to recognize it. You can't be human. What are you? Are you a demon, like what killed my parents? Are you planning to kill me, or worse? WHAT ARE YOU!"

I blink at the unexpected accusation for the second time that day, ignoring the rest of what Shiina had to say. "Hey! I'm HUMAN! The wards are just confused or somethin'..." I pause for a moment, gazing evenly into Shiina's enrapturing eyes. I watch helplessly as the fire in her eyes sputters under threat of her tears. I'm unsure what I must say to help those tears dry away.

Then, suddenly, enlightenment arrives fully-formed with internal bells and whistles, hailing from that detached analytical part of my brain that doesn't usually see use outside of combat with skilled opponents. I, being a Saotome, begin speaking my mind before comprehending the idea.

"That's it! It must be that demon blood from yesterday; I got the stuff all over my hands and shoulder, and that stuff is impossibly sticky. See?" I pull from my gi Shiina's five throwing knives, including the pair that is stuck together by the yellow ichor, and hand them to her.

She accepts them. Question is plain on her face.

"I pulled those knives out of that thing's body as it died," I say. "I washed them 'bout half an hour later, but two of them are stuck. I was kinda' hopin' ya'd teach me to throw things like you do. Anyhow, some of the demon's blood must have gotten' mixed with my blood through one of my wounds; I got the gunk all over my hands, and I had several cuts at the time, and I cut myself a few more times while washin' the knives and peelin' them apart from the sticky yellow mess. Those things are sharp! Anyhow, that must be what Pai Mei meant about carrying demon blood; if some of its blood mixed with my own, it might make wards work on me."

My eyes widen at my own words as understanding dawns on the rest of me and hits me emotionally. If I'm affected by wards, thus I'm not entirely human anymore... at least not for now. I look at my feet and scuff my toe against the hardwood floor before continuing. "I'm definitely human, and don't feel any different... but... part of my blood is the same demon that killed your parents. I'm not sure if that is a temporary or permanent thing, or what all effects it has on me. ... If you can't accept me because of this, I- ... I'll understand." I look into her eyes, pleading. I don't want to lose my new friend. I haven't had a good friend since Ryouga, and I've never really had a girlfr- a good friend that also happens to be a cute girl.

Shiina approaches me and gazes closely into my eyes and face, searching for any hint of falsehood, and finding none; I'm absolutely confident in my enlightened revelation. My whole body feels her closeness, feels the heat radiating from her slightly shorter body, and I simply gaze back. Finally she smiles at me... just a tiny one that lightly dimples the corners of her mouth, and I return it with my own relieved smile.

"Friends?" she finally asks after the interminable pause.

I nod. "Friends."

Then I stand shock still, pigtail pointing straight backwards, as Shiina pulls me into a light hug, and brings her lips lightly and briefly to the corner of mine in a light peck. Then Shiina rests her head upon my shoulder. I feel the wetness of her tears against my cheek. I smell her sweat-wet hair and a light hint of fruity perfume. "Thank you. I... really need a friend right now," she murmurs.

While I stand there, arms at my side and Shiina leaning against me, I feel awkward; the total extent of human contact I've had in almost ten years involves either bruising the other human or receiving bruises in turn. Pop believes showing any sort of affection between guys is 'unmanly', even if it is between father and son. I'm unsure of what to do or say; in the whole of my memory, I've neither received comfort from nor given comfort to anyone. My best friends were guys like Ryouga and Ucchan, with whom I playfully sparred and insulted just as I do with Oyaji; comfort was simply never an issue with them.

However, the position of vulnerability Shiina is in, crying upon my shoulder, demanding comfort, brings to mind those few memories where I've seen a mother comforting a child. Just thinking about it brings back my own hurt, my own loss; my mother, Nodoka, is out there, and I want to feel her embrace, to receive comfort from her.

But it hits me that I'm wanting something Shiina will never experience again. It hurts me, knowing that I can have a mother's love, something Shiina can't ever have again, because my mother is still alive even if remote while hers is not. The thought twists in my heart like a knife. She needs a friend, for she's lost her family. I can be that friend. I WILL be that friend.

