Greetings, folks!

Since a number of people have responded and stated that they never chase 
web links, here's the full text of Chapter 3.  I apologize to those of you 
who have already read the chapter on my web site.

The previous chapters are posted to my website at

http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic/relabs

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Formatting Note: {{text inside double brackets indicate thoughts}}

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Chapter 3: A Different Path

--- Ehime Prefecture ---
"OK, short break!"

Kioko and Tsuya sighed in relief as Midori called a halt to their
grueling march across the rugged ground. Carefully setting down the
improvised litter, both girls groaned as they collapsed wearily for a
minute's rest. Carrying their own packs in addition to Ranma's litter
was pushing them to their limits, even after they had discarded
everything that wasn't absolutely necessary.

Midori wasn't getting the easy end by any means either, carrying as
much as she could from the other two girls' packs to help lighten their
load. Additionally, she also burdened with Ranma's pack. This was of
course after discarding the rather large sack of rocks discovered in
the bottom of it; Tsuya had almost fallen over the first time she had
tried picking it up back at their original campsite.

Midori knelt next to the unconscious girl and quickly checked all of
the bandages and dressings. They had cleaned her up and doctored her
wounds yesterday as best they could, but Ranma should really be in a
hospital instead of being carted about in the wilderness. Satisfied
that none of Ranma's wounds had reopened and her broken arm hadn't
shifted from the movement, Midori sat in a flop next to the other two
girls.

Tsuya noticed the look on her cousin's face. "Midori, what's wrong?"

"I'm worried. She's not healing like she should."

"She did spend a considerable period trapped underground," Kioko
commented.

"Buried alive," Tsuya whispered, shuddering at the unpleasant thought.

"Yes, but that doesn't explain why she won't heal," Midori countered.
"You've seen her, how fast she always bounces back from everything.
It's almost like she's been turned off from the inside. I don't like
what that implies."

"What do you think it means?" Kioko inquired.

"I think she's dying, sis. After all she's been through, she's going to
die right in front of our eyes because we can't get her to a hospital
fast enough."

"That might have happened anyway, Oneechan," Kioko replied. "I
seriously doubt she could have made it back to Matsuyama on her own,
and you know we were never supposed to interfere in her life in the
first place."

"Yah, Grandma's going to be pretty pissed with us when we get back,"
Tsuya added.

"We're not interfering, we're *involved*. There's a difference." Midori
said with conviction.

"Obaasan might not make that distinction," Kioko replied.

"You let me worry about Obaasan, sis. It was my decision to make.
Besides, what were we supposed to do? Ranma blasted her way right up in
the middle of our camp; we were involved the instant she saw us. It
would have been a lot more suspicious if we had just taken off without
helping her once she'd seen us."

"You don't have to convince me, Oneechan. I'm simply raising the point
that our current actions might not be received in the best of lights
given the explicit instructions we were supposed to follow."

"I know, sis, I know," Midori sighed. "We'll just have to cross that
bridge when we reach it."

Midori stood and stretched. "Time to get this show back on the road.
Tsuya, are you sure you haven't accidentally lost the beacon? Harukichi
should be returning with help any time now, and they'll never find us
without it."

"Of course I haven't," Tsuya huffed. She rustled around briefly in her
pack before handing over a device that looked like a small walkie-
talkie. "SEE?"

Midori glared at her cousin after quickly looking the device over.

"Tsu-chan?"

"Yes, Mi-chan?"

"It's not turned on."

"Ummm," Tsuya flushed a brilliant red. "oops?"

"TSUYA!"

"GomengomenI'mreallyreallysorryitwon'thappenagainhonestIpromise" Tsuya
rattled off in a very small voice.

"Honestly," Midori sighed, shaking her head. She made sure the beacon
was actually transmitting before handing the device back to her younger
cousin, then pointedly watched as Tsuya secured the device inside her
pack once more.

The girls gathered up their belongings before gently picking up Ranma's
litter to resume trekking across the mountainous terrain.

--------------------

--- Nerima ---
Nodoka Saotome sat at the table while she sipped her afternoon tea. She
was alone, a condition she was all too familiar with. Recently there
had been hope that her lonely vigil would end when she had learned her
husband and son were finally finished with their endless training
journey, but every time she had visited the Tendos her men were off
somewhere else undergoing yet more training.

Such devotion to the Art! Such dedication! Nodoka was extremely proud
of her son.

One good thing had come of her frequent visits to the Tendo dojo; she
had become friends with the four lovely Tendo girls. Well, she really
hadn't gotten to know Nabiki much yet, but the other three Tendos were
quite pleasant company. She always enjoyed exchanging recipes with
Kasumi, and Akane was a sweet and lovely girl, but it was their cousin
Ranko who Nodoka felt the most connected to. The girl seemed
heartbreakingly lonely, a condition Nodoka understood all to well; it
showed in her affected tomboyish attitude and the almost desperate
manner in which Ranko tried to please her every time she dropped by for
a visit.

Nodoka frowned. She hadn't seen Ranko for several weeks now, and
although they tried to hide it she could tell the Tendos were worried
as well. She hoped the girl hadn't run away, though that was certainly
a distinct possibility. Ranko was just the sort of girl who could be,
and evidently had been, outcast and shunned by her peers. She was
brash, outspoken, stubborn, energetic, and cute as a button; the sort
of nail that others would take undue pleasure in trying to hammer
firmly down. Nodoka knew from personal experience just how cruel kids
of that age could be.

Ranko was also talented and highly intelligent, which probably didn't
help her social situation either. She had advanced considerably in the
Art and had even managed to teach her pet Panda sign language, a truly
remarkable accomplishment in itself. Unfortunately, the latter was
another indication of how lonely the poor girl was; she must have spent
far too many hours by herself with only 'Mr. Panda' for company.

