A/N: Yes I'm alive! It's been eons since I last updated, I know. I ought to be ashamed of myself, I know. I deserve to be pelted with raw eggs and tomatoes and whatnot, I know.

This has been the most taxing year of schooling I've gone through in my short miserable life of almost-sixteen years. (I've never survived on so little sleep before… now I look like I could be a close relative of the panda. -.-) Technically I shouldn't be updating now; I have 2 Chinese papers, 1 Math and 3 Japanese papers from Mon to Wed next week. (And none of these are particularly good subjects for me) -goes googly-eyed-

BUT IT'LL BE ALL OVER SOON. :D

Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy the chapter. C & C always appreciated.

Kismet
A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe
By Andrina

Chapter 6

"We may become makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets."
- Sir Karl Popper (1902 – 1994)

Akane the Maiden, Ranma thought angrily, was a major pain in the ass.

This was the brilliant conclusion that Ranma came to as he breezed through the forest with practiced ease, leaping effortlessly from branch to branch above the ground. It was only the second day of travel with the newest addition to the ranks, and already she was causing trouble. They could be well on their way by now, but no, she just had to go off and disappear with one of Ukyo's spatulas, leaving them hanging in the dark.

Oh, he wasn't worried about her. Akane was a smart girl, Ranma knew. She could be stubborn like a mule, and a bit blind, but she was definitely more sensible that he would like to give her credit for. So he was quite sure that the dark-haired young woman would not have deliberately put herself in any danger. No, she was too much of a hellcat to let difficulties drag her down.

Now, all that Ranma had to do was to find her somewhere in this stupid forest and they could continue on their way. Of course, he would have to yell at her a bit: leaving without telling the others was not only incredibly stupid, but it was completely unacceptable. What the hell did she think she was doing anyway?

Then he found her. He could not explain it, but knew it was her, because he could sense her. For lack of a better description, he knew it was her, because he could feel her very presence infused in the surroundings, in the way the grass trembled and the bushes rustled. A flash of brown and gray from within the thick shrubbery only served to confirm this, and uttering a cry of triumph, he dropped from the trees and into the bushes, hoping to punish Akane by giving her the shock of her life.

So you could imagine Ranma's surprise, when he came face to face with a stranger.

Akane fought the urge to laugh out loud. She wished she had some way to freeze time for an instant, just so she could capture that stunned expression on Ranma's face. You could call it surprise, or you could call it shock, but whatever it was, Akane had a feeling that she would rarely be seeing such a look on Ranma's face anytime soon.

But, unable to capture his stunned look, Akane had to content herself with folding her hands behind her back patiently as she waited for Ranma's hesitant surprise to abate, all the while holding back that smile that threatened to break free.

At last, Ranma seemed to regain some use of his tongue. "A-Akane?" he ventured carefully, still staring at her intently like she was some kind of new sub-species of human.

She shifted, a bit uncomfortable now in the increasing intensity of his gaze. "Hi."

"Y-your hair…" said Ranma intelligently. "It's… it's short."

Akane wished he would stop gawking. Reaching up to tug self-consciously at the shorn locks, she gave a little shrug. "Yeah, well, hair tends to get shorter after you cut it," she answered as breezily as she could. "I've never done this before, but I thought I did a pretty good job of it… what's wrong, does it look bad?" She could not explain it, but for some reason she felt vaguely anxious about Ranma and Ukyo's response.

With her haircut, Akane felt exposed somehow, with the way the short dark locks leaving the back of her neck naked to the breeze. She wanted some reassurance that she had done the right thing. She wanted some reassurance that cutting her hair, just like joining Ranma and the rebels, was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, Ranma wasn't going to give her this sort of reassurance. He seemed to have regained full use of his tongue now, and with it, the ability to spit insults and jeers at her. "You mean to say you've been gone all this time so you could cut your stupid hair off!" he yelled suddenly, taking a menacing step towards her.

Akane scowled, all goodwill disappearing in an instant. "I've only been gone a while! You think it's that easy to trim hair?" she snapped angrily. Then, as an afterthought: "And my hair is not stupid!"

"It is too!" came the furious retort. "You look even uglier now; it really brings out the gorilla in you!"

Akane was silent.

Ranma bit back the next insult that he was about to deal out. Hesitating, he took a step closer. "Oi, cat got your tongue, Akane?" he asked.

"RANMA, YOU JERK!"

In the next moment, Ranma was sprawled over the forest floor, watching mini-Akanes dance before his eyes and swing their tiny fists energetically. The real Akane was stomping away huffily, judging by the way the ground thudded ominously.

Damn, Ranma thought dizzily. Akane had a good right hook. A second thought rose unbidden to the front of his mind: it was the first time she had called him by his first name. He sighed. What a pain in the ass.

Moments later, Ranma felt, rather than saw, a cool shadow falling over his crumpled figure. Ukyo, he guessed, and true to his word, Ukyo was hovering worriedly over him when he cracked open his eyes, ready to poke at him insistently with her toe.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo cautiously. "You're on the forest floor."

Ranma grunted intelligently in reply, pushing himself up slowly. Geez, Akane sure was violent… Ukyo seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because the worry on her face soon melted away into a look of exasperation. "I assume you found Akane," she deduced pointedly, and Ranma nodded grumpily in affirmation. "Then you said something dumb, and she decked you," Ukyo continued guessing.

Ranma winced. Well, that did sound a bit harsh, but…

"Oh, Ran-chan!" Ukyo nearly moaned. "You're supposed to find her, not chase her away!"

