Trials of Destiny



    Ranma 1/2 and all of its characters and situations are
the creation and property of Rumiko Takahashi. I use
these characters and situations without permission.

        Chapter Seven: Awakenings

	"And the king shall grow as the wind continues, the 
	price and princess, of and not of shall gather, and
	the old Goddess shall reawaken. Mere hours will pass 
	before the coming of the Dark. Mere days before the
	coming of the Darker." ~Unknown

****

	"Hiroki!" the old man yelled. "Come for your dinner,
boy!"

	Hiroki stood upon the land of his father, and of his
father's father. The land that had belonged to the Seiro
family for generations. He practiced.

	It was all he did. All he could do. Hiroki and his
brother Daishoki were never allowed off their land.

	It was either their mother, or their father.

	Both had always wished it was their father.

	Hiroki's mother was a good person. She was kind,
caring, and always conscious of what happened around them.

	But she was powerless to stop it.

	"BOY! DON'T MAKE ME GO OUT THERE TO GET YOU!", the
man yelled again.

	Hiroki dropped his bokken instantly, and began
sprinting towards the house.

	If there was one thing Hiroki was afraid of, ever.
It was his father.

	But, like his mother, he was powerless to stop it.

	A moment later, he was inside the house. Dinner was
ready at the table, as his mother set it, and his brother
was already seated.

	And his father stood in the corner, watching.

	"It's about time, boy," his father said, not making
eye contact. "Take your place."

	Hiroki silently nodded, and moved towards the table.

	"Daishoki, get up boy."

	Hiroki blinked. This wasn't... was it?

	Daishoki also blinked, but more out of fear.
"Father?"

	Their father sneered towards Daishoki. "Did I say
you could speak, boy?"

	"No Father, I'm sorry." Daishoki looked towards the
ground.

	"You would question me, boy. After all I do for you.
I feed you, clothe you, and this is how I'm repaid?"

	"Dear, I'm sure he didn't mean--" Hiroki's mother
interjected.

	"YOU SHUT UP, WOMAN!" he yelled. He sneered towards
Daishoki one last time before sitting down at the table.

	Daishoki trembled, but he tried not to show it.
Unfortunately, it was fully visible.

	"You will not eat tonight."

	Daishoki blinked.

	"I was willing to allow you to eat, but you
questioned me. Your own father. Do you have anything to
say?"

	Daishoki trembled under his own weight. Although
Hiroki didn't understand why he was being punished, he knew
that if he questioned it, Daishoki would be punished
further, Daishoki knew that he would have to find out the
extent. And if there would be any... further punishments.

	"Father, may I ask what it is I have done, so that I
may never do it again?"

	"You've been bad, Daishoki. I've seen the fence."

	Daishoki swallowed and closed his eyes.

	And Hiroki immediately knew what it was.

	Neither of them were ever allowed to see outside of
the land of the Seiro. Their father despised what was
happening. The so-called 'Meiji' restoration.

	Men were not allowed to carry swords.

	And he had so graciously wanted to spare his sons of
that travesty.

	But Daishoki had built a step-ladder of sorts, so
that he could see over the wall that encircled the Seiro
compound.

	And their father had found it.

	"I'll expect you in the room after watching us eat,
Daishoki."

	Their mother closed her eyes for a moment. Hiroki
could see a tear flow from out of it.

	The room. Hiroki knew the room well. He was often
sent there. His father just tells them that it's because he
cares for them so much that he has to punish them that way.
The pain, the hurt. The tears.

	But Hiroki knew the truth. It wasn't for punishment.
It was to feed his fathers sick perversions.

	And now, it was his brothers turn.

	"Let us eat, family," their father ordered.

	And Hiroki took a pair of chopsticks in his mouth,
and ate.

	"Slowly," he added, trying to prolong Daishoki's
torture.

	Hiroki knew Daishoki hadn't eaten all day. He could
see Daishoki's mouth water as his family ate a full dinner.
Hiroki closed his eyes and let a tear flow. It hurt him to
see his brother in such pain.

