tjrich@aol.com (TJRich)

TJRich@aol.com


    The cast and crew of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi
and I hope she won't come hunting any fingers for my unauthorized use of
them. Hope you enjoy it and be kind, this is my first attempt! You can
reach me at the above address with any comments, positive (hopefully) or
negative (not wanted, but accepted) you would care to pass on. (I have no
idea of what Dr. Tofu's given name is so I made one up. If anyone knows,
please pass it on and I'll do a fix-it!) Thanks for reading it.
_________________________________
CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer
Part 1 of 15


    Kasumi's Room. The clock reads 5:13 a.m. Kasumi is sleeping
peacefully on her side, then rolls over onto her back, a very
uncharacteristic frown creasing on her normally untroubled face. She
drapes her forearm over her eyes and whispers in her sleep, "Oh, no. Not
again."

    It is night, the moon is full, and she is flying, exulting in the
freedom of her hawks body. She wonders briefly, (however did I become a
hawk?) Then that thought leaves her as her sharp eyes catch a glitter of
light reflected from the ground. She folds her wings and dives, laughing
in delight which springs from her throat in a hunting scream, as the wind
whips through her feathers. She snaps her wings forward to halt her dive
as she nears the ground and settles onto a piece of wood, tied
horizontally to a pole of some sort.

    She shrieks in horror, flaps her wings and leaps back into the air as
she realizes where she has landed. She rises over a battlefield littered
with the hacked remnants of men and animals which loom to form stark
outlines against the moonlight. The smell of blood and death threaten to
overwhelm her.

    She flies as fast as she can, trying to get away, but the battlefield
seems to stretch on forever. Every now and then, the screams and pleading
of those not quite yet dead rise up to her. A single tear rolls out of
her eye as she echo's their dispair with her hawks plaintive cry.

    She flies and flies, exhaustion threatening to pull her down, but she
struggles on, refusing to land in that horror below. Finally she sees a
thin fringe of a forest in the distance and beyond that, built high on
the side of a mountain, a palace. Somehow she knows that safety and rest
wait for her there.

    She circles the tower once, spies an open window. She soars in and
alights on an intrically carved wood perch waiting for her. It is an
ornate bedroom, lit by hanging oil lamps. An older woman in the mauled
remains of some early period armor is stretched out on the bed, covered
with blood. A red sheathed sword is laying beside her, her hand resting
limply on it's hilt. She is staring at the ceiling, ignoring the
ministrations of the doctor hovering over her.

    The Doctor looks over at Kasumi as she settles onto the perch and
Kasumi is startled to see that it is Dr. Tofu. Another man, middle aged
and also in armor and bandaged in many places, is kneeling by the head of
the woman's' bed. He looks a lot like Soun Tendo. There are two young
children, maybe seven, an oriental boy and a caucasian girl with red
hair, dressed in early-period court clothing, sitting in seiza a few feet
away from the side of the bed. The boy is crying silently.

    "Grandmother is dying." He sniffles softly to the girl beside him.

    The girl reaches over and takes his hand into hers. "I know. But she
is so hurt, and in such great pain, that to go over will be a blessing.
And she misses your Grandfather and her sisters so much, and they will be
waiting there for her."

    "How do you know?" The boy challenges.

    The little girl shrugs, squeezes the boys hand gently. "I just do."

    "But I'll miss her!" He wails.

    Dr. Tofu glares at him, and the little boys eyes get wide. The little
girl frowns back at Dr. Tofu, then puts her arm around the little boy,
protectively.

    "Maybe the children should leave." Dr. Tofu states, his voice hard.
Very much not the same, kindly Doctor that Kasumi loves.

    "No." The woman on the bed answers, her voice strong despite her
condition. "I will have my grandson and his fiancee here, with me."

    Dr. Tofu gives an angry nod, then steps back from the bed. "Warlord
Tendo, there is nothing more I can do for your mother."

    The man at the head of the bed nods. Swallows back his grief.

    "Tsuba?" The woman asks.

    The Warlord takes his mothers hand. "I am here, Mother."

    "I have something hard to ask of you."

    "Anything Mother."

    She reaches up, the remains of her beauty visible in her soft
expression, to gently touch his face. Then her eyes harden.

    "You must swear to it on the family sword." She raises her hand from
the sword hilt.

    Warlord Tendo grasps the hilt, the woman covers her hand with his,
holds it there with more strength than an old dying woman should have.

    "This is what you will swear. No more than two girl children will be
born of any Tendo heir from this generation forth, until the end of
time."

    "But Mother," Warlord Tendo loosens his grip on the hilt, but the
woman holds it firmly in place.

    "Swear it!" The old woman's eyes seem to glow with the force of her
will.

    The Warlord looks down at the wooden floor for a few seconds, visibly
torn, then meets and holds his mother's gaze.

    "I, Warlord Tsuba Tendo, so swear that no more than two girl children
will be born of any Tendo heir from this generation forth, until the end
of time."

    "You will make it the responsibility of every Tendo heir to swear
this same oath on this sword, until the end of time."

    "I...I will make it the responsibility of every Tendo heir to swear
this same oath on this sword, until the end of time."

    "Good. Now I can die." She says simply. The old woman loosens her
grip and lets the Warlord withdraw his hand. He sits shaken.

    "But why, Mother?"

    The old woman smiles. "We have won the battle. The Darkness has been
locked away from us again. But to keep it there, all the Families must
make a sacrifice. This is to be ours, to make sure that it can never
again gain access into our world." She turns her head to look at the
children.

    "Shiro, come here."

    The little boy moves to the side of the bed. "Do you want me to make
the oath, Grandmother?" He reaches out his small hand toward the sword
hilt. The old woman intercepts it, holds it between her own.

    "No, dear one. For you, it will not be necessary." She gets a faraway
look in her eyes. "For you will be lost to us, yet always with us."

    "Grandmother, I don't understand...?"

    "Tsuba, take the sword."

    Warlord Tendo takes the sword, holds it in front of him at arms
length and bows formally to his Mother.

    "Stay by me, Shiro." She looks over to the little girl. "Rhiannon,
will you sing for me, child?" The little girl bows, then starts a
soothing lullaby in a clear sweet voice.

    "Remember Shiro," the old woman whispers, "I love you. Rhiannon loves
you. And love is the only force that can conquer the Darkness." Then she
leans back into her pillows and closes her eyes.

    Kasumi feels a great dispair well up inside her.

    (Only two Tendo daughters? Akane! Akane makes three! Oh, poor
sister!)

     She has been so caught up in the drama unfolding before her that she
hasn't noticed Dr. Tofu moving up beside her. He is wearing a falconers
glove and has a pair of jessie's and a hood held in one hand.

    "Come, beautiful one. Let your Mistress die in peace." He holds out
his arm encased in it's leather glove. Something about the way he's
looking at her frightens her. She knows instinctively that if she goes
with him, she will loose not only her freedom, but her life. She hisses
at him and launches herself out the window and towards the waiting forest
that surrounds the palace.

    "You shall not escape me that easily." He shouts after her.

    An intense pain pierces her under her right wing and she starts
somersaulting down. In panic, she sees Dr. Tofu standing in the window,
holding a crossbow and the bolt implanted firmly in her body. As the
trees rush up to meet her, she closes her eyes.

    She is caught, gently. A pair of glowing golden hands hold her, she
raises her head to see who has caught her, but the figure is glowing so
brightly that she can't look directly at it.

    "Gently, Little Sister." It says. It is a woman's voice, soothing and
calm. The glowing hands move her slightly. She feels the bolt move, cries
out in pain. Then, the pain is gone, and the bolt tossed away. Warmth
moves through her body, she knows the wound is healing. She snuggles into
the woman's arms, feeling safe and whole.

    "Come Little Sister." She sees a male figure on one knee before her,
a bare arm extended.

    She snuggles deeper into the glowing arms. The arms give her a gentle
hug, then she is placed onto the arm of the waiting man. She grasps his
forearm as gently as she can with her talons, not wanting to hurt him. He
rises gracefully, moves fluidly through the trees. Kasumi studies him as
they move. She can't make out his features well, but there is a dark gray
sheen glimmering around him. They come to the edge of the tree line which
is bounded by a cliff. Kasumi can hear the roar of the ocean far below.
The man stops a few feet from the edge and stares longingly at the
horizon.

