Guest Ki: Chapter 39

Like the Wind

Ranma was exhausted. It wasn't that Barry's work was difficult; Barry's body was well adapted to the schedule. It was the nights. Gwen kept encroaching. It was unnerving. He would start out on his side, a heating pad against his back for appearance's sake, and within an hour after he got in bed, she would be resting her back against his. An hour later, she would be half-draped over him. If he fell asleep, he would soon be draped over her. He also discovered that you didn't have to be awake to respond to affectionate advances.

Ranma had been dreaming when his thoughts turned to Akane. He had had a few good dreams himself, about his 'un-cute' fiancée, having her smiling at him with that smile of hers and feeling her hand stroke across his chest, as he wished she would do. The hand steadily moved lower and his dream began to have 'lime'tints to it. He strove for control. It was through control he had managed to retain his honor and refuse to respond to Shampoo and Kodachi's advances. It was through control that one aspect of his girl-type's nervous system was largely unexplored territory. It was through control he kept from betraying to everyone just where his feelings lay when it would have signed Akane's death warrant. His control was really lacking tonight. Both he and Barry practiced control even in their dreams, a necessity when those dreams regularly involved all senses in full color. That phantom hand was really, really beginning to get a response. Akane smiled and pressed closer, began to nibble at his earlobe. Ranma turned and inadvertently Akane's toenail, on the foot beginning to caress his calf, jabbed his leg, bringing a sharp little jolt of pain to the dream. Ranma Saotome suddenly realized it wasn't entirely a dream.

"Ow! Oh, crap! Damn that hurts," he howled. He rolled away from those tempting sensations and strove to figure out what to do next. Gwen surged up in the bed.

"What! What? What's wrong?" she agonized.

He felt like a heel. "Oooh, man!" Ranma rolled to a sitting position and slumped there, as if afraid to move. He jerked when she touched his back lightly. "Sorry, Gwen. I got a bad twinge there."

"You sounded like you were being killed! Are you all right?"

"I guess. I think I turned the wrong way or something."

"Maybe we should go back to the doctor," Gwen said. Turning on the bedside lamp, she regarded what she thought was her husband in the dim light it cast. "Just to be sure."

"Oh, I'll be all right," he replied. Actually, he had trouble believing that. He seemed to have lost the Nekoken and he suspected it might be a critical component to returning home. With Barry being a cat lover, he would never activate the Nekoken unless he somehow found something he feared as much. Unlike himself, Barry seemed to be a fairly well adjusted man. His best hope, Ranma decided, was to contact an expert in ki in this world and hope they knew enough to start him in the right direction.

Gwen glanced at the clock and sighed. "It's just about time to get up anyway." She flung back her long brown hair and slid the strap of her nightgown back up her shoulder. Then Barry's wife turned a very hot look on the bed's other occupant. "And just when things were getting... interesting," she purred.

"You mean painful," Ranma corrected. He winced at her crestfallen look. "Hey, it won't be forever," he consoled and really felt bad. What if it was? "At least your sister's schedule lets Brendan sleep in, instead of packing him along with us every morning." Gwen's older sister also lived in the house but was gone at work most of the day. "Getting a seven year old up at 4:30 A.M. is ridiculous!"

"Let's get this over with." She swung out of bed and Ranma let Barry's body slide into the morning routine. He had never considered how instinctive some things were. Of course, with his lifestyle, only in the last two years had he begun to develop routines at all, aside from martial arts. They dressed, ate breakfast and Gwen drove him to work.

Bob was still out of town and his wife obviously didn't want to loan books from his library without asking him. Ranma, disgruntled, went through the daily duties. It was a slow day. In part, this was due to the fact that Ranma no longer tried to avoid the cats. Things went too smoothly. He was used to turmoil, opportunities to exercise his skills. He cleaned stalls, fed and watered the horses, repaired stalls and looked over the list of extra things to do. All the time, as he had for three days now, he tested and pushed at this body's ability to augment or project ki. So far, he hadn't even managed a spark. He could feel things, but it was as if the entire body was imbedded in glue. He was, frankly, getting discouraged. He managed the healing trick, but that needed to be realigned every day. He had to fight for every inch then sink his fingers in and claw for more. He wasn't even sure yet whether he was making progress. Then, at mid-day, when he went up to the loft to throw down the hay, he noticed Mary walking quickly over to the third aisle.

"Hey, Mary! Could you check to see if there are any cats in the hay chute?" It was common for many of the cats to jump into the bin at the bottom of the chute when they wanted a soft warm bed to lie on. A forty to sixty pound bale could do the little animals serious injury, so it was procedure to ask someone to clear the landing zone.

"Gotta wait, Barry," came her reply. "Bob asked me to give Shantz his medicine every day, and I have to do it before he eats." Shantz, an older bay gelding, belonged to a couple that rode maybe five or six times a year. Calm and steady, he developed an irregular case of colic they were treating with a medicine administered in honey to hide the taste. The horse thought it was a treat.

