--What has happened:
After being challenged by Sabin to a duel, Ranma has started training 
under Phaeron and an old master named Yang's tutelage. Although he still 
has a long way to go, especially as his overconfidence and arrogance are 
causing him more trouble than usual, everyone has high hopes about him. 
Meanwhile, Nodoka has been thinking about what could be done regarding 
Ukyou's engagement, since she doesn't want the chef to be hurt when she 
finds out that Ranma and Akane have more or less admitted their love for 
each other. And while all this happens, Phaeron and Ranko continue to 
reminisce about their life in China, before the accident at Jusenkyo. 
Still, Ranko wonders about a certain incident that happened during their 
first training trip outside the Joketsuzoku village...


Bie liao, shifu (part B)

It was the crack of dawn, and the trio of youngsters was already 
leaving the village. Very few people were there to see them off, as 
they hadn't announced their departure previously --mostly to avoid 
unwanted attention, namely eavesdroppers. Nevertheless, at least the 
boy and one of the twins were tense until the village disappeared 
from sight.
	"All right, you can breathe now," Pandi said, grinning.
	On cue, Zhaodi and Lael sighed and came closer to each 
other, as they had been walking with several meters of separation 
between them to avoid any more gossip. Once they were out of sight, 
though, they were quick to walk beside one another and almost hold 
hands.
	"You'd think this is the first time we've gone out on a 
training trip," Zhaodi said. "Can't believe how nosy they were."
	"Maybe it my fault," Lael said in what little Japanese he 
knew. "You no go on training trips with guys often, right?"
	She smiled a little, "Very funny, Lael-chan." Zhaodi then 
smirked and raced a bit before him, "So, are we going to get there 
tomorrow or not? C'mon!"
	Shrugging at the girl's cheerfulness, Pandi and Lael 
snickered and hurried right after her.
	The trip was barely spent in silence for them. Since they had 
traveled this road once before, the twins happily pointed out every 
single speck of dirt or flower they could recognize. Lael could tell 
they were excited about this "training expedition," and he could 
practically feel the emotion that Zhaodi radiated.
	He had never seen her like that before. Back in the village, 
she usually kept herself from showing her feelings for him, and the 
farthest she would advance would be to hold his hand in public --
given that the public was no larger than Pandi and two more people, 
of course. Here, though, in the presence of Mother Nature, she 
practically glowed with joy, with all of her bright smiles aimed right 
at him. For his part, he wasted no time before returning those smiles, 
along with an innocent look of wonder every time his Zhaodi-chan 
showed him something particularly interesting.
	And then those mountains over there... that was the river 
where Zhae and the others found them... and those trees were still 
very little when they first arrived... oh, and don't forget those 
boulders that Zhae used to help them train with the Breaking Point...
	Zhaodi would lead him through every one of those places, 
showing him the sights to be seen, the sounds to be heard. Why, Lael 
nearly fainted when Zhaodi got really excited and took his arm in the 
crook of her elbow, practically hugging it. She was still just like a 
little girl, he would think in amusement. And oh God he loved to see 
her like that. But --there's always a "but" in these cases-- those 
outbursts were only sporadic, and even then they never came while 
Pandi looked at them. When both girls described the scenery, Zhaodi 
would just calm down a bit and mention what technique she learned 
there, or how Zhae-sama developed a new training method right on 
the spot, always using a matter-of-factly tone. And yet, Lael wasn't 
confused by Zhaodi's behavior. If anything, he was pleased even 
more: he loved the warrior as much as he loved the innocent little 
girl, and the bright-eyed tomboy didn't let him down. This was 
Zhaodi, after all. If one of those two sides were missing it just 
wouldn't be her.
	So, they slowly began to recognize their own feelings... 
though their reactions weren't exactly the same.
	For someone who had spent over a year possessed by a 
demon, this wonderful new emotion was like a promise of the keys to 
the Light's entrance. But it was just that this strange girl inspired 
nothing but boundless admiration and deep affection in him, affection 
which would become even more should she stay with him any longer. 
He respected her for who she was, for what she did; a stronger 
warrior he had seen only in Zhae. He saw the flame that was her 
spirit, unbridled and passionate in whatever she did, even reckless 
and stubborn some times. But then... then she would be the most 
innocent child he ever saw, hardly ever doing more than hold his 
hand and sending him a _glance_. She never did that on purpose, 
though, and he knew that, but whenever she gave him that coquettish 
glance he felt as though she were giving him a chance to share in her 
fiery spirit.
	He knew. He knew he was in love with her. But how would 
she take it? How should he let her know?
	But on the other side there was the young female warrior, 
for whom this startling new emotion was like an earthquake that 
shook everything in her world. At first, she had been confused by 
what she felt. She didn't know why, but each day she spent with him 
she began to treat him as more than a friend -and it frightened her, to 
speak frankly. She didn't know what to make of the strange feelings 
in her heart whenever he was around, or the pleasant tightening in 
her chest when he took her hand. And what is more, she knew she 
was actively seeking those sensations, but could do nothing about it. 
It was as if she were out of herself, watching someone else begin a 
relationship with the foreign boy. On the other hand, the fright and 
the confusion and all the weirdness made her feel _good_, She might 
have been startled by what she was experiencing, but she was sure as 
hell she wouldn't try to stop that, much less forgo what they had 
traveled so far. After all, she was pretty sure she liked him. She 
couldn't help being fascinated by his calm character, so different from 
her own and yet sometimes so similar. His skills had already been 
relegated to a second level on her views of him: she cared more for 
him, as a person, than for the warrior that could overwhelm her in 
some skills and come up short in most others.
	But did she love him? She didn't know. And she didn't want 
to think about it. She had grown to be a warrior, a part of her would 
shout... though warriors should also have someone to care for, 
another part would argue. In her condition, all she could do was look 
at him and smile, while feeling frightened for the first time in her life 
-because she was walking through a path she had never walked 
before.
	Pandi, for her part, was having a ball. She knew the way her 
sister and Lael were headed, and she truly felt happy for them -even 
if she had to fight down a bit of envy every now and then. They 
thought she didn't notice, but she sure saw the way their eyes 
glittered when a gaze was crossed, the way their body language 
yelled out loud that they would soon love one another without having 
to hide it. She even forgot the first impression she had made of Lael -
a demon-possessed fighter with the urge to kill her-and only saw 
someone that cared deeply for her twin sister. Someone that was 
there for her all the time, never keeping anything from her...
	Wait. Maybe there was a time when he _did_ keep 
something from her. From both twins, for that matter. And when they 
thought about it, neither Zhaodi nor Pandi ever did find out what 
happened then, after their first visit to Jusenkyo...

