Okay...this is the part that everyone (most everyone) has already
seen. I've cleaned it up some, fixed a little problem I caught...made
it a bit better than it was before. I'll probably have the next part
ready in a few days. C&C privately, please, as I am not subscribed to
the FFML. 

-=Faux Existence=-

Part One: The Gathering

	Yamaguchi Kotomi sighed wearily as she finished wiping down the last
table in the now empty supper club. Leaving her rag in the kitchen,
she headed into the locker area and began changing out of her work
uniform. "Kuso...I wish we didn't have to wear this tight thing," she
complained to nobody in particular.
	One of her co-workers laughed. "Hey, at least it pays the bills, ne
Kotomi-chan?"
	Kotomi sighed. "Yeah, pays the bills. Not what I'd prefer to be
doing, but at least I'm not out on the streets."
	Adjusting her Chinese-cut black blouse and making sure she didn't
miss any of the ties, she grabbed her purse and left the club.

**********

	A block away from the club, Kotomi was stopped by three large,
scruffy men. The largest of the three, bald and stupid-looking,
leered at her. "Hey koneko-chan, let's you 'n me 'n my boys go have a
little fun, whatcha say?"
	"I say go to hell," Kotomi growled.
	The two other men laughed, while the leader glared down at her. "You
stupid little bitch, when I say you're gonna come with me, you're
gonna do it or I'm gonna hurt ya!"
	"Try it," Kotomi ground out, scowling. 
	"Little WHORE!" the bald man shouted, and pulled out a wickedly
curved dagger. As he thrust it, intending to cut her blouse open,
Kotomi dropped into a crouch and swept his legs out from under him,
then sprang up and flipped backwards, landing in a ready position. 
	The other two street toughs pulled their weapons as their leader
righted himself, snarling. "You'll pay for that, little bitch." 
	As he charged again, Kotomi dashed to the side, turned, and hammered
his side with surprisingly powerful punches. Gasping, the large man
dropped to one knee. With anger clear in her sapphire eyes, Kotomi
delivered a sharp kick to his kidneys. He fell over, barely conscious
and in a lot of pain.
	"Alright, guys, your turn," Kotomi said evenly. The other two hoods
seemed rather uncertain about facing her, but their boss was down and
they had to do something. They attacked, but discovered too late the
mistake that was, as they too were downed by the slight young woman.
	Straightening her blouse, Kotomi spat on the leader. "You bastards
never learn, do you?" she smirked, and turned to continue down the
street, swatting at a stray lock of her long green hair which had
gotten in her face.

**********

	As she neared her apartment, Kotomi was greeted by an exuberant
shout. "Kotomi-chan!" cried a young woman running up to her. The girl
had shoulder-length blond hair, and was, like Kotomi, rather pretty.
Kotomi smiled at her, and waved.
	"Hi Megumi-chan!" Kotomi called as the other woman neared. The two
hugged, and Megumi gave Kotomi a little peck on the cheek. 
	"How was work, Kotomi-chan?"
	Kotomi shrugged. "Same as usual. How about you?"
	Megumi grinned. "I got a promotion! I'm assistant shift manager
now."
	Kotomi beamed. "Congratulations! We should go out and celebrate."
	Megumi got a mischevious look in her eyes. "Yeah...or we could
celebrate right here at your place." 
	Kotomi's eyes widened, and her grin became somewhat lusty as the two
made their way upstairs.

**********

	The next day, Kotomi and Megumi sat together in a small
okonomiyaki-ya that that had opened a few weeks earlier. As they
talked and ate, Megumi frowned at something. "Say, Kotomi..."
	"Yeah?" Kotomi asked around a mouthful of shrimp okonomiyaki. 
	Megumi pointed a chopstick in the general direction of Kotomi's
head. "What's up with your hair?"
	"My hair?" Kotomi asked, confused.
	Megumi nodded. "Yeah. Umm...I know that red and green go together
for Christmas, but it just doesn't look right on a girl's head,
y'know?"
	Kotomi's head snapped up, a look of alarm on her face. "Red?" Megumi
nodded. Kotomi dug around in her purse for a compact, and checked
herself in the mirror. As her friend had indicated, the roots of her
green hair were a bright copper color. "Kuso!" she hissed. "I can't
believe I didn't catch that last night."
	Megumi looked confused. "Catch what?" Suddenly it dawned on her.
"Oh...Kotomi...you mean you dye your hair?"
	Kotomi sighed and nodded. "Hai."
	"But...why? I mean, you'd look pretty either way...you're really a
redhead?"
	"Hai, it's really red." Putting away her compact, Kotomi shrugged
and started on her okonomiyaki again. "Mm, this is really good. It
kinda reminds me of..."
	"Of what?" Megumi asked.
	Kotomi sighed. "Nothing. Just an old memory from when I was a kid."
	Behind the grill of the okonomiyaki-ya, a young woman wearing
traditional okonomiyaki-seller's clothes paused for a moment to show
the new young cook a better cooking technique. A waitress came up to
her and said, "Kuonji-san, there's a phone call for you. Seems pretty
important."
	"Hmm? Who's it from, sugar?"
	"I'm not sure. They mentioned the name Saotome though..."
	Kuonji Ukyou looked up sharply. "Ranchan!" she yelped, and dashed
into the back.