Ranma leaned over the edge of the chute and looked for cats. There were at least five in plain view. He threw some handfuls of hay at them but all that happened were twitching ears as they ignored him. Ranma grumbled to himself. He really didn't want to go all the way down there, but...

Mary shrieked. Ranma's head snapped up. An odd, thrashing sound was coming from the back of the third aisle. "Barry, I need help!" came her cry.

From his vantage in the loft, he saw what was wrong. Perhaps the horse had reared and struck at the animal in the stall next to it. Perhaps Mary had startled the animal, though he was normally fairly calm. The result was the entrapment of the horse's front legs by its iron-shod hooves, the mesh of the fence jammed between hoof and shoe to hold the horse in an odd, outstretched position. Moments later, Ranma slid into the stall, and ducked under the horse. Pressing his shoulders against its chest, he strained and took the weight off the animal's legs.

"Try to unhook the shoes," he gasped. Mary pushed upward on the back of the hooves. The horse, unconcerned now as Ranma was supporting its weight, brought its head down and snorted in his face. "Real funny, Shantz!" He pushed up more strongly and felt the animal rise. Mary managed to unhook the right shoe. The leg swung back to vertical but remained off the floor of the stall by some six inches. Finally, she got the other shoe unhooked and Ranma squatted, letting the horse resume carrying its own weight. He ducked out from under the animal and leaned against the side of the stall. Shantz seemed unconcerned. The left shoe was pulled partly off.

"We hafta get hold of Bob, Mary. That shoe has ta come off and we gotta check ta see if this lamed him at all." It was only then he realized they had an audience.

Bob looked at them critically. "What is going on here?"

Ranma huffed and nodded to Mary. She would have seen the cause of it, after all.

"I was giving Shantz his medicine and Parody, the mare in the stall beside Shantz, ran her teeth over the screen." Bob nodded impatiently. The horses often did this as an intimidation tactic to other horses. It was harmless, in itself, but produced a terrific stick-on-picket-fence racket. "Shantz put his ears back, reared up and waved his feet at her. I never saw him do that before!" She was close to tears. "His feet got stuck in the screen and I yelled for help. Then Barry came and…" She suddenly looked at Ranma as if seeing a kappa or other unusual beast. "…Barry came and picked Shantz up high enough to let me unhook his shoes."

Ranma found himself the focus of two sets of eyes. "I couldn't see any other way of getting him loose. The last I saw the wire cutters, they were over at your house," he said shrugging. "I couldn't leave him just hang there."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Bob demanded.

Barry met the other's eyes with a look that was rapidly growing cold despite the heat of the day. "Your wife called half an hour ago and said she was going to the store. Your daughters haven't been around all day. You, as far as I knew, weren't back yet!" He glared back now feeling very misused. "Just whom was I supposed to call?"

"You should have tried to call before you came over," Bob insisted. "Where were you when this happened?"

Ranma pointed to the loft.

Bob turned back to him with an almost smug look on his face. "You would have had to come down the stairs, right past the phones. You should have..."

"I didn't come down the stairs," Ranma protested, realizing, even as he spoke, that this was strictly true. He hadn't used the stairs to the loft. "I jumped."

Bob stared at him as if he were crazy.

"You... jumped? You're just getting back from your fall and you're jumping down fifteen feet? If you are not more careful, I will have to fire you."

"I... saved... that... horse!" Ranma snarled. "If Shantz stayed that way much longer, he woulda broke a leg or yanked his muscles all outa whack. I made sure that didn't happen and I have yet to hear a 'thank you'." Ranma slid out of the stall. "I also haven't heard why the horse you promised I would train was sold without even telling me. Talk about calling! You have my number."

"Don't forget yourself! It was my horse and I will sell my horses when I feel like it."

Ranma felt his fists tighten. "Yes, Buddy was your horse. But I was training him. You could have let me know."

Bob waved dismissively. The gesture was easy to interpret — 'I do what I want here.' "Watch your step, Barry! You are skating on thin ice!" He turned and walked away, stopping in the cross aisle to glance down at something on the ground. He looked back to where Ranma stood with Mary and then hurried on.

"Jerk," Ranma said under his breath.

"You should just walk out on him," Mary said, incensed. "It would serve him right."

Ranma let out a long cleansing breath. "That would be quitting, and quitting is not my style." He walked over to where Bob had looked down.

There, deeply and clearly imprinted in the hard dirt floor of the aisle-way, was the imprint of his boots set side by side. He looked up to the loft. He had been standing right up there, when Mary had called, fifteen feet up... and nearly forty feet away. Suddenly, despite Bob, despite everything else that day, he felt like smiling. He had it back, his ki-techniques! Now, he could really begin to try to get back home.

'I'm comin,' Akane!' he thought exultantly. Somehow, it felt as if she answered him.

"Okay... Here's where we stand. The scroll Ryoga turned up detailed in part, how to isolate and treat the various layers of the aura for purposes of spiritual healing." Barry ticked off the list of concepts they would be using in this latest attempt to return Ranma to his own body. "Akane believes, using residuals from some locks of his hair cut before I came and clothing I haven't used, that she has managed to work out Ranma's ki signature. Along with the technique she developed for tracking people, we're going to try to at least contact Ranma."