Making a best guess at what to do, I wrap an arm around her and simply hold her body against my own, patting her back softly, slowly breathing the sweetly scented air that passes through her hair. After a minute, I whisper into Shiina's cute little ear, "I'll be here for you, for as long as you need me. I promise." For a long while, we hold each other, even as shaven monks silently bring in a few meals on trays and lay them at a nearby table.

"You two are like dogs in heat. Take it to motel! They have special down the street," retorts Pai Mei's voice from a distant chamber, breaking the long silence.

"Shut up you geriatric chimera of tortoise and slug! They say farting is the last act of a dying man. You're an old fart: silent, deadly, and lingering only to raise a stink for the children who follow!" I shout back with a newfound mastery of insults from my recent battle with Pai Mei. I lift my arm from Shiina's back and shake my fist in the priest's general direction.

From that distant chamber, I receive a surprised guffaw of laughter from Pai Mei. It obviously isn't a sound he's used to making. "I've killed men for less, boy. However, I must admire your spirit; you remind me of me. But don't push your luck. For now I request your silence that I may return to my meditations and my monks to theirs," his answer returns like a deep voice from kami, echoing from a distant chamber.

Shiina giggles at our antics, sniffles and rubs her nose lightly with the back of her hand then pushes away from me. After we separate, we move to the trays of food and eat silently. It is almost a hidden tenet of Saotome honor to never pass a chance at free food.

A few minutes later, we leave; I avoid the wards at the gate by jumping over a garden wall.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

Arrgh! I throw the scrolls to the ground in frustration. "They're all in Chinese," I growl angrily. Pai Mei gave me seven scrolls, and excepting a few diagrams and what appears to be a map to someplace in mainland China, I don't understand anything in them.

"So what now?" asks Shiina.

I grab a scroll at random and shove it towards her. "Can you tell me what this one says?" She takes it and begins to peruse its contents.

We've returned to the place where we camped last night... well, camped isn't the word; Shiina and I squatted in an abandoned floor of a skyscraper, like Pop and I sometimes do. I figure it's of the sort that rents out different floors to different folks. For mobility, that is, the ability to jump around while carrying Shiina, I hid my pack here before we left in the morning. At the moment, however, the pack's contents are scattered about so I can build a safe spot within the pack to store the flimsy fragile scrolls.

"It appears to be a series of recipes... rice, chicken, salads, soups, fish, fish heads, and others. A little note at the top says, 'A good student can cook for his master. Be able to prepare each of these dishes to the satisfaction of another.' Maybe Pai Mei wants you to cook for him during your apprenticeship?" says Shiina.

I growl, "So he wants me to cook for him, does he? Well, I-! ... I guess I can deal with that. I do it for Pop, anyhow."

Shiina shrugs. "I'll help you translate these, but I have something I want you to do for me."

"Anything," I respond, shrugging in kind. "What are friends for?"

Shiina glances at me, blushes, then turns away. "I want to be able to jump like you can," she replies sincerely. Her exotic eyes dance longingly across the rooftops of Hong Kong.

"I can help ya', but there ain't really any special trick to it 'cept the breathin' and the thinkin'. Everythin' starts with breathin'. As Pop always says, 'A true martial artist is whole: mind, body, and soul.' Ya' gotta' be unified. But, once you've got that down, ya' just need to work it long n' hard."

For some reason, Shiina blushes again. I pause briefly and blink in response, then continue.

"Anyhow, it will be a LOT of hard work for you. And I dunno' if you'll ever get as good as me; I mean, I'm the best. Most people I've met... err.. well, most people I remember can jump at least one story from a standstill, and many of them can jump 'bout two stories. I can do as much with my pack, even three stories if I push myself. Playin' tag with Pop in Hong Kong 'n other big cities is making me a lot better at the whole jumpin' thing... it's a long fall if you miss a jump around here. Good practice for breakfalls too. Anyhow, I think ya' can train to jump at least two stories if you stay with us 'bout a month or two; you already know some martial arts, so you've got a good start, but I'm not sure how advanced you are. However, a suburb would be a better place to start."

