Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that i claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:

For Love and Money, Chapter 15: Blood ties are the only bond that can not be slipped, but can be broken.

The night before…

Koda sat in her room as she drank tea and waited. She knew she would not be kept long, her guest that night was one of the most punctual people she knew, and would waste little time before she arrived. Just enough time to bathe and change, to be exact. She would most certainly avoid talking to Akiko Watanabe until she had no other choice.

Koda smiled as there was a gentle knock on her door, signaling the arrival of her guest

"Come in, Tachi dear. We have much to discuss."

Tachi entered the room and noticed the setting that had already been prepared for her. She inhaled deeply and looked at Koda. "You have prepared this One's favorite tea. What you have to discuss must be dire, indeed."

Koda smiled sadly. "It is not good news, no. You received a message from our dear Mrs. Tendo?"

Tachi nodded as she took a sip of her tea. "Yes, it was waiting for me when this One returned."

"And this One could not fail to notice you have avoided Miss Watanabe's well-meaning probing once more?" Koda asked as she prepared her thoughts.

"Michi wished to speak to her." Tachi said offhandedly.

"Clever." Was all Koda had to say.

"This One has no idea what you might be implying, Koda." Tachi said serenely, only the amused gleam in her eye betraying her.

"She will want you later." Koda said.

"After our business is done shall be soon enough. So, what are your thoughts on how our young guest is doing, and do you think she is involved in the unpleasantness that has been occurring?" Tachi asked.

Koda sighed sadly. "Our young student is doing as well as one could expect, considering what all has happened from what others have told this One. She is under a great deal of stress and upheaval at this time. And when someone her age is put under such conditions, it is not uncommon to revert to old, established behaviors."

Tachi nodded grimly. "So, the same as this One"s conclusions. She is from a warrior society not well known for subtlety. She is likely to seek a… Direct way of handling her problems."

"How shall we handle this, then?" Koda asked.

"How we best handle it. You observe, because that is what you are best at. Most seem to notice this One when she takes the role of watcher." Tachi said, already having figured out what they would do, and knowing that Koda had had the same thoughts on the matter at hand.

"And you shall follow her. My talents in that field are… Lacking." Koda said as she watched her friend.

Tachi chuckled wryly. "Mother always says to know and accept your own weaknesses so that one can focus on their strengths"

"Indeed, it is so. So, what will you do once you ascertain what it is our young guest intends to do?" Koda asked as she poured them both more tea.

"Whatever it takes to protect her from herself." Tachi said with certainty.

The next evening.

Tachi had received the message from Koda, who would remain at the Tendo residence to observe if Qiang Pu returned on her own. Both hoped that Tachi would never have to make her presence known, but Tachi had seen how her young quarry had been dressed, and had a sinking suspicion she knew how this night would end without her intervention.

The scene with the young Chinese girl did not show promise, that was for sure. Tachi narrowed her eye as she observed the other girl closely. There were things about her that seemed familiar, and when she placed them the warrior paled, as she hoped that she was wrong.

Those eyes, that bearing… Both reminded her of people, one of whom she had not seen in years and hoped she would never see again. The other was a dear friend that she worried about, in her own way.

The intent that was portrayed in the other girls actions was all too clear to her, the nudging, the incistance. It was becoming clearer by the moment what was the likely cause of at least some of the changes that Qiang Pu had shown recently, and perhaps why she had changed so much in such a short time.

She was being guided, whether she realized it or not.

Where they were was also worrying. Not just because of the reputation of the gang that dwelled there, but because of their connections with one of the shadier of the great Families.

An incident here would potentially carry dire repercussions. Yet, she held back and didn't rush in before the girls entered the building. Something told her to trust in her young charge, and she had to see what this other girl had planned, what her plot was. On top of that, there was a good chance that if she was connected to the attempts on Qiang Pu's life, she would strike before Tachi could get close enough to prevent it.

So, she followed them as silently as possible.

The girls entered the building unseen, as they made their way towards where they could hear voices speaking.