Lael gasped as he saw the valley. It was littered with dozens of pools, 
each of them several meters wide, and with a few bamboo poles 
sticking out. He had heard from this place before, first from Hidama 
and then from the twins, but to see it in reality sent his mind reeling.
	He never really believed that nature could create such a 
place. When seen indifferently, Jusenkyo was little more than a 
playground for water, a host of pools coincidentally arranged beside 
each other. If one looked close enough, though, the ancient training 
ground came to life like a totem, like a great spirit that rose from the 
water in order to warn those who approached it. Perhaps it was 
because of the uncountable creatures that had already drowned in it, 
adding their essence to the great soul, or perhaps there were greater 
powers at work in Jusenkyo. Regardless of what the explanation was, 
though, all that Lael felt was instinctive respect towards the looming 
presence, as well as fear and fascination at the same time -though not 
the same type that his love for Zhaodi inspired. The feelings that 
Jusenkyo transmitted made him want to stay away, made him wish he 
never had to return.
	When he looked over at the shorter ones, he saw that the 
girls themselves seemed to be unnerved by the pools. He couldn't 
help it, but somehow he had the idea of them belonging here, either 
submitting to the presence or controlling it as if they were its 
masters. The thought was fleeting, however, and he gladly dismissed 
it.
	"Impressive, isn't it?" Zhaodi asked, in Japanese. "Zhae-
sama brought us here a couple of years ago, but..." she paused for a 
second; though she didn't move, Lael could tell she had flinched on 
the inside. "I never really liked this place. Gives me the creeps." She 
quickly turned away and began to walk back to the camp site, then 
said, "Those guys from the Musk Dynasty can say whatever they 
want about their 'sacred springs.' I think this place should be wiped 
out."
	Neither Pandi nor Lael opposed her. They had come to 
know about how each individual spring can contain and imprison the 
soul of whatever drowned there, with no hopes of release. Already 
dozens of animals, innocent creatures that never meant harm, had 
been taken into Jusenkyo's depths. Why, even a statue had been once 
tossed into a spring -some said that a wicked priest had tried to 
weaken the faith of a deity's followers. Since the statue of such 
goddess had received the prayers and offerings, its own spirit had 
become too much for the mortal world to contain.-There was no 
telling how long those poor creatures had been kept prisoner by the 
crystal waters, but regardless of the "curse" they were supposed to 
inflict, they needed to be released -although no one knew how to do 
that, since destroying or draining Jusenkyo would erase those 
imprisoned in it.
	"So..." Lael said, still sending a wary glance at one of the 
largest springs, "Where we go now?"
	"Well, I don't now 'bout you guys but I could use a nice 
bath," Zhaodi said, interlacing her fingers and stretching her arms 
above her head. "And last I heard there's some waterfall in a nearby 
mountain, it's called Jusendo or something like that, and Zhae-sama 
said that sometimes it's hot water coming down from it."
	Upon hearing that name, Lael tapped his chin. He didn't 
know much Japanese yet, but he could tell what "Jusendo" meant. 
"But if Jusendo place have to do with Jusenkyo, maybe it cursed 
too."
	"Nah, only Jusenkyo's cursed. Lots of people go to Jusendo 
and nothing ever happens there. I think they named it that way just 
because it's close by."
	"I've heard from it also," Pandi commented, "They say the 
waterfall just goes straight into the ground and vanishes, without 
even making a river, but that inside the mountain there are caves 
flooded by the same water. Is that where you want to go, Zhaodi-
chan?"
	The other redhead grinned slightly, "After seeing those 
springs, all I want is to get into real, _normal_ water."
	After picking up a few items from their camp, the twins 
went off to a solitary mountain that rose near Jusenkyo, leaving Lael 
watching over the campsite. Not that he wasn't interested in seeing 
the waterfall that they had spoken about, but the similarity between 
that place's name and the springs still made him uncomfortable. 
Besides... the twins were going to take a _bath_. He knew they 
would need privacy.
	As he lay back on the grass, beside the tents, he wondered 
how Jusenkyo had been formed. Even while he was possessed by 
Coldfire, and was made to travel across Asia, he never heard of such 
a place. If the legends concerning those cursed springs were indeed 
true, then it meant that Jusenkyo had been created by a very powerful 
force, able to alter the soul itself. From that point of view, it was no 
wonder that the Musk Dynasty worshipped Jusenkyo like a guardian 
deity.
	Bored, he stood up and walked aimlessly through the valley. 
It took him a few minutes to realize he was walking back to the 
entrance of the springs. Why, the pull that the place had was 
incredible; just a while ago he had wished to stay away as long as 
possible, and yet he found himself going back there. It was as if 
Jusenkyo's spirit were trying to tell him something.
	Silent, he stood before the pool that had caught his attention 
earlier. It looked just like the others, but unlike those this spring 
didn't  project any spirit. He felt the magic in the water, but nothing 
else -no pain, no longing, no despair. It was as if the spring didn't 
have a curse yet, so for the moment it was just a pool of strange 
water.
	But then, where did the water come from? Each spring must 
have had a specific source, otherwise the spirits would have been 
mixed in the water by now. However, the water _itself_ must all 
originate from one point in order for the magic to be transmitted. The 
origin would then divide and branch out into each spring, affecting 
them differently to preserve their individuality.
	Once again he thought of Jusendo. Maybe that place _was_ 
the origin of the magical water; if no one was affected by _that_ 
water, as Zhaodi said, then it just meant that since it was the origin 
then none of the curses was active there -thus the water at Jusendo 
appeared to be normal.
	Pandi had also said that Jusendo's waterfall just dug into the 
ground, straight down. He wasn't sure about it, but maybe that 
waterfall was the source of Jusenkyo: the magic water from Jusendo 
came down from the mountain and then entered the earth, digging 
tunnels that came up in the shape of dozens of springs.
	And the twins were bathing there.
	Now he was worried. With just a final glance at the large 
spring he turned around and quickly headed for the mountain. He 
knew the water wouldn't curse them, but what if it affected them 
some other way? He had to make sure they were safe.
	After just a few moments he reached Jusendo. He was 
almost thrown off balance -the presence was so much stronger here. 
It was like standing before the parent of an already supreme entity.
	Shaking off the stupefaction, he walked on. The second 
thing he noticed, after the waterfall, was the way the mountainside 
was speckled with circular gates, all of them barred or sealed by 
metal doors. It appeared someone intended to protect this place, 
perhaps the Musk Dynasty. But he was not going to let a simple 
metal gate stop him. Sure, Zhaodi could have cracked it open with a 
punch, but given his lack of skill in that area he would have to use a 
chi-blast. He had already developed the Blue and Red Fire Birds to a 
higher level, after all, and he could demolish rock with them.
	He stood before a gate, and crossed his arms. After all that 
he had been through with Zhaodi-chan, it had become easier for him 
to summon the Red Fire Bird, as well as to strengthen it even further. 
Smiling, he lit up his aura. As always, it first started as a light blue 
field, which he based upon friendship -that valuable friendship that 
was so selflessly given to him by so many people, after Coldfire had 
been banished-and how strong that friendship made him feel. Soon, 
though, the blue aura became a solid scarlet. He was about to release 
the blast when a thought came to him.
	"This is so powerful... I've never felt a fire this strong 
before..." He smirked, "What am I worried about, anyway? Zhaodi-
chan and Pandi will be all right. They saved me from Coldfire, so 
there's no way they can be affected by this place... Coldfire... Oh, 
God, they really helped me back then... I feel... I feel nothing can go 
wrong when I'm with them... especially with Zhaodi-chan... No 
matter how bad something seems, they're always there to make it 
better..."
	The fire grew, and when he opened his eyes he realized that 
it had become a blinding white flame. He felt so _good_, so 
unbelievably good... No measly Bird would be able to release that 
much energy...
	"And I thought the Red Fire Bird felt strong..." he chuckled, 
"But now... White Fire Bird!"
	He slowly opened his fists and pushed forward, leaning back 
to resist the momentum, and a large bolt made of the white chi of 
hope was shot through his palms. It crashed into the metal gate, and 
after encountering a little resistance, went right through it. Lael 
thought he had heard a mechanical explosion go off, probably a 
booby trap of some sort, but it was demolished as well. Confident, 
and glad to have found another source for his Fire Birds, he smiled 
and went into the cave.