**********

	At their table, Kotomi was staring at the swinging door behind the
counter. She'd heard the waitress call the owner "Kuonji-san", and
the entire restaurant had heard her exclamation. Kotomi wiped her
mouth, and grabbed her purse, tossing some yen on the table. "Let's
go Megumi."
	Megumi looked down at her half-eaten okonomiyaki. "But...I wasn't
finished..."
	"Wrap it up and take it with you. We need to leave, now."
	Puzzled, Megumi barely had time to find something to put the dish in
as her friend practically yanked her out the door.

**********

	"Moshi-moshi? This is Kuonji Ukyou."
	"Hey Ukyou, it's Nabiki."
	Ukyou blinked. That was the last voice she'd ever expected to hear.
"Nabiki? What's up?"
	"Listen, I know something important, and I figured since you set up
a new shop in Kyoto you needed to know this."
	Ukyou was confused. "What's this about, Nabiki?"
	"Listen, I've been doing some heavy detective work and tracing, and
I think I finally found Ranma."
	"Ranchan!? Where is he!? Tell me!!!" Ukyou hadn't seen Ranma in
seven years, not since that day...
	"He appears to be in Kyoto. I couldn't get much on him, but it looks
like he's set up a new life for himself as a girl. All I know is he
took a trip to China, showed up in Japan again, and vanished. But it
looks like he was headed for the vicinity of Kyoto."
	"Thanks Nabiki. I'll keep an eye out, see if I can spot him
anywhere."
	Ukyou hung up the phone, and walked out into the restaurant proper.
Her waitresses were puzzling over a wad of bills. "What's goin' on
out here?" she asked.
	Her head waitress indicated the wad of money. "Those two women that
come in here all the time. They just took off all of a sudden.
Overpaid the bill too. We're just trying to figure out how to split
up the extra cash."
	Ukyou blinked. She'd seen her new regular customers, the two women
who looked like they were more than friends, often enough, but had
been too busy to get a chance to greet them herself. She chuckled.
They always ate plenty, in fact...
	She gasped. "Anou...the one with the green hair...she usually orders
a lot of okonomiyaki, doesn't she?"
	The head waitress nodded. "At least three, every time she comes in."
	Ukyou slumped against the wall. "No..couldn't be..."

**********

	Kotomi slumped against the wall of her apartment and groaned. Megumi
stared at her with concern in her eyes. "Kotomi-chan? What's going
on?"
	The green-haired girl sighed, then forced a fake smile on her face
and shook her head. "Nothing, Megumi-chan. Don't worry about it."
	Megumi smirked. "Don't give me that. You don't run out of a
restaurant like that over nothing."
	Kotomi sighed, and closed her eyes. "Alright...it's just, I know the
woman who owns that restaurant. She's...kinda someone I don't want to
run into."
	"Oh." Megumi seemed to accept that, and Kotomi didn't feel bad about
the lie, since it was at least partially true. "So...what do you want
to do now?"
	"Well," Kotomi said, "I think I need to do something about my hair.
These roots *do* look pretty ugly."
	Megumi giggled. "Okay. I'll just hang out and watch TV while you're
busy with that."

**********

	Megumi quickly got bored with the television, and decided to poke
around Kotomi's apartment a little. 
	"Hmm...what's in your closet, Kotomi-chan?" she muttered to herself
as she dug through the myriad Chinese-style blouses and pants in the
closet. She also found a few nice dresses she'd never seen Kotomi
wear. 
	After a few minutes, she found a medium-sized shoebox and a photo
album shoved in the corner of the closet. "Oh? What's this?" Removing
the objects, she took them into the living room to examine them more
closely.