She simply nods, still gazing across Hong Kong.

"I want to ask ya' somethin'," I say a bit nervously. I don't like the idea of asking for help from a girl. "I'd like ya' to teach me to throw things like you can... and maybe basic gun-use n' safety n' stuff. I've done a little paintball, but mostly just dodgin' while wieldin' a paintbrush. I need whatever weapons and skills I can get to fight these demons."

Shiina opens her mouth to respond, then shrieks. Was my request really so awful? However, she's not looking at me. My eyes widen as they trace hers; a yellow streak heads toward the window from a nearby rooftop. CRASH! Shattered glass sprays in our direction. I leap to cover Shiina even as Shiina leaps for cover. Good girl, I think. I end up sprawled upon the ground, and I roll to my feet over shards of broken glass. I hiss in pain as I face my adversary. Directly in front of me is another hellhound, seemingly identical to the one I faced yesterday, excepting all of its limbs are intact; fortunately, it isn't facing me at the moment and is recovering from its own landing.

I launch a fist at the beast, striking its head in the temple. The creature's head snaps away from me and its arm snaps towards me. SLAM! THUMP! I crash against the wall then slide to the ground near my pack, casually tossed aside with a single whip of the beast's three-jointed arm to my chest. The beast shakes its head out of confusion from my blow, then glances about, ignoring my presense, sniffing about intently like a bloodhound with a huge whiff, whiff sound from its beaked snout. "SCREEECH!" the thing belts out its awful high-pitched battlecry.

Something in my head tells me that that someone must be sending the thing after at least one of us, as it doesn't seem Hong Kong is infested with them, but the thought is halted by a scream from Shiina. Think later, act now. The hellhound does the same, and instantly starts loping in her direction, ignoring me.

Dammit! I grab the gun from the ground and chase after the hellhound, cursing myself for my brief inaction and the lack of stopping power in my normal blows. My training up to this point hasn't given me any attacks that can take the thing down, and I'm STILL short a good weapon excepting Officer Kong's gun and however many bullets are left in it. Early this very morning I remember promising to get myself a good weapon. I failed myself, but I'm NOT going to fail Shiina. "Time to DIE, demon!" I shout as I finally catch sight of it down a side hallway. I bounce off the wall to change direction as I barrel towards the creature.

The beast has Shiina backed up into a corner and is approaching it casually, slowly, like it does when it has its prey paralyzed. Thank kami for small favors, I guess; if these creatures just attacked at full force after paralyzing their victims, they'd have killed us all. My ego rebels at the thought, but the rest of me shoots it down; now is not a time for self-deception. I raise the gun to shoot it twice in the back from above, since that is where my bouncing happened to bring me. Click. Click. Damn safety!

"Uh, Shiina, how do I take the safety off?" I ask as I drop towards the creature, which is ignoring me in favor of approaching Shiina casually, slowly, and very very stupidly. My heel lashes in a large arc and smashes into the side of the beast's neck, knocking the hellhound into a nearby wall. It lay there for a moment, making odd gurgling noises instead of breathing normally; however, it immediately takes action to get back up. I take that moment to grab the still paralyzed girl and crash through the nearest door... into a long abandoned women's restroom. However, I hardly notice my surroundings.

"Shiina, you okay? Snap out of it!" I demand. When she doesn't respond, I pat her cheek in a light slap. My guts twist at the tactic; it is too close to a true blow. "Shiina! Wake up! Hurry!"

"Huh? Ranma?" she asks, shivering a bit as control returns to her and life returns to her eyes. I gesture to her with my handgun, holding it by the barrel. She directs her eyes to my gun tnen snatches it from my hand, performs a swift sequence of motions, and immediately returns it to me. I miss most of what she does, and don't understand the rest.

"Hey! If ya' don't show me how to do it, I'll never learn!" I whine. I grip the gun and point it towards the doorway, placing my finger lightly over the trigger. BANG! The gun uselessly attempts to buck out of my powerful grip. "Oops." A hole now decorates the door to the women's restroom. This gun has a hair trigger if ever there was one.