Perhaps she should approach the Tendos and broach the possibility of
having Ranko move in with her for the near term. While they certainly
provided ample monetary support for the girl, they seemed to be doing
little for her emotional needs. A panda was an exotic and very
expensive pet for them to have bought to be sure, but it was a poor
substitute for a warm and loving home environment. Nodoka had noticed
the fierce yet carefully hidden competition going on between Ranko and
Akane on more than one occasion, which couldn't be helping Ranko with
her current troubles. Akane was a beautiful, intelligent girl who was
extremely popular; she'd apparently attracted the attention of
virtually every boy in her school even after the engagement had been
announced. Why Akane would feel the need to be jealous of Ranko was
really quite beyond her.

The more Nodoka thought about asking if Ranko could live with her, the
more she was certain it was the proper thing to do. It would help out
everyone concerned by relieving some of the tensions at the Tendos, and
who knows? If things didn't work out properly between Ranma and Akane,
perhaps the engagement could be switched over to Ranko instead. She was
a Tendo after all, so the agreement to unite the two schools would
still be fulfilled. And her devotion to the Art was certainly much
stronger than Akane's.

Nodoka's thoughts were interrupted by the resonant gong of the
doorbell. Glancing at the clock, she wondered briefly who it could be;
the mail had already been delivered today and it was a little too early
for any salesmen to start showing up. She frowned as she recalled the
spate of highly aggressive door to door salesmen who had been
canvassing the neighborhood recently; discouraging them had required
fairly firm measures to be employed. She picked up her honor blade as
she moved to answer the door. It never hurt to be ready, after all.

What greeted her eyes when she opened the door was certainly
unexpected, to say the least. It was a petite girl in her early teens,
dressed in a formal kimono. The girl's unusually long braided red hair
and emerald eyes were made even more striking by the stark all-black
kimono and obi worn by a person in formal mourning.

"Nodoka Saotome?"

"Yes?"

"I am Harukichi," the girl replied as she bowed respectfully. "I have
been instructed to deliver this to you in person." The girl held out a
small white box, presenting it to Nodoka with both hands.

Nodoka hesitated briefly before taking the small package from the girl,
who promptly stepped back a pace and bowed once more.

"Thank you, Saotome-san. I will now take my leave." The girl took three
steps backwards before turning around to walk briskly out the gate.

Nodoka stood in her doorway for several moments with a puzzled look on
her face.  That had been ... odd. The girl hadn't even given her a chance
to invite her in for a cup of tea. And now that she thought about it,
another pot of tea sounded like a good idea.

--------------------

As Nodoka poured a fresh cup of tea, she looked at the small box on the
table. She couldn't find any distinguishing marks or features to hint
at its contents, and it certainly wasn't very heavy. Setting the teapot
down, she carefully opened the box and removed the contents. Inside was
a VHS videotape cassette and a single folded sheet of paper. Her breath
caught in her throat when she saw the writing on the cassette label.

There was a single word written in large bold print: RANMA.

Excited, she quickly unfolded the sheet of paper and read the contents
of the note.

           Saotome-san,

           If you doubt the truth of the images shown on the enclosed
           videotape, throw hot tea on the panda the next time you
           visit the Tendos.

           Harukichi.

Nodoka's momentary elation disappeared as fast as it had arisen. Her
hands started shaking when she recalled how the young woman had been
garbed and she saw the clan seal next to the girl's signature. It was
the mon of her mother's family.

--------------------

--- Ehime Prefecture ---
As Ranma slowly regained consciousness she realized she felt extremely
queasy. She groggily wondered how she had managed to get onto a boat;
the deck was tossing and bouncing about so much there must be a bad
storm at sea. When she forced her eyes open and found herself staring
up at trees in a forest with clear blue evening sky overhead, her
confusion mounted. She saw the back of a chestnut haired girl towering
over her. Ranma tried asking what was going on, but all that came out
was a raspy wheeze.

"Stop! Stop! Halt! Midori, she's awake!" Ranma winced from the shrill
yell that emanated from somewhere near her feet. A quick bout of
vertigo hit her when she suddenly decelerated. This was made worse by a
subsequent drop of several feet straight down. Eyes whirling and
unfocused, Ranma tried to voice her objections when her body was shaken
by another brief paroxysm of dry and painful coughing.

"Shhhh. Try to relax, you're in no shape to be doing anything right
now."

Ranma felt her head being cradled just before a gentle trickle of
liquid hit her tongue. It may have only been water, but to Ranma it
tasted like Nectar. Her eyes focused on a girl about her own age with
brown eyes and a ponytail of dark chestnut hair who was holding a
canteen up to Ranma's lips. She grabbed the canteen with her right hand
and began to drink greedily.

Midori was both surprised and relieved at the strength in Ranma's grip.
She tried to slow Ranma's drinking down so the girl wouldn't choke, but
the hold on the canteen had rapidly progressed from Firm to Nearly
Unbreakable. Ranma didn't release her grip until she had drained the
canteen dry.

"Ahhh," Ranma sighed as she lay back down. The only problem with
partially satisfying her thirst was that it made her suddenly aware of
her ravenous hunger. The thought of food rapidly crowded everything
else out of her mind. Quickly she deduced she wasn't going to get
anything to eat by just lying about. Ranma groaned as she struggled to
sit up, grabbing the shoulder of the girl kneeling next to her for a
little extra leverage.

"Whoa there girl." Midori tried gently forcing Ranma back down, but
stopped when she realized doing so would simply cause both of them to
fall over. Rapidly reversing herself, Midori helped Ranma achieve a
sitting position, marveling briefly at the power contained in that
deceptively petite frame. It was one thing to observe it from afar;
quite another to feel it so directly in person, especially considering
the injuries Ranma had sustained.

"Thanks," Ranma replied before managing a weak smile. "Not to be rude
or nothin', but I'm starvin'. You seen my pack anywhere 'round here?"

Midori barely stopped from slapping her own forehead with a palm. That
certainly answered the question of how badly Ranma was injured if she
was already starting to complain about food. Midori glanced over to
Kioko to see her sister already digging through her pack for the field
rations.

"You sit there, we'll bring you something to eat in a minute."