**********

	Kotomi finished with her hair and walked out into the living room to
find Megumi leafing through..."Ack! Where did you find that?"
	"Hmm? Oh. It was in your closet. I hope you don't mind, I was just
having a look around."
	Kotomi sighed. "Nah, it's okay." She sat down beside Megumi. 
	Megumi turned a few pages, and frowned. "Kotomi-chan...who's the
little boy in all these pictures?"
	"Hmm?" Kotomi looked at the album, and cursed inwardly. Damn, she
would have to find the stupid thing... "Oh, that's, ah, my brother,
Ranma."
	"I didn't know you had a brother!"
	Kotomi nodded. "Hai. When I was little I lived with my mom, and
Ranma and my dad went on a training trip...they were martial
artists."
	"Oh, cool!" Megumi frowned. "So, where is your brother now?"
	Kotomi was pensive for a moment. "He died a couple years ago. An
accident in China. This is all that I have to remember him by."
	Megumi sniffled. "That's so sad..."
	Kotomi sighed inwardly. She hated having to keep lying like this. Of
course, it's not like she had proof of the truth anyway... 
	"Yeah, it's pretty tragic. But at least he went out the way he would
have wanted to." Another lie. Kuso.

**********

	Two days later, in Nerima, a short-haired figure, decked in
camouflage, marched briskly through the gates of the Tendou
residence. A few minutes later, a motorcycle roared out of the
residence and down the quiet streets, headed south.

**********

	Ukyou sighed as she wiped down the counter. 
	"What's wrong, Kuonji-san?" one of her waitresses asked.
	Ukyou sighed, and set her rag down. "It's some old personal
business. A...friend of mine, from a long time ago. We...we didn't
part on very good terms."
	"Oh? What happened?" The waitress then covered her mouth, and said,
"Gomen nasai. I don't mean to pry..."
	Ukyou chuckled quietly. "No, it's alright. It's just...I never
expected to see him again, but now I may know where he is."
	"Ah. And do you think he'll be happy to see you?"
	"I wish I knew, sugar."
	As the waitress went back about her business, the door opened, and a
rather beleaguered figure stepped through it. Ukyou looked up, and
blinked.
	"Welcome to the Happy Spatula! May I seat you, sir?" the head
waitress asked. The figure was about to speak, when suddenly he found
himself practically buried under a heap of soft okonomiyaki chef. The
waitress bigsweated as her boss glomped the new arrival viciously.
	"Ryouga-kun! Long time no see!"
	Hibiki Ryouga righted himself as Ukyou backed away slightly,
blushing and adjusting her blouse. He blinked. "U...Ukyou?"
	Ukyou nodded. "Hai! It's been a long time, sugar! What brings you
around here?"
	Ryouga put his hand behind his head and chuckled. "Well, heh,
actually..."
	"Got lost again, huh?" Ukyou winked.
	Ryouga blushed. "No! Actually, I was just in town for a bit, and
decided to do a little sightseeing."
	"Uh huh. Right."
	Ryouga looked a bit miffed. "It's true! Actually I was planning to
try to call you up later, but it looks like I found you first."
Becoming slightly serious, he said in a low voice, "Did Nabiki-san
call you?"
	Ukyou nodded. "Hai. I just talked to her a couple days ago."
	"I figured as much. That's why I'm here."
	Ukyou's eyes narrowed. "You aren't gonna try and fight Ranchan are
you?"
	Ryouga shook his head. "Ukyou...the years have given me a lot of
time to think. I did a lot of stupid things when I was younger, we
all did. I've come to realize that we all caused Ranma to leave the
way he did. If we hadn't all been so...so..."
	"Crazy?"
	Ryouga nodded. "Hai, crazy...if we'd all tried to focus on what
people felt instead of trying to beat everyone else into submission,
maybe things would have worked out better than they did."
	Ukyou blinked. "Wow. You really *have* changed, sugar."
	Ryouga smiled sadly. "We all have. Losing Ranma affected everyone."
Under his breath, he muttered, "Some more than others..."
	The roar of a motorcycle engine permeated the unsettling quiet that
followed this statement. Ryouga's eyes widened. "KUSO! I almost
forgot..."
	"Forgot what?"
	Before Ryouga could answer, someone stepped through the door behind
them. The new arrival was decked out in camouflage trousers, shirt,
and jacket, and wearing a black helmet. Removing the helmet revealed
short dark hair, mirrored sunglasses, and a cigarrette which the
figure quickly stubbed out on the helmet and tossed in a trash
receptacle. Removing the sunglasses, the newcomer flashed Ryouga and
Ukyou a broad grin.
	The color drained from Ukyou's face. "A...Akane-chan?"
	Ryouga turned slowly, and grimaced. "Akane." 
	Akane grinned as she took another step into the okonomiyaki-ya. "Hey
guys. I hear we've got Ranma in the area?"