They were using the Tendo garden, both because of the nice weather and because it was enjoyable yet calming to sit there. Soun and Genma had taken to kneeling just at the water's edge as they talked. And Kasumi, when she fed the koi, would often seat herself beside the pond as well. The fathers had set up a Shogi game there one evening, only to discover they were very uncomfortable cheating within the geography of the garden. As this was an integral part of their game strategy, Shogi, Go and Mahjong were moved back to the porch. While they played, the rest of the family enjoyed the garden's virtues undisturbed.

Now, in a circle around Barry sat Ryoga, Ukyo and Akane. Ryoga seemed calm and unconcerned, Akane was excited and pensive, Ukyo was thoughtful and watchful but the garden seemed to diminish her animosity considerably. "Obviously, Ranma's body and organ functions have remained the same. We think Ranma's astral layer went with him as, obviously, did his mind." Ukyo nodded, as did the others. This seemed a reasonable set of assumptions. "Where we have trouble is at the level of the soul. I have difficulty believing the soul could be separated from the mind. I feel that, at least while we're alive, the mind holds the same relationship to the soul as the organ functions do to the body. I admit that I have no evidence to support that belief and it could spring from my Judeo-Christian upbringing." Akane shifted nervously.

"Akane feels that Ranma's soul is still attached to this body. Either that, or Ranma and I have souls so nearly identical that she can't tell the difference, and I have trouble believing that!" Ukyo nodded, while Ryoga simply frowned and absorbed what was said. "In astral projection, there is a lot of talk about a silver thread that extends from the body to the projection. Notice, by the way, Ryoga, that almost all of the literature in aura projection deals only with astral events? It is the one unpaired level in the body." Ryoga nodded absently. He had been investigating a few things, himself. His oddly organized aura still puzzled not only Barry and Akane, but Cologne as well. "What we plan to do is resonate the soul layer in the hopes of finding a similar thread or other mechanism that links to wherever Ranma's mind is. Akane will be scanning me in an attempt to at least recognize that we can reach him."

"Why Akane?" Ukyo said finally. The saving grace was that there was no accusation in her words, only questioning.

"So far, Akane is the only person we can trust who can do the tracking business," Barry answered. "I haven't been able to duplicate it, nor has Ryoga. Mousse can do it, if he's real familiar with the pattern he's looking for, but it's an effort. Cologne can't... or says she can't. Shampoo obviously can't. You can't, Ukyo, because you dropped out of the ki-training when you found out about me." Ukyo flushed and thrust out her chin belligerently. "I'm not criticizing you, Ukyo, just pointing out facts," Barry sighed. "Ryoga, you watch from outside. Akane's going to use me as a radio receiver to see if we can reach him. Then we'll..."

"Nihau!" Shampoo and Mousse came around the side of the dojo. Ryoga nodded and glanced at Barry while Akane froze. They quickly tried to come to an unspoken agreement over how they should handle this. Naturally, it fell to Barry.

"Hi, Shampoo, Mousse. What're you doing here so early?"

It was the first full week of Amazon month and the dates were the weirdest assortment imaginable of perverts, gossips and other maladjusted girls and guys. Barry had gently beaten three jealous boyfriends and avoided two attempts to get him into bed. And when he wasn't dealing with strange girls and their plans...

"Is Wednesday. Always slow. Grandmother say can leave early." Shampoo knelt down, joining the circle and basking in the sense of comfort the garden gave. "What airen and others doing?"

...Shampoo or Kuno or Kodachi would drop in, to inadvertently delay their search for Ranma. Shampoo was far less unwelcome than she had been in the past. Now the only persons Barry needed to avoid glomps from were Tatewaki or Happosai. Today, Shampoo was wearing a deep red silk dress with white and violet flowers. Mousse wore light blue with the black diamond patterns that seemed to be a symbol of his art.

"Shampoo," Barry said significantly. He was beginning to suspect that her mangling of the language was a deliberate ploy for attention. She stuck out her tongue but spoke again.

"All right! (sigh!) It is Wednesday. Business is always slow on Wednesdays. My Grandmother said we could leave early and come over to see how your date was going." She huffed then winked. "Is okay?"

"Better," Barry smiled. "As fer me, my date fer today was afraid to go out with me. I think her friends made her put her name in. So anyway, she lets me walk her home, then jumped through the door and locked it in my face. I guess it coulda been worse." He gestured to the others. "Since my date's not around, I figured we could do some research, and here we are."

Mousse cleaned his specs on his sleeve, but placed them up on his head. He had greater confidence these days and kept the pair of glasses only for reading purposes. The confidence showed in his bearing and in his approach to Shampoo. He didn't glomp or follow her desperately around. He was a supportive presence and Shampoo obviously liked that. To Barry's eyes, Shampoo and Mousse were becoming closer. He hoped that some day, they might become something more. "What are you researching, Saotome?" asked Mousse.