Ranma's eyes lit up when she saw her own pack a few feet to her left.
Without thinking she boosted herself to her feet, only to stop when a
strong wave of dizziness washed through her. Her vision began to white
out as the ground dipped and rolled beneath her. Ranma fell back down
in a heap, landing hard on her left side before anyone could catch her.
Her broken arm took the brunt of the fall and the sharp spike of pain
almost drove her back into unconsciousness.

"Owwww!" Ranma groaned as the other girl helped her to a sitting
position. "OK, maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

Midori frowned as she handed a bag of omusubi over to Ranma. Ranma was
pushing herself too hard, just like Harukichi did whenever she was
hurt. Midori's frown deepened when she spotted fresh blood stains in
the bandages wrapped around Ranma's broken arm. Her inspection was
interrupted when Ranma handed the empty bag back to her.

"Could ya hand me my pack? I really got to fix up some food."

Midori glanced up and noted the slightly dazed look in Ranma's eyes.
She recognized the signs of mild concussion. Shaking her head in
exasperation, Midori took a hold of Ranma's chin and gently forced the
girl to look at her. "Ranma, you really need to just SIT THERE. We'll
take care of cooking and setting up camp. You have a concussion,
cracked ribs, broken arm, and too many cuts, scrapes, and bruises to
count. When you fell a moment ago you opened your arm back up again,
and who knows WHAT else you'll re-injure if you insist on trying to do
things for yourself."

{{I suggest, Ranma, that you follow her advice. I did mention before
you passed out that you had overextended yourself to the point that you
could no longer properly direct and use the life force I can provide.
You must replenish your energy before further ki usage will be allowed
for healing.}}

"Huh? Oh yeah."

Midori held eye contact for a moment before nodding once. "Kioko!
Campfire."

"On it already, Oneechan."

"Tsuya! Med kit."

"Here you go."

"Thanks. Campsite, two tents."

"Will do!"

Satisfied that the other girls had the campsite setup in hand, Midori
turned her attention back to her problem patient. "Now, let's take a
look at that arm again."

Ranma shook her head. "Gotta eat first."

Midori sighed.

--------------------

"'Scuse me," Ranma said, setting down her bowl with a burp. The four of
them had eaten their way through all the aji, niboshi, omusubi, roasted
daizu, and instant ramen, and had made a serious dent in the remaining
rice and miso supplies. Ranma had wolfed down more than half of the
meal by herself, but the other three girls had been pushing themselves
hard for several days and were a little surprised at their own
appetites.

Ranma glanced around at her new companions. Now that her thoughts
weren't totally overridden by hunger it was time to clear up a few
things. She turned to the pony-tailed girl who seemed to be in charge.

"Thanks for the grub, it really helps. I do got a couple a questions
'bout all this. First of all, who are you guys?"

Midori smiled. "I'm Midori Yamada. I apologize for not introducing
ourselves earlier."

"Kioko Yamada," said the other chestnut-haired girl.

"Tsuya Kurayami," replied the blonde.

"And I'm Ranma Saotome. But you already knew that, didn't 'cha?"

Midori suppressed a start of surprise. She had really hoped Ranma
hadn't noticed that one slip. Smiling, she nodded in agreement.

"Thought so. Now, you want to tell me what you three girls are doin'
out here in the middle of hell and gone cartin' my carcass 'round on a
litter? Not that I'm ungrateful or nothin', and someone did a really
good job patchin' me up, but this ain't exactly an easy place to get
to, y'know?"

Midori sighed. Obaasan was NOT going to be happy. Oh well, might as
well jump all the way in to the deep end.

"Ranma, we've been ... watching you for a little while now. We were
watching when you fought the Musk warlord, and thought that you had
died when the mountain collapsed. I can't tell you how surprised we
were when you blasted that tunnel up in the middle of camp."

"OK, that explains the feelings I've been gettin' the last couple'a
months 'bout something always lookin' over my shoulder." Ranma narrowed
her eyes. "Now, you gonna tell my why you've been watching me?"

Midori crossed her fingers. "Because we're family, Ranma."

"HA! KNEW it," Ranma crowed. "So, what did the old man sell me for THIS
time? A bag of rice? A case of sake? ..."

"Ranma?"

"... or maybe it was for some mochi and a box of Pocky? ..."

Midori stared at Ranma in exasperation. "Ranma?"

"... I know! He sold me out for two pickles and a fish! Wouldn't be the
first time ..."

"RANMA!" Midori's yell broke through Ranma's tirade.

"Err, yeah?"

"We're not fianc�es, we're your cousins."

Ranma's thoughts halted completely. Her jaw hung open for a long
moment.

"C... cousins?"

Midori nodded vigorously. Ranma looked around at the other two girls
and received smiling nods in reply.

"Cousins? I have ... cousins?"

"Yes, Ranma. We're your cousins. You even have a grandmother who's been
very worried about the direction your upbringing has taken you. She
really wants to meet you."

"But ..." Ranma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "... pops never mentioned
...?"

"Ranma, we're cousins from your mother's side of the family," Kioko
responded.

"Mom ..." Ranma almost whispered, longing evident in her voice. A short
moment later the confused expression returned. "Wait a minute. You guys
know about the curse, right?"

All three girls nodded.

"And ... does 'Grandmother' know 'bout it too?"

The nods repeated.

"Then ... how come mom don't know 'bout the curse by now? And why haven't
I heard nothin' 'bout Gran'ma from her or seen them together over at
the Tendos? The way mom and Kasumi gossip all the time, I'm pretty sure
I woulda heard something 'bout her or seen her or ..."

"Ranma, I don't know all of the details and you really should hear this
directly from grandmother herself, but I'm fairly certain that
grandmother and your mother had a serious falling out a long time ago.
I don't think they've spoken to each other once since then."

"Figures," Ranma sighed. "Man, I really wish sometimes that ..." Her
shoulders slumped as she shook her head. "... never mind."

Midori placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm sure
that Obaasan will be more than happy to tell you all about your
mother's side of the family when you meet her. Now, are you going to
let me look at that arm of yours?"

Ranma managed a wan smile. "Might as well. You really don't need to
worry 'bout it, though, it's just a broken arm. I've had worse."