"It's not my fault!" her childhood accomplice groaned sulkily, bristling. "She wasn't even supposed to go running away like that with sharp little spatulas. She had it coming!"

"And so did you," Ukyo retorted sternly. "Honestly, you two are childish. Can't you get along? Don't you get sick of fighting? It's only been two days since Akane joined us!"

Ranma paused. Indeed, it had only been two days, but somehow it felt as though it had been two years instead. Akane seemed to have seeped into their lives completely. Uncomfortable with this train of thought, he tried to change the subject. "She got herself a new haircut with your spatula," he remarked.

"Let me guess," Ukyo said thoughtfully, extending a hand towards him to help him off the ground. "You told her she looked ugly."

Ranma seemed to shrink a little. "Yeah, well, kinda. I told her it really brought out the gorilla in her…" he recalled slowly, mindful of the tongue-lashing he was about to receive from Ukyo.

Moments later, Ranma was wandering through the forest, sporting not just a bruise on his chin, but a lump on his head from Ukyo's fist. Find her and bring her back, Ukyo had growled, and boy, was she threatening. "Men!" Ukyo had bemoaned huffily before stomping her way back to their camp site.

Ranma sighed, turning his gaze heavenwards. For the third time that morning, he sighed. What a pain in the ass.

Akane was at the stream when Ranma arrived for her. Correction, Akane was moping at the stream when Ranma arrived for her.

She knew it was him when she first heard the deliberate crunch of grass a short distance away from her. Ranma was good, she knew. If he really wanted to sneak up on her, she wouldn't know it until he was right behind and scaring the hell out of her. So, she guessed, this was Ranma's way of announcing his arrival.

"You hit me hard," Ranma broke the silence grumpily, rubbing the growing bruise on his chin as he came to stand beside Akane. He kept a slight distance between them, of course: what if she went crazy and tried to deck him again? One bruise was bad enough, thank you very much.

"You called me a gorilla," Akane responded coolly, shredding a blade of grass vehemently from where she was seated. "It wasn't funny."

Really? I thought it was, he wanted to retort, but before he could, he clamped his lips tightly together, not wanting to worsen the situation. Ranma might be hot-headed and obnoxious, but he was certainly smart enough to keep quiet when he knew he had to. Besides, he already had one bruise decorating his chin; he didn't want a second one covering his eye.

"Oi, Akane," he began awkwardly.

She ignored him.

"Akane," he tried again. "Let's go. We don't have the time to laze around anymore."

She was still ignoring him.

Then Ranma had an idea. Tucking his hands behind his head, he took a step closer to her, grinning to himself. "You know," he began casually. "You look kind of cute with short hair."

He heard Akane suck in a breath and glance up sharply at him, her eyes widening in a mix of bewilderment and shyness. Ranma's grin grew bigger; maybe now she would listen to him and go back to the camp site and they would get on their way…

But he certainly did not expect her face to suddenly light up in a dazzling smile. He did not expect her to get to her feet slowly, still smiling prettily at him. He did not expect her to close the distance between them meaningfully, beaming up at him. "Ranma…" Akane breathed softly, and his breath caught in his throat suddenly. When had she become so close? But before he could stay anything, she pressed one of those small hands against his chest and asked wonderingly, "You think I look cute?"

He was flustered. "Uh, Akane, I-" he struggled to voice himself, amid the sudden warmth that had enveloped him.

Then, unexpectedly, her eyes shone with mirth. Before Ranma could react, a laugh tore from her lips.

Before he could react, Akane, that bitch, cheerfully shoved him backwards into the stream.

Ranma emerged from the stream coughing and sputtering as he pushed wet hair out of his eyes. Embarrassment forgotten, he glared up at the laughing girl. "What the hell was that for?" he bellowed angrily.

In response, Akane smiled, and he noticed it was a genuine smile, devoid of hostility and awkwardness. "You didn't mean it, did you?" she asked then, shaking her head. Noting his look of bewilderment, she let out a laugh. "Never mind, Ranma," she sighed, but there was amusement in her voice. Turning, she raised her hand to give him a little wave.

"I'll see you back at the camp site," she offered with a smile, and then she was off, breaking into a quick jog.

Ranma stared at her retreating back. Women… he could never understand them. Then he felt heat gathering in his face.

So maybe she was kind of cute.

Ryoga was feeling a little sheepish.

After wandering around in circles for a good part of the afternoon the previous day, Sango had finally cottoned on to the fact that Ryoga was, to put it bluntly, simply hopeless at directions and finding his way around. So, she had taken it upon herself to read the map that they were required to carry around at all times.

Of course, after Ryoga accidentally lost sight of her and wandered off in the opposite direction for the third time, Sango had whipped out a coil of rope and secured one end to Ryoga's belt while she held the other end firmly in one hand.

Hence, Ryoga was feeling rather ridiculous at being led around like this. Sango, on the other hand, had been very adamant about it, refusing to let him take off the rope even when they stopped for the night. After he tried to raise it up to her for the seventh time, she began polishing her weapon in a very threatening manner, and Ryoga (wisely) backed off.

What was it with girls and monster weapons anyway? Ukyo carried around this humongous killer spatula, while Sango liked to play around with a gigantic boomerang. Ryoga swore that it had to be some intricately complicated female thing.

"Hibiki," Sango broke the silence then, sounding particularly distant. "Hibiki, we are going to have to travel past Mount Shikon before we reach Sukuno."

Ryoga shrugged uncertainly. "So?" he asked.