Ranma's guest hesitated. It wouldn't hurt for them to observe. "We're tryin' ta see if there's a link between the mind and the soul. I mean, the body needs the... humors, or organ function levels. I think the mind is linked with the soul the same way. It might explain why the astral is so significant in ki-techniques."

"As it might act as a mediator between the reality we perceive and the reality we aspire to," finished Mousse.

"Shampoo saw a scroll about that when studying magic with Great-grandmother in China. Don't remember what say, but I think it about links like that," the Amazon offered.

Barry looked about and shrugged. Akane took his hands.

"Why Akane do that?" Shampoo wanted to know, the 'little green monster' rearing up slightly.

"Better contact, Shampoo. Ryoga is watchin' the forest, Akane is watchin' the tree. Hopefully, between the two, we can come up with some answers."

"Mousse, help Akane watch tree. Make sure she no scuff bark," Shampoo said pertly. Akane flushed and began to retort.

"No problem. Mousse, if ya don't mind holdin' hands, just put them above and below. Yeah, like that." Akane shot him a worried look but he smiled reassuringly. Mousse was not likely to understand what he was seeing.

He quickly centered himself, dropping into the mindset that allowed easy access to the ki techniques. He began the process of separating the levels for observation. It was important not to isolate the layers as Barry did on his first attempt to find Ranma with nearly tragic results.

"It almost looks like a diffraction grating," Mousse observed, equating the results of his actions to a physics experiment with light. "Where do you plan to start?"

"Here," Barry said, pulsing the outermost levels. "We're lookin' to see where levels link up. We experimented a little with astral projection and there's a thread, sorta, that links back to anchors in body and soul, and it seems to share in all the other layers. I wanna see what happens if we vibrate or excite the energy levels of mind and soul."

There was a long moment of silence. Mousse shifted uneasily and commented, "This feels a little like a séance. The Elders discourage them."

"Any idea why?" asked Barry. Mousse's statement made him nervous. His own research had warned him that séances could attract dangerous influences, but had been unclear about the type or how to deal with them. If what he was doing was a séance or like one...

"The usual; evil kami, demons, unfriendly spirits. According to the Elders, you should have a Guide, a Goal and…" He thought a moment, then shrugged slightly. "I don't really know. Séances are mostly woman's magic. They don't let men in on it, really."

"Shampoo," Barry asked softly, maintaining his level of concentration but becoming wary, "can you add anything?"

"No. Only know Great-grandmother say very dangerous. Séance is a spiritual search. But there are other things besides spirits. Is why séance needs special treatment. Even prepared, it dangerous. Might attract hunters."

"Hunters?"

"Yes. Hunt spirits between worlds, always hungry. They called oni in Japanese. Many types; all full of hunger for ones who remember world. Should have holy object or special prayers to keep away."

"How pleasant," Mousse quipped, pale.

"I feel something," Akane said.

"Shall I break off?" Barry asked.

"No. Just let me listen."

Barry stopped the vibration of his outer levels and sat still. Had Akane located Ranma?

"Barry, something's coming!" Ryoga exclaimed. He could feel something.

Tears suddenly rolled down Akane's cheeks, yet she was smiling. Barry dared to hope.

Then a directionless wind struck down on them, a vertical tornado of power that flattened the waters of the pond and drove out from the three holding hands. Instinctively, Barry raised his arms and yelped as six welts suddenly sprang up on his arm like the brand of whiplash. Mousse and Akane were knocked sprawling. Shampoo, Ukyo and Ryoga sprang to their feet.

"What is it?" Ryoga yelled above the whistling wind.

Barry yelped again and crouched as something felt like it sliced across his stomach. Using his ki vision, he could barely make out a dim, red shadow that moved in and out at him like a shark in a feeding frenzy. It was difficult to pinpoint its size and distance. As it arced above him, he unleashed a ki blast, but the attack did little to disturb the attacker. A blow like a trip-hammer flattened him, making him wonder why he had ever complained about the tomboy's mallet.

Ukyo leapt and struck, her heavy spatula cleaving the air ineffectually.

Akane also fought back, unleashing a series of ki-enhanced strikes where she thought the threat was, but to no avail. It must have had some effect, though for the form turned on her and welts rose on her blocking arms, as a dimly seen form screamed in her face with a whistling roar.

Barry saw the attack and accessed Nekoken, searching for some counter to the thing's attacks. Three quick swipes that bisected the air before her face seemed to drive the thing away from Akane. He set himself between the circling thing and the gasping Akane. She desperately shook her hands in an attempt to make them useable again.

"We need a holy object! Something to drive this thing away," yelled Mousse above the shrill scream of wind that sprang up again. He yelped and dove behind Barry as it went for him. Shampoo and Ukyo made for the house but were bowled over by gusts that shook the building. Neko-claws flashed, but the attacker's odd spatial presence made it difficult to track or strike.