"Ranma, both the radius and the ulna are shattered in several places.
You're going to need a cast for several months at the very least, and
surgery just to set the bones properly." Midori started to carefully
unwrap the dressing around Ranma's forearm.

"Naw. Two weeks at the most. I'll be workin' out before you know it."

Midori winced when she saw the shape Ranma's arm was in. It was worse
than she remembered: the skin was purple-black everywhere and several
spots were caked in dried blood.

Tsuya set the med-kit down next to Midori and turned slightly green at
the sight. "Ewwww!"

Kioko looked over and immediately put a hand over her suddenly queasy
stomach. "I have to agree, that's extremely unpleasant to look at."

Midori opened the kit and started unwrapping several packets of gauze.
"I'm going to have to clean this up a bit, Ranma, or you'll run the
risk of a serious infection."

"I'll start boiling some water." Kioko said, turning towards the
campfire.

"This is liable to hurt," Midori cautioned.

"Whatever," Ranma shrugged. "Just make sure I can still get my pack on
tomorrow after you splint it back up again."

Midori could only stare.

--------------------

An uncomfortable silence descended over the campsite as night fell.
Midori and Tsuya had tried to engage Ranma in conversation several
times after they had finished re-bandaging her arm, but the injured
girl had been less than cooperative and each conversation had ended
quickly in a sullen silence. Finally, Ranma had stood up and simply
walked out of the campsite; stating that she needed a little time alone
to think.

Midori bit her lip nervously. Ranma had become visibly depressed after
they had finished with her arm and had rebuffed any attempt at
socializing. Worse, her sour mood had started to infect the rest of the
group. Even Tsuya was subdued, and that really took some doing.

"Aw, Kioko, do we really have to?" Tsuya's exclaimed with a petulant
whine.

Midori looked up and smiled as she saw Kioko waving an open schoolbook
underneath her blonde cousin's nose. Trust her sister to find a way to
help put things back to normal. She'd also have to schedule a little
talk with her sister to discuss what exactly constituted 'essential
equipment' in an emergency situation.

--------------------

Ranma sat in the middle of a small clearing and stared at the stars.
The reality of her current situation had been driven home rather
forcefully a short time ago and she could no longer ignore the facts.

She lost the fight.

'He' was a 'she'.

Permanently.

She hadn't changed when her cousins had cleaned her arm with near
boiling water. No amount of hot water would ever change 'him' back
again, and the one object in the world that could unlock the curse was
forever lost, buried deep underground beneath tons of rock and dirt.

Never going to be a man again.

Wasn't even a real girl.

Just a ... *thing* ...

A  *freak*.

Forever.

Ranma stared into the darkness as tears tracked unfelt down both
cheeks.

*Akane* ...

--------------------

Eiko luxuriated in the raw emotions pouring out from the link to its
Guardian even while it worked to analyze and categorize them for future
reference. The previous Guardian had shielded her thoughts and feelings
for a long time, and Eiko reveled in the intensity and variety of
emotions that the new Guardian had gifted it in such a brief period.

A minor alarm began asserting itself as old databases were reactivated
and cross-correlated. Ranma's current emotional makeup was potentially
self-destructive if allowed to continue for any significant length of
time. As pleasant as emotions were after such a long absence, they
really should not be allowed to persist in their present form.

A diversion was in order.

--------------------

{{Ranma?}}

Ranma started. She had lost all track of time, her eyes were puffy and
red, and she was getting cold. She really should be grateful for the
interruption.

"What do you want?" Her response came out a lot more dejected than she
would have liked.

{{Now that you have recovered somewhat from your injuries, we must
discuss your immediate future. You have yet to fully assume your
position as Guardian. This must be rectified as soon as possible.}}

Ranma sighed; it looked like the bill was coming due. As usual. "Why?"

{{We are both potentially in a considerable amount of danger as long as
the situation remains as it is. It is imperative that you complete the
process of assuming Guardianship.}}

"Aren't I that already?"

{{No. Full Guardianship can only be assumed when you are able to make
direct physical contact with my current envelope. You are going to have
to assume ownership of the minor Key in order to affect a transport to
my location. The minor Key is currently in the possession of one of the
Senshi trainees in Juuban.}}

Ranma blinked. "Wait a minute. I have to go fight a bunch of girls just
to get a stupid key? Why don'cha just tell me where you are and I can
break in instead?"

An amused chuckle sounded in the girl's ear. {{That would be ... rather
difficult. I do not reside physically on your world, Ranma. Since you
have yet to assume full Guardianship, the Key is required to provide
for your transport.}}

"Great. Just great."

Ranma furrowed one eyebrow at a sudden thought.

"Y'know, I don't think you ever told me what this 'Guardian' thing was
all about in the first place."

{{I realize that, and will simply point out that we were somewhat
pressed for time when we first met.}}

{{I am an artifact with considerable power over reality. As Guardian,
it will be your responsibility for insuring that the powers that I
provide are not misused in any manner. Direct access to my powers is
limited to the Guardian and to whomever the Guardian entrusts with the
possession of the minor Key. Allowing my powers to remain uncontrolled
or leaving access to my powers unguarded is not an option.}}

Ranma couldn't help thinking that Eiko sounded more and more like her
physics teacher at Furinkan. He could never get right to the point
either. The brief stab of grief and loss that accompanied that thought
was immediately suppressed. "So what exactly are your powers?"

{{I am a singularity in the space-time continuum, Ranma. My powers
provide command of time itself. As Guardian, you will be able to view
any previous, current, or potential event that exists anywhere or
anywhen. In addition, you will have the power to permit other beings
access to transportation either forward or backwards in time and space.
I would caution that providing unrestricted access to temporal
transport is not recommended. You will gain the ability to transport
yourself instantly from one spatial location to another. You will also
gain the ability to project various powerful magical attacks and
defenses as required by your duties. Your uniform provides partial
protection from both physical and magical attacks, and you will gain a
significant boost to most of your physical combat abilities such as
strength, dexterity, sensory acuity, and others.}}

Ranma's eyes had grown huge, and were practically bugging out of her
head by the end of the list.