    "Fly, Little Sister. The sun is coming soon. Fly into it and see it
in all its' glory." He launches her into the air, towards the horizon.
"And remember," his voice echoes behind her, "dispair is the first step
into the Darkness."

    Kasumi groans, sits upright rubbing her right shoulder. She swings
her legs over the side of her bed and slides her feet into her slippers.
She stares at her clock. It says 5:21 a.m. She stands, goes to the full
length mirror hanging on her closet and tugs the neck of her nightgown
down over her shoulder and stares at the angry red circular bruise there.
Nabiki's room. The clock reads 5:27 a.m. Nabiki is sleeping on her back,
arms and legs akimbo. She looks like she has been wrestling with the
sheet all night. One corner is still tucked in the bottom, but the rest
has been twisted and wound around one leg twice, under the other, up over
her stomach, over her right arm, back around underneath and the free end
draped over her face. She is sleeping deeply, the sheet covering her face
moving slightly with each exhalation. Then, suddenly, she makes a soft
mewing sound and curls up into a fetal position, pulling the one secured
corner free.

    Nabiki is seated on a very nice, dark velvet upholstered wing back
chair in a large, well furnished room. She's dressed in a stunning formal
gown. There is a thick carpet covering the floor, one half black and one
half white. Nabiki's chair is dead center on the white half.

    Kuno is kneeling on the black half of the carpet across from her, his
knees just millimeters from the dividing line. There are huge heaps of
expensive gifts on Nabiki's side of the line, as if Kuno has placed them
at arms length from his side of the line.

    Kuno bows formally to Nabiki, addresses her with his head lowered.

    "If you will be mine, beautiful one, I will give you all these
things. And more. Everything I have. Money, power, influence, position,
it will be yours, to do with as you please. And I will demand nothing of
you, except that you be mine. Put no restrictions on you, except that you
come with me."

    "Kuno, I....I don't know what to say." Nabiki stands, takes a few
steps towards him, kneels before him on her side of the gifts.

    "I...you love me?" She asks, incredulously.

    Kuno looks at her, no expression showing on his face. "What do you
think?"

    Nabiki hears a shuffling sound behind her, turns to look. Two little
kids are standing next to her chair; one, an oriental boy, one, a
caucasian girl with copper colored hair. They look terrible, their
clothing hanging in rags around them, and both painfully thin.

    "Who let those brats in here!?" Kuno demands. "Nabiki, don't let them
touch you! They're filthy!"

    Nabiki whips her head back around to look at Kuno, who is staring at
the children with naked hatred.

    "Kuno, they're just some poor kids." She sounds disgusted.

    "Here." She reaches into a pile of jewelry and pulls out a gold and
diamond encrusted necklace.

    Kuno reaches across the line and grabs her by the wrist. His hand is
so cold, it hurts her.

    "I forbid it." He hisses at her.

    She jerks her hand away and scampers backwards on hands and knees,
retreating to the chair. She looks at the children, who are staring wide
eyed at the wealth hanging from her hand.

    "I FORBID IT!!!" Kuno bellows at her.

    She glares at Kuno, then takes the little boys hand and pours the
necklace into his emaciated, dirty palm, curling his thin fingers around
it.

    "You go sell this and buy yourselves some food, for God's sake."

    "So be it!" Kuno's back to hissing. "Your choice."

    The room fades around Nabiki, the dress dissolving into rags. She
looks down at herself, shocked to see how thin and filthy she is. She's
standing in the rubble of a building, a dark cloud of dirt and ashes blot
out the sun. She recognizes this place. It's out of one of the pictures
of the aftermath of Hiroshima after the bomb. She had nightmares about
being a survivor, wandering around sick with radiation, for weeks after
the first time she saw it. It was her nightmare now. She sinks to her
knees, puts her hand in her face and sobs. A gentle hand touches her
shoulder.

    "Little Sister, why are you crying?" The voice is a melodic
contralto.

    "I....I..." is all she can choke out. Two strong arms pick her up and
start to carry her. She tries to focus on the face of the man who is
carrying her, but it is in shadow and her tears are making her vision
blurry. She can see the form of a woman with long red hair walking beside
the man in a dress so yellow it seems to be glowing.

    "Where are we going?" She gets out around her sobs.

    "Someplace else." The man states simply.

    They walk for a while, Nabiki weak and drowsy in the mans arms. They
stop and Nabiki starts awake. They are in a park by a small lake, it's
night and there is no trace of the horrors of Hiroshima. The moon is full
and casting sharp shadows so she can't quite make out the features of her
companions. The man sets her down gently so she can rest her back against
a tree. The woman sits down next to her, spreading her skirts out onto
the grass. The man leans against the tree beside her, and Nabiki gets the
impression that he is standing guard over them.

    "Now, tell us, Little Sister." The woman covers Nabiki's hand with
her own warm one. "Why where you crying?"

    "I gave it all away." Nabiki squeezes the woman's hand, as the tears
start back up. "Everything I've always wanted. For two scrawny,
half-starved brats."

    "You said that one offered you everything your heart desired?"

    Nabiki nods, sniffles.

    "Are you sure?"

    Nabiki looks up, somewhat startled by the question. "I don't
understand."

    "That one offered you wealth, power, all the things of the earth. But
not love." She picks a dandelion out of the grass, twirls it between her
fingers, then reattaches it to it's stalk. "Never love. You, on the other
hand, offered a gift to ease suffering. A gift of love."

    "But he said, 'Be mine, come with me...'"

    "But he never said he loved you."

    Nabiki looks at the dandelion, wonderingly.

    "Did he?" The woman prompts.

     "No, I guess not."

    "What did he say?"

    "He said, "What do you think?'"

    "And what do you think?"

    Nabiki stares at the grass around the dandelion. Sighs.

    "Come with me." The woman rises gracefully, her dress throwing light
out around her. She walks over to the pond. Nabiki follows her.

    "The sun will be coming up soon." She guides Nabiki to some large,
smooth rocks, gently forcing her down to sit on one. "Stay here, watch
it. And think about what you think."

    The woman turns and Nabiki can hear her steps whisper away through
the grass. The man touches Nabiki's shoulder, causing her to look up
startled. She hadn't heard him coming.

    "Remember, Little Sister, you gave your gift in love in a time of
need. As you always have. And as you always will." Then he too turned and
was gone.

    "I think you have the wrong girl." She says after him. Nabiki's eyes
snap open, she tries to sit up but is pulled back by the entangling
sheets. She mutters a few choice words as she unwinds herself, and glares
blurrily at her clock. It says 5:37 a.m.

    "Shit." She states simply, and drops her head into her hands. Akane's
room. The clock reads 5:39 a.m. Akane is in bed, P-Chan snuggled close.
She twitches, then thrashes, caught in a dream.

    Akane is standing in a field of grass, colored a dull blue by the
light of a full moon. It seems to stretch endlessly in all directions,
dotted here and there by softly glowing flowers. The milky way is so
bright and clear that she feels like she could reach out and touch it. A
warm breeze is gently ruffling her hair and causing the grass to ripple
around her like waves. It caries the scent of orange blossoms. Fireflies
dance around her, weaving intricate patterns.

    She is so enchanted by the magic of the scene that she doesn't notice
the darkness gathering behind her, slowly advancing and blotting out the
stars. The breeze starts to pick up, turning into a hard wind that whips
at her pajama legs and top. The darkness stretches out to cover the moon.
The change in light causes Akane to look up, then whirl to look behind
her with a "huh"?

    Lightning creates jagged patterns far against the horizon. She hears
the distant rumble of thunder which resolves into the slow beat of a
heart. A somewhat familiar voice is calling from far away. It sounds like
Ranma, but deeper, more mature.

    "Akane! Akane!" There is an edge of panic in it.

    "Akane! Where are you? I can't find you!" The voice starts to sound
desperate.

    "I'm here." She whispers, frightened, but not knowing why.

    "Where?" It calls longingly.

    "H..h..ere, " she stammers louder.