Barry's mind was racing. He didn't know of any holy objects on the property. Happosai's little collection could hardly be described as holy, unless he had a kami's underwear, somehow. As for prayer, Barry felt that his creator expected him to deal with problems he got himself into, with the talents and tools he had available. The Nekoken worked, sort of, but was not conclusive. This thing might well kill someone before he struck a telling blow. He needed something else, and suddenly he had an idea.

His shields snapped up in a defensive globe. He was not surprised when it did not stop the thing's attack. He twisted in pain; feeling ripping claws at his back. A blast of heat roared as Akane attempted a ki blast. He staggered to his feet and tried to remember the characteristics of a very special attack he had seen just the day before. Suddenly, something clicked and he was filled with remorse and guilt and, conversely, with exultation and joy. Every fault and sin and act that he had ever committed bore down on him with appalling clarity. Every deed and thought of love and truth and caring uplifted him. He froze, caught in balance between deed and misdeed. Sensing his confusion, the spiritual predator struck. Barry barely retained enough presence of mind to react.

The shield pulsed out like the core of an explosion, taking its load of self-awareness with it. Caught in mid-leap, the red thing shriveled like a dry leaf in a flame, turning in upon itself. Seconds later, a cool breeze riffled the water in the pond and tickled at the hair and clothing of six rag-covered teenagers. The cyclonic blast had laid them all out. Shampoo, furthest from the blast, shifted and moaned, dragging herself painfully to her feet. She checked the others before stumbling into the house to place a desperate call to the Nekohanten.

"Son-in-law, I'm curious. Do you have a death wish? Are you insane? Or are you simply extremely stupid?"

Barry blinked, closed his eyes and then opened them again. He winced. Having an angry Cologne staring you in the eye from a distance of ten centimeters was not conducive to serenity, but after what he had just been through, she ranked on his threat list as 'approaching inconsequential'. He rose groaning to a sitting position. Activating his ki-vision, he used sight and ki to check his surroundings.

Mousse sat inscrutably by the big table, reading a scroll. His robes were stained and torn, but he seemed unharmed. Akane sat shivering under a heavy blanket, sipping a cup of tea, courtesy of Kasumi. Ukyo sat nearby looking frazzled. Her tough okonomiyaki uniform was largely intact, but her hair was going to be hell to brush out. She sat to Akane's right, while Shampoo sat between Mousse and Akane dividing her attention between pointing to lines of characters on the scroll and making certain Akane's cup remained full and her shoulders covered. Shampoo's silk dress had lost a shoulder and was shredded from waist to hem.

"Stupid, I think," Barry said. He groaned again and rubbed his arm. The visible welts were fading but the arm felt wrong.

"I want to know how you chased off or destroyed a soul-hunter! You had no guardian, no holy object, no prayers." Cologne was really pissed, but puzzled. "You had no business doing any of what you were doing without experienced spiritual guidance!"

Barry nodded absently, his eyes elsewhere. Akane seemed to be having trouble holding onto the cup, her hands and fingers stiff and heavy. He rose to his feet, ignoring the little Amazon and staggered over to her, lifting the cup from between her fingers and uncovering her arms.

"Young man," Cologne growled. "I want answers this time. You are too much of a loose canon. How can I expect to trust..." She subsided, realizing she was being ignored.

Akane's welts had faded as well, but her arms were icy cold and retained the impression of his fingers as if they were made of soft wax. Barry sought the lines of ki and growled. It was as if a bomb had blown out the middle of a dock, and the pieces furthest to sea were in danger of washing away. He dropped himself behind the shivering girl and roughly pulled her into his lap. More worrisome; she didn't object.

"What you do?" Shampoo, startled, did object. Ukyo, suddenly aware, growled and reached for her spatula.

"Shut up and back off," Barry growled. He had no idea what he was going to do but something had to be done now. He shut his eyes and brought his hands up under hers and began to disassociate himself from Ranma's body. His ki overlapped Akane's damaged aura. He cursed to himself. His was damaged just as severely. "Cold water," he muttered thickly.

Water splashed and Barry went girl. Girl-type was also damaged. The advantage here was that, in large, she could place her ki and Akane's in comparison. She found she could draw ki from one broken end to another, much the way a finger could link two drops of water on a plate of glass. She linked broken ends and began encouraging Akane to help.

"C'mon, Akane, pay attention. Use yer ki-vision. See? It's easy," she murmured. "That's it. If you need a map, use my left arm there. Uh-huh, like that."

"What's going on?" Ukyo asked with a twisted expression. She looked like she was about to bash the pigtailed girl. Yet she couldn't quite justify it. Barry obviously wasn't groping Akane and Akane had been looking bad.

Cologne shook her head. "Son-in-law is adapting to meet a another challenge. Akane was seriously injured by the gaki-oni. He's repairing the damage it caused. It looks as if she won't lose her arms now."

Ukyo's spatula clattered on the floor.

Cologne glanced around. "Since Ranma is proving so flexible, was anyone else hurt?" The others shook their heads. Mousse was watching Ranma work with his own ki-vision. She decided to interrogate him. "Mousse, you were part of the working. What ever possessed you to let them do this?"