Sango did not reply for a moment. Then: "Before we stop for the night this evening, could we go somewhere else first?" Her request was quiet and serious.

Ryoga nodded uncomfortably. "Fine, I guess," he answered. "We aren't in a big hurry anyway."

Sango turned then, and she smiled briefly before she turned back. "Thank you," she said.

Ryoga could be quite dense at times, but he did notice that her smile did not quite reach her eyes.

"Where'd she go?"

Ukyo bit back a yelp at the low dangerous growl as she whirled around to face a dripping wet Ranma, before struggling to keep back the giggle that rose up in her throat. In her years with Ranma and Ryoga, she had grown so used to Ranma's presence that it simply didn't register when he came into her surroundings anymore. And, in a way, she was glad, because that meant that it had not softened the impact when she first turned around to greet a soaked Ranma.

With his dangerous glare, twitching eyebrow and flat wet hair, Ranma's expression was priceless. "Where'd she go?" he repeated darkly, flicking wet hair out of his eyes and sending water spraying.

Ukyo coughed, hiding a smile delicately behind slim fingers. "I don't know," she answered, and it was true. Akane had flounced into the camp site gleefully some time ago, despite Ukyo's open-jawed surprise at her haircut. Evading all of Ukyo's questions with an air of satisfaction, she had relit the fire with that cool little fireball trick of hers.

"You'll see why," Akane had told her pleasantly, before taking off into the forest again.

"Here, Ran-chan," Ukyo gestured to the merrily burning fire with a small smile. "Akane lit a fire for you. Go dry yourself off."

With a growl, Ranma dropped down next to the fire grudgingly, leaving a huge wet spot on the ground. Sighing, he began to pull off his top and wring the water out of it resignedly. Ukyo watched her childhood friend for a moment. Those muscles and those boyish good looks… Ukyo heaved a little wistful sigh. It had been years since her childhood crush on Ranma had waned, but oh boy, a girl could appreciate a piece of art when she saw it, couldn't she? Ah, those were the days, when she would pander to Ranma's whims with a bright smile on her face.

But as time passed, and Ranma remained so annoyingly oblivious to her girlish crush, Ukyo eventually grew out of her crush. Ranma was sweet, but she didn't really love him in the way that she thought she had. She loved him for his ideas, and for their friendship, but he wasn't really the man she wanted to settle down with, someday in the future.

Oh yes, contrary to common belief, Ukyo did want to get married one day, after they were done with overthrowing Dasier.

Back to the point. These days, in Ukyo's opinion, she was more likely to whack Ranma with her spatula for doing something dumb than to swoon after him in girlish wonder. But Ukyo had had always been a perceptive girl. She liked to think that she was adaptable to change; that she caught on quickly to developments and that she could deal with them pretty well. You see, there was an idea taking root in Ukyo's mind, and perhaps, it was taking root in her heart as well. It was a bit of a foggy idea, a bit unrealistic maybe, but it was an idea all the same, and Ukyo took pride in her ideas.

As arrogant and rude as Ranma could be sometimes, Ukyo knew her friend well, and she truly wanted the best for him. She had noticed that there has always been a certain protective streak in Ranma, and he sought to always protect the people around him.

That was why he was leading them into a war in the first place.

But despite all this, there were times when Ranma needed someone to fight for him too. Akane was a fighter, Ukyo knew. She barely knew the girl, but this she knew. Akane was a fighter, and she would fight to the end for Ranma if she had to. She had never met anyone else who could get under Ranma's skin that well before. Surely, that in itself must mean something.

Perhaps, Ukyo thought in a mix of tender sad introspection as she left the campsite to collect some food supplies in preparation of their travels, Ranma might find his own happiness in Akane one day.

Akane returned to the campsite to find one scowling Ranma. One scowling, bare-chested Ranma.

Of course, he was merely wringing out his wet clothes, and of course, she glanced away in polite respect for him, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stop the vivid blush from rising up in her cheeks. You couldn't really blame Akane, of course; after all, in her entire life as a Maiden, it wasn't every day that she would come face to face with scowling, well-built, bare-chested young men. Fortunately for her, Ranma seemed to be completely oblivious, so Akane tried to cool her heated cheeks hurriedly, banishing all unladylike, improper thoughts.

Not that she liked Ranma. Ranma was the most uncivilized, uncouth male she had ever had the displeasure of meeting. She must have done something wrong in her past life to be forced to become stuck with him on a long journey like this. Ranma was a jerk: a mean, loud-mouthed, insensitive, egoistic, rude, perverted, horrible jerk. Although, Akane admitted quietly to herself, he was also one of the best-looking men she'd ever seen.

Still… she smiled suddenly, remembering what had happened back at the stream. She had been angry then, undeniably upset. Yet, when Ranma came over and tried to get on her good side (even if he hadn't meant a word of it), it had cleared her bad mood from the air. Suddenly, she couldn't be bothered to care anymore over such a stupid argument. Of course, that didn't mean that she was willing to let him get away with his teasing. For a stunt like that, he deserved to be shoved into the stream. Stupid jerk. Akane grinned in satisfaction. She would be remembering the look of stunned surprise on Ranma's face for a long, long, long time to come.

But now that she had had her fun, it was time to make amends. In spite of herself, Akane had to admit that Ranma was a pretty good-natured young man. Sure, he was an insensitive jerk and he seemed to constantly bring out the worst in her, but he had been remarkably kind to her. She had heard snippets of rumors and stories; Ranma could be a very dangerous man when he wanted to be.