    A shape forms, striding towards her through the darkness. Akane
squints into the shadow, looking unsure. The shape gets close enough for
her to see clearly that it's Ranma, but as he will look maybe five years
in the future, taller, totally filled out and very handsome. He stops,
maybe ten feet back from the line that divides the darkness from the
gentle light of the plain where Akane stands. He holds out his hand to
her, a charming smile on his face. Some part of Akane notices that his
color is off and his eyes are glinting as if he is running a high fever.

    "There you are, Akane. Come to me, my beautiful one."

    Akane takes a step towards him, then another, her eyes full of hope
long denied.

    He smiles again, that smile that girls can't resist, "Please, Akane,
I've waited so long."

    She starts running into the darkness, wanting nothing more than his
embrace, not noticing that when she crosses into the darkness, it parts
and swirls around her like thick fog. A huge sphere of glowing golden
light springs up before her, a shimmering form in it's midst, bringing
her up short.

    "Never! Never shall you have her!" A beautiful voice shouts from the
sphere.

    The glowing form coalesces into a female figure, her hair long and
glowing and standing up and away from her head like a halo. The glowing
woman moves her hands up to the level of her chest, palms outwards,
thumbs and forefingers touching, forming a triangle. A blast of energy,
the color of sunlight, roars towards Ranma.

    Ranma raises his arms to protect his face, and the power flows around
him, as if parting before some invisible barrier.

    Akane screams "Ranma!" and begins to charge the glowing figure. A
pair of strong arms grab her in a bear hug from behind.

    "Wait." A soft male voice whispers in her ear. "Things in shadow are
not always what they seem."

    Akane tries to struggle, but can't move. Ranma snarls at the glowing
figure, a pair of oversized canine fangs bared.

    "You cannot keep her from me, she's mine!" The thunder seems to
punctuate his words.

    He brings up his hands and releases a blast of darkness back. The
glowing figure staggers, starts bleeding light from a number of wounds.
The sky behind Akane starts to lighten. The glowing one returns fire.
Ranma staggers back, darkness leaking from his chest. He grimaces and
returns another burst of darkness. The glowing one falls to one knee.

    "Wait here until the sun rises, then you shall be safe." The hands
are gone, but Akane is still standing as if held, one thought going
around and around in her mind.

    "What is wrong with Ranma?"

    A male form flows into/through/with the darkness to take up a
fighting stance in front of the glowing one, who isn't glowing so
brightly anymore. Ranma snarls again, hatred and death promised in his
eyes.

    "I'll kill you both," he hisses as he advances on the couple, then
throws up one hand and turns his head against the first rays of sunlight.
He turns his head back, obviously in pain and reaches pleadingly out to
Akane.

    "Akane." His voice is full of pain and need.

    Akane tries to move, but can't. Then Ranma turns and runs back into
the darkness. The man guarding the glowing woman sinks to his knees as
the sun touches him. The woman pulls his weight up against her and slides
her shoulder under one of his arms, starts dragging him towards the
retreating darkness.

    "Turn, Little Sister," she calls over her shoulder, "turn and face
the sun!"

    Akane sits bolt upright in her bed, gasping. Her eyes dart
frantically around the room which is dimly lit by the newly risen sun,
and pause on the clock. It says 5:55 a.m.

    P-Chan is standing with his front feet on Akane's thigh, squealing
and looking as worried as a pig can. She gathers him up and buries her
head into his back.

    "Why am I having this stupid dream every night?" She whispers.

    She hears the sound of sparing and Ranma and Genma's voices faintly
floating from the back yard up to and through her open window. She
shudder's slightly, slides out of her covers, still cuddling P-Chan, and
peeks out from behind her curtain.

    They must have just started, because both of them are hurling
insults, and each other, back and forth in their un-cursed forms. Then
both jump into the air, collide, grapple, fall into the fish pond, come
up as Genma-Panda and Ranma-chan, not even breaking the rhythm of their
fight. Akane shakes her head in wonder.

    (They've become so used to their transformations that they don't even
notice when they change), she thinks.

    P-Chan wiggles in her arms, so she puts him down, then follows as he
trots to her door and bangs it with his foot. She opens it and lets him
out, then crawls back into bed, determined not to let some silly dream
keep her from a few more hours of sleep. It was the first Friday of
summer vacation and she was going to sleep in.

    Twenty minutes later she was still wide awake and staring at the
ceiling, listening to the household stir around her. She could hear
Kasumi, rattling around in the kitchen making breakfast. Nabiki was up
early too, the radio in her room coming on right after Akane crawled back
into bed. Akane wondered if Nabiki was having trouble sleeping too, cause
she never woke up early, only two to three minutes of annoying alarm
buzzing could get her to open her eyes.

    After another ten minutes, she decided to give it up. Besides, the
sounds of Ranma and Genmas' workout where slowing down. If she wanted to
get into the bathroom before them, she'd better do it now. She got up,
slid on her slippers and wandered into the hall.

    In the bathroom, she stared at her own tired and too pale face in the
mirror as she brushed her teeth, wincing inwardly at the dark, bruise
like circles under her eyes. She looked terrible. She decided that she'd
better go to Dr. Tofu today and see if he could give her something to
make her sleep better.

    "Who's in the bathroom?" Ranma's high girl voice demands from the
other side of the door. Akane sighs and rinses her mouth.

    "Just a minute. O.K.?" She calls back. She runs her brush through her
hair, sighs again at her reflection. Then she takes a deep breath and
opens the door. Ranma-chan is standing, leaning against the wall,
waiting, tapping her foot impatiently. She looks at Akane as she steps
out the door, a little startled at how pale and tired she looks.

    "I thought sleep was supposed to make you look better, not worse."
She quips.

    Akane glares at her. "Just shut up, Ranma." She starts stomping back
towards her room. "For once, just SHUT UP!"

    "Sheesh. Talk about not being a morning person." Ranma says after
her. And is answered by the slamming of Akane's door.

    "Akane's up early," Kasumi says to her father as she refills his
coffee cup. "She's been up early every morning this week. And so has
Nabiki."

    "That's nice dear." Soun replies, absorbed in his newspaper and not
really paying any attention to what his oldest daughter is saying.

    "I hope they're O.K."

    "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing but the beginning of summer vacation
excitement, Kasumi." Genma assures her as she fills his cup. "Surely, you
remember how much you looked forwards to some free time with no
homework."

    "Well, I guess that could be it. They just look so tired all the
time, and they haven't been eating well, and..., "

    "Kasumi," Genma breaks in, "if you're that worried about them, take
them to see Dr. Tofu."

    Kasumi frowns at that, and rubs at her right shoulder, glancing at
the family sword sitting in it's position of honor below the family
shrine. Genma wonders at that frown, something that Kasumi did so rarely,
and never in conjunction with Dr. Tofu's name. He looks at her closely,
and notices with some concern the tiredness in her own face.

    "You're looking a little worn out yourself. Maybe you should go and
see him, too. What do you think, Tendo?"

    "Whatever you say, Saotome." Soun responds automatically from behind
his paper.

    "See, your father agrees with me. After breakfast, all you girls go
to see Dr. Tofu and then maybe you should go and treat yourselves to
lunch together, or something."

    "O.K. Mr. Saotome. If you think we should." She sounds unsure.

    Genma nods, changes the subject. "Delicious coffee, as usual, Kasumi.
It makes me wish I had a daughter, too."

    "I won't even touch that one with a ten foot pole." Nabiki says, as
she slumps down to the table.

    She holds out her cup, says "Thanks, sis." as Kasumi fills it and
then heads back to the kitchen.

    Genma opens his mouth to reply, then notices how pale and tired she
looks. Akane comes down and joins them, staring distractedly at the cup
at her place. She looks even worse than Nabiki. He takes a few sips of
coffee, hears Ranma thumping down the steps, by the sound of it, taking
three at a time. He comes striding up to the table, then plunks himself
down between Nabiki and Akane. He is bristling with energy, making the
two girls flanking him look even worse.

    "I'm starved, what's for breakfast?"

    Genma scowls at him from across the table.

    "What?" He asks, genuinely confused. Genma raises his eyebrows and
nods at the girls. Ranma looks at Nabiki, then Akane.

    "Boy, you two look terrible." He then struggles to catch his breath
when an elbow from each girl slams into his ribcage, forcing the air out
of his lungs. "Ow, what did you do that for?!"