"Woman's magic," Mousse said indifferently. "I didn't really know what they were doing till just before the demon came in. It's not like Ranma said, 'Let's do a séance.' He was exploring the characteristics of the outer levels of his ki. Akane and I were just observing."

"Mousse try warn Ranma, Grandmother. So did I, but demon come right away. No time to stop summoning. Ranma fight demon, then use ball of light to kill it."

"That's Ranma for you," Cologne growled. "What an idiot." She glanced at the two girls embraced front to back. "A lucky idiot. One with a lot of answering to do."

They watched as the pair began to glow, and gasped as Ranma dropped straight over backward and Akane slumped forward. Akane immediately turned and carefully examined the short curvy form with eyes and ki. As her hands passed over the body, bits of shirt crumbled to dust and sifted away, leaving ragged cuts, like claw slices, in the fabric. She rolled the limp body over and did the same on Barry's back, then shifted back on her shins with a sigh of relief.

"He managed to heal me and himself at the same time," she whispered. She reached wearily across the table to the teapot and poured a small amount of tea into the red hair. For long moments after the change occurred, he lay there breathing evenly but unmoving.

"Owie," muttered the young man suddenly. His eyes blinked open. He looked at Akane then grinned in that 'of course I did it' way of his. Cologne gave into temptation and smacked him over the head with her staff. "Wadja do that for?" he yelped.

"An idiot boy hung out a 'free lunch' sign for a demon," cackled Cologne, "then rang the dinner bell. Why else do you think?" She sidled over. She shook her head. "Son-in-law, you continually surprise me. You summoned a demon without wards or protection of any kind, endangering everyone. Then you swept the thing away in a moment. When I saw your injuries, I expected you and Akane to be crippled for life, at the very least. You proceed to get up and repair that damage, then sit up and sass me as if the worst you did was get caught with your hand in the cookie jar!" She brandished her staff again. "I want answers, so spill!"

Barry shrugged.

"I learned Nekoken could hurt it, but it was hard to find just where it was ta hit it." Barry sipped some tea and nodded thanks to Shampoo. Akane was rubbing her hands, which had gone to pins-and-needles. "It didn't seem to move in the real world. I think I coulda beat it eventually with Nekoken, but I was worried it might start goin' fer the others. I could tell Akane was hurtin' and I wasn't feelin' too good, either." He sipped again and shifted on his haunches. "Then somethin' made me think of what Mrs. Morisato did to Principal Kuno. So, I threw up my shield to buy time to figure how to duplicate it. It went right through the shield, of course."

"Not surprising. Those creatures do not, properly speaking, move in three dimensional space." Cologne watched him with lidded eyes.

"I remembered that the ki blast she hit him with carried certain kinds of emotions, so I pumped the emotions and power into the shield and expanded it explosively when it attacked again. A kinda Kachu Tenshin Amiguritate (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire defense). The oni, or whatever, shriveled like a bug in a zapper." He sighed shakily. "I still ain't sure how I did it and it ain't somethin' I wanna do again, neither."

"We'll talk of that later. I suggest you talk to Mrs. Morisato if you used her... technique. It was really a form of prayer and there might be repercussions for using it without permission." Cologne seemed uneasy for a moment.

"I'll apologize first thing," Barry said. He really didn't want mixed up in some other religion, no matter how effective it was. He noticed that Mousse was ignoring the discussion again and had gone back to reading the scroll.

Cologne smiled and pointed to the scroll Mousse was reading. "Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung brought this just after Mousse and Shampoo left the Nekohanten. It's a copy of the Scroll of Binding."

"The scroll that shows what happened to Shampoo?" Barry exclaimed. "That's great!" Then some of Ranma 's memories hedged a bit. "Ahhh... They went straight home, right?"

Her eyes narrowed and she chuckled. "They're staying ...to get special training from their great-grandmother, of course. You'd be surprised how much change a year can make."

"I'm sure," Barry said shuddering. He wasn't sure what he thought of having those two maniacs around, but if Cologne was training them, they wouldn't have time to get into much trouble. "Mousse, what's the first read like?"

"Still in progress, Ranma." He adjusted his glasses. "It's an uncommon dialect." He pointed to a word and Shampoo shrugged. He turned the scroll to Cologne.

"It means 'intrusion without passing through'," she said. "A very uncommon symbol."

"Ghost fingers?" Barry interpolated.

"Close enough," Cologne grinned. "This may take a little while to translate and study. I hope you don't mind if Shampoo's sisters go with you to the competition. I want them to stay here till we can use this information."

"Oh, joy! We gotta baby-sit the twin techno-twerps?"

"We hear that, Ranma!" a pair of voices rang out in anger. Two forms moved out of the kitchen and advanced on him. Instead of weapons, they carried food, but were no less threatening. Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung had indeed changed in the past year. They were taller and their hair was styled like Shampoo's. The tight silk mini-dresses were Shampoo-esque, as well, and displayed figures that might soon challenge their older sister's.

"We no need babysitters," said Ling-Ling.

