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 29

Yaayaa rested in the wheelchair that Doctor Tofu pushed with Doll-Hina resting in her lap while Gosunkgi followed closely behind them. Doctor Tofu had stabilized her back to make it as safe as possible to transport her.

Yaayaa was not sure what would happen next, or if the seed of resentment that festered in her heart could be dealt with, but she would do her best. It was all that she could do anymore. For both herself, Hina… And Qiang Pu.

Hina had the resentment she felt towards Qiang Pu was natural, understandable even. If not for Qiang Pu, she would not have met Xaph Ti Pyn. She would not not have become a target, would not have been injured.

She would never have met Hina.

Yaayaa hugged Hina a little tighter, then smiled softly when she felt Hina rest her tiny hands on her arms. This was her future, after all. The path she had chosen to walk, for both Hina, and herself. So that Hina could experience life once more, and so that she could walk once more. That she could stand on her own and someday face Qiang Pu once again.

So that she could say what she needed to say.

Yaayaa looked down into the upturned, worried face of doll-Hina and smiled and hugged her friend tighter before she said. "It's okay, Hina. I was just thinking, that's all."

Hina nodded and settled back down into Yaayaa's lap as she kept her own thoughts to herself. Hina knew that her young friend had much in her mind, and was not yet ready to talk about what troubled her. It was something that Hina knew all too well, after all.

They would have plenty of time, after all. When Yaayaa decided she was ready, then Hina would be there for her.

Tofu watched the strange pair as they interacted and shook his head minutely. Ever since he had first met Ranma and the others who had experienced Jusenkyo's touch, his world had become much stranger.

Of course, it had its perks as well. He had been able to find the courage to pursue the woman he called his wife, after all. He had gotten to know some interesting and unique people. And now, he would get to study this pair, and find out a bit more about this strange side of the world.

Even if it turned his understanding of everything he thought he understood on its head. Even if it made him question almost everything he had ever learned in medical school, or during his years of practicing medicine.

What they were doing, what they hd planned, it went against everything that his training told him was possible, but he was there as a favor to Mother Konatsu and Qiang Pu.

You always took care of your family, after all.

The drive took about an hour with Amaya behind the wheel of the Teahouse's medical van. It was a cross between an ambulance and an armored car, but with an emphasis on dealing with severe trauma. It made sense, when you considered what the Teahouse often had to deal with.

Gosunkgi had decided to sit up front, so that there was more room for Hina's large doll, along with giving the Doctor room in case something happened on their drive. Also, he had wanted to make all the arrangements had been made.

It could not be that there was a spark of jealousy towards Yaayaa, after all. Even if she could give Hina something that he would never be able to himself.

All that mattered in the end was Hina and her happiness.

The old hot springs resort where he had found Hina came into view at last. It had been abandoned for years, but Gosunkgi had spent the resources to have it brought back to it's former glory, in even better shape than it had been when they had first met so many years ago.

There would be no staff, and a cleaning crew would only come out once a week. They would be dependent on each other, and whatever staff the Teahouse lent to them.

That said, Gosunkgi was fairly certain that the dark-skinned Geisha that sat next to him would be present as much as possible. He wouldn't admit it, but the presence of the capable little woman eased his nerves considerably. Not only was she a skilled driver, fighter and hostess, but she also helped with maintaining Yaayaa's mental well-being.

And that was something that would be very important in the time to come.

Gosunkgi slid open the window into the back and told the other people. "We're there." He ignored the little tinge of jealousy that raised its ugly little head as he saw Hina in her larger body holding the hand of the young girl. Of course, her larger body still wasn't all that much taller than Yaayaa's was.

Of course, that had to do more with his own bias and preferences more than anything else. Hina had never seemed to mind his choice, and that had worked out well. Now, he would have to learn to deal with another person inhabiting the body he had made, and he was not yet sure how well he would adjust.

He had suggested to Hina that they could just make a new body for Yaayaa, but that idea had been shot down. Hina, the gothic lolita of Gosunkugis shop was an established player, and widely regarded as untouchable. A new girl, even one under Gosunkugi's wing would not be guaranteed the same protections, plus if anything did happen and they had to swap back, it would be easier to cover up than having one disappear and the other reapear. Honestly, the whole thing made his head hurt a bit.

If it had been anyone else but Hina that had asked him to adjust to all of this then he would have told them just where to go and what to do.