    The girls pointedly ignore him and Genma just shakes his head sadly.
A rustle from the curtains of the kitchen announce Kasumi's arrival with
breakfast. Ryoga is following her, balancing four of the plates. Kasumi
sets the plates down in front of everyone, except Akane. Ryoga is holding
her plate in reserve so he can place it before her. He smiles, shyly.

    "Here Akane, you'll like this. Kasumi made a special breakfast for
all of us."

    "Thanks Ryoga." She gives him a wan smile as he sinks down to sit
crossed-legged next to her.

    It's a western style breakfast, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. A
rare treat for the Tendo family. Soun, Genma, Ryoga and Ranma set to some
seriously eating, Soun's fork appearing and disappearing around the edge
of the newspaper with amazing speed.

    But Kasumi only takes a few bites of her eggs, Nabiki just pushes
them around on her plate and Akane pushes her plate away.

    "Akane, aren't you going to eat something?" Kasumi asks from across
the table, emphasizing the 'something'.

    "I'm sorry, Kasumi." she sighs. "It's a lovely breakfast, but I'm
just not very hungry right now."

    "Well, I'll eat it, if you don't want it." Ranma volunteers.

    Akane shoves the plate at him. "Go ahead, pig out."

    "I'm not the pig." he mutters around a mouthful of food, looking
meaningfully at Ryoga. Ryoga glares back then turns his attention to
Akane.

    "Aren't you feeling well, Akane?" Ryoga asks, gently.

    Akane looks down at the table. "No, I'm not. I think as soon as the
clinic is open, I should go and see Dr. Tofu."

    "You're not sick, are you Akane?" Ranma looks at her with concern. "I
don't want to get sick the first week of summer vacation!"

    At the word 'sick' Soun looks over the top his newspaper, seeming to
notice his girls for the first time this morning.

    "Akane, you look terrible. You too, Nabiki. And Kasumi! Are you all
right?" He asks, full of concern, now.

    But now everyone is ignoring him, watching the growing confrontation
between Ranma and Akane.

     "You're not contagious, are you?" Ranma asks as he leans away from
Akane, bumps back into Nabiki, causing her to sloosh some coffee onto the
tabletop.

    "I hope so." Nabiki mutters.

    Akane looks up from the table and glares at Ranma.

    "You...you...you...JERK!"

    Ranma looks stunned by the hurt fury on Akane's face

    "At least Ryoga cares enough to notice when I'm not feeling good."
Tears well up in her eyes. Ryoga smirks at Ranma from across the table.

    "Akane...wait, I didn't mean, I..." Ranma stutters at her.

    "I'm going to wait in my room until it's time to go see Dr. Tofu!"

    She turns around and storms back up the stairs, the group at the
table watches silently, twitching with each stomp, and wince as one when
the house reverberates from the slam of her door.

    "When am I going to learn to keep my big mouth shut." Ranma mutters
into his plate. "At least she didn't hit me." He looks in the direction
of Akane's room. "She really must not be feeling well."


 TJRich@aol.com  The cast and crew of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of
Rumiko Takahashi and I hope she won't come hunting any fingers for my
unauthorized use of them.  Hope you enjoy it and be kind, this is my
first attempt! You can reach me at the above address with any comments,
positive (hopefully) or negative (not wanted, but accepted) you would
care to pass on. (I have no idea of what Dr. Tofu's given name is so I
made one up. If anyone knows, please pass it on and I'll do a fix-it!)
Thanks for reading it. 
________________________

CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer
Part 2 of 15

   It's early morning, about 9:00 a.m., and Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane and
Ryoga are walking as a group, Ryoga between Akane and the fence,
which has Ranma walking along the top, pacing them.

The girls look a little more animated and their color seems to be
improving each minute they're in the sunlight. They are chatting about
nothing in particular, Ryoga doing most of the talking, and even manages
to make Kasumi laugh. Akane is pointedly ignoring Ranma.

"Father and Mr. Saotome said we should all go out to lunch after we see
Dr. Tofu." Kasumi smiles at her sisters. "Where would you like to go?"

"What about the Uchan?" Ranma suggests from the fence.

"Who said you where invited?" Akane seethes at him.

"Now Akane," sighs Kasumi, "Ranma did apologize."

"Six times." Ranma mutters .

"And I'm too tired to referee a fight right now."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Kasumi." Akane reaches over and gives her
oldest sisters hand a squeeze.

"Great!" Ranma yells, and somersaults off the fence to land in front of
Akane. "That means you forgive me, right?"

He leaps back onto the fence to avoid Akane's punch.

"No." She mutters and keeps on walking.

They walk a few more blocks in companionable silence, Ranma trailing a
little behind them, until they reach the clinic.

"Ryoga, Ranma, why don't you wait out here for us?" Kasumi suggests as
Akane and Nabiki slide off their shoes and step inside. "Don't wander
too far, Ryoga." She adds as she too slides off her shoes and steps
inside.

Ranma comes up along side Ryoga, watches Kasumi disappear inside.

"Ryoga, what's wrong with Akane." Ranma asks, the concern he feels for
her now visible in his voice and face.

"How should I know?' Ryoga shrugs.

Ranma's eyes narrow, and he clenches his fist unconsciously.

"You sleep with her." He says, his voice full of barely subdued anger.

The two lock eyes for a few seconds, then Ryoga looks down, his
embarrassment and concern for Akane overriding his anger at the triangle
the three of them form.

"She's having bad dreams."

"Well, I have bad dreams sometimes and it don't do that to me."

Ryoga glares at Ranma. "It doesn't matter what it does to you! It
matters what it's doing to Akane!"

"Yeah, your right, it's just that..." (I'm worried about her), he
finishes to himself. "What kind of bad dreams?"

"I don't  know." He goes over and sits at a bench that runs along the
clinic wall. Ranma follows, looking dejected. Ryoga looks at Ranma out
of the corner of his eye, seeming to be debating with himself.

"I think they're about you." He says, finally.

"About me!" Ranma responds in shock. "Why would she be having bad dreams
about me?!"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she's engaged to a
self-centered, sex-changing asshole who can't even say a kind word to
her when she's obviously not feeling well."

"Why...you...you," is all Ranma can sputter as that barb hits home.

"What is it the American's say? If the shoe fits, wear it?" Ryoga leans
back against the bench, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

Ranma leaps up, storms over to the other end of the clinic, plunks
himself down onto the low stone wall that shields the tiny patch of
grass and flowers that  form the clinics garden from the sidewalk, arms
folded.

"What do I care if that un-cute girl is having bad dreams about me,
anyway!" He mutters to himself.

(But I do care. I care a lot.) He admits to himself, (And she is cute,
especially when she smiles.) An image of Akane laughing and laying her
hand on his arm brings a soft smile to his own face and creates a warm
feeling in his chest. (Why can't I just say something nice to her every
once in a while? I mean, I knew she wasn't  feeling well. It's just like
my mouth engaged before my brain caught up. And I always say something
that really hurts her, and I don't even know why.)

He sighs. He uncrosses his arms, grips the edge of the wall and leans
forwards. (What am I going to do? I mean, I can't let her marry me, not
when I'm like this!) He sees an image of himself looking in a mirror and
his girl form looking back. (I should tell Pop to call the engagement
off.) A part of him that he denies so hard freezes up at that thought.
(Ukyou would have me, no matter who I am. And, technically I am engaged
to her, too.)

(But you don't love Ukyou that way,) that denied part reminds him, (not
the way you love Akane.)

(Yeah, I know.) He tells it.

Inside, the girls sit on the waiting bench quietly, Kasumi fiddling with
the end of her ponytail, Nabiki flipping through a magazine, Akane
leaning with her head back resting against the wall, just fuming.

(You're a jerk, Ranma.) Akane thinks. (If you hate me so much, why don't
you just leave. I'd break the engagement anytime you ask, without even a
thought.) She frowns to herself, knowing that last statement isn't true.

The rustle of a curtain parting announces the presence of Dr. Tofu.

"Why it's Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi!" He smiles a gentle, distracted
smile at the oldest sister. "What can I do for you today?"

Kasumi forces a smile back, the Tofu of her dream overlaying this one.
"We think we may all be coming down with something." She answers for
them all.