"But maybe you need doctor after we through with you," added Lung-Lung crossly.

"Cross of Destiny Double Attack!" they chorused, placing the trays down and teaming up to face him. Barry boggled and leaped. No way he was going to try to beat these two, wacko Amazons.

Shampoo screeched as their initial attack carried them into the far wall. "You leave airen alone!" Shampoo's training both under Cologne and against Akane the past few weeks came into play. The twins were hog-tied in seconds.

"Shampoo get fast," gulped Ling-Ling.

"Shampoo mad at us," cried Lung-Lung.

"Shampoo tell you right now no 'kiss of death' or 'marriage' while here!" Shampoo decreed.

"Awww!"

"Big sister mean."

"By the way," Barry broke in after peeling himself out of the rafters, "I've been curious. Are you guys Shampoo's blood-related sisters or just sister Amazons?"

"Blood sister," Ling-Ling said.

"Half-sisters," admitted Lung-Lung, who smiled at Shampoo. "Shampoo ready share yet?"

"No!"

"Spoil sport."

"Either no one's told them about the flaw in the training, or they really are airheads," Ukyo decided. Twin gazes turned on the okonomiyaki chef.

"You very fortunate we tied up, Ukyo Kuonji," Ling-Ling said.

"We Amazon princesses of the moon. You have shown disrespect and so we shall punish you," Lung-Lung added. Ukyo walked over and squatted down.

"My, my," she said smiling, "The sailor-sensei appear in so many places."

As the two boggled at Ukyo, Cologne groaned and gripped her staff tighter. "I am really going to have a long talk with their father," she said in an aggrieved tone.

A tapping sounded on her window. Akane blinked, looked up and saw the dark form behind the glass. She rose to her knees and opened the window. Before the form could ask its question, she said, "Yes!"

A raised finger froze; a mouth gaped then shut. Hands went to hips in an inverted expression of disgust. "If the other girls heard you say that, they'da had a whole litter of kittens," came the irritated tones. "I was gonna ask ya what ya thought of Shampoo's sisters. I can't see how they can be younger sisters yet still in the direct Amazon line. 'Yes' to what?"

"Yes! I felt Ranma!"

Barry froze again. "You did?"

"Yes!" she said. He could see, now, the tears trickling down her cheeks. "I think I can hope again, Barry!"

Barry reached out and squeezed her hands. "All right! It was worth it then. Not that I'd try that again without appropriate precautions, but..."

"You're babbling," she laughed. "I think he felt me, too. I hope so!"

"First steps, Akane," he said warmly. "You found him. You'll help bring him home." A finger reached out and touched her nose. "Sweet dreams, tomboy!" Then Barry was gone.

"Wait! What were you going to...? Oh, well. I guess it can wait." Akane lay back down on her bed and snuggled beneath the covers. She dreamed of Ranma holding her as he had the night he left. This time, there was no Barry Barlowe... No Happosai... This time there was only the night, the stars… and Ranma.

The pretty girl with the long black hair waited impatiently at the station. Though it was getting late, this Friday before the martial arts competition, Nabiki promised her two one-liter containers of fudge ripple ice cream, if she met Akane and her friends. Sakurida admitted she always had been a sucker for ice cream. Surreptitiously, she pulled what looked like a calculator from her bag and checked it. The train was only a little late, she decided. She found a seat and pulled out an engineering manual, then forced herself to put it back. She must not let herself get distracted. Finally, the train clacked rhythmically as it came into the station, the thrust of the pressure wave lifting her hair and swirling it about.

It returned to its straight, lustrous hang as the train stopped. The girl moved quickly down the cars, unerringly finding the one she sought.

"Ranma! Akane!" Two heads spun and smiles showed recognition.

"Sakurida!" Laughing, they ran to meet her, heavy duffel bags riding light on their shoulders. Quickly, they exchanged greetings and, linking arms, went off to find the rest of the team. Shampoo was arguing with Mousse about something, while Cologne had prevented Ryoga from escaping into the unknown by the simple expedient of tripping him with her staff and standing on his head. Not that this would normally stop him. But it did keep his attention focused on the here-and-now. Ukyo and the twins brought up the rear.

Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung looked glum. Cute waitress uniforms replaced their beautiful silk dresses and they weren't toting their weapons. They were not happy Amazons.

"Where are the supplies, granddaughters?" Cologne asked with the snap of a drill sergeant. "Hurry up, we haven't got all day!"

"Yes, Grandmother," they said.

"Hurry up! I won't tolerate slothfulness."

"Could you get off my head?" Ryoga grumbled into the concrete.

"Oh! Ryoga? Amazing the places you get lost!" She hopped off his head.

"Excuse me, but I knew exactly where I was."

"Underfoot," snickered Shampoo. Ryoga glanced up at her and averted his gaze.

Mousse instantly knew what happened with Shampoo's proximity and glared at the horizontal young man. "Stealing glimpses of my Shampoo's undergarments, are you!" he snarled at the sight of blood and prepared to attack. Swords sprouted like feathers from his sleeves and passers-by ducked away, alarmed by the slice-and-dice special.