"Whatever they did to her, she ain't responsive. If this doesn't wear off, I think we got swindled. She is a pretty little piece that is for sure, but no one will want to pay decent money for a vegetable. We will have to dump her, sell her off in bits, or give her to one of the freaks." One voice said.

"I told you the price was too good, boss. No matter how much you trust them, or how often we have gotten merchandise from them, the price was too good." Another voice said.

"Shut up, both of you. It's going to be fine. I'm sure she will snap out of it anytime and start to scream. Not that anyone will hear her, but a bit of fight at the start just makes it easier to break and make them obedient." A third, rougher sounding voice said.

The girls exchanged a look, and quick hand gestures as they nodded and split up, each moving a different direction as they circled through the warehouse. Qiang Pu tried to put her unease out of her mind, but things that her mother, Nabiki, and Tachi had said to her kept creeping up.

"Be wary of the easy fight, daughter mine. No victory that has not been earned is worth calling such." Her mother had told her.

"We are in a land that is unlike yours, Qiang Pu. Things are not always so cut and dried, so black and white. It's a lot of shades of gray." Nabiki had told her.

"Killing changes you. You lose something of yourself with each life taken. Make sure that it is worth the price when you decide to end a life." Tachi had said to her over tea, when she was still new here and full of anger and vengeance.

Qiang Pu shook her head as she moved as silent as a shadow. She saw movement up ahead, and slowed her pace more. Each foot was placed carefully as she held her knife low and behind her, so that the edge wouldn't gleam and give her away. A knife that would soon taste blood, she was sure. Yet, that doubt still nagged at the back of her mind.

She snuck up behind the guard and gripped his chin firmly in one hand as she prepared to drive the knife in. At the last moment, she reversed it and struck him at the base of the skull. Why didn't she kill this one that deserved it? She told herself that she didn't want to get the blade slick with blood so soon. She lowered the unconscious man, no more of a boy, to the ground and stuffed a piece of her shift in his mouth, and then bound his hands behind his back with his own belt before she moved on.

She heard a soft, meaty sound off to the side, and knew in her heart that Xaph Ti Pyn didn't have the same doubts that she did. It shamed her, in a way. Was she not a warrior of Jusenkyo? Was she not a proud amazon, in this land of stupid, weak outsiders who let men rule them?

She thought about her host once more. Nabiki was no weakling, even if she didn't see the necessity of what needed to be done. Men feared her, and respected her. Perhaps it was the respect that mattered most, at least here.

She once again shook her head as they moved in deeper, unaware of the shadow that was slowly closing with them.

Qiang Pu arrived at the open space at the back of the warehouse, and saw the men she had heard, along with two others. Three of them stood around a bound and drooling Asuka, who's eyes seemed to stare glassily at nothing. Another was opening what seemed to be a doctors bag of some sort, and pulling out bottles and a syringe. The fifth one was speaking quietly on the phone, his hand waving about animatedly.

Qiang Pu glanced at Xaph Ti Pyn who gestured with the knife in her hand, as she pointed out who she thought was the biggest threat. Qiang Pu nodded, and prepared for action. They had to move fast, and hit them hard. They had taken Asuka, and probably tried to do the same with Yaayaa.

A corner of her mind wondered about that. They seemed to be skilled at their trade, as horrific as that was. Why would they have hurt Yaayaa like that? There were any manner of easy ways to take down someone of Yaayaa's size and strength without seriously injuring them. So, why was she hurt like she was? Qiang Pu once again pushed away her doubts as the two girls sprung into action.

They rushed the three, moving fast and quietly. They were noticed about halfway to the first group, and a shout rang out as the two nearest her turned to face Qiang Pu. The third pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed at Xaph Ti Pyn. He never got a chance to pull the trigger as a knife embedded itself in his throat before he could even get the gun on target.