"That's putting it mildly." Nabiki says quietly into her magazine.

Dr. Tofu seems troubled by the cool reception from Kasumi, but continues
to smile brightly. "O.K. Who's first, then."

"Akane seems the sickest." Kasumi volunteers.

"Then Akane it is." He slides aside the door to the examining area and
ushers Akane in with a gallant bow. Akane crosses the room and hikes
herself up onto the examining table.

"So what seems to be the problem?" he asks.

"I just haven't been sleeping well, lately."

"O.K., lets have a look."

She sits passively as he examines her, nodding yes or no to his
questions. Finished, he steps back and slides his glasses down his nose
slightly to check her aura. He is shocked at how faint it is.

"Well, Akane, I can't find anything physically wrong with you." He tells
her, puzzled.

"You're on the point of sever exhaustion and slightly malnourished. The
malnourished part is because you haven't been eating well, but I'm at a
loss for the exhaustion. You're sure you haven't been overdoing it
training?"

"I haven't been training." She sighs, looking down at the floor, then
back up at him.

"I was hoping you could just give me something to help me sleep through
the night without that stupid dream."

"Dream?" He echoes, warning bells going off in his mind.

She nods miserably. "I'm just so tired. I know I would feel better if I
could just get a good nights rest." Her eyes start to water with
frustrated tears.

"Akane, tell me about your dream." Dr. Tofu asks her sharply, startling
her out of her tears. He perches himself on a metal stool.

Akane looks away, uncomfortably. "I...I really don't want to talk about
it."

"Anything you tell me will be held in the strictest of confidence, and I
promise you I won't laugh or be offended."

Akane studies him for a minute, taking in the sincerity reflected in his
eyes. She nods and swallows.

"O.K. Well, I'm standing in this field and it's really beautiful and the
moon is full overhead and there's this breeze blowing and it smells like
orange blossoms and it's really nice and peaceful and then the light
changes and I look up and this big dark cloud has covered up the moon
and I look behind me and it's all dark and weird and there's lightning
in the distance and then thunder and then the thunder turns into the
sound of a heartbeat and someones calling my name and I'm really scared,
but I don't  know why, and I say 'I'm here' and Ranma comes up out of
the darkness, but he's older, I think, and he calls me his beautiful one
and says he's been waiting such a long time and I try to go to him but
this big ball of yellow light comes between us and this pretty voice
shouts, 'Never, you shall never have her' and then it turns into this
lady with really big hair and she shoots sunlight at Ranma and I try to
grab her but somebody, a man, grabs me from behind and I can't move and
he says 'Little Sister, things in darkness aren't always what they seem'
and Ranma snarls at her with these really big teeth like in the vampire
movies and fires a whole bunch of black chi at her and she's hurt and
bleeding light all over the place and she fires back and hits him and
he's hurt and bleeding dark all over the place and he shoots back and
she falls to one knee and then the man behind me says 'Wait here, the
sun will be coming up soon' and goes to defend the Lady and Ranma's eyes
get all strange and I know he's going to kill them but then the sun
comes up and Ranma's hurt by it and reaches for me one more time
pleading for me to come with him but I still can't move and the Lady
helps the man up and they go into the darkness too and she says 'Turn,
Little Sister, turn and face the sun' and then I wake up."

She glares at Dr. Tofu, waiting for him to laugh, or smirk or do
something. He just studies her back with the same gentle smile he had
when she started.

"You know Akane, you have remarkable breath control."

"Uh, thanks." She responds, not knowing what else to say.

"And you've had this dream more than once?" He asks.

"Every night, for the last five nights." She snaps.

"Does it happen at various times?"

"No. I always wake up at 5:55."

"Always?"

"Always." She watches him rest his chin in his hand and rub at his lower
lip. A sign that over the years of watching him she knows means he's
deep in thought.

"I'm going to give Kasumi a powder to put in your tea after lunch. It
will make you sleepy and I want you to sleep yourself out. O.K.?"

Akane slides off the table and bows to Dr. Tofu.

"Will it make my dream go away?" She asks hesitantly.

"I hope so." He smiles at her. "Would you ask Nabiki to come in next?"

"O.K." Akane replies as she slides the door open and steps through. She
doesn't see his worried frown follow her.

He hears her call "Nabiki, your next."

While he waits for Nabiki he is thinking frantically, turning the dream
over in his mind. When Nabiki comes in she is meet by the same kind
expression, no trace of the worry that is roiling in his mind visible.
He waves at the table and she hops up.

"This is really a waste of time, you know." She tells him. "I'm not
sick, I just haven't been sleeping well the last couple of days. It's
just P.M.S. or something."

"Well, I'd like to take a look at you anyway, O.K.?"

She just shrugs and answers his questions with curt 'yeses' and 'no's'.
When he's done he checks her aura too, and isn't surprised to see that
it is very dim, but not as near as bad as Akane's.

"Are you having a reoccurring nightmare?" He asks.

Nabiki's eyes snap open wide in shock. "How did you know?"

"It's a Doctor thing." He quips back.

"Akane's having them, too?"

"I didn't say that." He says in a little warning tone, "and even if she
was, I wouldn't tell you."

(You just did.) She thinks.

"Tell me about your dream, Nabiki."

"I don't want to talk about it. It's stupid." She says, getting a
stubborn look on her face.

"Please."

She stares at her toes, arms crossed.

"Nabiki, it might be important." He puts all his will into that
statement.

She finally looks up at him, distrust written all over her face.

"I promise I won't laugh, be offended or judge. I just need to know what
it's about. O.K.? Besides, it might make you feel better to talk about
it."

"I don't think so, but O.K." She closes her eyes and leans back a
little. "I'm in this really nice room with this really weird carpet
that's half white and half black and I'm sitting in this really
comfortable chair on the white side and I'm wearing this really nice
dress and K....this guy is sitting in seiza on the black side of the
carpet as close as he can sit without going over the line. And there's
heaps of really nice stuff just over the line on my side and...This is
really stupid." She frowns.

"Please Nabiki, go on."

"And the guy says that I can have it all and more if I'll just be his."
She stops.

"Is that it?"

Nabiki squirms a bit. "Then I ask him if he loves me and he says, 'What
do you think.' and then these two kids are standing by my chair, and
they look really bad. Really poor, you know." She looks at him. He nods.
"And I think 'here's all this stuff, more than anyone, even me, could
need' and I take a piece of jewelry to give to the kids. And the guy
gets really mad and yells at me, but I give it to them anyway." She
looks at him out of the corner of her eye. He's staring at the floor, a
little wrinkle of concentration on his forehead, listening intently.

"Go on, please."

"And then the guy says, 'This is your choice', or something like that
and then I'm standing in the ruins of Hiroshima, right after the bomb.
And I'm, like, one of the survivors. I always hate that part of history
class, you know?"

"It was a terrible waste." He waits a few seconds, "And...?"

"Well, I'm crying and sick and then this woman comes up behind me and
says, 'Little sister, why are you crying?' But I'm crying so hard I
can't talk. And then this man picks me up and starts to carry me away
and there's this red-haired woman with him wearing this yellow dress
that glows, but I can't see them clearly because I'm crying." She stops,
swallows hard against remembered tears.

"And...?" Dr. Tofu prompts gently again.

"And I ask where we're going, and the man says 'Somewhere else.' Then I
think I fall asleep for a while, then I realize that we've stopped
walking and the man puts me down so I can sit against the tree, and
we're in a park somewhere and it's night and the moon is full and so
bright that it's casting shadows on their faces so I can't see them
clearly and the woman with the red hair sits down next to me and says
'Little Sister, why are you crying?' and I tell her it's because I gave
away everything I've always wanted for two poor little kids and she
says, 'Everything, even love?' and I say, 'He said he wanted me, needed
me,' and she asks, 'But did he say he loved you?' and I say "He said
what do you think?' and she says "What do you think?' and I don't know
what to answer and she takes me over to the pond and tells me to watch
the sunrise and 'think about what I think' and then she goes away and
the man comes up and says something like 'Remember, Little Sister, you
gave your gift in love in a time of need. As you always have. And as you
always will. And then I wake up." She finishes in a rush. "Pretty
stupid, huh? And except for the Hiroshima bit, not really very scary."