Shampoo grabbed an arm, twisted, drove the arm straight in toward the shoulder as Mousse tried to flip around her grip. He dropped his handful of swords and spun inside to get a grip on Shampoo's wrist. Their combat was powerful but nearly motionless as Mousse's strength and new-won skills were making him more of a handful for Shampoo's speed and experience. They were grinning like maniacs when Cologne lost patience and bopped them both on the head. "Children, save your energy for the competition!"

"Hey, Cologne! You ready yet?" The bellow came from a pigtailed martial artist dressed in black.

"Nearly, Ranma. The twins have some baggage to take care of." Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung staggered up, each carrying packs that could only be described by words like enormous, heavy, bulky, colossal, massive...

"Here are... supplies, Great-grandmother," Ling-Ling gasped.

"How far is truck," groaned Lung-Lung.

"What truck?" Cologne asked. "It's only a few miles to the university! Get started."

"What?" They looked like deer in headlights. "We walk?"

"Of course!" Cologne said. "We don't exactly have unlimited resources over here, girls. One does what one must," she added with a martyred air. She hopped away. The twins looked like they were going to cry. They looked over at Shampoo and Mousse as they struggled to their feet.

Mousse's glasses had slipped off his forehead and onto his nose. He glanced at Shampoo, who was in an awkward position. Sweat sprang up on his forehead. "The black thong," he breathed. "Hibiki, you bastard!" he screamed, "You must pay... Where'd he go?" He looked around. "Ry-oooooo-ga!"

"Pinpoint him, Akane," Barry sighed. Akane closed her eyes and pointed. Mousse, also trying out his new sense, advanced. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't used to using sight and ki-vision together, caromed off a column and sat down. Akane continued to point as Barry dragged her through the crowd. Behind them Sakurida looked down at their equipment bags and shrugged. She tried to lift them, and purpled. She pulled out her calculator, made some notations and put it away. Then she picked up the bags and walked off smugly.

Ling-Ling sidled over to the seated master of hidden weapons. "You okay, Mousse?"

"I suppose," he muttered. He found his glasses with little difficulty and glanced at Shampoo's little sister. "How cute!"

Ling-Ling flushed. "It not funny, Mousse."

"Shampoo didn't like them either," Mousse replied, rising to his feet again.

"Oh?" Ling-Ling looked less distressed by her garb. "Mousse," she said in a wheedling tone. Her sister joined her. "Maybe you help Ling-Ling…"

"And Lung-Lung," her sister added, understanding where this was going. "You master of hidden weapon. Hold many, many things in robes..."

"Maybe help us? Maybe we have something you want?" Ling-Ling smiled secretively. She glanced to where Shampoo was looking over the crowd in the wake of Ranma and Akane.

"You help us, we help you." Lung-Lung gave a smile that Nabiki would have recognized.

"What you want me to do is load some of those supplies in my robes."

"Maybe." Ling-Ling dug in a toe and scuffed a tiny circle on the concrete.

"I'll tell you what. Do you want to know where your Great-grandmother is now?" Mousse asked meaningfully.

They froze. They looked around. Cologne was nowhere in sight. They frowned at Mousse. He pointed up at the top of Lung-Lung's pack. The twins moved apart so Ling-Ling could get a better line of sight. "Aiya!" Cologne reclined in a hollow at the top of her sister's pack. She read a paperback book and blew a smoke ring in the air. Her staff was hooked into a strap that crossed the mountainous load.

Cologne paused in her reading and looked Ling-Ling in the eye. "Haven't you left yet? If you don't get moving, I may have to assign punishment." She pointed. "That way!"

"Great-grandmother, doesn't sign say that way to Imperial Compound?"

"That sign, there, say 'University'," Lung-Lung added helpfully. "It other way."

"Don't worry, children," Cologne reassured them. "We're just taking the scenic route. You need to see some of the sights of Tokyo before you settle down to the drudgery of working in a restaurant."

Ryoga sat on the luggage that had been off-loaded from the train. If he stayed in one place...

"Ryoga!"

The lost-boy looked up. What had Barry upset? He watched as Barry raced after him, dragging Akane in his wake. They gained slowly on his position. What? He looked down to realize he was sitting on some sort of low, wheeled train that was zipping along, carrying the luggage he was seated on to some other destination. He grabbed his pack and hopped off, amazed at how easily he managed to get lost.

"Woo! I thought we were gonna lose ya after all," Barry complained.

Akane patted him reassuringly on the arm. "Don't worry, Ryoga. I bet I could find you even if you had made it to the other side of the earth." Ryoga blushed and Akane realized she might have sounded too familiar. "We'll have to teach Akari..."

"Or Ukyo, or Nabiki, or Koda…" (POW!)

Ryoga continued to hold up his clenched fist, trembling with anger at Barry's teasing. Akane grabbed his arm and dragged him with her to where Barry was digging himself out of a retaining wall. She helped with a grab and yank and smiled sweetly, a dangerous sign. "You had that coming," she said.