"Dammit, Ranma! Now is NOT the time for lessons, but don't put your damn finger on the damn trigger until you're damn well ready to shoot! Got it?" Shiina shouts at me. She draws Jun Dee's gun from within her gi and also directs it towards the doorway.

"Damn straight," I agree. I glance at how Shiina's gripping her pistol, and rest my finger alongside the trigger guard as she is doing. "Okay! Let's kill us a hellhound!" I shout eagerly. "If it don't come to us, I'm goin' after it."

"I wouldn't be quite so eager to approach that thing, Ranma, but I'll cover you," Shiina replies. She stays behind me and to my left as I approach the door.

"Screech!" The awful sound is muffled by the doorway. THUMP. The doorway swings open; a yellow beak pokes in followed by a pair of fiery orange-red eyes. I immediately focus my vision on the ground below it.

"Don't look into its eyes!" I hiss at Shiina, glancing back to look at her. I'm too late; the gun in her hands clatters to the bathroom floor and she stands there gazing at the beast. I swivel my head back to the creature in time to see it twisting awkwardly into the narrow hallway entry to the restroom and crouching to leap towards us. Its breathing still seems uneven; the earlier blow to its neck must have hurt it more severely than I suspected. I aim my gun at the beast, without looking up from its feet. BANG! BANG! The sound hurts my ears and echoes loudly from the bathroom walls.

"SCREEECH!" The thing shrieks in pain and rage. It leaps towards Shiina. Yellow ichor spurts from a wound in its side where one of my bullets found entry. The other bullet apparently missed.

Acting without thinking, I leap in front of Shiina to absorb the blow, realizing belatedly that simply moving her out of the way would be more effective. The beast's claws lash out towards me, knocking me backwards, tearing into my burnt gi and chest. The gun is knocked from my hand and I fly backwards, bowling into Shiina behind me. Again acting on instinct, I flip behind her and absorb the blow with the wall.

Damn! It's going to take more hits than that.

Then... boom. The sound is dull, muted, but the effects are not. Even as the beast leaps towards our now prone bodies, it suddenly explodes violently, spraying yellow ichor and body parts on everything in the room, including Shiina and me. The head of the beast somehow ends up in the bathroom sink, while one of its two arms ends up draped over a bathroom stall.

Somehow, I reason, whatever I just shot into the hellhound exploded and took the beast with it. Nice gun, I think appreciatively, or at the very least a nice bullet. "That worked better than I expected," I say. Then I push myself to my feet, shifting out from under Shiina, and frown disgustedly as I wipe off several pieces of unidentifiable flesh. I grab the thing's foreleg and pull it off of Shiina, who was covered by many more of the beast's body parts than me because she shielded me from the worst. The foreleg is easily twelve to fifteen pounds.

Shiina puts her good hand on a clean spot on the ground and pushes herself to her feet, wobbling a bit. I grab her shoulders to support her. She examines her clothing and mine, frowning in similar disgust to my own. Then her frown changes from disgust to despair. "No," she whispers morosely. "I'm not going to become like you, am I? I'm not going to become part demon because of this... this goo?"

I shake my head and artificially bolster the confidence in my voice... something I'm used to doing. "No; it doesn't look like you have any wounds for the blood to enter. Anyhow, umm... let's wash up." Then I look at the sink with the head in it; every other sink and the mirror also has yellow ichor sprayed all over it. "Err... and let's go to the other bathroom first."

Shiina simply looks down at herself dejectedly, so I grab her to myself and carry her out of the women's restroom and into the men's.

As I begin to set her down, my gi tugs me to immediately fall forward atop her. I land with my lips pressed against hers. She immediately widens her mouth, closes her eyes, and deepens the kiss. Warmth surges through my body as her warm breath plays upon my lips, nose, and ears. For a few seconds, I lay there, simply enjoying the sensations without doing much to either kiss back or pull away, allowing her to lead. Then I sink into the kiss, close my own eyes, deepen it, and wrap an arm around her body. I pull her close to me.