"Come on in, Pandi-chan!" Zhaodi taunted, splashing water at her 
twin's feet. "Look? I'm in the deepest part and the water barely 
reaches my chest!"
	"I... I don't know..." Pandi cowered slightly. Despite her 
martial arts training, she had never had the chance to learn how to 
swim. So far, the only water she could get into was the one from 
rivers or ponds that reached her belly, and even in those cases she 
had been caught off guard by wells or depressions in the riverbed -
she had been pretty close to drowning several times, in places where 
she thought she would be safe.
	This place, though, was completely alien to her. They were 
in a large hall where the cave itself ran into a wall, while a small 
waterfall came down from twelve feet above them. The floor of the 
cave slowly sloped down into the pool, and it was covered with soft 
grass that had somehow stretched into the hall like a green carpet. In 
the pool itself, though, the rock from the varicolored floor changed 
from a brown hue to turquoise and light red, all easily seen through 
the crystal-clear water that came from above. It would have been 
very beautiful if not for her fear of drowning.
	"Look, Pandi-chan..." Zhaodi said, spinning around in the 
water to show her the hall, "You can see everything here, so there's 
no holes or anything that you can get sucked into. The rock's smooth 
so you won't get cut or anything, but it's not slippery so you can't 
fall down and hit your head either." Smiling, she dove into the water 
and spread her arms to push her face up again, "And the water's 
great!" she beamed.
	"Oh, all right..." Pandi sighed as she gingerly stepped into 
the pool, "But isn't this water supposed to change from hot to cold?"
	"Yeah. Zhae-sama says that if you hear something like a big 
bird shrieking, it turns warm, and when you hear a roar like a 
dragon's it gets cold again. And right now it's just like a hot spring 
back home." She smiled and leapt up slightly, then set herself 
horizontally to swim around a little.
	"Well, I suppose it's not half-bad..." Pandi smiled timidly, 
feeling the warm water accept her body and relieve it of the 
weariness from the journey. But just to be on the safe side, she 
looked for an elevation in the pool's floor on which to sit down, so 
the water reached her shoulders while she leaned back and relaxed...
	...until Zhaodi kicked hard into the water, splashing her. 
"Oneechan!" Pandi complained, "Don't joke about that!" Pouting 
slightly at her sister's grin, she smirked and held her breath, then 
dove straight down and pulled Zhaodi's ankles.
	"Whoa-- grlbg!"
	Grinning, Pandi reached down and pulled her up by the 
shoulders, then sat her down in front of herself and did something she 
was _dying_ to do:
	She undid the pigtail.
	"Hey!" Zhaodi protested, trying to turn around and face her 
sister, "I like that just how it is! Leave it alone!"
	"Lael-kun likes it too, but you look better without it," Pandi 
snickered. Zhaodi blushed slightly and shut up, then looked away 
from her again.
	"You know..." she said, after a while, as Pandi washed her 
now-free hair. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't go around talking 
about it."
	"Zhaodi-chan..." Pandi smiled softly, rearranging her sister's 
wild front locks into a prim style, "You don't have to worry about 
that... but..." she pulled Zhaodi's hair into a ponytail, "You really do 
love him, don't you?"
	"I..." was the only reply Pandi received for a few minutes. 
But she could tell. She saw her sister's face, reflected on the water, 
as it blushed timidly, the older twin's eyes looking around nervously.
 	Satisfied, Pandi just hummed an old Chinese lullaby as she 
washed her sister's hair.

"I knew I should've taken that right turn at the giant fish statue..." 
Lael muttered to himself. Jusendo was one mess of a maze! Diverting 
corridors, flights of stairs that lead nowhere, and even two dozen 
levels of bridges that crossed the hollow interior of the mountain's 
West side. Musk Dynasty or not, whoever had designed Jusendo's 
defenses should be commended for his creativity -and locked up for 
his sadism. Just about anyone that were to enter Jusendo from the 
wrong entrance was doomed to get lost in this place!
	And the fish statue was pretty unnerving, too...
	He wondered how the twins managed to find that secluded 
cave, and if they even _found_ it in the first place. They could be lost 
in there also for all he knew. Oh, the heck with it. Let's just _blast_ a 
way through the mountain and get it over with-
	All of a sudden Lael heard a light squeak. He turned around, 
and saw a tiny monkey peering curiously at him. He was puzzled: 
how did a monkey... oh, right, it must have followed him into the 
mountain when he opened the gate with the White Fire Bird.
	"Hey," he smiled and crouched, motioning for the monkey, 
"What're you doing here?"
	The monkey stared at him for a moment, then cautiously 
began to approach. But all of a sudden the mountain came to life. 
The ground shook, a deep rumble filled its tunnels and halls. Lael 
stood immediately, looking around to see what was happening, when 
he heard the sound of moving stone. It was loud, powerful enough to 
resemble the roar of a dragon.
	There was a surge of water, and after a few instants he 
heard the shriek of two girls. He panicked: he knew those voices 
instantly. In the blink of an eye he found a path to take him in that 
direction and followed it, not noticing the scared monkey that ran 
into another tunnel.