Qiang Pu ignored what was happening with Xaph Ti Pyn as she pushed herself faster. The first of them was closing with her in a rush as the second pulled a knife and hung back a bit. Without hesitation, Qiang Pu slid between the legs of the first and rolled. She launched herself feet-first into the jaw of the second man, the shock of her sudden appearance causing a moment's hesitation. A hesitation that proved costly, as she cracked his jaw and sent him flying backwards. As lithe as a cat, Qiang Pu twisted in the air and landed lightly in a crouch facing the first man who had skidded to a halt. They faced off for a moment before Qiang Pu was in his face in a flash, using the close quarters techniques that her mother had taught her when she was young. She flowed into the sequence, the knife forgotten as she threw a dizzying array of short, quick strikes and kicks. She created the opening she needed and drove the heel of her hand into his jaw, jerking his head up and back. She hesitated as she gripped the knife, and instead spun and drove the heel of her foot into the side of his head just behind the jaw. He dropped like a rock as she turned in time to see Xaph Ti Pyn drive the knife she had recovered into the leg of the last man.

Xaph Ti Pyn delivered one quick strike after another, as she bloodied her opponent and drove him back. By the time Qiang Pu made it to her side, the other girl had driven him into a corner. He bled from half a dozen cuts, none of them fatal.

Xaph Ti Pyn looked at Qiang Pu. "You should do the honors. Kill this worthless piece of trash. Avenge your friend. End their injustices."

Qiang Pu hesitated for a moment, then started to advance on him with her knife at the ready. She looked into his eyes as he blubbered and begged for his life. She wondered how many had done the same, and he had ignored them? How many young girls had he taken from the lives they had known, just like she had been? How many lives had he ruined in the pursuit of money?

It would end here, now.

She advanced on him, the knife ready. She was prepared to drive it home when her mothers voice came to her once more.

"When you make your first kill, make sure that you are ready for it. You change, daughter mine. You can never go back to who you were before. I hope that you never must make that choice, that the child I see before me doesn't have to die. The Japanese offer us a new way, but I do not know if we are ready for it." Her mother had said to her one morning, as they had seen off yet another one of the guests that Konatsu had sent to them.

That guest had been Tachi, even if she hadn't known who it was at the time.

Qiang Pu hesitated, as she stood over the bleeding man and Xaph Ti Pyn's voice filled her ear. The other girl was close, right behind her and to the side.

"Kill him. Take his life. Do it, Qiang Pu. Become the warrior that we need you to be. Make Mother proud. Make Father proud. Kill him. End this." She said softly, unaware of the vengeful shadow that stalked closer to them by the moment.

Qiang Pu raised the knife, as she stared into the eyes of the man, then shook her head as she dropped the knife. "I can't. He is not worth the blood-price." She said sadly, then gasped as she felt the knife graze her side as some instinct warned her of the attack.

"Mother was right. You are just like them. Weak and worthless. Unfit for this new world." Xaph Ti Pyn said as she readied her knife for another stroke and kicked the wounded Qiang Pu to the ground.

Xaph Ti Pyn stood over the other girl as the knife started to descend, driven with all the force of the young girl's body. A flash of black and red, and the sound of blade on blade filled the small space as Tachi seemed to appear before her, her blade locked with the smaller girls.

They stood there for a moment, before Xaph Ti Pyn jumped clear of the larger woman, a white powder flying from her hand towards Tachi, who covered her nose and eye as she warded the attack off. When she cleared her face, Xaph Ti Pyn had opened enough distance that she could not close quickly.

"You are unworthy of being the Heir, Qiang Pu! I am the one that should be that! It should have been me! Me! Xaph Ti, daughter of Rai Zur! We are not done, not by a long shot, sister mine! We are both the daughters of Ranma, you know? And unlike you, I got the strength! I got the determination! I got the best of it all, unlike you!" Xaph Ti said before she fled.

Tachi hesitated, then turned to check on Qiang Pu before she moved to tend to the bleeding man before her. "Call the Teahouse, Qiang Pu. This needs to be taken care of." Tachi said, then fixed a dark gaze on Qiang Pu. "We have much to discuss, child."

Qiang Pu shivered, then did as she had been told. Too much had happened, far too quickly. And yet, Xaph Ti's words repeated themselves over and over again in her mind.

She claimed to be the daughter of Ranma.