But then I feel her tongue reach into my mouth and touch my own. I push away, panicking, and lift myself off the ground. However, my gi pulls up on hers, glued via glob of sticky yellow ichor. I blush madly as her soft round breasts come into view. She blushes at me in return. I hurriedly reach out and close her gi once more, and end up with my face again next to hers because doing so pulled me right back down.

She gazes into my eyes; her own hover no more than an inch away. I feel her breath play upon my face. Then a small smile comes to her lips, lightly dimpling the corners of her mouth. "Baka Hentai," she says, softly. Then she reaches up and pecks me on my lips once again with her own.

"Uh, err... it seems we're stuck together," I manage to say, backing off and panicking at how this position and her actions are making me feel. As I feel myself begin to harden against her leg, I pull away in embarrasment. I once again blush madly. To escape, I slip out of my burnt and torn gi-top and leave it attached to hers. "Sorry!Gotta'gowashup!" I rush to the nearest sink and splash my face with cold water a few times before beginning to wash my hands. I almost feel Shiina's eyes dancing on my back.

"You're no fun at all," she pouts. In the mirror, I watch her push get back up off the floor, tearing the sticky goo from the tile. She walks up behind me until she's no more than a few inches from my back; the feeling of her warmth and closeness is stronger than ever. "You saved my life again," she starts, speaking throatily.

Feeling even more embarrased, I break in, "Ah, it was nuthin'."

"NO!" she shouts. "It was NOT nothing. You saved my LIFE, Ranma, and my life is not nothing. And since you saved it -," she pauses and takes a deep breath.

Flustered, I stick my foot in my mouth again. "I mean, it was just my duty. A martial artist protects the weak. You were weak, so I protected ya'."

Shiina's gold-speckled violet eyes gain a little fire. She growls, "You better learn to keep that foot out of your mouth, Ranma; you might need it to run."

"Hey! I sure ain't got no foot in my mouth! I was thinkin' 'bout that tongue!" I shout. Then, realizing what I just said, my hand rises to cover my mouth and I blush a deep red.

A petulant smile wipes away Shiina's expression of anger, replacing it with one far more sultry in nature. "Would you like my tongue in your mouth again?" she asks throatily and very bluntly.

"Ah! I didn't mean it like that!" I say, backing away and waving my hands franticly.

Shiina looks sullenly at the floor and scuffs a toe against the tile. "You didn't like it?"

"No! That ain't what I said! It was- Err..." I blush briefly, but compose myself when Shiina's eyes meet mine. "Listen, Shiina; you don't owe me nuthin'. I ain't gonna' ask ya' to kiss me just cuz' I saved ya' or nuthin'. Yer' my friend and that's enough reason to save ya' a dozen times." I blush again with a silly grin and add, "If we kiss, it should be fer' love. Okay?"

"I do... I didn't... I did... I-" Shiina halts her broken reply as tears well up in her eyes. Then she looks crestfallen at her feet once more and, without looking back up at me, she turns around and rushes out of the restroom.

I blink a few times, feeling a little sick at making a girl cry and wondering where I went wrong.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

Feeling a bit pissed-off that we didn't get back to kissing, despite my protests, I sit and work off my frustrations while packing my oversized bag. I had hoped... what had I hoped? Did I really expect her to say she loved me and therefore we could keep on kissing? I look down at the half-eaten bag of rice in my hands, then stuff it into a large pot before shoving both forcefully to the bottom of the bag.

Is that what I really wanted? A declaration of love? How can I expect such? I don't think I could say that to her... and if I did, I think I'd be lying. My body definitely reacted to her heat and rythym, but my heart did not. There was no romance, only passion. I hardly know her... this beautiful girl called Shiina. I don't even know her family name. Could I fall in love with her? What the heck is love anyway? Hell if I know; the closest example I got is whatever makes me stick with my Pop despite the abuse he sends my way in the name of trainin', and I sure ain't sendin' none of that Shiina's direction.