"Gee, they could've warned us first!" Zhaodi said as she wrapped her 
arms around herself, still shivering in cold. She looked over at Pandi, 
who sneezed and stood as still as possible, since any movement in the 
water would make her even colder. Feeling a pang of guilt, Zhaodi 
scooted over to her and held her tight, trying to warn her up despite 
the freezing water.
	"Sorry," she said, "Guess I didn't know it would get cold all 
of a sudden."
	"Don't worry," Pandi sighed, then slowly detached herself 
from her sister and walked over to the grassy slope. She leaned 
against it, then looked up. "Zhaodi-chan, look," she said, pointing 
upwards. Zhaodi also looked, and she saw that the waterfall had 
ceased, while another cascade came from a crevice opposite to where 
the hot water had come from. The new waterfall was almost 
shrouded in light, though, since the opening that let in the rays of the 
sun was located precisely above its origin.
	"I get it," Zhaodi said, getting out of the pool to stand closer 
to the opening in the wall, "When the water's cold, it comes from 
that place, but when it's hot, it comes from there," she pointed at the 
other wall. Pandi nodded in agreement.
	"Eek."
	"Huh?" the twins blinked and looked back at the cave's 
entrance. When Zhaodi noticed the small monkey, she just looked at 
it oddly. Pandi, on the other hand, suddenly beamed brightly.
	"A monkey!" she exclaimed, practically leaping out of the 
pool to go towards the furry creature. Intrigued, it peered at her 
curiously as she approached with her hand extended. "Here, here," 
she said cutely, kneeling a few feet away from it. It was still a baby, 
she noticed, and was probably innocent about humans. She was 
delighted to see the little thing nervously walk towards her, then take 
her thumb in its tiny hand. Giggling, Pandi reached out to pet it on 
the head and then, certain that the monkey wasn't afraid of her, she 
held it beneath its arms and picked it up, hugging it to her chest.
	"Kawaii..." she said, looking down at it.
	Zhaodi had to smile. Her sister absolutely _adored_ baby 
monkeys, and always became excited whenever she saw one. She 
knew her little twin sister would love to have a monkey as a pet, even 
if Zhae-sama was always very strict about not bringing wild animals 
into the village. Why, the first time they had come to Jusenkyo the 
old Joketsuzoku leader spent days convincing Pandi to give up the 
new pet she had picked up during the training expedition.
	That's one thing she envied about Pandi. Since Zhaodi spent 
most of her time devoting herself to the Arts, she hardly had any time 
left to simply enjoy the little things around her. Maybe it was because 
of Pandi's greater childlike personality -it was a constant subject of 
teasing, especially from Lael, how the twins acted like little girls 
sometimes; but even then this trait was much more pronounced on 
the younger twin-but she always seemed to appreciate things just 
like they were. Or maybe it was because she didn't have the warrior's 
mindset Zhaodi was educated to develop. Either way, the older of the 
twins felt her sister was always happy at life and the world, without 
anything to make her worry, but rather appreciating everything that 
nature had to offer.
	"You really do like those guys, don't you?" Zhaodi said, 
approaching her sister.
	"Aw, just look at him, Zhaodi-chan..." she said, bringing the 
monkey to face her sister, "Isn't he cute?"
	"Yeah..." Zhaodi stretched a hand, letting the monkey play 
with her fingers. She smiled softly, and used her free hand to poke 
the furball on the nose.
	"Want to hold him?" Pandi asked, noticing her sister's 
expression. Zhaodi just nodded slightly. She stepped back a little, 
giving Pandi room to move, then opened her arms to let the monkey 
cling to her.
	"Hi there, little guy," she cooed at the package in her arms. 
"You lost or something?" Walking over to a smooth rock, she sat 
down on it and placed the monkey on her lap, tickling its belly. Pandi 
snickered slightly and sat next to her. She had to admit, she enjoyed 
seeing her sister act like that. She thought that Zhaodi never gave 
herself the chance to be like a normal girl from time to time -she was 
always too absorbed in her martial arts to worry about anything else. 
But it was strange, though. Ever since Lael came into their lives, she 
could see her sister acting this way more and more often...
	All of a sudden she sneezed, distracting herself from those 
thoughts. Zhaodi and the monkey looked at her, blinking.
	"You're gonna catch a cold, Pandi-chan," Zhaodi said, 
picking up the monkey to give it back. Pandi readily accepted it in 
her arms. "There. That guy's fur should keep you warm for a while." 
Zhaodi then added, showing a cat-like smirk, "Besides, I like birds 
better."
	"Birds?" Pandi asked, smiling a little. "You never told me 
you liked birds."
	Zhaodi shrugged, "Well, you like monkeys, Zhae-sama likes 
tigers, Tangbei likes snakes, so I like birds." She paused for a second, 
"Eagles, hawks, that kind of birds." She turned back to Pandi, and 
frowned, "Hey, what are you laughing at?"
	Pandi giggled, "Oh, nothing..." she replied, somehow 
imagining her sister holding a load of tiny chicks, fresh out of their 
eggs.
	Rolling her eyes, Zhaodi turned away. It was true, though. 
She might not have enough free time to contemplate nature, but she 
still liked birds, almost as much as her sister liked monkeys. There 
was something about them that fascinated her. Maybe it was because 
she often imagined what it was like to just be completely free, flying 
all over the earth. But now that she thought about it, what she really 
liked about birds was the wings. Yeah, that was it. She liked just 
about anything that had big wings and bright feathers. Especially 
white feathers... or maybe red.... Too bad Lael's birds were just 
blasts of chi, though... Oh, come on, she admonished herself. You're 
just... rambling...
	She lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. The 
sudden splash of cold water had surprised her, but it did nothing to 
dissipate the sleepiness that the hot bath had given her. She felt very 
sleepy after the bath... Yawning again, she let herself fall to a side, 
resting her head on Pandi's shoulder. The younger twin blinked in 
surprise, but then smiled and petted her sister's head slightly before 
going back to playing with the monkey.
	But just as Zhaodi was beginning to drift off to slumberland 
they heard a loud shriek, like metal scraping against hard stone. 
Zhaodi opened her eyes and stood up instantly, looking around to 
find the origin of the sound. It pierced her ears, but somehow it 
resembled the shriek of a massive bird of prey. And then, before they 
knew it, the cold waterfall ceased and a gush of hot water gushed out 
through the other crevice on the wall.
	"Hey, look!" Zhaodi smiled, pointing at the pool, "It's back 
to normal again!" Shaking off the last of the sleepy cobwebs, she 
hurried back to the pool and splashed into it, appreciating the last of 
the cool water as it was heated up by the new waterfall.
	"Want to take a bath, Saru-chan?" Pandi looked down at her 
monkey, who looked back in bewilderment. Giggling, she stepped 
lightly into the water, taking a deep breath of the cleansing steam 
around them.
	"Ah..." Zhaodi sighed, "Just a few more minutes... Lael-
chan's waiting for us anyway..." Pandi smiled, and nodded.

"Hmm..."
	Lael stood in the narrow tunnel, looking carefully at the 
floor. A few moments ago, the rocky duct had been filled with 
_cold_ water, but after that loud shriek it had suddenly dried up. 
Now there were only a few puddles in the ground. There was no 
telling what happened at the source.
	But then again, _this_ had been the water that had 
apparently startled the twins. So, if he followed the tunnel, he might 
be able to find them. Given how worried he was, finding them was 
exactly what he needed.
	Running, he went forth through the tunnel. The light grew 
dimmer each time, but the humid warmth around him kept increasing. 
If there was steam here... then the onsen described by Zhaodi was 
probably close by. Confident, he pressed on. But the tunnel kept 
getting smaller. Soon he had to crouch, until he finally had to crawl 
on all fours just to keep moving. Fortunately, there weren't many 
puddles of ice water in that part of the tunnel, but he would still end 
up freezing his hand when he crept into one.
	He heard giggling. That sound was almost a divine sign, for 
it brought immense relief to his heart -at least they were safe, if only 
for the moment. Smiling, he continued. But then he noticed a strong 
light bathing the area just in front of the tunnel's exit: it was as 
though the air was golden beyond the opening. He had to squint as 
he approached. When he finally reached the end of the duct, he 
grasped its edge tightly so as not to fall, and peered outside.
	The crevice was not that large, it was barely half a meter 
high and two meters wide. It broke the smooth surface of a wall, and 
was placed about twelve feet above a pool just below. However, the 
strong light that came from a narrow opening in the ceiling hardly let 
him see anything else.
	Then he heard them.

"What's wrong?" Pandi asked to her monkey, "It's just hot water, 
Saru-chan."
	While most monkeys actually enjoyed hot springs, 
apparently the baby that had wandered into the cave was too young 
to have ever been to an onsen. It struggled slightly to escape Pandi's 
hold. Finally, she let it go and sighed, but when she saw it had 
climbed up to a nearby rock she smiled and followed it, then 
stretched up a hand to pet her new friend's head.

Lael's face became as red as one of the Fire Birds he often used. 
The... the girls were... bathing there. And Zhaodi-chan... she...
	He tried hard not to peek, both out of sheer respect for the 
twins and his love for Zhaodi, but, well, his eyes just _had_ to take a 
look. Besides, what was so bad about it? He really did love her, and 
to him she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, so...

"Ahm..." Zhaodi yawned loudly, causing her sister to giggle a bit. 
"Can't help it... This water's just too perfect..." she sighed as she 
began to wade towards the edge of the pool, "I gotta take a nap or 
else I'll fall asleep right here..." Smiling, she reached the rocky slope 
that came into the water and crawled up on all fours, then stood up at 
the edge of the pool and stretched her arms lazily. Her eyes half-
closed, she let out a contented  sigh. She could already feel the warm, 
moist grass below her. "Wake me up when you're done, okay Pandi-
chan?"

	"Oh, _God_..." Lael swallowed hard.
	She was coming out.
	Struggling against himself, he looked away. But...
	
Zhaodi felt a slight shiver as she felt a soft breeze receive her. Her 
gaze was already misty from sleepiness, so she looked around and 
found exactly what she was looking for: a wide patch of grass bathed 
in sunlight. The rays were so strong there that the blades were almost 
white. She smiled as she already imagined how deliciously warm it 
would be in there...

"Aargh!" Lael thought. In a flash, he opened his eyes and began to 
turn back towards Zhaodi...