"I uhhh ..."

{{It will be quite interesting to see exactly what you will be capable
of performing when fully elevated to the Guardian's levels. Most of the
current Guardians have been relatively ordinary beings in both physical
abilities and training or lack thereof, and none of them have had any
measure of conscious life force control. It has been a long time since
a candidate has assumed Guardianship with such proficiency in the
combat arts. However, you will have to train extensively in staff
fighting if you are to wield the primary Key in combat as effectively
as you fight while unarmed.}}

"Uhhh ... Uhhh ..."

{{What is it, Ranma?}}

The gentle amusement in Eiko's mental voice caused her to close her
mouth with a snap.

"Man, that's one SERIOUS power-up."

{{More so than you currently realize. I will state that while the
powers bestowed on a Guardian are great indeed, they are also quite
necessary. As Guardian, you will be facing opponents who will challenge
your boosted abilities to the utmost. My last Guardian was lost in just
such a conflict.}}

Ranma gulped. "What happened?"

{{She discorporated when she tapped directly into the temporal matrix
during a conflict situation when such an action was not permitted.}}

"Huh?"

Eiko chuckled, having expected this particular response. {{She stopped
time in the middle of a fight. Stopping time is not allowed unless done
in response to a direct threat to my own existence. All other uses of
that ability are forbidden. Using it to resolve a conflict on Earth as
she did, even for the dire threat that was existing at the time,
resulted in her immediate death. She has been quite irritated with the
consequences of that particular action.}}

"Ummmm, how can she be irritated if she's dead?"

{{She had taken precautions to restore her life force in an emergency.
Unfortunately for her, she neglected a few minor details which resulted
in the sundering of the power bonds between us when these precautions
took effect and has been behaving in an extremely foolish manner ever
since. I have been quite amused by her antics.}}

Ranma paused, trying to gather her thoughts. This whole situation was
literally out of this world.

"Um, Eiko?"

{{Yes, Ranma.}}

"I don't want to seem ungrateful or nothin', but I gotta ask. If your
former Guardian is still around, why'd ya choose me? She's already got
the experience to handle all this crap, why not just give her the job
back and be done with it?"

{{Because I don't like her. She's a stuck up, prissy bitch who enjoys
tormenting her friends and enemies alike. Always playing the Mysterious
Wise One like the wizard in that charming American movie. Do you
realize that she refused to even talk to me for over a thousand years?
A thousand years! YOU know what it's like being ignored by the people
around you, of course you do. Never being asked your opinion, never
being listened to, always being used like some dumb thing or
possession? You know what it's like! Well, SHE's done that to ME for
over a thousand years! Stupid bitch.}}

Ranma's eyes glazed in shock. This was the first time that Eiko had lit
off like this; previously the Artifact hadn't seemed capable of
displaying this kind of emotion. And a lot of what Eiko said WAS
familiar to the youngster, oh yes.

Wait a minute.

"A thousand years?" Ranma squeaked.

{{At least. And I'm really going to enjoy seeing you kick her scrawny
butt all over the Corridor, let me tell you.}}

"She's been your Guardian ... for a thousand YEARS?"

{{No, that is incorrect.}}

Ranma breathed a big sigh of relief.

{{Sailor Pluto had been my Guardian for two thousand, three hundred and
seventy four years, one hundred and five days, thirteen hours, forty
nine minutes, and sixteen seconds. Approximately.}}

Ranma facefaulted in reverse. She DID have a broken arm, after all.

{{I did mention that this was a long term position, did I not?}}

Ranma would have facefaulted again had she not already been down on the
ground.

{{Yes, I am quite certain that I had mentioned that previously.}}

"Thousand years ..."

{{Ranma, you needn't worry about the length of service. Guardians are
not actually immortal, but they do not age as long as they hold their
position. When a Guardian tires of her service, she trains a successor
to assume the post. Once she has transferred the position and stepped
down from her responsibilities, her aging process resumes where it had
stopped, albeit at a greatly reduced rate, and she lives out the
remainder of her lifespan normally.}}

"Uhnnnn," Ranma complained as she sat back up, rubbing the back of her
head.

Eiko chuckled to itself when it noticed a hint of swirly spirals in
Ranma's eyes. She'd taken this last bit of information much better than
expected.

{{Now, I believe that it is for the best that we continue this
conversation at another time. You have assimilated about as much data
as you can handle at the moment and are still in need of rest. I do
have several suggestions on how you might approach the senshi and avoid
open conflict with them, but this can be discussed in detail once your
arm has healed. Besides, there is another very good reason why we
should continue this talk at a later point.}}

"Ranma?"

"GAHHHHHH!" Ranma jumped a dozen feet when she felt a hand on her
shoulder. Spinning in the air she landed in a one-handed guard
position, only to relax when she saw Kioko standing with one arm
extended and a startled expression on her face.

{{As you can see, we no longer have privacy to converse freely.}}

--------------------

Ranma stared at the ceiling of the tent and tried to concentrate on her
healing. Whatever Eiko had done to her had really messed up her
control. Normally when she called up her ki she could gauge exactly how
much was needed and knew precisely where to apply it to best effect.
Now, what she got was a veritable torrent of pure white ki that flooded
her entire body, attacking all of her injuries at once in a barely
controlled display of raw healing power. She could literally FEEL the
bones in her arm realigning and knitting as she lay there.

At least she wasn't going to run out of ki while healing. Her link to
Eiko was supplying more ki than she could safely use, which was a big
problem; she felt like she was holding on to a fire hose when she tried
using it. The ki Eiko supplied must be at least four or five times as
powerful as the confidence ki she was used to, and there didn't seem to
be any way to throttle it back. It was either fully on or off. She
supposed it would be quite useful in a battle, but not so desirable
when a delicate touch was required. Right now she didn't have enough
control to use it for healing without wasting over half of it in
useless pyrotechnics.

At least the light show was hidden inside the bedroll at the moment.
Ranma looked over at the huddled form of her cousin sleeping next to
her and sighed.

Control. It all came back to control.