So what sort of relationship do I want with her? Well, kami knows I could use a friend. And then there's the more professional trading of techniques and training and translating Chinese. However, do I want something more? Yes. The answer comes easily. But how much more do I want? I don't know. I do know that I enjoyed the kiss, despite the rather unsavory setting, the floor of a men's restroom while the two of us were covered in demon gore. Yes, I think I'd like more kissing.

Hmmmm. I inhale deeply through my nose, relaxing as I take in Shiina's natural scent... the odor of her sweat, skin, and the natural oils of her hair; a hint of some sort of fruity perfume; her exciting, natural musk; and sterile hospital soap. The collection relaxes me and excites me; it brings the memory of the kiss right strongly into my mind, elicits an erection, and causes me to grin stupidly and stare blankly at a wall for several seconds. Then I blink a few times and recognize what I'm holding under my nose between my hands; it is the bedding Shiina used last night. Baka Hentai, indeed. Embarrassed, I hurriedly fold and stuff it into my bag then look around franticly to make sure nobody saw me.

Heh. I'm safe. With renewed determination and focus, I continue to pack my bag.

Well, I'd definitely like to kiss with Shiina again, and to feel her, to taste her lips. More than that, just imagining my hands wandering her curves makes me shiver in excitement. However, maybe it is better that we are just friends for now. It isn't as though I can stay for long anyways, and I doubt I can convince Pop to let her come with us. And, like Pop said, she belongs with her family. I should concentrate on getting her back to her family.

And then, everything is packed.

Well, almost everything... lying at my knees are the two guns I pulled from the little girl's room. The guns are splattered with yellow gunk like American abstract art. While they still appear to be functional, I'd rather wait for Shiina's pronouncement on the subject. For a long while, I stare at the pistols, unsure of what to do with them or how to transport them safely. I'm sure I don't want to pack them or try to clean them until I'm confident they won't fire by accident.

I glance around, hoping for Shiina to have returned, but I'm outta' luck. I haven't seen her since she ran crying earlier. I know I won't be able to find her unless she wants to be found; Hong Kong is a big place. However, I should go look for her; I made her cry therefore I should make it better.

I grab the bag and gingerly pick up the two guns and move the lot of them into a janitorial closet, the same place I hid my bag this morning.

Hope and despair wage a war. What did I say to make her run? Is she safe? What if she is attacked by another of those beasts? I wonder if this is how Pop feels when I occasionally disappear on him?

I begin my search for the girl with the prettiest violet eyes.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

"Yo, Pop! You haven't seen Shiina come by, have ya'?" I ask the quivering mound of snoring flesh.

Baka Oyaji blearily opens an eye and rolls it lazilly towards my direction. He yawns loudly. "Boy? What happened to your gi? Did you find a temple willing to teach you?"

I nod. "Yeah, but the guy set me some tasks before I could join. He used this really cool move called Hiseiken, which started his fists on white fire; they burned my clothes pretty severely." I blink. "I also created my own move while fightin' him."

Genma sits up. "Created your own move, boy? What sort of move is it?"

"I called it Zenkeigan. It sorta separated part of my mind from my body, enhanced my perception, and let me see all around me at once."

"Ranma, I must warn you, mastery of techniques that affect your mind can be very powerful, but can change you fundamentally. It may be more useful to simply speed up your brain, like any other body part. However, I'm proud of you, m'boy; you're already creating your own school of techniques. That is the ultimate extension of the Masubetsu Kakuto Ryuu." A tear comes to Genma's eye. "Can you raise an aura at will yet?"

I give it a try, but nothing happens. "Ummm... no."

Genma nods sagely. "Then more experience is necessary, and eventually meditation once you have a good handle on raising your aura in battle. Anyhow, you had a question?"

I blink. "Oh, yeah, have you seen Shiina?"

"Why are you looking for her?" Genma asks with a hint of hostility.

"We were attacked by another demon, and, err... well, she ran off after."