"What's this?" Pandi noticed a tiny protrusion on the rock. The 
monkey saw that her attention had been taken away and eeked, then 
grabbed the protrusion with its hand and pushed it into the rock.

Just as Lael was beginning to catch a glimpse of Zhaodi the ceiling 
above him opened up, and a large stone fell on top of his head. He 
was almost knocked out.
	"Ow..." he whimpered, moving the stone to a side. He spent 
the following minutes rubbing his head, unable to open his eyes 
again.

"Oh, I get it," Pandi smiled, seeing several more protrusions on the 
rock. "These must be like the booby traps Zhaodi-chan told me about 
when we first came in here." She grinned at her monkey, "Do we try 
them out, Saru-chan?"
	"Eek-eek!" the monkey replied playfully.

With a sigh, Zhaodi slowly lowered herself on the grass and closed 
her eyes. She heard the monkey's excited shrieking and smiled. It 
was a cute little guy... No wonder Pandi liked monkeys... But... birds 
were much better... And didn't Mother say something when they 
were very little... something about angels... Warm feathers... Wings...
	After just a few moments, Zhaodi slept peacefully on the 
soft grass.

"What in the..." Lael grumbled, finally opening his eyes. Reflexively, 
he looked up at the ceiling. Where had that stone _come from_? 
Man, it was sure gonna hurt in the morning... More than it hurt now, 
actually...
	Grumbling a little, he looked forward again, and he 
remembered what was happening before his unwanted encounter 
with the rock. Blushing bright crimson again, he looked away 
sheepishly and _tried_ to head back into the tunnel.
	But...

"Okay, what does this do?" Pandi pressed a button in the rock. They 
heard stone sliding somewhere else in the hall, and a stone suddenly 
dropped from above and splashed near the far end of the pool. Pandi 
shrieked in delight as a small tide was flung to her face.
	"Again!" she grinned. She pushed another button, and again 
they heard stone moving...

"Urk!" Lael's poor attempts at peeking were foiled again.

"This is fun!" Pandi said. The monkey leapt up and down on the 
stone, pressing all the different buttons.

"Ugh.. Ak... Ow... Whuk... Groan..."

"No more?" Pandi smiled at the monkey, who looked around for 
more buttons to push. Giggling at it, she picked it up and put it on 
top of her head, then slowly began to make her way towards her 
sister.

"Ouch..." Lael rubbed his head. He moved aside the rest of the stones 
and looked around. "What's going on...?"
	Just as he looked around, he caught a brief glimpse out the 
corner of his eye. Turning mighty red again, he cautiously turned to 
that direction, to see Zhaodi sleeping on the grass. He vaguely heard 
Pandi coming out of the water, but he paid no attention.
	The sunlight that fell on her body was much too bright for 
him to see her clearly; and her limbs, slightly pulled into a relaxed 
fetal position, covered absolutely everything. But he didn't even 
_try_ to look at her body, since he was absorbed in the way her face 
glowed in the light. He hadn't noticed how she had untied her hair, 
and in the bright rays of the sun its scarlet hue shone with golden 
highlights. Her face showed a soft, absent smile; he was instantly 
reminded of the first time he awoke to her sight.
	Still blushing, he looked away. But the nagging was still 
there, so...
	He had _almost_ tried to look at her body when he had the 
impression of hearing stones moving. He immediately looked away 
and covered his eyes.
	"Okay, okay, I get the idea..." he muttered apologetically, 
then began to head back. Glad to have found a distraction from... 
_that_, he looked at the tunnel to find a way to turn around and 
retrace his steps. But as he did, though, he noticed a sudden 
darkening of the room: a cloud had covered the sun. Almost by 
accident, his eyes strayed back to the sleeping girl.
She hadn't shifted from her position, and thus he saw 
nothing, but he still saw her clearly without _any_ clothes on...
	...for about a fourth of a second.
	He didn't have time to brace himself as he heard the roar of 
a dragon; he had barely stolen a glimpse of Zhaodi's form when a 
powerful surge of ice water slammed him headfirst into the ceiling, 
then pushed him out of the tunnel into the pool below. He had barely 
lost consciousness when the water was aimed towards a small tunnel 
in the far end of the hall.
	He was sucked into it like a rag pulled into a drain pipe.

"Huh?" Pandi looked up. She just had the strangest thought. She 
could swear she heard someone splash into the pool. She looked 
around and saw how the water had changed again, and was grateful 
to have come out earlier. Shrugging, she went back to playing with 
her monkey.

Later in the evening...
	"Lael-chan!" Zhaodi called out, her hands around her 
mouth. "Lael-chaan!"
	"Zhaodi-chan, calm down," Pandi said, trying to soothe her 
sister's apprehension. "I'm sure he just went out for a walk, that's 
all." Grimacing slightly at her sister's expression, she sighed and sat 
down beside the campfire.
	It was already late into the night. The twins had returned to 
the campsite just a few minutes after Zhaodi awoke, as they felt a 
pang of guilt at leaving Lael by himself for so long. But when they 
returned, it was to find the camp deserted. At first, they didn't give it 
much thought; Lael often went off to explore by himself, and they 
were used to it -although most of the times Zhaodi insisted on going 
with him, to "make sure nothing happened to him." However, he 
never took so long to come back, as his common sense always made 
him return to the camp before he got lost. Not only that, but he 
didn't like to see Zhaodi worried because of him.
	Like she was now.
	The pigtailed girl's face was wracked with anxiety as she 
paced restlessly around the camp, launching an occasional punch or 
kick to keep herself distracted. Her expression was a grimacing 
mask, her eyes large and distraught. She even kept tugging at her 
pigtail constantly. Pandi had never seen her so troubled before.
	"_Where_ is he...?" Zhaodi whimpered, looking around in all 
directions and discovering nothing but dark and ominous trees. 
"Lael-chan... where the heck are you..."
	She never did like to have other people notice how 
concerned she was about him. This was mostly because her way of 
expressing concern also showed her _other_ feelings quite nicely. But 
at the moment she was with her sister, the only person she could trust 
who would accept her emotions towards that odd foreigner. And 
although she completely hated having _anyone_ see her so 
preoccupied, there was nothing she could do to stop worrying. Lael 
had grown to be a major part of her life, as much as martial arts and 
her sister were essential to her.
	Zhaodi shook her head and sighed, then sat down against 
the trunk of a tree and hugged her knees close to her chest. Before 
meeting Lael, she thought she had everything figured out. She was 
still a young girl, she had all the time in the world to train and 
become a powerful warrior, like Tangbei; then maybe, after some 
time, she would try her hand at the village's leadership. After all, 
Zhae-sama had already set her sights on her as a likely candidate, and 
the old woman's mannerisms around her were a sure sign she was 
rearing her to be Tangbei's successor...
	But then there came that day at the waterfall. A stranger 
arrived, and he literally broke into her life -suddenly, forcefully. She 
would have regarded him as just another crazy fighter hadn't he 
turned out to be the kind and amiable warrior that sympathized with 
her so easily. Slowly, almost naturally, he made his way into her heart 
-just as she made it easier for him to enter her life. It was... it was 
like a soothing flame that she was glad to embrace, letting it join with 
her own soul of fire.
	She wasn't certain about the future anymore. If anything, 
she even doubted it involved the Joketsuzoku. But no matter how 
hard she tried, she couldn't imagine a future with him out of the 
picture. She would feel a strange cold grasp her chest just by thinking 
like that.
	"It's just..." she thought, setting her eyes on the campfire, 
"He's just so strange... Why-- why does he have to be like this? I..." 
she sighed, "Lael... chan..." She looked around again, startled by a 
sound in the bushes. She was disappointed to find only Pandi's 
monkey playing around. Biting her lip, she shook her head and 
steeled herself. "Dammit, Lael-chan... Why am I so worried about 
you... Why do you make me worry so much... Can't you see I... I..."
	She choked back tears, saying, "Oh, god..."
	Pandi was surprised at her sister's voice, for she could hear 
her sniffle before speaking. The mere words showed she was 
becoming desperate, she hardly ever used that sort of expression 
unless...
	The younger twin slowly walked over to her shattered sister, 
placing an arm around her to comfort her. Zhaodi was one of the 
strongest people she had ever met, so to see her break down meant 
things were really bad. She hoped Lael would come back soon, so he 
could hug her sister and calm her down, and then have her pound him 
for all she was worth for making her so worried. But deep inside, she 
was beginning to worry that something might have happened to him 
while they were away. She would say nothing of it to Zhaodi, of 
course -it had been _her_ idea to go to the onsen in the cavern; if she 
thought that Lael had suffered an accident while they played in the 
water she would never forgive herself.
	"Zhaodi-chan..." she said, imitating the tone of their dear 
departed mother, "Please, it's late. I'm sure Lael-kun will be all right. 
You'll see, tomorrow morning everything will be back to normal." 
She smiled reassuringly, "When he comes back, I promise I'll let you 
kick him around some for making us worry, okay?"
	"Heh..." Zhaodi smiled faintly, "I'd like that..."
	Pandi didn't know what she meant: if she would like to kick 
him around or just the idea of having him back. So she just hugged 
her tight and stood up, pulling her to her feet and leading her to her 
tent. Zhaodi was too troubled to resist, her constant fretting had 
sapped her energy for the night. She idly let Pandi take her into the 
tent and tuck her in. After her little sister had left, she let her gaze 
stray towards the open flap of the tent. Beyond the campfire she saw 
Lael's own tent, his monkey stick leaning against its side.
	She forced her eyes shut, trying not to think about it. 
Closing her eyes, she could only hope her guardian angel could take 
care of her Lael-chan.