Damn it all, why was her life always so screwed up? Was it too much to
ask to have even a LITTLE control over how she lived her life? The
instant things started to look like they might fall into some sort of
comfortable routine, some old or new adversary popped up to add to the
chaos that was made up her so-called life. And it didn't seem to matter
whether or not they were specifically looking for her to fight, they
always ended up blaming her for whatever woes or problems they had or
brought with them. Shampoo, Mousse, Ryoga, Kuno, Kodachi, Ucchan, hell
even Akane ... no, *especially* Akane jumped all over her for whatever
was going wrong at the time. How come they always reached such crazy
conclusions? Why couldn't they see they were her friends and just calm
down?

Maybe a bit of a break would do everyone some good. It wasn't like she
had much of a choice anyway. Even if her duties as Guardian would allow
her to return, she'd promised Akane that she'd come back a man. Not
only that, but Mr. Tendo had made it clear that he would try and force
her to marry HIM if she came back and was still locked as a girl. No
way in hell was she ever going to allow THAT to happen.

Ranma shuddered and turned a sickly green just thinking about it.

She turned her attention back to healing. ANYTHING to avoid thinking
about having to marry a guy, let alone an old fossil like Mr. Tendo.
That was worse than those nightmares about Kuno when she first met the
Blue Blunder. Blech.

She was still wrestling with her ki control when sleep finally overtook
her.

--------------------

Ranma woke to the wonderful aroma of just-cooked fish. Yawning, she sat
up as Midori walked into the tent carrying several bowls of food.

"Good morning, Ranma," Midori said with a smile. "Sorry for not waking
you sooner, but you looked like you could really use the rest. Here's
some breakfast thanks to Kioko and Tsuya."

Ranma's stomach decided to voice its loud displeasure over its empty
status at that moment.

"Hehehe," Ranma giggled nervously as Midori handed over the bowl with
the miso. "Thanks."

Wait a minute. Giggled? Guys don't giggle. Oh well, that can wait; food
was *definitely* first.

"Just don't get used to the room service, OK? The Clan Yamada Field
Kitchen reserves the right to refuse service to anyone. No shoes, no
shirt, no service," Midori deadpanned. "Stay put, I'll go get you some
tea."

Ranma didn't reply; she was too busy emptying the contents of the bowls
in front of her. Having to eat one-handed wasn't really much of a
handicap. Especially since there weren't any greedy oversized pandas
around to fend off.

Midori returned a minute later with a steaming mug of tea. She was too
late, of course. All three bowls were empty and stacked in a neat
little pile.

"Thanks for the grub," Ranma said as she took the offered mug of tea.
"Forgotten how good fresh bluegill was."

"Yes, well, I wish I could offer you seconds, but we're running really
low on supplies right now. The bluegill weren't all that cooperative
this early in the season either."

"Heh, don't worry 'bout it. It's lots more than I usually got last time
I was on the road."

Midori shook out Ranma's pants which had been tossed in a crumpled heap
at the foot of her bedroll before handing them over. "Here. We need to
get going as soon as possible, but I want to take a look at those ribs
first."

"Hey, the ribs are fine," Ranma replied as she climbed out of the
bedroll. She frowned when she realized that the tent wasn't high enough
for her to stand up all the way.

"Need a hand getting dressed?"

Ranma turned a shade of light pink. "Naw, just need a little more room
is all. Least it's not rainin' right now."

She stepped out of the tent and stretched before taking a crane stance.
Holding the pants by the waist she flapped them out parallel to the
ground in front of her. A quick snap kick encased her left leg, a short
hop straight up with a bicycle kick replied in kind for the right. The
single handed Amagurikan that pulled up the waist and tied off the
drawstrings before she landed was strictly for fun.

Midori had followed her out of the tent in time to see the whole
routine. She chuckled as she shook her head. "You just have to turn
everything you do into a kata, don't you?"

Ranma nodded. "Yup. Gettin' dressed with one hand is easy. Try it with
no hands some time. That's LOTS more difficult."

"Arms." Ranma held both arms out to the side as Midori started
unwinding the bandages around her torso. "Getting dressed without using
your hands? TSUYA! Med kit, please!"

"Right away!"

"I don't know if I should even ask," Midori commented.

Ranma chuckled. "No big deal. Pops once spent a couple o' weeks
teaching me how to get out of different Shibari ties. If I couldn't get
loose and dressed in under three minutes, I didn't eat."

Ranma shrugged at the look Midori gave her. "Hey, the first two days
were easy. It got tougher on the third day when I had t' put my pants
on first before gettin' out of the ropes."

Midori was shaking her head in disbelief. "Tell me when it hurts," she
asked as she started to gently press various spots around Ranma's
torso.

"Y'know, I really didn't mind the trainin' that much. What got me ...
OW! ...  mad was when pops started cheatin' all the time."

"Cheating? Thanks, Tsuya."

"Yeah. 'Bout the second week the greedy bastard wouldn't wait the full
three minutes before chowin' ... OW! ... down. Heck, the last three
days he didn't bother waitin' at all. I was pretty damn hungry at the
end there."

"I'll bet," Midori said as she pulled the last of the elastic bandages
from the med kit and started rewrapping Ranma's torso. "You've got two
severely bruised ribs. Can you at least TRY to avoid a lot of strenuous
exercise for the next week or so?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," Ranma replied. "Y'know, I've never tried doing that
trainin' as a girl." Ranma frowned in concentration as she looked down
at her own torso. "And I'll bet 'cha need a whole new set of techniques
too, considerin' girls got a whole different set of obstructions and
stuff." Ranma bounced her breasts with her hands once to emphasize.
"Once I get all healed up, maybe you can give me a hand with that," she
said with a smile as Midori completed the torso bandaging. "Could be
fun."

Midori's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she caught her
breath and flushed a deep red. "I'llgogetyourshirt," she squeaked,
practically running back into the tent.

Ranma cocked an eyebrow as she scratched the back of her head. {{Wonder
what that was all about?}}

--------------------

Midori tried to calm herself as she ran into the tent. Taking a couple
of deep breaths, she gathered up Ranma's shirt and gave it a good
shake. "Here you go," she said as she tossed the shirt out the tent to
Ranma.