**********

	"So, he's really here, then?"
	"That's what Tendou Nabiki said."
	"You don't suppose she called everyone, do you?"
	"Afraid you'll run into Tatewaki?"
	One of the two Chinese walking along a sidewalk in downtown Kyoto
blushed deeply. Eyes half-lidded, the woman swept back her luxurious
purple hair and shot back, "You're just jealous."
	The man barked a short laugh, his glasses flashing with reflected
sunlight. "Riiight. Like I have a reason to be jealous of *him*..."
	The two continued along, chatting idly, unmindful of anything around
them. If they'd been paying more attention, they'd have noticed a
green-haired young woman casting nervous glances their way.

**********

	"CHIKUSHOU!!! What are *they* doing here?" Kotomi wondered as she
made her way home from the corner market. She'd been picking up a few
things she'd discovered she needed, as Megumi was going to stay and
have dinner with her that evening since they both had the night off
for once. As she was walking, she heard two familiar voices
conversing in Mandarin. Stopping out of sight, she caught a glimpse
of a head of all-too-familiar purple hair, and a young man she didn't
recognize at first, but by the way he carried himself, he could only
be one person.
	Kotomi glanced around nervously as she walked home as quickly as she
could, fairly sure a number of other people would pop up
unexpectedly.
	As she walked, a rather nervous young woman, wearing a demure blue
dress, cleared her throat. "Excuse me, miss?"
	Kotomi stopped and turned around, on her guard. She relaxed as she
got a look at the woman, whom she didn't recognize. "Yes?"
	"I--I'm looking for someone, an old friend. She runs a little
okonomiyaki place, downtown?"
	Apprehensively, Kotomi suggested, "The Happy Spatula perhaps?"
	The young woman nodded. "Hai, that's it."
	Kotomi gave her directions to the shop, and continued on her way
nervously. "I think I'm gonna go nuts at this rate," she mumbled.

**********

	Back in Nerima, Nabiki smiled as she spoke into the telephone. "They
have? That's good. Maybe we can finally settle this thing."
	The door slid open, and a young child zoomed into the room. "Auntie
Nabiki!!" the little boy shouted as he flung himself at the middle
Tendou sister. 
	Nabiki chuckled and caught him, grunting slightly as she stumbled.
"Whoa there, Ken-chan, you're getting big!"
	"Kentarou-chan is just excited to see his aunt again," intoned a
sweet, motherly voice from the entrance. Nabiki looked over, and
smiled at her elder sister. "Kasumi-oneechan!"
	Kasumi entered the house, with Tofuu right behind her. "We got your
letter," Tofuu said, adjusting his glasses. "So you really think you
found him?"
	Nabiki nodded. Kentarou looked confused. "Found who, tousan?"
	Kasumi took her young son, and sat down, with him in her lap. "You
remember the stories about your uncle Ranma, don't you?"
	"Hai! I love hearing all about him!" The boy frowned. "But I don't
think I ever met him."
	Kasumi smiled slightly. "You might get to meet him really soon."
	"Honto?"
	Kasumi nodded. "Hai!"
	The boy clapped. "Yay!"
	The adults in the room exchanged nervous glances.

**********

	Kunou Tatewaki smirked as he read the fax from Tendou Nabiki. "So,"
he mused, "That fiend Saotome has once again resurfaced." Jabbing a
button on his intercom, he commanded, "Sasuke! Fetch my twisted
sister posthaste!"
	Sasuke's nervous reply vexed him. "Ah, Tatewaki-dono, I am afraid
Kodachi-dono has already left after receiving the fax about Saotome."
	"Chikushou," Kunou seethed. "Very well then, Sasuke. You will leave
immediately for Kyoto, and report on the situation."
	"Hai, Tatewaki-dono. But, sir, would you not prefer to attend to
this matter personally?"
	Kunou grimaced. "I would not, Sasuke. A chance meeting with my
ex-wife would most certainly occur, and I wish to avoid such a
meeting at all costs."
	Sasuke understood that well enough. "Very well, Tatewaki-dono. I
will attend to the matter with utmost efficiency."
	Kunou allowed himself a small smile. "You always do." Indeed, Sasuke
had become quite a worthwhile companion and servant in the last few
years. He had become indispensable to Kunou. The head of the Kunou
finanicial empire was confident his loyal employee would handle this
matter satisfactorily.