Morning came, and the twins spent it in silence for the most part. 
Only a few words came from Zhaodi's mouth as Pandi listened to 
how they would go back to Jusenkyo and Jusendo, so as to try and 
find Lael. Carefully heeding her sister, Pandi realized how much she 
must have been hurting not having her Lael around.
	They quickly headed for the accursed land, giving little 
room for distractions that could make them stray from the path. As 
they neared the misty valley, though, Zhaodi felt her apprehension 
grow little by little. She was disgusted with herself when she realized 
she was morbidly thinking about Lael falling in a pool, or worse yet, 
drowning in it. But she chided herself for that. She had to trust him, 
and by trusting him she _had_ to remember he wouldn't be as foolish 
as to let himself die like that.
	They passed by Jusendo's waterfall on their way to the 
training ground. But as they were about to dismiss that place, Pandi's 
pet monkey eeked and suddenly came down from her shoulder, then 
swiftly ran towards the mountain.
	"Saru-chan, wait up!" Pandi called out to the furball, but it 
didn't listen. She sighed and went after it. Realizing where her sister 
was headed, Zhaodi brightened up, hopeful that she might have found 
something. She immediately ran after them.
	"Eek-eeek!" the monkey excitedly leapt onto the rocks 
surrounding the bottom of the cascade. As Pandi had said the 
previous day, the water hardly made a small pool there: it was as if it 
went straight to the center of the Earth. However, the stones 
surrounding the small pond sparkled with crystalline glimmers, as if 
the magic water cleansed them completely.
	"Saru-chan..." Pandi's breath was troubled after running 
uphill after the monkey, "Saru-chan... what... what did you..." She 
then caught up with her pet. It kept jumping up and down on its rock 
and shrieked excitedly. Curious, she peered down into the pool. Her 
eyes went wide with shock.
	"Zhaodi-chan!" she yelled, "Zhaodi-chan! Come quick!"
	"Pandi-chan!" came the reply as the pigtailed girl 
approached, "Did you find anything?!"
	"It's... look!" she pointed down.
	Zhaodi nearly felt her heart freeze. There, sprawled on a 
smooth rock, was her Lael-chan.