Dr. Tofu blinks once, deciding that superb breath control must run in
the family.

"Are you scared by this dream, Nabiki?" He asks gently.

She nods, "Yeah. " She tries a grin out on him. "Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Have you had it more than once?"

"Every night for five days." She shudders a little.

"Does it happen at random times of the night?"

"No. I always wake up at 5:37. Right on the dot."

He hops off his stool, pats her on the head. "I want you to drink some
of the tea I'm going to have Kasumi make for Akane, O.K.? It'll make you
sleepy and I want you to sleep yourself out."

"I'm just about ready to give up on sleep." She says to her feet.

"Well, this should help chase away nightmares, O.K.?" He sees her
doubtful look. "Just give it a try. For me?"

She sighs, "O.K.".

"Will you send Kasumi in on your way out? Oh, by the way, did you see
the sun rise?" He asks of her retreating figure.

"No, I was in the bathroom."

He is comparing the two dreams when Kasumi comes in, bows to him
formally. He bows back and checks her aura in the process. It's about as
dim as Nabiki's.

"Kasumi?" He offers his hand to help her up onto the table.

She pretends not to see it and lifts herself onto the table gracefully
and fixes her focus onto the backs of her hands, which are folded in a
tight knot on her lap. He starts his examination, wondering why she
seems to withdraw herself from his hands. Not a flinch, but almost.

He's checking the pressure points along her neck when she gasps as he
brushes her right shoulder. He stops, snags the stool with a foot and
drags it over and sits as close to her as he can without causing her to
feel threatened. He reaches out to gather up her hands, then stops as he
feels her withdraw from him even further.

"Kasumi, what?" He asks, not knowing how to articulate the cold chill in
his soul her rejection is causing him. "Talk to me. Are you having bad
dreams?"

She raises her head to look at him, nods, her eyes guarded.

"The others are too, then." She asks/states.

He doesn't answer, but she sees it in his eyes.

"Oh, Kinie!" She half-sobs and covers her face with her hands.

He is truly startled and troubled that she has used his given name.
Unsure, he moves to sit beside her on table. For a moment, she seems
poised to move away from him, then she leans into him and lets him
surround her in the circle of his arms.

"I think Father has done a terrible thing." She says into his shoulder.

"What terrible thing?"

"He allowed Akane to live."

"What...?" He moves her gently away from him and tilts her head up by
her chin. She looks miserable. "What do you mean, Kasumi."

"I've been having this dream. It's a long time ago, I'm not sure when,
and I'm a hawk flying through the air. I see something on the ground and
go down and find myself over a battlefield. It's... awful. I try to fly
away, but it goes on and on and on." She lays her head back against his
chest.

"Sometimes I can hear the cries of the dying, just laying there,
forgotten." She whispers. She feels his grip tighten around her.
"Finally, I see a forest in the distance, and a mountain rising out of
it, and a palace built on that, and I know that I must go there.

I fly in through a window and there is this old woman in the remains of
some armor lying on a bed and she's covered with blood. There's a Doctor
there attending her." She draws back to look at him. "It's you."

(I thought it must be something like that,) he thinks. (But what did the
dream version of me do to frighten her so much?')

"And there is a man in armor there, too, her son, Warlord Tsuba Tendo.
He looks a lot like Father. He's kneeling by the head of her bed. And
there are two children there. One is her grandson and the other is a
little red haired girl who is his fiancee. Their names are Shiro and
Rhiannon.

The little boy is crying, the little girl is comforting him. The old
woman makes the Warlord swear on the family sword that there will be no
more than two girl children born of any Tendo heir, until the end of
time. And then she calls the little boy over, and he puts his hand out
to take the oath but the old woman stops him. She says, 'For you it
won't be necessary. For you will be forever lost to us, but always with
us.' Then she says, 'Remember, Shiro, I love you, and love is the only
force which can conquer the Darkness.'

Then you, the Dr. Tofu in my dream, comes over to me and he's holding
and pair of jessie's and a falcons hood. And I'm terrified of him. I
know that if I let him take me, I'll die.

I fly back out the window and then fall, shot by a crossbow. I see the
dream Dr. Tofu standing in the window with the crossbow. 'You'll not
escape me that easily!' He shouts as I fall.

I close my eyes, waiting to hit the ground, but I'm caught. I try to see
who's holding me, but she's glowing so brightly I can't look directly at
her. She takes the crossbow bolt out and heals the wound. I feel very
safe with her. Then there is a man before us, holding out his arm for me
to sit on. He calls me Little Sister, and I notice that there is a
silver gray glow around him as we walk. We get to the edge of the forest
and he says, 'Fly, Little Sister! The sun is coming soon. Fly into it
and see it in all it's glory!' and launches me into the air, to the
east, over the ocean. I can hear him call after me, 'and remember that
dispair is the first step into the Darkness.'

And then I wake up."

He just holds her, sickened to his soul by the dispair flowing from her.

"Kasumi, how many times have you had this dream?"

"Five times."

"Every night?'

She nods into his chest.

"What time do you wake up?"

"5:21 a.m."

"Kasumi," he whispers into her hair, then clears his throat and speaks a
little louder. "A dream should not always be taken literally. The little
boy and girl could represent Ranma in both his forms. The oath, your
concern about how the relationship between Akane and Ranma is
developing. The dying woman could be your mother and the Warlord your
father." Knowing in his heart that there was much more to it than this.

She rests against him for a few more seconds, then pushes herself
upright.

"That's not all." She slides the sleeve of her dress down so he can see
the angry red circular bruise. "It's where I was shot."

Dr. Tofu stares, incredulous. "Somebody dared to do this to you? Wearing
my form?" There is fury in his voice.

"What is happening to us?" Kasumi asks, on the verge of tears.

"I don't  know, Kasumi," He returns her sleeve to her shoulder, "but I
promise you I will find out."

He squeezes her hands gently between his own strong ones, then releases
her, becoming once more the kindly Doctor.

"All of you are suffering from extreme fatigue and mild malnutrition. I
told Akane and Nabiki that I was going to give you a powder to put into
your tea after lunch. I want you to drink some, too. It will make you
sleepy, and I want you to sleep yourself out, O.K.?"

"But who will make dinner?" She asks.

"Tell your father that it's Doctor's orders and to order out."

"But..."

"No buts, Kasumi. It is what I prescribe, as your Doctor." He tells her
firmly.

She blushes a little, slides off the table, bows.

"Akane and Nabiki haven't had much of an appetite, lately. Nothing I've
tried has tempted them."

"I'll take care of that." He smiles at her. "Go on out and I'll bring
you the powder."

Kasumi goes to join her sisters in the waiting area and after a few
minutes Dr. Tofu comes out. He hands Kasumi a packet.

"Put in half a teaspoon for each cup of tea you brew. And you two," he
puts a hand on each of their shoulders and gives a firm squeeze, "you
eat some lunch and then drink up that tea. But no more that two cups,
O.K.?"

They nod, and he escorts them to the door. While the girls are putting
on their shoes, he looks out front, sees Ryoga dozing on the bench at
one end of the building, Ranma doing a kata at the other.

"Ranma!" He calls.

Ranma trots down to him.

"Could I speak to you a minute?"

"Uh, sure." He looks at Akane, full of concern. Akane is busy with her
shoes and doesn't see it.

"In here, please." Dr. Tofu waves him in. Kasumi looks at him with a
questioning expression.

"Nothing to worry about. He'll be out in a minute." He takes another
look a Ryoga, snoozing on the bench. "Is Ryoga having trouble sleeping,
too?" He asks her.

Kasumi smiles a little secret smile to herself, remembering the first
time she saw Akane's little black pig sneak into the bathroom, heard the
water running and then the squeak of the bathroom window opening and
then Ryoga appearing a few minutes later, tapping on the back door,
still slightly damp.

"No, I just think he got up a little earlier than he's used to this
morning."

Dr. Tofu nods, follows Ranma inside.

"Akane's O.K., isn't she?" Ranma blurts out in a rush.

"Well, no, she isn't." He says quietly. He can see the anxiety building
in the young man before him.

"What?" His voice is high with panic and a cold terror invades the pit
of his stomach. "Does she need to go to the hospital? I can take her
right now! She isn't going to die, is she!?"