Oyaji raises an eyebrow. "Another demon, boy? Your memory fails you again. She fell from a tree. I thought my boy could distinguish trees from demons... oh, how I've failed to raise my own flesh and blood." False tears stream down Oyaji's face. "What sort of tree did she fall from this time?"

I roll my eyes. Of course, he doesn't remember; that evil device, the neuralizer, stole his memory. "Heh. An Oak, Pop. A tall one. We were playin' hide 'n seek, but I just want to find her, now." I grin. "Have you seen her?"

Genma sighs at his feet, then looks up at me again. "No, boy. But, if she does come by, and I'm awake, I'll let her know you came. I'll be ready to go in the morning."

"You heal kinda slow, Pop. Just like an old man."

"You're just lucky it wasn't your intestines ripped up, boy. With this injury, I can't eat properly; without food, I can't heal properly. It's taking a while."

I nod. "Well, I'm goin' back out to look for her some more."

Baka Oyaji lays his head back down on the pillow and instantly starts snoring. I blink a few times. Good form, Pop.

Then I turn towards the exit and sigh. I've searched everywhere I could think of for her, and I have not yet found her. I guess I'll train some katas I haven't yet mastered, and just wait and hope back at that skyscraper.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

After finally performing a satisfactory Rampage of the Angry Monkeys, Zoot Suit Riot, and Rumble in the Bronx, I move onto a fourth kata I had not yet mastered: Three Blind Mice and the Farmer's Wife. There's a huge series of Three Blind Mice trials; their purpose is to aid in group combat and blind fighting, and identifying enemies from allies.

I firmly deny responsibility for naming these katas, and my Pop only shudders when I ask who did name them.

A large part of katas, in general, is proper visualization. Part of the reason the Masubetsu Kakuto Ryuu focuses so much on speed is that it is impossible to properly visualize all the effects of getting hit during a kata, so we don't focus on learning to absorb hits; by mastering visualization and speed, you can combat real opponents just like you do in the katas. Three Blind Mice is difficult because I must remove a huge chunk the visualization element from the kata, and instead focus on the sounds. the feel of heat differentials, the sense of nature around me, and more. It isn't something I'm used to doing.

As I said to Shiina earlier, a huge part of martial arts involves thinkin' and breathin'... and bein', I guess. Only fake martial arts, like those taught in America, focus entirely on doing... the proper physical motions. You could teach a robot those, and they'd be strong fighters, but they'd still be missing the true martial arts. Well, on the other hand, robots can make up for missing true martial arts with arms and muscles of steel, and five-hundred horsepower engines. Those do go a long way... like a gun. Even fantastic martial artists can easily lose to guns if they aren't trained in cover and approach and to gain a sense of when someone's pulling a bead on them. Both Pop and I were covered in paint our first few days with the JSDF and American troops. Not even I can outrun cars on a highway for longer than a few seconds, and that would dust my poor shoes and scorch my feet. Only the poor state of AI prevents robot warriors from being as strong as they are in the movies.

However, those robots would be missing something, just as I'm still missing something to master this kata. What I'm missing, Pop always said I'll gain only through practice during combat. However, I'm not sure that is true; as it is, only the bit of training I've had in blind fighting and meditation allows me to perform this kata at all. What he said to me earlier rings in my ears... he said I should gain experience through combat, and then meditation. Pai Mei wanted to focus on his meditations before I left. This particular kata is ultimately more spiritual than physical. It isn't something a robot could do. Perhaps what I'm missing for it should involve some meditation.

So, after a few aborted attempts at Three Blind Mice and the Farmer's Wife, I sit down in lotus position: sitting upright, legs folded, wrists on my knees, and palms cupped upwards. Then I close my eyes and begin meditative breathing. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to do from here. Pop never taught me more than the rudiments of mediation except a few buzz-phrases about 'clearing my mind' and 'visualization' and the meditative breathing. The Three Blind Mice can wait; for now I need to master meditation. Maybe what I really need to do is 'be' empty, mind, body, and spirit... like Pop said over icecream. Maybe meditation is supposed to be a state similar to the Zenkeigan.