After all, he was leading them into a war, and he clearly commanded the respect of his subordinates. Ranma had probably seen more in his years on the road than she could imagine. Somewhere deep inside her (coupled with the constant prodding by Ukyo), Akane knew that she should really try to control her temper better. She only hoped Ranma, being the pigheaded idiot he was, would have the decency to at least try to do the same.

With such sentiments, Akane approached the scowling Ranma with a bright smile. "Hello, moron," she greeted cheerfully, and winced when Ranma's scowl deepened. Okay, so maybe that wasn't a very good start to her attempt at making amends. Noting that Ranma's mouth had opened in preparation for a loud nasty protest, Akane beat him to it quickly. "Be quiet and come here," she instructed authoritatively.

Grudgingly the young man agreed. Risk the wrath of Akane the Maiden? Nah, Ranma would rather live a longer life. Still, the displeasure on his face was almost palpable as he approached Akane. Unable to help herself, Akane grinned, an indicator of her buoyant mood. "I won't bite," she chirped brightly, and Ranma resisted rolling his eyes at her horribly good mood. For a long moment, Akane stared at him. There was something clinical as she assessed his face, her eyes hovering specifically on the purpling bruise on his chin that she had given him earlier that day. Then, abruptly, she shifted that same mildly creepy gaze to his shoulder, where she had hit him yesterday, and stared intently on a similar bruise. Just when Ranma was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, Akane slapped her small hands on his bare shoulders and pushed him down enthusiastically.

"Sit down," she said almost excitedly. "I haven't made any healing salve in ages; I hope I managed to get it right this time."

Finally understanding her intentions, Ranma sank to his knees grumpily. "What am I?" he complained. "Your guinea pig?"

In reply, she batted him lightly with one hand, while her free hand reached into the folds of her skirt to withdraw a small container of something green and pasty-looking. "Be quiet," she admonished, although her words lacked any real bite. "You're going to distract me, you jerk."

It was then that he felt tentative fingers touching the bruise on his chin gently. A second later, he felt the soothing coolness of the salve being worked lightly into his skin. Peering down, Ranma was confronted with the sight of Akane spreading salve awkwardly on his chin with an odd look of sheepish concentration.

"Stop staring at me," Akane mumbled suddenly, flushing angrily.

Ranma grunted, but looked away.

It was hard, Ranma realized after a moment of reluctant silence, to stay angry with a girl who was spreading healing salve on your huge bruises. In spite of himself, he glanced back down at the petite young woman before him. Her fingers were moving around in gentle circles now, and even Ranma had to admit that it felt quite soothing.

"You better have made this salve correctly," he jibed, but it was more to break the silence than to actually aim an insult at her. Even though it was only mid-morning, he felt as though half the day had flown past already.

Jeez, life with Akane sure was exciting, he thought dryly.

"Shut up," Akane returned him cheerfully. "I'm good at this." Then, as an afterthought, "I just need more practice, that's all."

Ranma was beginning to feel a little worried for his skin.

Strangely enough, calm was beginning to settle over them both. Relaxing for the first time that day, Ranma let his eyes drift shut for a long moment, before opening them to gaze neutrally at the pale blue of the sky. "Hey, Akane?" he couldn't remember another time when he had addressed her so… mildly.

"Hmm?" came the intelligent attentive reply from the dark-haired girl as she dabbed and poked at his bruise.

He didn't know what possessed him to ask. Maybe he wanted to make conversation. Maybe he noticed that there was something sad about the way she held her healing salve close to her. "You had… two sisters?" his question came out quieter than he would have liked; he almost sounded concerned.

Akane's fingers stopped momentarily, before carrying on with the task at hand. Something flitted across her face, but in the next instance, she was nodding, smiling neutrally. "Yeah," she answered simply. "Kasumi and Nabiki."

"Oh." Then: "What were they like?"

In a way, Akane supposed she was glad Ranma had asked. It gave her something to talk about, and as painful as she found the subject to be, she had a sudden urge to tell someone about her sisters.

"Well," she began, with her voice certainly lighter than her heart. "For starters, Kasumi is the sweetest person to ever walk the earth. She cooks, she cleans, she's beautiful, and she endears herself to just about every man, woman and animal around.

"Nabiki, on the other hand, would be better off as a merchant than a Maiden, I think," Akane paused, laughing silently. "She always wanted to dabble in business, and she was good at it, too. She could talk a cow into giving her its hide." Then she smiled slightly. "I think you would have been scared by her, Ranma."

"Oh?" Ranma remarked skeptically. Akane withdrew her fingers from his chin and began spreading salve on his shoulder instead. He winced - he hadn't even realised he had gotten a bruise from where he took a hit from Ryoga yesterday.

"She used to talk all the younger Maidens into doing her share of cleaning up for her," Akane continued wryly. "And she would con the older Maidens into doing her homework for her."

"Jeez, are all you sisters such terrors?" Ranma commented offhandedly.

And before she knew it, she was telling him all about her childhood. The day when she sneaked off into the river to play (and nearly drowned because she realized she was absolutely hopeless at swimming). The day when Kasumi tried to teach her to cook (and she single-handedly burnt three pots, five towels and one wooden spoon and was subsequently banned from the kitchen for the rest of her life). The day when Nabiki talked one of the old Maidens into giving her a bag of sweet cakes, which they ate secretly in the privacy of their rooms. The day she came of age to receive her cord of gold and how Kikyo, the Head Priestess, carefully secured it around her neck. The night they celebrated, and she remembered singing and laughing around the fire with the Maidens who had risen into their new ranks with her. The day when Kasumi showed her a rabbit in the forest. The day when the invasion came and how the rabbit ran away in terror. The day they fled from the invasion.