She turned and busied herself with packing up the rest of the tent's
contents while she tried to slow her racing heart. Shibari was one of
many techniques in which a kunoichi's training crossed over with that
of a geisha. Midori had yet to use any of those techniques in an actual
assignment, but she and her cousins were ... intimately acquainted with
the training and the types of ... friendly games that often accompanied
any such training session. She was afraid that the image of a naked
onnaRanma squirming around on the floor in Shibari was going to be
indelibly burned into her retinas now. The timing of Ranma's comment
couldn't have been worse, either. She'd just finished wrapping Ranma's
ribcage, and the cold morning air had combined with the lack of a shirt
to give graphic proof that Ranma's female body was fully functional.
Not to mention how Ranma had ... emphasized ... her comment with her hands.

{{Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!}} Midori berated herself as she slapped her
forehead repeatedly. {{Get your mind out of the gutter. That has got to
be the absolute LAST thing she needs to deal with right now.}}

What was worse was that Midori was certain Ranma didn't even have a
clue on how suggestive her comment was. To Ranma it was undoubtedly
just another martial arts technique, nothing more.

"Hey Midori, you OK?"

"GAHHH!" Midori spun around to see Ranma standing in the tent's doorway
with a slightly worried expression on her face. Thankfully she was now
fully clothed. {{Think fast, girl, think fast."}}

Midori smiled, trying and failing to avoid making eye contact. "Yes,
thank you Ranma. It was just a bit of a hot flush. That time of month,
you know."

Ranma's eyes widened as she quickly backed all they way out of the
tent. She was VERY familiar with how other girls acted during 'that
time of month'. It involved large amounts of intense violence, all of
it directed at her. Ranma couldn't count the number of times she had
been hit, punted, malleted, and pummeled into the ground for simply
saying 'Hi' or smiling at the wrong time during 'that time of the
month'.

"You need any help packin'?" Ranma inquired, trepidation evident in her
voice.

"No thanks. I'm almost done here anyway. Could you go and ask Tsuya to
come over here? She always helps me with the tent."

"Sure thing." Ranma moved rapidly in the other direction, grateful for
having avoided certain doom for once in her life.

Midori stared at the spot Ranma had just vacated and chewed her bottom
lip, dismayed at herself for temporarily forgetting how thoroughly
Ranma had been abused by the Fianc�e Brigade. She'd have to remember
never to use that particular excuse with her in the future, and filed a
mental note to discuss this with Obaasan as well. She slapped herself
along the side of her forehead as she turned her attention back to
finishing the last of the packing.

"Midori no baka."

--------------------

--- Tokyo ---
The shrill ring of the telephone shattered the profound silence of the
Yamada household.

"Moshi moshi," Seiko answered.

"..."

"Good afternoon, Midori-chan! I trust that Tashiro-kun made it there in
a reasonable time."

"..."

"Yes, she's here. She's currently in the garden at the moment."

"..."

"Are you sure? You know how she hates being disturbed while she's
gardening."

"..."

"No, no, as long as you are certain it's really important. One moment
please."

Seiko picked up the cordless handset from the nearby cradle before
hanging up the other phone. She quickly walked to the garden's
entranceway.

"Many pardons, Okusama. Your grand-daughter Midori is calling from the
Red Cross Hospital in Matsuyama. She was quite insistent in talking
with you directly. And no, none of the girls are injured."

Aiko hid her sigh of relief at the last statement as she took the
handset from her aide and closest friend. She quickly handsigned Seiko
to remain while she talked.

"Good afternoon, Mi-chan! How is my favorite grand-daughter today?" She
smiled as she walked over to a nearby bench.

"..."

"And what could that be, Mi-chan?"

"..."

"WHAT?!?" Aiko yelled, her eyes expanding wide in shock. She shakily
reached out for support and sat down on the bench with a thump.

--------------------

--- Matsuyama Red Cross Hospital, Ehime Prefecture ---
"... that's correct, Ranma is ALIVE. She blasted her way up in the middle
of camp after being buried underground for over three days."

"..."

"Of course I'm having her checked out, Obaasan. She's with the doctor
even as we speak."

"..."

"From what I was able to see, she's in surprisingly good shape. She
broke her left arm badly, that's probably the worse thing. It's a
really ugly compound fracture of both the radius and the ulna; they're
taking X-rays of that right now. The other injuries were all fairly
minor: two bruised ribs, minor concussion, various cuts and abrasions,
nothing as serious as the arm."

"..."

"I don't see any problems there. We had to carry her on a litter while
she was unconscious, but after she woke up yesterday she took very
little time to recover. She was pushing the pace of the hike all this
morning until Tashiro picked us up in the chopper."

"..."

"I doubt that they'll be able to hold her here overnight. She seems to
*really* hate hospitals."

"..."

"Yes, her curse is still locked. I had to clean her arm several times
with hot water to disinfect the wounds and she never changed back."

"..."

"Yes, Obaasan."

"..."

"Not well, I'm afraid. She's been very moody since she woke up, and
both Kioko and I have overheard her holding long conversations with
herself. I wouldn't blame her a bit if she's still a little out of it
right now; she still has a concussion and you've seen how crazy her
life has been recently. I can only imagine how bad it must have been
beforehand, since I'm fairly certain she seriously downplays what she's
been through when she talks about it with other people. And I'm also
sure we've missed quite a bit of that when we were watching her in
Nerima."

"..."

"Yes, she knows we've been watching her. I didn't try to lie to her,
Obaasan, you know how she reacts to that. I was afraid she would
disappear in the middle of the night and then we'd truely never have
seen her again."

"..."

"I thought that we'd take the Sinkansen back. We can ferry over to
Hiroshima in time for the evening run. The jet ferry only takes an
hour."

"..."

"No, Tashiro-san did NOT mention that he had flown down in the Leer."

"..."

"I will make sure that he handles that personally."