	Daishoki, unlike Hiroki, was a very fun-loving boy.
Only a year younger than Hiroki, he spent his time making
art. Carving, and helping Bonsai tree's grow.

	But Hiroki was a warrior. He trained himself to be a
warrior, like his father. But he was resolved that he would
never become like his father. He would never let his
perversions overtake him.

	And he would become a better warrior than his
father.

	A better warrior. It seems that it was far off
sometimes. He trained daily, while his father had been
becoming lazy. He trained during the night sometimes, hoping
he wouldn't get caught, and he never did.

	But a better warrior.

	Watching his brother cry as he ate. Listening to his
stomach growl.

	You can load straw upon straw upon the back of a
camel, and he will carry it. You may keep loading them on
and expect him to carry the burden, but eventually there
will be that one last straw, and it would break the camel's
back.

	And Hiroki's back was broken.

	He stopped eating, and then grabbed his bowl. To the
surprise of everyone in the room, he got up and brought it
to his brother.

	Behind Hiroki, a snap was heard.

	He turned around to find his father had snapped his
chopsticks in two. The sneer on his face made Hiroki
fearful, but he stood his ground.

	"HOW DARE YOU!" he screamed. "YOUR OWN FATHER! HOW
DARE YOU DISOBEY ME!"

	And he stood up, and walked over to Hiroki.

	And Hiroki just stood there. The tears flowed from
his eyes, but his face did not betray. He just watched.

	And then his father backhanded him, which sent him
flying across the room.

	Hiroki scrambled to his feet. The blood on his face
trailed down his jaw and throat.

	And he just stood, watching.

	His father was speechless.

	And his mother was staring from the corner,
horrified.

	"Boy, I'll give you two seconds to get back to your
seat, and we'll forget about this," he warned.

	Hiroki thought about it.

	"No," he answered.

	His father blinked in disbelief. "What?"

	"No. I go back, and this continues. It all
continues. Listen to me, father. I'm sick of it. Sick of it
all. I'm sick of feeding your perversions, I'm sick of being
restricted to this land. I'm sick of it all."

	And his father stared speechless. It took him a
moment to let his sneer grow back, and he walked towards
Hiroki again.

	This time, Hiroki prepared for the attack. From the
way he was walking, he could tell exactly where he would
strike. And when he did, he blocked it as efficiently as a
twelve year old boy could.

	He was knocked off-balance, but it was blocked.

	And that stated more to his father than what Hiroki
had just said.

	And it only worked to enrage him further.

	He struck out, wrapping his hands around Hiroki's
neck. He squeezed.

	"If that's the way it is, boy. THEN DIE!" he yelled.

	Hiroki closed his eyes as he could feel the pressure
build up in his head.

	Soon it would be over. No more punishments. He would
be free.

	His mind wandered to Daishoki. And then his mother.

	And Hiroki opened his eyes.

	And he realized. He couldn't die yet.

	Hiroki's arms shot out and managed to grab a space
between his father's arms. He pried his arms up between them
and separated them. He could feel his pressure going back to
normal as he spread them further apart.

	And his father stared in confusion. Hiroki reached
up and placed his hand not around his neck, but underneath
the collarbone.

	And it took his father only moments to release him.

	Screaming out in pain, he backed up.

	And he sneered in utter hatred.

	Hiroki wasn't crying any longer. He was out of
tears. Completely.

	Everything else was a haze to him, but his father.

	So his confusion grew when his father doubled over,
screaming in pain.

	Until he saw behind him.

	His mother stood with a bloody knife, trembling.

	"No more," she cried. "No more..."

	Daishoki was at her side in an instant, helping her
towards her seat.

	And Hiroki looked down upon his father. Whether he
was alive or not, he didn't care.

	He spat upon the form on the floor.

	And then he kicked it. And then again. And then
again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again
and--

	"Hiroki! Enough!" His mother cried. She looked
downwards. "He is dead..."