And suddenly she was wiping her tears away roughly. "Sorry," she muttered, turning away in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to get all emotional, and in front of Ranma, no less! She just wanted to tell him about her sisters and the Maidens she had grown up with.

The young man in question was now tugging at his pigtail in discomfort. He could deal with swords and tyrant kings and assassins and murder. But crying girls? Too dangerous. "Guess you're not all herb-lovers?" he offered finally, when Akane seemed composed enough.

He was relieved when she cracked him a smile, albeit a sad one.

"Do you have any siblings, Ranma?" she asked then.

He shrugged, receiving a weak bat from Akane as she tried to rub the ointment into his bruise evenly. "Nah," he answered. "Not that I know of anyway."

He didn't like where this conversation was going. Damn, why did he open his big mouth anyway? Now she was going to get all nosy.

"What about your parents? You don't see them much, do you?" Akane continued, keeping her voice light. She did not seem to notice the way the muscles in his cheek tightened subtly, or the way the previous pleasantness in his eyes had now faded to calm neutrality.

"What are your parents like?" she asked and abruptly her voice seemed distant.

All he could see before him was a sweep of auburn hair and smooth grey-blue silk. Suddenly he was a child again, enveloped by warm laughter and noisy guffaws. Lilacs, he remembered. Sweet pale lilacs and the smell of tea and love and home.

"Ranma?" Akane's voice rang out then, crashing down rather painfully on him. "Ranma… are you okay? You're blanking out on me."

He jerked away from her, suddenly angry and wounded. Ignoring her sound of surprise, he leapt to his feet. "Thanks, but that's enough for today," he told her curtly. "I ain't needing your herbs anymore."

And before Akane could react, he was stalking away from her, stopping to grab his still-damp shirt from where it lay near the fire.

She watched him go in bewilderment, and in spite of herself, hurt was slowly trickling in. There had been something peaceful and comforting about their conversation before it took a turn for the worse at the end, just like their tentative truce back at the river two nights before. She did not understand what she did wrong, but she felt as though something had been left gaping as he stalked away.

Akane did not like this feeling very much.

Sango had taken him to a ghost village, thought Ryoga with growing unease.

The place was deserted, save for the occasional dust bunny that rolled past forlornly. Most of the houses, as far as Ryoga could see, were in pretty bad condition, although they were certainly sturdy enough to hold a traveler or two for the night.

There was something melancholic about this place. Ryoga shifted uncomfortably. The emptiness of the village itself seemed to speak of a life and contentedness long gone.

The village seemed to be waiting for something.

Sango did not seem to be perturbed by the silence of the place, choosing instead to dart in and out of the empty houses, a look of cold concentration on her face. She even had no problems maneuvering between the scattered gravestones. (Here, Ryoga's brows shot up: gravestones!) He wisely chose to hang back in silence.

Finally Sango seemed satisfied, emerging from one of the houses with brooms in hand. "Here," she said brusquely, tossing him one of the brooms. Clearly, she was in a bad mood, and Ryoga, with his endless knowledge of the female species, knew better than to talk back. "Help me," she said, and ignoring his confused expression, walked over to the cluster of gravestones and began to sweep the area of fallen leaves.

Slowly, he shuffled over to the gravestones and followed her heed. Sango's face and tone were tight, but she swept with a tenderness that belied her expression, clearing the area meticulously of leaves and twigs.

Sweeping gave way to weeding, and before Ryoga could keep track of time, they were both on their knees, yanking weeds that had covered the graves. Ryoga didn't mind doing this actually; he had always been fond of manual labor. It gave him time to think while keeping his hands busy.

Besides, this was being respectful to the dead. He had many questions to ask Sango, but he could already guess the answers to most of them. He understood her feelings. And for that, he would comply with her wishes for today, even if technically, he was her superior in the ranks of the rebels.

It was some time before he noticed that Sango had stilled, resting one hand on the cracked stone of one of the graves. She was gazing at the stone sadly, and suddenly she leaned forward, touching her cheek to the rough stone.

"This is my father's grave," she said quietly. "The one you are cleaning now belongs to my brother."

She was alone in this world now, this girl. Ryoga glanced down solemnly. He had heard of how Sango came to join them. Her entire village had been wiped out by bandits. He was guessing that she must have buried them all.

"I try to come back here once every year to clean the graves." Then her face clouded in unhappiness. "And also, to check for looting." Pushing herself to her feet, Sango spread one arm out towards her village. "Most of the stuff has been taken away by looters," she bit out angrily.

A short distance away, a twig snapped into half.

Perhaps it was pure instinct. Perhaps it was the years or months of training drilled into them both when they had joined the rebels. Before she knew it, Sango had grabbed her boomerang and flung it towards the direction of the noise. Beside her, Ryoga slid automatically into a defensive stance, releasing one of his bandanas.

There came the sound of cloth ripping as Ryoga's bandana tore into something, followed by a masculine groan as the boomerang made contact. With a thud, the newcomer crumpled onto the forest floor. Cautiously, Ryoga moved towards the clump of trees where the intruder lay.

Seconds later, he backed out, looking mortified.

"Sango," Ryoga began, looking guilty. "We just took down a monk."

True enough, as Sango approached, there was a young man dressed in the purple and black robes of a Buddhist monk sprawled out over the forest floor.