**********

	"It's been a long time Akane!" Ukyou said, welcoming her new guest. 
	"Sure has, Ukyou," Akane grinned. She offered Ryouga a terse nod.
"Ryouga."
	"Hi Akane," Ryouga said slowly, "It's, it's good to see you looking
so well..."
	Akane smirked. "Save it, pig."
	Ryouga suppressed the urge to snap at her. "This isn't the time or
place for this."
	Ukyou looked back and forth between them. "Anou...did I miss
something?"
	Akane shook her head. "No," she said, casting a sharp, scathing
glance at Ryouga. "Not really much of anything at all."
	Ryouga said nothing. Ukyou decided this wasn't the time to pursue
it.
	"So," Ryouga said, "It looks like we may finally find Ranma after
all this time."
	"Oh, I can go you one better than that, sugar," Ukyou said. "I saw
him."
	"WHAT!?" the others shouted.
	Ukyou grimaced. "Well, better to say I *might* have seen him. Nabiki
said Ranchan's only been seen as a girl lately, right?"
	Akane nodded. "Hai, she did. We're pretty sure that's why Ranma went
back to China."
	Ukyou frowned. "Well, there's a girl that used to come in here all
the time, up until a couple days ago." Ukyou chuckled. "Good
customer, it was a shame to lose her business. Her and her
girlfriend."
	This drew an odd glance from the other two. Ukyou chuckled. "Hey,
it's not like that kind of thing is unusual ya know. Anyway, the same
day I got the call from Nabiki, they ran out of here all of a sudden,
and never came back."
	"Her name's Kotomi," a passing waitress supplied. Ukyou smiled at
the young girl and made a mental note to give her a raise.
	Akane looked pensive. "Well, if this Kotomi girl *is* Ranma, we need
to find him, and find out if he did go after the Chisuiton."
	Ukyou blinked. "You really think he went after that thing?"
	Ryouga smirked. "It'd make sense." Frowning, he mused, "But what do
we do about it if he *did*?"
	Akane grinned, and reached into her knapsack. Ukyou and Ryouga
gasped as she pulled out a very familiar object.
	"Ranma isn't the only one who's been to China," Akane chuckled.
	She placed the Kaisuifuu in the center of the table.

**********

	"Read me a story, Baachan," a small boy said as he snuggled sleepily
into his grandmother's lap.
	Saotome Nodoka smiled at her young grandson. "Maybe later,
Kouma-chan. But first I have to tell you something very important."
	Six-year-old Kouma looked up. "Hai, Baachan?"
	Nodoka sighed. "You remember your mother telling you about your
father, right?"
	Kouma nodded enthusiastically. "Hai! Kaasan told me all about
Touchan!"
	Nodoka winced at that. "Well, how would you like to meet your
father?"
	Kouma's eyes widened. "Hontou?"
	Nodoka nodded. "Your mother is out looking for him right now, and
your aunt Nabiki knows where he is. They'll be finding him very soon,
and you can meet him." 
	"Sugoi!" the young boy cheered.
	Nodoka sighed. She hoped they'd find Ranma. If they didn't have any
luck this time, she feared she'd lose hope of ever seeing him again.

**********

	Nabiki hung up her "red line" after speaking to one of her Kyoto
associates. She grinned savagely. She'd discovered Ranma's new
identity, and that of her girlfriend. But she wasn't going to share
this information with Akane and the others just yet. Ukyou seemed to
know who Ranma was down there anyway. Besides...it would be a lot
more fun the way she was going to do it.
	Picking up the blue line, and dialing a number for another operative
in the area, she said in a low voice, "Kenji...yeah, it's me. Listen,
I'm gonna run an address by you. I want you to drop off that disc I
gave you. Yeah. That one. Great."

**********

	Megumi stopped by her apartment to change and check her mail before
going over to Kotomi's place. She found a small package in her box.
"Hello, what's this?"
	She found an audio disc inside it. Curious, she popped the disc into
her player. It began playing a song she didn't recognize, but
something seemed familiar about it...


	onna no ko usotsuki deshou
	kyuu ni anata o kirai ni naru
	otoko no ko tomadou deshou
	suki to tsugerare unazuiteta
	honki yo sakki mo


	Megumi was sure she recognized one of the voices in there...
	Checking to see if a note was included with the disc, she found
something scrawled in neat, efficient handwriting:

	'Usotsuki'
	"DoCo"
	Tendou Akane
	Tendou Nabiki
	Tendou Kasumi
	Shanpuu
	Saotome Ranma

	Megumi blinked. "Saotome Ranma?" But those singers were all female,
she'd heard it... 
	Replaying the disc, she was even more confused. There were no male
singers in that song at all. And one of the singers--sounded like
Kotomi?
	Something was up. Megumi wondered what that might be.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Into daring dreams
go the bold
conquering their fear...

--
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http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker

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