	Hiroki looked again. It was true. The knife has been
plunged into his heart from behind him, and then twisted.

	Hiroki sighed, and walked towards his mother.

	"It's done," Daishoki said. "My god, it's done."

	Hiroki shook his head. "It had to be done. It would
have continued."

	"But... to kill him?"

	"It was my only choice," their mother spoke. "If I
hadn't, Hiroki would have died."

	She reached up and stroked the side of his face.

	"Go."

	Hiroki blinked. "What?"

	"Go now. See the world, do as you wish."

	Daishoki also blinked. "Mother?"

	"He is dead. The police will come, and they will not
believe I did it. They will look towards the first person
who could have done it. They will look to you. Both of you."

	Hiroki gasped. She was right.

	"Mother, I can't leave you here."

	"Hiroki, you must. Don't ever forget what he's done
to you."

	Hiroki shook his head. "I won't. I won't ever become
like him."

	"Go. Both of you. Now!"

	And Hiroki hugged his mother, as did Daishoki.

	"I'll come back one day, mother," Hiroki promised.
"I swear it."

	And with that, he and Daishoki left.

****

	"I kept my promise, mother," he said, kneeling on
the front steps of the shrine. "I told you I would. And I've
been coming here as often as I've been able to."

	Happosai looked around the shrine. Years ago, when
it had been discovered that his father had been killed by
his mother, there was a revolt. An angry mod of people came
and killed her.

	And Happosai wasn't there to stop it.

	He was in China with Daishoki. The two of them had
split years earlier, before the second world war, and they
hadn't seen each other since.

	Until he received word of Daishoki's death.

	Happosai shook his head. Damned fool. He took his
art so seriously.

	But, Happosai found he couldn't blame him. Though
the arts differed between the two of them, each took it just
as seriously.

	Happosai got up and turned around. The place he
stood housed so many memories. Most of them bad, but he had
found he had been able to stomach the place, simply because
of his mother.

	Years ago, it had been converted into a shrine. Why
they would convert a place with such bad karmic energies, he
would never understand, but it was.

	And it was in the outskirts of Tokyo, which meant
privacy from those back in Nerima.

	Happosai jumped atop the wall surrounding the
shrine, and then down to the street. He began to walk back
towards Nerima slowly.

	The area around the shrine was mostly undeveloped.
There were a lot of vacant lots littering the landscape, but
he could see signs of progress everywhere.

	Walking along the street, he passed a vacant lot
which had appeared to have a number of men training.

	Until he stopped long enough to watch.

	Happosai soon found they were not mere men, and they
were definitely not training.

	Happosai had seen evidence of the Gods from times
long past. Several instances in particular. He had seen
Ryujin swimming beneath the waves while diving on one of the
offshore islands when he was merely sixteen.

	He had seen a trace of Susanowo during a hurricane
just before the first world war.

	And he had seen Hoori, the hunter hunting boar on
the Japanese mainland.

	And now, he was seeing Shi Tenno.

	He knew all about Shi Tenno. Fearless, undefeatable
warriors that protected Japan from not physical, but
spiritual attack.

	And they were losing. They were losing against a
single entity.

	Happosai watched in disbelief as the Shi Tenno
backed down and regrouped.

	And then retreated.

	As the single entity smiled in triumph, Happosai
made his exit. He ran back to Nerima as fast as he could.

****

	"Silk!" Mint yelled. "I've got imported silk here,
straight from Japan's Horaisan region!"

	Nobody seemed interested.

	Mint shrugged. It was time to pull out the big guns.

	"Females! I've got photographs of Japanese females
here! A discount only for today!"

	People crowded Mint's table at the marketplace.

	Since the loss of his position, Mint had to survive
through other means. It was a good thing he and Lime had
thought to purchase a number of magazines before they left
Japan.

	Upon the rantings of the crown around his table,
Mint heard a single voice.

	"You shouldn't profit off the female body, Mint."