Dr. Tofu shakes his head. "Calm down, Ranma."

"What's going on in here?" Akane looks in, concerned by what she can
hear of Ranma's tone.

"Uh...Uh..." Ranma stutters.

"He'll be out in a minute, Akane," Dr. Tofu smiles at her. "I just want
to speak with him in private for a moment, O.K.?"

"Well, don't take long, Ranma." She seems to focus inwardly. "I'm
hungry." She looks surprised as she steps back out into the sunshine.

"She's hungry?" He echoes, narrowing his eyes at Dr. Tofu, the cold
feeling is being replaced with a warm flush of annoyance.

"What's going on?!" He demands.

"Just a little accupressure." The Doctor answers as he crosses his arms.
"Is Happosai staying at the dojo?"

"No." Ranma looks somewhat confused by the change of subject. "Um, he
went to Nagasaki chasing some lady pop singer. Why?"

"Something is draining off all of the Tendo girls life-forces."

Ranma just stares at him, slack-jawed, knowing now why he asked about
Happosai. That old pervert was constantly tinkering with magic he didn't
know how to use.

"Akane's level is dangerously low." The Doctor looks concerned.

Ranma feels the cold creep back into the pit of his stomach. "Define
dangerously." He asks.

"Well, with a few days of good rest and some food, she should be all
right."

Ranma let's out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"I want to ask a favor of you." Dr. Tofu adds, bows formally to him.

"Yeah, O.K. What?" He says, obviously embarrassed by the formality the
Doctor is using, as he bows back.

"I want you to keep your eye on all the girl's for the next few days
and, especially, no fighting with Akane."

"Oh man." He groans.

"Any strong emotions, especially negative ones, will only weaken her
further. And that would be very bad."

"I might as well move out." Ranma mutters.

"If that's what it takes." Dr. Tofu responds.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

Dr. Tofu nods. "Just try, Ranma? She'll probably be asleep for most of
the next twenty-four hours, anyway."

"O.K. No fighting with Akane." He states, and sighs inwardly, wondering
how the hell he's going to manage that.

He joins the group outside, who are holding a small discussion on about
where to eat.

"There's a new restaurant on Fifth Street that I would like to try."
Kasumi volunteers. "And it's closer than Uchan or the Nekohanten."

 Ranma breaths a silent sigh of relief, thankful that Kasumi has chosen
neutral territory.

"I don't care where," Akane says, as her stomach growls. "I just need to
eat!" She looks at Ranma waiting for some smart-aleck reply.

"Good." He says. "You haven't been eating enough lately, anyway."

Akane and Ryoga both look at him, surprised.

"O.K. Fifth Street it is." Kasumi says and starts off, the others
trailing. Akane walks beside Nabiki, wondering to herself what Ranma's
up to.

"Ryoga, hold up!" Ranma asks.

Ryoga slows down so that they're walking about ten feet behind the
girls.

"What did Dr. Tofu want?" He asks.

"Listen." Ranma says, pitching his voice low, so the girl's won't hear.
"Akane's really sick. Something is stealing her life force. And Kasumi's
and Nabiki's,  too."

"W..what?" Ryoga looks stricken. "What's doing it?"

"I don't think he knows, yet. But he said they should be all right with
some rest and food. But we can't let anything upset Akane."

"I don't upset Akane." Ryoga states, emphasizing the I.

"I'm serious, Ryoga. You can help me," an evil glint comes into his eye,
"or spend the next few days as a pig."

"You dare...!" Ryoga snarls, and Akane, sensing the beginning of a
fight, looks back at them. Ranma drapes his arm around Ryoga, thumping
him in the ribs on the way and puts his hand behind his head and smiles
at her.

"It's nothing, Akane," he calls to her. "Just some guy talk."

Akane looks at Nabiki, who just shrugs, then responds to some question
Kasumi directs at her.

Ryoga pulls back his fist, but Ranma steps in, puts up his hand and 
captures it before Ryoga can get any power behind it, bringing them face
to face.

"Listen Ryoga." He says firmly. "It's not for me, it's for Akane. If she
gets upset, she could get really sick."

Ryoga studies Ranma's face, taking in the concern and seriousness of his
expression. He struggles internally with himself, then looks at Akane
and relents.

"O.K. For Akane."

They run and catch up with the girls. Ranma moving to walk on Akane's
right and Ryoga to Akane's left. They move along, Ryoga and Ranma
telling jokes, trying to get the girls to laugh. By the time they reach
the restaurant, everyone is giggling.

They get seated, order, still breaking into laughter every now and then.
All three of the girl's look much better, and all three order huge
dinners. When the waitress brings it out, the girls look at all the food
spread out before them and then at each other, and giggle some more.

"No way are they going to eat all that." Ranma whispers to Ryoga. Ryoga
nods back, then both boys watch amazed as the food starts to disappear.

After ten minutes or so, there isn't a scrap of food left anywhere on
the table.

"Wow. And I thought I could eat." Ranma says softly to himself.

"What was that Ranma?" Akane challenges.

"Uh... I just was saying that Kasumi chose a really good place to eat."

She continues to stare at him suspiciously. Ryoga distracts her by
offering her a flower he had picked earlier and hidden in his pocket.
It's a little crushed, but Akane is delighted. She gives him a quick,
one armed hug. Ranma glares at them, biting down on his tongue.

"I'll be back in a minute." He seethes, and storms away from the table.
Akane watches his retreating figure and sighs, seeming to deflate a
little. Ryoga watches Akane and thinks, (This isn't going to be easy.)

In the men's room, after taking out his anger by demolishing a trashcan,
Ranma looks at his reflection in the mirror and mutters, "This isn't
going to be easy." 


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 3 of 15 

It's early afternoon at the Tendo house, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane are
sitting around the table, waiting for the tea to finish steeping. They
can hear the soft thumps of Ryoga and Ranma working out in the adjoining
dojo through the open sliding doors that face onto the back yard.

Genma and Soun are sitting by the front window, playing chess.

Kasumi pours the tea into the three cups before her, then hands one to
each sister.

Nabiki takes the first sip, makes a terrible face. "How much of this
stuff do we have to drink?"

"Dr. Tofu said at least one cup, but no more than two." Kasumi answers.   

Kasumi takes a sip, her eyes widen a little. "One should be sufficient,
I think."

"Oh, come on." Akane says, looking back and forth at her sisters. "It
can't be that bad." She takes a big swallow, coughs and sputters as
taste hits her. "Oh, that's nasty!"

All three put their cups down and stare into them for a full minute.
Then Kasumi closes her eyes, picks up her cup and downs the contents in
three quick gulps. She opens her eyes, looks meaningfully at Akane.

Akane swallows convulsively, then sets her jaw and gulps down the
remainder of her cup in two big swallows. She looks a little queer for a
few seconds, then shakes her head, as if to clear it. Then both sisters
look at Nabiki.   Nabiki picks up her cup and knocks it back in one big
gulp. She sits, calmly, raising her eyebrows at her sisters' amazed
expressions.

Kasumi looks at the other two. "I think we should probably go and lay
down now."

Akane and Nabiki obediently rise and file up the stairs, heading for
their rooms. Kasumi goes over to her father, kisses him on the cheek.
"Don't forget that Shampoo will be delivering dinner at 6:00, Father."

He nods, concentrating on his game. Kasumi smiles at him and Mr.
Saotome, then heads up the stairs.

The rest of the afternoon passes quietly, with Ranma or Ryoga every now
and then peeking into the girls bedrooms, checking to see if they're
O.K. At 6:00 promptly, a bicycle bell rings at the front gate.

Shampoo comes sashaying up to the door, balancing the heavy delivery box
easily on one upturned palm.

"Nihao, Ranma!" She bubbles, as he comes to answer the door. "I put
these on table for you? No?" She springs by him before he can answer.
"Why you need food? Where Kasumi?" She sticks her head into the kitchen
after depositing the boxes onto the table.

"She's upstairs, sleeping."

"Why, she sick?'

"Just a little worn out, but Dr. Tofu said she was to sleep herself
out."

"Where Akane?"

"She's asleep too." (Uh-oh.) He thinks as he sees the shift of emotion
across Shampoo's face.

"She sick, too?"