"Damn," she uttered, wincing as she took in the lump forming on the monk's head where her boomerang had struck. "Oops?"

They had been traveling for several hours now, and dusk would be approaching soon. Ranma had been silent for most of the journey, walking ahead and leading the way. Having known him for a few years now, Ukyo knew that this meant that something was bothering Ranma. She had tried asking him, but today he seemed to have clammed up even more than usual, refusing to answer any of her questions. So she had left him alone, hopeful that he might work out something by himself and help in getting the atmosphere lightened up.

Akane trailed a little behind her. It could be that the young Maiden was not used to traveling such distances on foot. If she were tired, she did not show a sign of it. However, it was more likely that Akane was brooding. Ukyo could almost see the waves emanating from Akane darkly as she chewed on her bottom lip, her thoughts obviously jumbled and faraway.

Something had happened, and Ukyo was being left in the dark. The brunette frowned, wrinkling her nose slightly. Fine, that suited her all right. Serve them both right if they couldn't look past their newest feud to take in the scenery.

But after traveling for nearly a whole day now, they were fast approaching the town of Isha. And just in time too; the sun was beginning to set. Personally, Ukyo did not like traveling in the forest after dark. She sucked in a deep breath, eager to be back in the life and bustle of civilization.

She could tell Akane was beginning to get restless as well. After all, it was hard not to notice the dim distant noises from the town. Now that the sky was getting dark, it was also getting hard not to notice how light was emitting from behind the stretch of forest ahead of them.

They were picking up speed now. Evidently, Ranma too was eager to get back to civilization. The town of Isha… Ukyo tapped her chin thoughtfully. Ah, she knew why Ranma was so eager to get to Isha. Isha was a place of business and trade, with merchants and travelers streaming in and out of the place constantly. Isha was a safe place to be in; the King would be hard-pressed to pin down anyone in that bustling crowded town.

More importantly, Isha was a place where many of their valuable contacts could be located.

By the time they entered the town of Isha, night had truly fallen. For a moment, Akane stopped momentarily in her tracks, staring dazedly. The streets were not dim and quiet, as she might have expected. Rather, they were literally thrumming with people. Raucous laughter broke through occasionally, and the entire place was decorated gaily with brightly burning orange lanterns.

"Akane?" Ukyo gave her a strange look. "You okay?"

For a moment, the girl did not answer, her eyes darting around rapidly as she took in the sights. Then she seemed to give herself a little shake, a reassuring grin appearing on her face. "Sorry," she said quickly. "I got kind of stunned… Why are there so many people out at night?"

Ukyo's brow furrowed. "It's just a festival, honey," she stated uncertainly. Extending her arm to their surroundings, Ukyo continued, "If I'm not wrong, Isha holds a festival every year to celebrate and pray for a good year of profit."

"Festival?" Akane pronounced carefully. Suddenly she broke into a bright smile. She had heard about the elaborate festivals the villagers liked to hold, but not once in her life as a Maiden in the mountains had she actually witnessed one before. When she had been thirteen, some of the older Maidens returned from a healing trip to the village at the bottom of the mountains, gushing excitedly about having caught a festival. People didn't stay at home at night, they trilled. They lit up the roads with lanterns and candles and oil lamps, and everyone came out in bright clothes to laugh and have fun.

Sweeping her gaze around, Akane could finally comprehend the excitement those girls had radiated back then. The bright lanterns, the boisterous laughter, and the tantalizing smell of food penetrating every corner of the streets… This was something the Maidens had never experienced before. She had never seen so many people jostling animatedly on the streets at night before. The lanterns helped too; they bathed the place in flickering warm orange light. Akane felt like a child, fascinated and unbelievably excited. "I've never been to a festival before…" she said slowly.

"We ain't got time for that," Ranma broke in suddenly. It was the first thing he had said in ages, earning him looks of surprise from the two young women behind him. Turning, he eyed Akane critically. "Ucchan, can you get her some clothes for traveling? In the meantime, stock up on some supplies. I'm going to take care of something else."

Ukyo smiled then. Picking up supplies, eh? He knew as well as she did that they had no urgent need to replenish the medical and food rations they carried on them yet. It was just Ranma's way of giving in to the obvious fascination in Akane's eyes: he was asking Ukyo to show Akane around.

"We'll meet you in the town square in two hours, Ran-chan," she acknowledged, and with a nod, Ranma had turned on his heel, disappearing into the masses of people thronging the streets.

"So, it's just you and me now, Akane-chan," Ukyo grinned suddenly, and Akane took a wary step backwards. Grabbing her hand, Ukyo began to drag the dark-haired girl headfirst into the crowds. "Come on, sugar! We're going shopping!"

The monk groaned quietly.

Instantly, their gazes shifted warily, and perhaps, guiltily to the prone form in the middle of the room. Ryoga set down the stick he had been using to poke at the fire, and across the room, Sango placed her half-polished boomerang on the ground carefully. In silent mutual understanding, they moved stealthily to the unconscious monk garbed in purple and black robes that they had unwittingly knocked out that afternoon.

Ryoga hoped that he wouldn't have to suffer too much in his afterlife for hitting a monk, of all people. They had even tried to make up for it, by dragging the poor unconscious man into one of the empty houses. They even tried to patch him up a bit, hurriedly slapping healing salve onto the monk's huge bruise.

This used to be my house, Sango had remarked, although Ryoga was unsure if she had meant for him to hear her comment.

They went about in silence after that. Ryoga started a fire. Dinner had been dry rations.