	And then Mint paused. He knew the voice.

	And then he saw the face. A smile grew on Mint's
face wider than any he had ever smiled before.

	"HERB!" He cried, then proceeded to jump over the
table and embrace his old friend in his arms.

	However, the crowd was beginning to get rowdy.

	Herb dispersed them easily, by grabbing Mint's
magazines, then throwing them off into the distance.

	Mint blinked for a moment. "You didn't have to do
that, you know."

	Herb laughed. "Sorry, but I had to get rid of them
somehow."

	"What are you doing here? How did you get out of the
compound?"

	"I was pardoned."

	Mint blinked again. "Pardoned! That's great! That
means we can hang out again!"

	Herb nodded. "There's something else. But first
we've got to find Lime. Where is he?"

	Mint stood in thought for a moment. "Lime's been
working in the Games since you were banished."

	Herb sighed. "I would imagine he's doing well in
there. Do you think he'd mind some visitors?"

	Mint shrugged.

****

	Lime smirked. This would be a cinch.

	He crossed the distance between him and his prey in
mere seconds, and then picked it up and threw it across the
field.

	The tiger only had time to growl ineffectively.

	But, as Lime had known for quite some time, cats
have a remarkable ability to land on their feet.

	Tigers were somewhat different. They lacked the
right amount of weight and gravity to do so.

	Which is why Lime was confused that this Tiger
didn't realize it was a tiger, and landed on it's feet.

	Lime shook his head. "Stupid tiger! You're not
supposed to land on your feet!"

	It felt somewhat strange to say such a thing to what
could very well be a cousin or some sort, but it was true.

	So Lime passed the distance between them again, but
the tiger was ready.

	It pounced.

	Lime paused for a moment, and waited until the last
moment, then extended his fist to the sky.

	And the tiger landed head first on a fist that was
harder than rock.

	The gathered crowd cheered as the announcer stood
up.

	"Men of the Musk, that was Lime! Donations can be
made to our cause at the front gates! Please come again!"

	Lime shook his head. He often felt like belting the
announcer, but it was good money, and he didn't want to lose
his job.

	After all, the cost of living in the mountains where
he lived was pretty high.

	Lime got up and walked past the tiger, towards the
exit of the fenced-in field. As he walked out the gate, he
noticed a disturbance to his left.

	Not at all interested, he walked by.

	Until he heard his name.

	Hearing his name was a normal thing, he would often
ignore it. Probably some fan, or some kid wanting to learn
his skills.

	But this time, he knew it was neither.

	Lime wasn't a terribly smart man. Not by far, but he
did possess basic human skills.

	One such skill was recognition.

	He heard Herb's voice.

****

	"What the hell are you doing here, Herb!" one man
shouted.

	"Women aren't allowed in the general population!"

	"Hey, Herb. Does this mean you've got the same
desires as a woman?" another taunted.

	Mint was confused. "Why don't you show them who's
boss, Herb?"

	Herb shook his head. The crowd around him was
beginning to annoy him, but nothing more. Since his curse
had become public, he'd received much worse abuse.

	"LIME!" he called out.

	"Do you think he heard you?"

	"We'll see in a moment."

	"Why don't you just--"

	"Because they don't know what they're against. They
are frightened of that which they don't know."

	Mint blinked.

	A moment later, the crowded quieted and dispersed.

	And Lime stared into Herb's eyes, smiling.

	"HERB!" he cried, then ran up and gave his friend a
bear hug.

	Herb had the wind knocked out of him as he patted
his old friend on the back. "Lime?" he croaked.

	Lime kept hugging.

	"Lime? You're cutting off my circulation."

	Lime stiffened for a moment, then released his grip.

	"Herb! How did you get here? Did you escape the
compound?"

	"No, I was pardoned. Look, I've got to talk to the
both of you. But first I've got to ask... do you have any
unbreakable obligations here?"

	Lime blinked. "There's the gaming, but I can quit in
a heartbeat if you need me to. Are we going somewhere?"