In very graphic detail.

Gosunkugi sighed and shook his head and pointedly ignored the tiny smirk that flitted across Amaya's delicate features. People could be so infuruating at times, it made him wonder just why he had ever agreed to deal with them.

Not thtat he didn't know the answer, though.

Hikaru Gosunkugi sighed again and looked at the building that would change several of their lives in a fundamental and radical way.

"Sometimes, One must do what One finds unpleasant or distressing for the sake of those that they love, or have come to consider as family." Amaya said crypticaly in that soft, demure voice of hers.

Gosunkugi glanced aside at her, but the dark-skinned Geisha had never looked away from the road, so she didn't meet his gaze.

That did not mean that the insufferable little smirk was not back, though.

Gosunkugi sighed again, then triggered the code on his phone that would open the reinforced and rebuilt gates to the old hotel.

Once they had all left the van, and Yaayaa had been settld once more into her wheelchair, the odd group made their way into the building. The ramp up the front stair was new, as were the automatic doors that opened for them.

The pristine walls, new tiles on the floor, and the other rennovations spoke of just how much infulenece and wealth Gosunkugi had amassed working his talents for the underbelly of society. He escorted them through the building, and to the suite of rooms that had been built along Doctor Tofu's very exacting standards to handle the young girl and her needs.

Yaayaa looked about, then blinked as she looked at Hina who walked at her side, and Doctor Tofu who had moved to examine the room. "Why… Do we need all of this? Aren't I just… Going to give my body to Hina?" The young girl asked.

Hina smiled and rested a hand gently on Yaayaa's shoulder. "We are going to work at it, little by little. We will swap bodies every day, for a little bit longer each day with one day a week set aside for you to live in your skin. Doctor Tofu wants to make sure that there are no… ill effects… to your body from my prolonged presence in it. And that you are taken care of, especially since at first you won't be able to move the doll, much less transfer from doll to doll."

Yaayaa got a worried look on her fae as she looked from Hina to Tofu again. "But… Won't it just make it harder for me to let go?"

Doctor Tofu shook his head and smiled gently at the young girl. "Once you learn to move the doll, and switch between them, you will regain mobility. You will be able to walk and run again. Our resident psychiatrist suggested that it might help you let go a bit easier. It's a bit sneaky, but it will make the change easier on you, in the long run."

Yaayaa breathed out and nodded as she reached up and rested a hand on Hina's hand and smiled a little. "I will trust you, then. I am in your care."

As the rest of the party moved into the facility, Amaya followed from the rear to keep a good eye on her charges, and to contemplate the changes that Hina and Yaayaa faced ahead of them. Just like she had faced a massive, life altering change herself. One that had probably saved her life, in truth.

And one that could give Yaayaa the freedom that a malicious act had taken from her. An act that Amaya would continue to extract payment for, for as long as it took for her to feel satisfied.

She was only all how long that was likely to take.

Yaayaa in stunned wonder at the suite that Hina and her would be sharing. There were a pair of beds, one of them the hospital-style she had gotten all too familiar with, and Hina's doll box, as well. Besides the attached bathroom, one that had been built to handle her issues, there were also two full closets filled with outfits for both her and Hina. Yaayaa couldn't help but notice that each of full-sized Hina's outfits seemed to have a doll-sized one as well. She looked up at Hina and gestured towards Hina's closet. "Where do you find matching outfits like that?"

Hina checked to make sure that Gosunkgi was preoccupied before she answered Yaayaa. "Actually, Hikaru made them all. He is surprisingly talented, and sweet. In his own way."

Yaayaa blinked and looked at the creepy man where he had become engaged in some sort of conversation with Doctor Tofu and tried to reconcile what Hina had said with all that she had seen of him so far, and still found it hard to completely believe.

"So… Hina Senpai?" Yaayaa hesitantly said as she looked up to the small, doll-like woman.

"what is it, Yaayaa dear? And you don't need to call me senpai, you know. We are family after all. And well, we are going to have a very strange, if close, relationship. So, what can I do for you?" Hina asked as she knelt down the little bit to be on eye level with the seated young girl.

Yaayaa blushed and smiled shyly. "Are… We going to change places soon?" Yaayaa asked, while she tried to kep the nervousness out of her voice.