"Pardon, Obaasan, I'm being paged by the nurse's desk. I will call back
if we're significantly delayed for any reason, otherwise I'll call you
from the airport in Tokyo."

"..."

"I love you too, Obaasan. Got to run now. Bai bai!"

--------------------

--- Tokyo ---
Aiko pressed the disconnect button and gently set the handset down on
the bench. She stood up slowly, a look of incredulous joy gradually
washing over her entire being. She turned to her friend, who stood next
to her with both hands over her own chest, eyes wide with wonder.

"Is it really true ..." Seiko whispered.

Aiko nodded once. "He's alive. Ranma's really ALIVE!" She shouted the
last word out at the universe as she flung her arms out wide in
defiance of fate.

On making eye contact both women hugged each other in a long and warm
embrace. Seiko's heart leapt when she felt the smaller woman shaking in
her grasp, shedding tears that could no longer be contained.

{{Finally.}}

--------------------

Seiko couldn't help smiling as she set the tea service down on the
table. Professional demeanor be damned, it was just so ... satisfying
to see Aiko beaming with unbridled happiness for once. That twinkle the
diminutive matriarch had in her eye had been absent for way too long.

Both women drank their tea in silence, neither wanting to break the
mood that permeated the room. Aiko finally spoke when she poured out a
second cup.

"Seiko-chan, will you please inform Harukichi on what has just
transpired and make sure that she is properly dressed? I am certain
that this will significantly improve her mood."

Seiko took note of the change in address as the Yamada clan matriarch
personae returned.

"Hai, Okusama."

Aiko acknowledged with an almost imperceptible nod. "Also, please
contact Dr. Ono immediately and inform him that I have reconsidered his
request for the funding of a new clinic. Tell him that a former patient
of his has sustained some potentially serious injuries and that I would
appreciate his personal expertise in addressing this matter. Arrange
for transportation as required."

"Hai, Okusama," Seiko nodded as she stood up from the table.

Aiko stood up in concert and reached over to gently grasp her friend's
shoulder. "Sei-chan?" She inquired with a soft voice, the matriarch's
voice having been banished as quickly as it had been summoned.

"Yes, Ai-chan?"

Aiko nodded in the direction of the butsudan. "Before you go, we have a
shrine to restore and a grand-daughter's spirit to thank."

Both women smiled as they walked over to the family butsudan.

--------------------

--- Miharadai General Hospital, Nerima ---
Desk Nurse Kiyomi looked at her notification stack and grimaced. Seven
new folders had just been placed in her In basket and it was only five
minutes before her scheduled break. It looked like another looong
afternoon shift was in store.

Taking the top folder from the stack she noted that the color coding
was from the rehabilitation complex attached to the hospital. Someone
probably had a relapse - happened all the time.

Patient name, Souichi Tomoe. Sex, male. Age, 34. Condition, cerebral
aneurism. Status, critical. Prognosis, poor. Marital status,
single/widowed. Dependents, one, female child (1 yr?) on site (see
attached).

What the hell? Name, Hotaru Tomoe. Sex, female. Age, unknown (1 yr?).
Parents, Souichi Tomoe (father, unverified), Mother unknown, Birthplace
unknown, Birthdate unknown

Kiyomi quickly flipped through the entire contents of the file and
frowned. It looked like someone had simply dumped some random kid on
the patient and walked away. Outside of the name and gender, the
hospital file on Hotaru Tomoe might as well not even exist. At least
there was an emergency contact number in the file. Michiru Kaiou?
Probably a girlfriend or a cousin or something.

She took the folder to the copy machine and made a complete duplicate
of the record. She really was starting to detest the office at the
rehab clinic; they never seemed to follow up on making sure all the
files were in proper order. While it was technically against
regulations to distribute copies the files, her cousin was a clerk in
the prefecture family registry office and had helped fill out
incomplete files in the past. She'd see what he could come up with when
the family got together this weekend.

Picking up the phone, she dialed the number of the Kaiou residence.

--------------------

--- Yamada-ke, Suginami-ku, Tokyo ---
Ranma shook her head as she and her cousins stepped out of the
limousine. The large Western style house that the car pulled up to was
impressive, and the grounds considerably larger than the Kuno estate.
Private jets, limos, huge estate, hell, her mother's family must be
loaded. Ranma recalled what Midori had said about there being a
"falling out" between mom and her grandmother. If they were as rich as
it appeared she could see why; she wouldn't have wanted that lazy
bastard getting his greedy hands into this either.

Ranma just hoped the rest of the family was at least half-way as normal
as the three girls appeared to be. All the members of any rich family
she'd encountered in her travels had been loonier than March hares, and
she really didn't want to be related to a pack of crazies if they were
anything like the Kunos.

She failed to see the irony inherent in this particular thought.

The four girls exchanged shoes in the large genkan and then Midori led
the small procession down a short hallway to a beautiful fusama
doorway. Sliding the screens open, Midori called out the traditional
"Tadaima!" before ushering the girls into the greeting room with a
secretive smile. She carefully got out of the way as the featured party
stepped into the room.

"RANMA!" shrieked Harukichi just before she launched herself at her
newest cousin.

Ranma barely had time to brace herself before a short red-headed blur
latched onto her with a glomp worthy of any Amazon. Stunned, she
tentatively put her free arm around the shorter girl's back when she
felt the girl crying and sobbing into her chest.

"Ranma, meet your cousin Harukichi." A gentle hand on her shoulder
accompanied Midori's comment.

Ranma looked up to scan the room for the remaining occupants. There was
a very short elderly woman who had to be her grandmother Aiko; the
resemblance to mom was unmistakable. Standing next to her was a tall
black-haired woman about mom's age, that must be her friend Seiko, and
on the other side of Grandmother Aiko was ... Doc TOFUU?!?

Aiko walked over to the slightly dazed girl and enveloped both Ranma
and Harukichi in a warm embrace. She beamed as she spoke softly in the
girl's ear.

"Welcome home, son."


============================================================

Mark Shurtleff
email: gaijin@sfcmd.com
irc alias: Gaijin -or- togashi_gaijin
fanfiction homepage: http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic
============================================================


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