She calmed down considerably after taking him back to the camp. At 
first, her mind went numb just trying to avoid thinking about whether 
he was even alive or not. To her immense relief, not only was he 
perfectly fine, but also the reason of his slumber was nothing more 
than a mean bump on his head.
	Nevertheless, it took him a good two hours to wake up. 
Zhaodi stayed by him the whole time, waiting for him to come to, 
half-wanting to hold him tight and half-wanting to give him a good 
beating for going off by himself like that, since he knew it was 
dangerous around Jusenkyo. So, when he finally awoke, she was 
happy to do both things. Repeatedly.
	But the strange part is that he spent at least the rest of the 
day walking around in a near-sleep haze. He kept looking around 
aimlessly, commenting on "how everything looked so pink..." And 
whenever he were to look at Zhaodi, he would blush bright crimson 
and say nothing. The twins were even worried he had brain damage. 
Fortunately, by the following day his vision was back to full colors 
and he ceased to act like a sleepwalker -although he didn't stop 
blushing at Zhaodi for at least one more week...
	"Ow..." Lael rubbed his head as they walked through a 
forest, a few minutes away from the Joketsuzoku village. "It been a 
week.. Still hurt..."
	"I'm still not talking to you," Zhaodi grimaced slightly as 
she turned away from him, irritated. "Not until you apologize for 
running off like that."
	"Zhaodi-chan..." Pandi placed a hand on her shoulder, trying 
to calm her down.
	"I sorry, I not know what happen..." Lael tried to reach for 
her sympathy.
	"Oh? And what if we hadn't found you, huh? Where would 
you be then?" She shook her head, "You could've at least warned us 
you were going off to explore!"
	Lael opened his mouth to speak, his eyes pleading to her, 
but he pulled back. He could tell she _was_ upset, just as she had 
been for the whole week since the accident. He only wished there 
could be a way to make it up to her, to show her he wouldn't do 
something like that again. Finding no answer to his problem, he 
sighed and hung his head.
	Pandi tugged at Zhaodi's sleeve slightly. The older twin 
turned to her right reflexively, and caught a glimpse of the 
downhearted boy that meekly skulked behind them. She grimaced, 
realizing how harsh her tone must have sounded to his ears. Zhaodi 
mentally kicked herself: if there was something about him she didn't 
like, it was to see him sad or depressed -and this time she had 
brought it upon him.
	Falling back a few steps, she let Pandi take the lead as she 
walked alongside Lael. He made a brief attempt to look at her, but 
the way his eyes showed how afraid he was of her rejection made her 
feel even worse. Gently, she placed an arm over his shoulders and 
took his hand. As expected, he stood up straight in an instant and 
blushed deeply, nervously looking at the small hand on his shoulder 
as if it were about to disappear, just like a dream. When it didn't, he 
gulped and slowly turned to face her, his eyes catching the light 
reflected by those large blue depths.
	"I'm sorry for talking to you like that," she said, trying to 
avoid blushing when his eyes met her own. "It's just... I was really 
worried about you, Lael-chan. You..." she smiled a little, and this 
time she let her cheeks light up, "You gotta realize how... how 
important you are... how much you mean to... to me."
	"Zh-Zhaodi-chan..." he stammered, turning bright red. He 
didn't notice how they suddenly held each other's hand a little 
tighter.
	"I... I knew you would be all right, Lael-chan," she 
continued. "But for a while there, I thought... I thought something 
had happened to you..." The arm she had draped over his shoulders 
held him closer, tighter, "I... I don't want that to happen again. I 
don't... I don't want to lose you, Lael-chan..."
	"Zha..." Lael couldn't finish the word. Zhaodi wasn't 
looking at him anymore, instead she looked forward with an absent 
smile on her face. Her cheeks were as scarlet as his own, with her 
eyes trying vainly to turn away, to avoid meeting in a gaze that would 
make her feel more nervous still.
	He... he didn't know. Oh, God, did she really feel that way 
for him? Did she really...?
	She said she was worried about him. And she also said he 
was very important to her. S-so it was true then... She... she really 
did...
	He gazed downwards for an instant, as his heart already felt 
lighter than air. He felt he was about to burst in joy, exclaiming how 
much he loved her too. It was... it was just too incredible she would 
feel that way for him. He tried to understand it. He tried to figure out 
how the small redheaded warrior came to accept him into her heart 
like that. But he failed. He didn't understand, and he knew it wasn't 
expected from him to do it; he found himself just taking her words 
for their truth, with the a gratefulness he could not express in any 
way but one...
	Smiling, he used his free hand to reach over to the one 
Zhaodi was holding, and gently patted her wrist. Her attention was 
brought back to him, even though his slight touch had managed to 
increase the color in her cheeks. Seizing the moment, he used his 
hands to hold her wrist, As he turned to the side, her arm slowly slid 
over his back but remained holding on to his shoulder.
	Then, something happened between them. When Pandi 
turned around to see why they were so silent, she was instantly 
surprised. Her eyes widened, her jaw went slack for a second. But as 
she took in the image before her, she couldn't help but smile warmly, 
happily.
	Lael and Zhaodi were hugging each other, tight, their eyes 
closed like they never had been before.
	But as much as it surprised Pandi, she came to realize that it 
was somehow... right. Before she knew it, seeing her sister and Lael 
in that soft embrace became the most natural thing in the world, as if 
she knew they were made to be together like that. The way their 
arms were draped over the other's... Zhaodi's small hands placed just 
below his nape, her wrists crossed on his back, holding him close to 
keep him from going away; holding him back so she wouldn't lose 
sight of him and lose him again, maybe forever; her face nestled on 
his shoulder, her cheek just sliding over his collar, much like a baby 
that has found its crib... Lael's arms; soft inside the embrace, holding 
his greatest treasure delicately; hard as stone in the exterior, 
defending the child from anything that were to come and hurt her; his 
hands, placed over the small of her back, gentle, holding her just 
right, yet hoping that she wouldn't leave, wishing that she could stay 
with him forever, afraid that she would be taken away; his own face, 
leaning  slightly on her head, his eyes almost hidden in the scarlet 
threads.
	It was something beautiful to behold, at least to Pandi. She 
continued to smile at them; it took her a few minutes to notice the 
dew that had begun to flow from her eyes. When she finally did, she 
hurriedly turned away and wiped the tears from her eyes. But she 
couldn't stop them. She couldn't stop crying, especially after having 
endured the painful tension that her sister and her best friend had 
kept through the whole week; after having endured the dreadful 
thoughts of what could have happened to Lael at the waterfall, before 
they found him. And her sister... Her sister, who barely had a chance 
to meet someone special because of all the harsh training she put 
herself through...
	Silent, Pandi stepped away from the couple. Walking as 
lightly as she possibly could, she headed towards the village, which 
was already in view. Sighing to herself, she decided to let them have 
their privacy for a few moments, hidden in the green darkness of the 
forest... as they would have to forgo those affections once they came 
out, into the village, and under the watchful eye of its people.

It had been a while until they let go. They didn't even realize it, but 
as they stepped back their hands slid under -or beneath-the other's 
arms, finally coming to a stop when their fingertips touched. Smiling 
again, blushing this time, they held each other's hands and let them 
fall between them.
	For Lael, who had practically been in paradise ever since he 
met her, what befell him was a state of pure and unending happiness. 
But Zhaodi was a... different matter. She knew. Oh, yes, she knew 
what life was going to be like.
	Before this, she had tried to sort out what was happening in 
her heart. She had never experienced something as frightening, as 
_precious_... But she wasn't all that sure about what would happen. 
Deep down, almost since the day she met Lael, she had known that 
she would someday have to make a choice: she could stop it right 
there and then, to dedicate herself fully to the Arts, while still being 
able to frequent Lael as no more than a close friend. If that were the 
case, she would hope he wouldn't take it too badly. But he'd 
understand. He always did. On the other hand, she wasn't very sure 
_she_ wouldn't take it too badly.
	Then there was the other option. The option that would 
have the strange boy as a major part of her plans.
	As she looked into his eyes, she couldn't help but chuckle 
lightly at how fortunate her choice had been.
	"I really sorry for not warning," Lael said, still a bit meekly. 
"You forgive?" He looked downwards for a second, "At least this 
time?"
	With a large and warm smile, Zhaodi came closer and placed 
her hands on his chest. "Not this time," she said. "Always, Lael-
chan." She whispered to herself, "Always."
	All of a sudden his chest felt _quite_ hot. For some odd 
reason, which his overloaded brain was underqualified to delve into, 
the way Zhaodi was touching him made him feel like the wick inside 
a candle flame. Already he was sweating nervously, his face brightly 
colored and his heartbeat accelerating steadily. And the way Zhaodi 
was giving him that mischievous, feline glance wasn't making things 
any easier...
	Putting all his wit into it, he said, "Uh..."
	"Lael-chan, I want to tell you something..." Zhaodi said, her 
lips shaping the tiniest of smiles while her eyes nervously scanned his 
own. "I... I mean... It's like this. I... You know... We -I mean, us...  
What I'm trying to say is..."
	"Uh."
	"Oh, the heck with it..."
	Lael's brain disconnected.
	"L-Lael-chan, I..."
	"ZHAODI-CHAN!! ZHAODI-CHAAAN!"
	"Eh?" the redhead blinked as she heard her sister's voice. 
She sounded desperate, frightened. When she turned to look at 
Pandi, Zhaodi felt a cold wind engulf her just by seeing the face of 
her sister as she ran towards her and Lael.
	"P-Pandi-chan?! What..." Zhaodi caught Pandi by the 
shoulders, abruptly detaching herself from Lael. "What happened?!"
	"Zha... Zhae-sama...!" Pandi said, still in shock. "Zhaodi-
chan, something happened to Zhae-sama!"
	"What?!"