	Mint nodded. "I can sell my table at the marketplace
today if I need to."

	Herb smiled. "Good. Friends, we have a task to
complete."

	Lime blinked. "What's that?"

	"I'll explain on the way."

	"On the way where?" Mint asked.

	Herb smiled. "Mount Phoenix."

****

	"Lord Saffron?" Kima called as she entered the
nursery. "Lord Saffron?"

	"Kima don't hafta call me Lord," a voice called from
a dark corner.

	Kima blinked. She could only stare in disbelief as
Saffron emerged from the shadows with the body of a four
year old.

	"Lord... Saffron?"

	Saffron laughed. "Don't hafta call me Lord, Kima!"

	Kima was speechless. "Your... growth... it's so
fast."

	Saffron laughed again. "I sorry, Kima."

	Kima blinked. "Sorry?"

	"My last life. I was bad."

	"No, you are my king, L--... Saffron. I was happy to
have served you."

	"Kima, you not a servant. You a friend. You a ally."

	"Saffron, is this the time prophesied?"

	Saffron smiled. "Yep! Windy in the halls!"

	Kima sat and placed her talons on her head and
massaged it. "How long do we have?"

	"I dunno," Saffron shrugged. "Few days, mebbe a
week."

	"When the wind blows throughout the halls of the
mountain, and the king grows as a flower, the coming of the
dark one is at hand."

	"It'll be soon, Kima. Tomorrow we have friends
visit."

	Kima sighed. "The Musk?"

	"Yep! Prince and Princess of and not of Musk!"

	Kima could only sigh. "I must prepare for them."

	Saffron smiled.

****

	"I don't know if that was the wisest thing to do,
Ranma. But I certainly commend you for it," Tofu said as he
placed the herbal remedy on Ranma's arms.

	"I dunno, Doc. I guess it kinda wasn't that smart,
but she might've died if we'd sent for you to go to the
Nekohanten. Besides, that old guy seemed to do a pretty good
job."

	Tofu nodded. "That's my old master. Feng Bo was
always full of surprises. This is just another one."

	"I'll say. The guy just touched her and it was all
over."

	Tofu put the finishing touches on the application of
the remedy to the bandage, and then proceeded to wrap it
around Ranma's arms.

	"This'll make it numb for a little while, and don't
expect to do any heavy martial arts for the next day or so.
Tomorrow, the remedy should have done it's job and ceased
the blistering."

	"What about the scar?"

	Tofu shook his head. "Ukyou's clothing prevented
most of the burns, but you still got it. There might be some
small scarring, but give it a week, and your arms should
look like they always do."

	Ranma sighed in relief. "Thanks, Doc."

	"So what's going on with you at the Tendo place?
It's been a while, hasn't it?"

	Ranma nodded. "Yeah. My mom showed up a while back,
and right now she's kinda living with us. Akane and I are
actually supposed to move out today over to her place."

	Tofu blinked. "Akane and you?"

	Ranma smiled. "Uhh.. yeah..."

	Tofu could only smile. "Ranma, you sly dog, you."

	Ranma shrugged. "Well, I just kinda realized...
well... I love 'er. Especially after China."

	Tofu blinked again. "China?"

	Ranma nodded. "Yeah, these weird guys with wings
showed up a while back, and I ended up having to follow them
to China. She... she almost died, but everything turned out
okay in the end."

	Tofu finished putting the bandages on Ranma. 
"Wings?"

	"Yeah. A buncha weirdos. They called themselves the
Phoenix."

	Tofu paused. "The... Phoenix?"

	Ranma nodded. "Yeah."

	"Oh my God. That's... Feng Bo told me..." Tofu
stammered.

	Ranma stared in confusion as Tofu lost his balance
and leaned up against the wall.

****

	"It has been a while, hasn't it Cologne?" Feng Bo
asked.

	Cologne merely nodded. "Feng Bo. How is it done?"

	"What's that?"