So, how does one 'be' empty? Well, starting with the body... I could try fasting, but that isn't the sort of empty I'd prefer to use regularly for meditation, and I know Pop wouldn't approve. Perhaps I just need to relax properly, to remove all tension. Pop mentioned something like that once. I open my eyes and decide to spend a few minutes stretching and calming down. A few particularly knotted muscles cause mild discomfort in my back. I stretch them as best I can; it is unfortunate Pop ain't here to give me a good massage like he always does when I need one. After I figure I've done enough, I sit back into lotus position and focus on breathing. The meditative breathing, surprisingly, relaxes me far further, to the point I'm almost melting like butter and only the interlocking bones in lotus position keeps me upright. Further, focusing on my breathing begins to empty my mind.

Perhaps Pop knows what he's talking about. He usually does, even if he is Baka Oyaji when it comes to anything outside the martial arts. I just wish he explained the whole unification thing years ago. Zenkeigan would have made it a lot easier to steal techniques from other schools, for sure.

That leaves only my troubled spirit... troubled by Shiina's absence, demon attacks, Oyaji's condition. Even as I focus on breathing, I still feel that bit of tension.

So, what does a Martial Artist do or say to ease those tensions? How would I handle it if situations were worse, like if Pop had died instead of merely been injured? That thought forces me to open my eyes and drop out of meditative position.

Even if I can empty myself of those thoughts, how does one take care of the stress, when one can't do anything to solve the problems behind it? Many things are beyond my control, I remind myself. Li Ling Ling told me that sometimes I need to be a warrior... does that mean focusing on what I can control? Does that mean focusing on the now? Is that somehow related to meditation?

Unable to relax again, and with many questions on my mind, I start working for mastery of the Zoot Suit Riot kata. Satisfactory performance is only a start... it simply means I can start working on speed and perfection.

What the heck is a Zoot Suit, anyhow? And who the hell named this kata? "Maybe it was my father's master... Pai Mei mentioned someone called Happosai," I mutter.

And then there is no more time for thought as the kata speeds up.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

Far away, in the Japanese Hida mountains, buried under a large boulder covered in Shinto wards, there is a loud sneeze.

"Why, that's the third time today. I wonder who's talking about me? Well, I'll have to thank them for waking me up. Just as soon as I get outta' here... let's just tear out of these chains."

CLATTER. THUMP. "Ouch." Sniff, sniff. "Ungrateful bastards sealed me in a cave. How long have I been out? It couldn't be for more than a few days. That was some damn good sake they gave me, but even Jesus had a damned fine last supper. Well, they sure made a mistake when they failed to finish me off. Yes, indeed, they made a mistake... and I'll make them pay for it. Oh, yes. I'll make them pay."

THUMP. Thump. CRASH! KRAAACK. BOOM! Crumble.

"Ah, the sweet scent of mountain air." Yawn. "What a fine place for a nap."

Clunk.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

Genma shivers in his sleep, and begins dreaming of a great evil. "No! Not again, Master! Don't skip out on another bill! Noooo!"

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

CRASH!

"Oh, my!"

"Kasumi, dear, what's wrong?"

"The family altar! It just fell."

Soun shivers and stiffens. "This is an ill omen indeed."

"Father?"

"Don't worry dear. But, I must go check our stock portfolio. I'll be back to help pick this up in just a bit." He turns around stiffly and begins marching towards the phone.

Kasumi frowns, just a tiny bit, then begins cleaning up the altar. It doesn't do to disrespect their mother like that.

(ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

AUTHOR NOTES:

Eating properly cooked rice is good for your wounds. It holds you together from the inside. You know it's properly cooked when it's nice and sticky and gooey, like glue.

-- Genma Saotome, on Rice.

--

New Techniques:

Gotenhira Happashin: very roughly: five point palm exploding heart... although the Japanese behind this is really iffy. Better suggestions are welcome. This technique causes a person's heart to explode; it was actually used by Pai Mei last chapter, ending the fight with Ranma, but was not named at that time. The technique hits five pressure points on the body with fingertips, and after taking five steps the heart explodes.