Hina smiled and laid her hands on Yaayaa's. "Not today, dear. Today, we all get settled in and I get to show you around the place." Hina said, then smiled over at the quiet Geisha who had blended into the shadows by the wall. "Or, should I say, I get to show you and Amaya around. You know this is where I met Hikaru, when he was much younger? Quite a few years ago, before you were even born yet, actually."

"It's still so hard to believe sen… I mean Hina." Yaayaa said with a blush and a sheepish smile.

Hina laughed and smiled. "What? That Hikaru used to be shy and quiet, or that I met him before you were born yet?" Hina said as she exchanged a look with Gosunkugi, who just sighed and turned back to Doctor Tofu while the giggling cursed doll pushed Yaayaa while Amaya followed close behind.

"Umm, all of that and the fact that he made all of those clothes for you. I mean… He really doesn't look like, well, any of that?" Yaayaa confided.

Amaya chose that time to speak up softly. "This One thinks that it is important that One does not make assumptions off of another without firm knowledge of their nature. People often surprise those that are around them."

Yaayaa but her lip and nodded as she made up her mind to give the strange, creepy man a real chance.

Hina laughed and gave Amaya a thankful look before she continued the tour, and took her companions out to the back, to show them the expanse of the back end of the property. Once again, the influence and resources of Gosunkgi showed, in the careful attention to details. The pond and reflecting pool were carefully placed and we're in excellent condition, while not looking like they had clearly been recently redone. The trees that lined the carefully tended flowerbeds and stone paths created an almost perfect atmosphere, and it took looking closely to see that many had only recently been replanted.

Amaya had been one of those that had over seen the transportation to and from the old hotel, and it still amazed her what had been accomplished in a short time. Once again,.she had to wonder what Gosunkgi intended for the old hotel once they were done with it.

Unless this was another surprisingly sentimental act by the odd man.

Amaya found herself pulled from her thoughts as Yaayaa pointed to a small exercise trail that led off into the woods.

"Hina? What is that for?" The young girl asked, while she attempted to supress the anxiety that welled up in her.

"That is an American-style exercise trail. Hikaru had it built so that you can use it, mostly." Hina explained as she once again rested a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"But… I can't even walk anymore…." Yaayaa said dejectedly.

"The body you were born with, can't anymore. The one that you are going to be given? Its main limits are what the body can handle without breaking, and how strong your spirit is. After all, as good as I look now, it's not like there is actual muscle here. Just Hikaru's artistry."

Yaayaa let that sink in, and smiled shyly as Amaya observed quietly, and found that she hd to respect how the cursed spirit handled the fragile psyche of the injured young girl.

That was when Amaya decided she would take an active role, once both of them had started to settle into their new forms and could move once more.

After all, every young woman neeed to learn at least the basics of self defense in this day and age. She was sure that Mother Konatsu would not object to her training another pair of students, on top of Xaph Ti Pyn. It just meant that she would be a lot busier than she had found herself currently.

Amaya smiled a soft, secretive smile and relished the gentle, warm feeling that welled up in her chest.

Hina and Yaayaa talked quietly amongst themselves as Amaya watched them with a content smile on her placid face. She had a good feeling about this, and hoped that the two wounded souls before her could find the peace that they so desperately needed and deserved.

Hikaru Gosunkgi watched the three women out of the corner of his eye as they exited the room, before he turned his full attention back to Doctor Tofu. "I have taken care of as much of your list as possible. Do you think this will be safe for both of them?"

"Honestly, I don't know. All I have to go on is what Hina has told me, and what I have inferred from watching her." Doctor Tofu adjusted his glasses and regarded Gosunkugi critically. "And it should be safe for Hina, by what her nature is. Young miss Fujimaki is the one that I am more concerned about, not only the toll this might take on her already damaged and stressed body, but what it could do to her psyche, as well. But, I have agreed to oversee this so that they both have the best chances possible."

Doctor Tofu noted how Gosunkugi managed to hide most of his worry, and sighed when he took off his glasses to clean them before he put them back on.

It would seem that he would have another person to monitor the stress of, after all.

*A/N*

Thank you all for reading and sticking with me so far!

This is one of my most ambitious projects ever. A story told across multiple writings, timelines, and locations with characters in different places in their lives.

I thank you all for following this journey, and the input I get from you!

There is a great deal to go before this story comes to an end, and I look forward to walking this road with all of you!

Stay Frosty!