And now, the monk was beginning his painful return to the conscious world. Ouch. The lump looked pretty bad too. Come to think of it, that guy looked pretty young. He couldn't possibly be one or two years older than him and Sango.

That was when the monk's eyes slowly opened, and they were met with the sight of disorientated, striking violet.

For a moment, silence reigned. The monk was staring at them with a mix of confusion and suspicion. Frankly, Ryoga didn't blame him for doing that. If he were the one who awoke only to see two strangers peering hopefully down at him, he'd be feeling pretty jumpy too.

"How do you feel?" It was Sango who broke the silence. She had her hands pressed tightly in her lap, her expression quietly subdued.

The monk sat up, rubbing the lump on his head tenderly, his eyes traveling quickly around the room. "You two the ones who knocked me out?" he asked bluntly, not beating about the bush. His voice was calm and unsurprised, and on cue, both Sango and Ryoga winced a little with embarrassment.

"Our apologies," Sango answered finally. "We might have made a mistake."

Finally, the monk's gaze came to a rest on her. She bore it down steadily, not flinching from the sharp violet gaze directed towards her. Unexpectedly, the monk smiled. "You two must have some bad enemies, if you were so jumpy as to attack a monk," he commented off-handedly.

In spite of herself, Sango colored. "That would be one way to put it," she admitted.

Abruptly, all traces of seriousness bled away and suddenly the monk was grinning madly. "Ah, I see, eloping, eh?" He reached out and gave Ryoga a hearty smack. "I can see it now: connected by your youthful passion for each other, you defy the wishes of your parents and flee into the wilderness, seeking happiness for yourselves!" Nodding benevolently, the monk smiled serenely. "I understand your jumpiness. All is forgiven."

He didn't seem to notice the way Sango and Ryoga's eyes were bulging out at the thought. "NO!" roared Ryoga finally in red-eared embarrassment. "Stop jumping to conclusions, monk! We're not a couple!"

"Oh?" said the monk, in mild surprise. "'Tis improper for a young woman such as yourself to be traveling with a male," he addressed Sango piously. "Is he your brother?"

Sango, cheeks suffused with brilliant pink horror, shook her head.

"Oh," the monk's brow furrowed. "A bodyguard?"

She shook her head.

"Your servant?"

"Hey! I'm nobody's servant!" came Ryoga's complaint. Again, Sango shook her head.

The monk scratched his head (and winced when he accidentally poked at his bruise). "Is he in any way related to you?"

She hesitated. But this time, Ryoga answered for her. "You could say she's my subordinate," he answered calmly.

"Oh?" the monk said lightly. He seemed to be saying that a lot, but there was something intelligent and knowing in that look of his. "I see."

With an inclination of his head, the young monk smiled. "My name is Miroku," he introduced. "And you two would be…?"

The shop they had entered was small and rustic, smelling faintly of spices and dust. Akane thought it was a strange combination, but before she could think so much of it, her gaze was caught by the rolls of cloth that lined the wall.

"Excuse me!" Ukyo called, stepping deeper into the place. Many of the shops had remained open this night, not wanting to miss out on the crowds a festival generated. The shop they were in was swathed in bright light from a few strategically-located oil lamps. Even so, the shopkeeper was nowhere in sight.

"Coming!" someone called out from the back of the room. It was a female voice, clear and young and lilting. There was the sound of footsteps and seconds later, a young woman emerged from behind a drawn curtain, smiling politely.

Akane could not stop her eyes from widening. The girl had purple hair! Well, to be fair, she also had a delicate face, a chiseled nose, big doe eyes and an impossibly curvaceous figure clothed flatteringly (and revealingly) in an exotic outfit of some sorts… but purple hair! "Welcome to shop! We sell too too good clothes for traveling and home," the gorgeous girl recited cheerfully, dipping into a dramatic bow. "How can Shampoo help?"

Akane stared, even though somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that it was probably quite rude of her to do so. But the young woman who had introduced herself as Shampoo seemed to be at ease with the attention that the customers were giving her.

"Well," Ukyo said finally, clearing her throat and putting on a polite smile. "We're actually looking for some clothes for traveling. And," her brow furrowed but she continued anyway, "Something that will last through physical exertion."

Shampoo's eyes glinted. "Ah," she breathed, almost fondly. "Battle wear, yes?" Smiling knowingly, she turned slightly. "Shampoo call Great-Grandmother. Great-Grandmother will be wanting to help customers with this." Before the two young women could say another word, the exotic and clearly foreign shopkeeper turned and called out in another language to the other inhabitant of the shop. It was a tiny shriveled old woman who emerged, hoping out from the back of the shop. beside her, Akane heard Ukyo take in a sharp breath.

"Amazonian elder," Ukyo greeted, nodding respectfully.

The old woman who had emerged peered over with a look of pleasant interest. "It seems you recognize this robes of mine, child?" she commented lightly, moving closer and into the light.

"I've come across a few Amazons in my travels," Ukyo answered. It was true; they had met a few Amazons out in the outskirts of Nerima once. However… they resembled men more than they did women. They were wild violent women, formidable in battle. You certainly wouldn't want to get on the bad side of an Amazon. Ukyo's gaze flickered over to Shampoo, who was smiling prettily. Shampoo, on the other hand, didn't resemble those Amazons they had met one bit.

"Is that so?" the old woman croaked. "I am Cologne. Now, how can we help you? Shampoo tells me you need battle wear?" She was certainly old and wrinkled, but there was no missing that sharp question in her voice.