	"It's been nearly thirty years, and you don't appear
to have aged a day."

	Feng Bo laughed. "You'll find there are a lot of
things you don't know about me, Cologne. Let's just say for
now that I age well."

	"So it's true then, is it? Count of the Winds?"

	Feng Bo smiled. "I was beginning to wonder if you
ever had figured that out, Cologne."

	Cologne narrowed her eyes. "I didn't believe it for
years, but now that I see you... And after what you have
done... It's the only conclusion."

	"Yes, isn't it, though."

	Cologne sighed. "What is wrong with the child, Feng
Bo? Who is Rogi? What is the meaning of all these dreams?"

	"I can't tell you yet, Cologne."

	Cologne stared Feng Bo in the eye. "The dreams mean
something of importance. The lives of not only I, but the
children are possibly in jeopardy, and you can't tell us?"

	"I can't tell you yet, Cologne. They have not all
gathered."

	Cologne was about to argue again, when she was
interrupted by a light moaning from the other room.

	"It would appear the patient is awake, Cologne. I
must attend to her."


****

	It just gets stranger and stranger.

	First, she follows the group to the Nekohanten, only
to realize once she got there that hiding from a group of
martial artists, especially one like Cologne, was easier
said than done.

	But then she realized, as Ukyou doubled over in
pain, that she wasn't referring to her.

	So Nabiki followed the group of them, far too busy
worrying about Ukyou to notice her, all the way to doctor
Tofu's clinic.

	Most of the group stood outside, obviously because
there were too many of them to crowd the clinic up.

	So Nabiki hid in the bushes, trying desperately to
figure out what was happening.

	"You are as confused as I, wouldn't you say, Nabiki
Tendo?"

	Damn. Busted.

	Nabiki stood up and turned towards the kendoist.
"What happened?"

	"It would appear that Ukyou Kuonji had a touch of...
divine intervention."

	"What?"

	"She was burning. Literally."

	Nabiki shook her head. "What do you mean?"

	"Some magic, obviously from a god of some sort,
caused Ukyou Kuonji's skin to burn as her grill would. She
seems to be unharmed, but it is very disconcerting."

	Nabiki blinked. "Some magic? Come on, Kuno. Get
real."

	"Is it so hard to believe?"

	Nabiki shook her head. Well, there was a certain
martial artist living with her family that obviously proved
that magic did exist. But burning?

	"So what's happening now?"

	"Saotome is inside becoming bandaged. Although I
commend his actions in carrying the Kuonji girl here, I must
question his intent. He did another commendable thing this
morning, but I cannot figure out why."

	Nabiki shook her head again. "Have you ever
considered that he might actually be a nice person?"

	Tatewaki shook his head. "The thought had crossed my
mind, but with our past, I don't see such a thing as
possible."

	Nabiki sighed. "Well, let's go see what's up, then."

	Tatewaki nodded. "Indeed."

****

	Ukyou turned over in the patient's bed and opened
her eyes. Immediately she could feel the hard crusty form
her clothing had assumed, as if it had been burned.

	When she sat up and checked herself out, she could
see that they were.

	Ukyou looked down at herself in confusion. Her
clothes were burnt, but she was fine. In fact, she was
feeling better than she had in a long time.

	"I see out patient is awake," an older man said as
he entered the room.

	Ukyou looked up at him for a moment. "Uhh... yeah, I
guess. Where am I?"

	"You, my dear, are at the clinic of the respectable
Doctor Tofu Ono!"

	Ukyou's eyes went wide. "Doctor Tofu?! How long was
I out?!"

	The old man blinked. He then broke out laughing.
"No, no. You misunderstand. I'm not Doctor Tofu, I'm Feng
Bo. A fellow doctor, I guess you could say."

	Ukyou felt her heart slow. "What happened?"

	"Well, you seem to have been out for about fourty
minutes, but you're up now."

	"Yeah, I figured that much.. but what actually...
happened?"

	"First let me ask you, what was the last thing you
remember?"