Xingyi slowly placed a wet cloth over the old woman's forehead, 
who was resting calmly on her bed at home. Though there were no 
apparent injuries on the small leader of the Joketsuzoku, it seemed 
she had been in a very serious battle, one which drained even her 
inner resources. If it weren't because of her stubborn hold on life, she 
might have even been slain just from exhaustion.
	Which is why she could only mutter at herself under her 
breath. She couldn't believe how she had been so easily defeated, 
especially by the opponent she faced. However... The twins had been 
correct. So devastatingly correct...
	Tangbei leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. Her 
face was a scowl, the dormant beast within her was ready to awake 
and attack anyone that dared come close. She felt ashamed, both as a 
warrior and as Zhae's descendant. Shame for not being able to help 
her great ancestor... Shame for letting herself be defeated by a lowly 
creature. And shame for letting the enemy enter the village with 
nothing more than a wave of her hand. The future leader of the 
female warriors was not to make such foolish mistakes.
	"Zhae-samaaa!" a small red bundle of energy blasted into the 
house, paying little attention to the door in her way. Xingyi and 
Tangbei were nearly trampled when Zhaodi burst beside them and 
stopped suddenly next to Zhae's bed. "Zh-Zhae-sama..."
	Despite her weakness, the old warrior chuckled, "Please, 
Zhaodi, calm down. I'm not in the grave yet."
	Hurriedly looking up and down her shifu's small body, 
Zhaodi asked, "W-what happened? Are you all right?"
	"I'm fine, Zhaodi," she said, with only a light cough, "But 
I'm afraid I have bad news for you."
	"Can we come in?" Pandi meekly asked from what remained 
of the entrance. Xingyi looked at Zhae, then at the girl, and nodded. 
Cautiously, Pandi and Lael came into the house.
	What happened in the next few seconds was barely seen 
even by Xingyi and Pandi. When Tangbei saw Lael come inside, 
something inside her snapped. The beast inside her pounced, and 
before Lael could even think she was launching herself at him with a 
mean crescent halberd aimed at his throat.
	Zhaodi was even faster. As soon as Tangbei grasped the 
lance she felt something was wrong, and when she saw her friend 
attacking her Lael-chan she immediately leapt towards them. Tangbei 
stepped back out of pure reflex after seeing her weapon being 
cleaved neatly in half, the fearsome blade embedding itself on the 
ceiling.
	"What are you doing?!" Zhaodi demanded.
	Once she was recovered, Tangbei growled and glared at the 
girl and her companion, "How dare you defend him... After what he 
did to her!" she pointed at Zhae.
	"What?!" Lael reeled back as if struck by a very strong 
blow.
	"What are you talking about?" Zhaodi said, "He never did 
anything to her! Especially since he was with us the whole trip!"
	"How stupid do you think I am!" Tangbei's voice was filled 
with contempt, and a strange pain Zhaodi couldn't decipher, "I 
_saw_ him! Hell, I _fought_ him!"
	"You know as well as I do that if _you_ fought him he'd be 
a stain on the ground by now!" Zhaodi rebutted.
	Lael just watched the shouting match with a jumble of a 
mind. He had no idea what Tangbei was talking about! He... he had 
been with the twins all during the trip! And it's not as if he would 
have _attacked_ Zhae! Even if he had, it would be two seconds flat 
before she would have him in a grave! What in the world was going 
on?!
	Zhae saw her two prize students arguing loudly, looking as 
if they were just about to come to blows. She shook her head. Both 
of them were very headstrong, and in some cases that was a good 
thing. But ever since Tangbei was chosen as Zhae's successor, she 
had developed a somewhat arrogant attitude. But it's not as if she 
could blame her for being mistaken, though. She had only caught a 
glimpse of her adversary, a glimpse that was enough to make her 
believe Lael was the culprit.
	Sighing, Zhae opened her eyes and called, "Tangbei! 
Zhaodi! Stop at once!"
	The force of the old woman's voice was more than enough 
to cool them off in an instant. Nodding meekly, the two women 
warriors stepped away from each other and fell silent. Zhaodi 
remained by Lael's side, however, as if expecting Tangbei to attack 
him again.
	"Now that we're all in the proper disposition," Zhae 
grimaced at her students' behavior. They looked down, abashed. She 
continued, "Perhaps we can talk about what happened here." 
Wriggling out of the bed despite Xingyi's protests, she found her 
halberd and clung to it.
	Using the lance to bounce over to a window, she looked out 
to the village and sighed. This would be terrible news for the twins, 
and undoubtedly for Lael as well. But after the disaster that had 
come to the Joketsuzoku a few days earlier, she couldn't keep quiet.
	"Zhaodi, do you remember how you first met Lael?"
	The redhead blinked a few times, confused, "Uh, yeah, I 
remember. Why?"
	"And do you remember what you told me when you came 
back from that training trip?" She slowly turned to face her, "About 
that demon?"
	The twins and Lael turned to each other, swallowing hard. 
They remembered the demon all too well, especially Lael. It wasn't 
something they liked to think about.
	"Well..." Zhae said, looking out the window. "It seems that 
your... sister..." she referred to Cordis Fortitudo, "She didn't exactly 
banish the demon to the place it had come from." She looked down, 
"She... she exorcised Lael, all right. But the demon didn't disappear 
after all..."
	Pandi and Zhaodi felt a chill. Lael turned to ice. Zhae wasn't 
saying that Coldfire... She couldn't be saying that  he... No... He... 
NO!
	"I'm afraid..." Zhae said, sighing gravely, "He has somehow 
returned."
	To Zhaodi, it suddenly appeared that a light had been 
snuffed out inside Lael. His eyes were wide open, blank, while the 
color slowly drained from his face. And judging from the cold that 
spread in her own chest, she probably looked the same as he did.
	But... no... Zhae-sama had to be mistaken. Cordis-oneechan 
had told her that Coldfire was no more. She... she had expelled him 
from Lael's body! How could a disembodied demon attack the 
village of the Joketsuzoku!?
	With a cautious glance, she looked over at Lael. He still 
hadn't moved. She knew she couldn't even begin to imagine what it 
had been like to be possessed by a demon, much less one as 
malignant as Coldfire, for such a long time. It had been the demon 
that used his hands to destroy and murder. It had been the demon 
that... almost killed her and Pandi...
	She was grateful to hear her sister's voice, calling out to 
Zhae: "A-are you sure, Zhae-sama...?"
	"I'm certain," she said, still saddened by having to deliver 
the news. "You see, it happened a few days ago. We were working in 
the fields that day, since _someone_ had destroyed the fighting log 
while sparring..." Tangbei winced in the background. "We saw a 
young man come by, and we immediately thought it was Lael."
	"Why would you think that?" Zhaodi asked.
	"Good question." Zhae turned to her, "Because he was 
identical to him."
	Lael cringed.
	Zhae noticed his reaction, "Mostly identical, anyway. His 
eyes were different. Instead of being red, like Lael's, they were dark 
blue." She looked at Zhaodi briefly, "Similar to yours, except his 
were much darker and shallow, and they had a glint of anger I had 
never seen in my life."
	She bounced over to the bed and sat down on it, idly 
fidgeting with her halberd. "We welcomed him, obviously, because 
we thought that the three of you had come back from your trip. But 
as soon as he got close he attacked. He almost killed Hongmei, but 
Tangbei and I fought him so the others could escape and head for the 
village." She shook her head, "That beast was... strong. It was truly a 
miracle we came out of the battle with little more than exhaustion. 
The fight ended when we finally managed to drive him over the edge 
of a cliff."
	"So the demon's dead" Zhaodi asked.
	Zhae groaned, "I doubt it. It was hardly a tall cliff, and there 
was a river running beside it. I believe he was carried off by the 
currents, to the North probably." She shuddered, and thought to 
herself, "I would hate to think what might happen if he arrived at 
Jusenkyo."
	"So..." Lael said numbly, reverting to Chinese, "You're 
saying that not only is Coldfire alive, but he's also pretty close to 
this 
village."
	The old woman turned to him and the twins, "Please, listen 
to me. I have now faced the demon. You _have_ to be ready to meet 
him. I... During our fight, I heard him say something about him 
hunting you down." She looked into Zhaodi's eyes, "He's very 
powerful. Promise you will take care. At least until we rid the world 
of that monster, don't leave the village." She noticed how the girls 
sighed slightly, and said, "Heed my words. I am ordering this to you 
as the leader of the Nyuuchiezu..." she closed her eyes, "...and as 
someone that cares for both of you as if you were my 
granddaughters."
	Looking at their adoptive grandmother, the twins nodded 
silently. However, Lael could not stop the feeling that a war was 
about to begin.


--To be continued--

The Zephyr
al709382@campus.ccm.itesm.mx