"Yes, we are training for many battles to come," Ukyo replied neutrally. "Akane is new to this, so she needs the apparel necessary for our training together."

"Training… eh?" Cologne pondered this for a moment, before she broke into a knowing smile. "I like you two. Very well, I shall service you. Shampoo, take the girl's measurements."

"Yes!" the lavender-haired woman beamed, approaching Akane while brandishing a measuring tape. "We dress you good," she declared prettily. "Amazons always dress good."

An hour and four outfits later, they paid and left. "Perhaps we will meet again someday," said Cologne mysteriously. Ukyo suspected that the Amazon elder knew who they were and what they did, but if she did, then she chose not to say a word of it. They had bid the old woman and her great-granddaughter goodbye with politeness and respect; after all, Amazon contacts would be extremely valuable, should they ever need them in the future. Shampoo sent them off, waving exuberantly at the door and somehow, that action seemed to emphasize her abundant assets even more than ever.

"So, how do you like your new clothes, Akane-chan?" Ukyo begun conversationally as they moved away from the Nekofukuten. "Cologne and Shampoo were pretty good, if I do say so myself." She sighed girlishly. "Did you see all the gorgeous fabrics they had?"

In spite of herself, Akane nodded enthusiastically. When Shampoo had shown them into a small room containing the cloths they used for all their 'battle wear', as Shampoo put it, they had been accosted by the sight of dozens of rolls of cloth: deep rich reds, smooth silky greens, rippling soothing blues. All the cloths they had in here were valued not only because of their striking colors, but more importantly, the way they managed to both adhere and flow around a body. The cloths were light, but not thin. They looked delicate and beautiful, but they were certainly not easily ripped.

"Is Amazon secret," Shampoo had explained proudly. "Perfect art of weaving."

They had left with four outfits: a couple of safe warm tunics and leggings in neutral shades of brown and gray for everyday use, and two sets of traveling attire. Get the red one, Ukyo had nodded approvingly. It looks good and durable, and besides, red reminds me of your name. The other one they picked had been in deep green; Ukyo said it would be useful if they had to move through the forests quickly.

Akane pulled shyly at the red garb she was wearing. "It looks and feels nice," she admitted, although that was a bit of an understatement. The Amazons clearly took pride in their work: the material was gorgeous, both clinging and flowing around her body. It made her feel almost (dare she say it?) sensual, in a way. Turning a bit red, she continued in the most pious tone she could muster, "It's just… a little…"

"Revealing?" Ukyo finished the sentence up for her, laughing. "Don't worry, most traveling women who mean business would dress like this. You're not even in a skirt! It's not that bad. Besides," she threw Akane a wink, making Akane flush self-consciously. "Amazons like to show off their assets. The clothes they make sure testify to that."

Suddenly she spun around, detecting the approaching presence of Ranma. "Over here!" Ukyo called out across the crowds, sticking an arm into the air and waving to the pigtailed young man. Catching sight of Ukyo and Akane, Ranma made his way towards him, slipping and out of the crowds with ease.

"Yo," he said in greeting as he approached them. "All done?"

Ukyo nodded, pointing to Akane. "Yeah. She looks pretty good, doesn't she, Ran-chan?" she smiled in satisfaction. "It's Amazon work, you know. We got a pretty good deal, I reckon."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Che. Whatever," he muttered, turning his gaze in her direction.

Akane rolled her eyes in similar fashion at his comment. "I happen to like it," she interjected, if only to annoy Ranma and argue for the sake of arguing. All previous embarrassment with the outfit was easily forgotten. "It figures that a guy like you wouldn't be able to appreciate the high quality of the cloth the Amazons used to make this," she continued smartly, earning an approving giggle from Ukyo.

Perhaps it was a good thing Akane completely missed the way his gaze traveled down her figure, over the snug fitting deep red tunic with the Chinese collar, past the little strip of creamy midriff exposed, past the snug shorts that ended mid-thigh and over the generous expense of slender leg that ended in sturdy sandals.

If she had caught that look, she might have killed Ranma with her bare hands, superior or not.

"Che," Ranma repeated, suddenly feeling warm and uncomfortable before the two young women. Easger to get off the topic, he began to saunter off in the direction of the town inn, beckoning at them to follow. "Let's go, I already got us a place for the night."

They began to move off in the direction Ranma was leading them in. Excitement stirred, Ukyo quickened her pace to match up with Ranma's. "An inn?" Akane heard Ukyo sigh happily, tucking her hands behind her back. "Finally, we're going to stay in a place with a bed!"

That didn't sound like a half bad idea, decided Akane. She certainly hadn't enjoyed last night's sleep sprawled over the forest floor, and she had the bruises to show for it, too. She quickened her footsteps as she followed Ranma and Ukyo, not wanting to be left behind and alone in this boisterous mass of people.

Then it happened.

Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was mere coincidence. In any case, Akane would never know.

All that registered was that when she looked up, for no particular reason, into the crowds, she caught, for one split second, the briefest glimpse of Kasumi.

The woman standing several meters away from her had her face turned slightly as she spoke to someone by her side, but that slender built was unmistakably Kasumi's. And when her face lit up in that gentle kind smile, and wisps of shiny chestnut hair fell into her eyes as she laughed quietly, Akane knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that that woman was the Kasumi who had held her and comforted her all through their childhood.

She only had time to hear the sharp intake of her own breath, before the crowds swarmed in and swallowed her sister whole.

Sweet Kasumi was gone.

Edited 3/5/2014.