	Ukyou paused for a moment. "I was... in the
Nekohanten, then I doubled over... and I felt like I was
burning..." She looked up. "Damnit, theres something else, I
know it! I just can't place it."

	Feng Bo nodded. "That's all right dear. You're fine
now."

	"But what actually... What really happened? My
clothes are all burnt, but I'm fine."

	"Well, I can't really say at the moment. But soon, I
will be able to."

	Ukyou looked at him in confusion. "What?"

	Feng Bo shook his head. "I'll explain it in time...
I will be back in a few minutes to check up on you."

	Ukyou was left staring in confusion as Feng Bo left
the room.

****

	"Hi, Kasumi?" Akane said, half conscious of the
flinches Tofu made as Akane said her name. "It's me. Listen,
we're at Doctor Tofu's clinic right now--" She paused.
"Yeah, he's fine. There was something wrong with Ukyou. I--"

	I don't know, there are a lot of people here
already, I--"

	Akane sighed. "All right Kasumi. If you're going to
come, then bring the others along too, all right?"

	A moment later, Akane smiled. "Thanks Kasumi, I'll
see you soon."

	And with that, she hung up the phone.

****
	That bitch.

	That Japanese chef bitch! How dare she do that to
Ranma! Her HUSBAND! How DARE she.

	Needless to say, Shampoo was angry. Very angry, and
she wasn't afraid to make it known.

	Ranma burned himself because of Ukyou. And Shampoo
wasn't going to put up with that. It was bad enough he did
it willfully for Akane, but Ukyou?

	Shampoo narrowed her eyes as she entered the clinic.

	Ranma never did that for her. She'd show him. She'd
show him how much she really cared. She cared enough to help
him out of the wedding, and she cared now.
	
	And now, that Japanese bitch would pay.

	"Chef-girl!" Shampoo yelled out, facing Ukyou with a
glare in her eyes. "You hurt Ranma!"

	Ukyou blinked. "Shampoo? What?"

	"No play stupid! You hurt Ranma, now you pay!"

	"Shampoo, what are you talking about?" Ranma asked,
trying to interrupt.

	Shampoo merely glared at him. "You stay out of this,
Ranma. This between chef-girl BITCH and Shampoo."

	Ranma shook his head. "Shampoo, I'm fine! Look! No
sweat!"

	Shampoo clenched her eyes shut. "YOU FINE," Shampoo
yelled. "BUT SHAMPOO NOT!"

	And then she launched herself towards Ukyou. Ranma
wasn't close enough to stop her, but the way she was
handling her bonbori, it was enough to kill.

	And Ukyou knew it. But all she could do is sit and
stare in fright.

	Shampoo flew through the air gracefully, like a cat
pouncing upon its prey, and readied her bonbori. One of them
was extended in such a way that it would crush Ukyou skull
upon impact.

	But there was nothing anyone could do. Everyone
could only watch.

	And then it happened. To everyones surprise,
especially Shampoo and Ukyou, it happened. The reactionary
gap between them had been closed instantly, but as soon as
Ukyou's intimate space was breached, it happened.

	The light blinded every momentarily, it pulsed
outwards from Ukyou's body, first striking Shampoo's
bonbori, incinerating it in an instant. Shampoo was then
struck.

	And she was sent flying towards the outside wall of
the clinic. She hit the wall with amazing force, and then
slumped to the ground, unconscious.

	And then Ukyou stared. As did everyone else.


	"What... What's going on?" she asked.

****

	He moved through the city streets as if they were
nothing. The citizens like fleas, scampering around on a
dogs back.

	Pathetic. How utterly pathetic. Useless beings, of
no more importance than a simple flea.

	Rogi had no need to kill, or to feed. He had fed
well the previous night, consuming the livestock of the
small farm as if they were nothing.

	And now he was in the city. His proximity to his
servants was getting ever-so closer.

	Soon he would be upon them.

	And soon, they would once again serve him.

	Mere hours, and they would once again be his.