"Yeah."

"She sleep as much as can, too?"

"Yeah." He answers guardedly.

"Good. Then you have nothing to do tonight. You take Shampoo out on
date!"" She drapes herself around him.

"Uh, Shampoo," he says, tries to remove her gently without much luck, "I
can't. I told Dr. Tofu that I'd stay around and keep an eye on
everyone."

"Why he want you to keep eye on?" She asks as Ranma gets a little
leverage and starts to peel her off.

"I think he thinks that there's something draining their life-force, or
something like that."

"Oh. You want Shampoo to come back after restaurant close and keep watch
with you?" She wiggles seductively.

(Oh man, why does she have to wiggle like that?) He gulps, a few beads
of sweat springing up on his upper lip.

"No. Thanks." He says it hard, hoping to make her mad enough to leave.
He didn't want to take the chance of Akane waking up and finding her
here. Especially when she was in one of her seduce Ranma modes.

Shampoo "humphs", turns and strides out, pouting, taking the money Soun
holds up without breaking stride.

Dr. Tofu is sitting in the library with a pencil held in between his
teeth. The clock on the wall reads 8:00 p.m. Books on a variety of
subjects are spread out around him, open to various pages. He is taking
notes on a yellow legal pad, comparing information between various
texts. One is so old, it's in scroll form. He reads something out of it,
pales, checks his notes, checks a book, then the scroll. He stands up
suddenly, clutching the pad to his chest.

"Oh no." He whispers.

It's dark outside the Tendo house, the kitchen clock says 11:00.

Ranma yawns, switches off the TV., stretches and rises, heads for the
stairs. He sees Ryoga, in his pig form, going up a few stairs ahead of
him. Ryoga whirls on the stair, glares at him. Ranma narrows his eyes,
then sighs, picks Ryoga up and carries him to Akane's door. Ryoga sits
quietly in Ranma's arms, not quite sure what's going on. Ranma opens the
door quietly, studies Akane's still form in the dim light from the hall.
"You'd think they'd have to go to the bathroom or something by now?
Wouldn't you?" He whispers, then cat-foots across and puts P-Chan onto
Akane's bed. Akane immediately cuddles up to the pig with a happy sigh.

"She sleeps better when you're here." He whispers to Ryoga, then reaches
out his hand to brush an errant strand of hair off her face, then turns
and leaves, closing the door quietly behind him, Ryoga staring after
him.   

In the quiet darkness of the Tendo kitchen the clock reads 4:42.

Outside, Dr. Tofu is taping a white sheet of paper with some arcane
symbols to the north corner of the high wall that surrounds the house.
There is a similar one on the south, east and west corners, too. There
is a long bo made out of white wood and capped at both ends with iron
leaning against the wall beside him. Finished, he looks up at the full
moon, which is sinking slowly towards the eastern horizon, picks up the
bo and leaps easily to the top of the wall, then over into the maple
tree that shades most of the backyard. He finds a comfortable nook that
allows him to see most of the backyard and the three surrounding walls,
then settles in to wait.

At 5:00 a.m. he hears a whispered hiss from behind the wall that backs
onto the alley.

"Someone's put up some wards!" A male voice growls.

"Wonderful. Just what we need." A melodic contralto answers, her voice
dripping with sarcasm. He sees a little shimmer of golden light flow up
and over the wall in a four foot swath. A lithe male figure leaps to the
top of the wall, turns and reaches down to haul a female form up after
him. They both leap soundlessly down onto the grass of the backyard,
move over to stand in the deeper shadow of the tree. Dr. Tofu takes
advantage of an errant breeze to reposition himself, the rustle of the
air in the leaves masking his movement.

The two below him stand, the woman leaning back against the man, who
encircles her with his arms and rests his chin on the top of her head.
In the dim light, he can only make out their outlines and the metallic
red gleam of the woman's hair.

"What do you think?" the man asks his companion.

"Didn't slow us down much, did it?" She responds.

Then he can see a tension grip the form of the man. "It's coming."

Dr. Tofu feels a pressure in the night air around him, sees a darker
patch of the night soar out of the sky and hover over the house. He
checks his watch, it says 5:12 a.m.

The disturbance in the air swirls once, then arrows into Kasumi's
window. Dr. Tofu takes a firm hold of his bo, prepares to swing down,
then is halted by the sight of the couple below him. She has started
glowing a brilliant yellow/white, the man a gray glimmer against her.
There is tension and strain showing in every angle of their bodies.

Dr. Tofu has been splitting his attention between the couple and the
house, and after about eight minutes, the woman's glow has dimmed a
little, and a movement at the house attracts his attention. The dark
flies out of Kismet's window, swirls for a second then dives into
Nabiki's.

Dr. Tofu checks his watch, it says 5:27 a.m.  At 5:29 Kasumi's light
turns on. In five more minutes the eastern horizon starts to lighten
with the coming sun. After three more minutes, the dark exits Nabiki's
room and enters Akane's. The couple below him seem to have faded a
little more. At 5:40 Nabiki's light turns on. At 5:50 the woman below
him flares into an incandescent pillar of light, then the light fades to
almost nothing. She drops to her knees and the gray gleam of the man
behind her flares. Then the first ray of sunlight clears the horizon,
the dark oozes out of Akane's window, then tatters into nothing in the
light. The man drops to his knees also. They rest for a few seconds,
panting under the tree, then the woman pushes at the man's arm.

"Hurry, Shiro. The sun's coming!'

The man staggers up, turning his back to the coming light. The woman
rises behind him, glances up into the tree and sees Dr. Tofu. They lock
eyes for a moment, the woman seeming unsure, he, entranced for a moment
by her beauty. Then she hurries to the man, gives him a boost to help
him clear the wall and jumps up after. Dr. Tofu follows, but when he
reaches the top of the wall, there is no one in sight.

"Dr. Tofu? What are you doing up there?"

Dr. Tofu looks down at Ranma, looking up.

"Just out for my morning walk." He smiles down at the young man.

5:57 a.m. upstairs at the Tendo house.

Kasumi and Nabiki rush into Akane's room, Nabiki closing the door firmly
behind her. Akane, holding P-Chan close, looks in confusion at her
sisters.

"Kasumi, why are you looking at me like that?" Akane asks.

"Give." Nabiki glares at both her sisters. "What's with these dreams?"

P-Chan jumps down from the bed, taps the door. Nabiki lets him out as
Kasumi crosses over to sink down onto Akane's' bed.

At 6:30 Soun is standing at the foot of the stairs, wondering if he
should go and wake up Kasumi or start the coffee himself.

(Well,) he thinks, (Dr. Tofu did say to let them sleep themselves out.)
and turns toward the kitchen.

Genma-panda passes him on the way back in, holds up a sign that says,
"Still asleep?"

Soun nods, starts rummaging through the cabinets, looking for the coffee
filters. He hears someone talking outside with Ranma.

"You know, Ranma," Dr. Tofu says, "if you block that kick a little
lower, it will slow down your father's reaction time."

"Really?" Ranma says, as she steps into the house and heads for the
bathroom. Soun sticks his head out of the kitchen, trying to get the
filters to separate, and sees Dr. Tofu step in.

The Doctor bows to him. "Good morning Mr. Tendo, the girls aren't down
yet?"

Soun bobs back, still fighting with the filters, "Uh, no. You said we
should let them sleep themselves out. Right?"

"Right." He comes over to Soun, takes the filters and deftly slides one
from the top. "Here, let me give you a hand. After being a bachelor for
so long, I've learned to make a mean pot of coffee." They go into the
kitchen.

Ranma dumps her clothes into the hamper, then goes into the bathroom.
Ryoga is waiting for her there.

"They had it again."

"Had what?"

"The nightmare."

"Well, do they seem better?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Wait. You said 'they'."

"Yep. Kasumi and Nabiki came storming into Akane's room right after she
woke up from the dream."

"And?"

"And I left." Ryoga snorts.

"What? Why?"

"Man, I know better than to stay in a room with three women on the
warpath."

"Warpath?"

"Yeah. They were really freaked."

Ranma sighs, finishes toweling himself off. "Better go and see what's
going on."

They come into the dining area the same time Soun and Dr. Tofu come out
of the kitchen, carrying the coffee pot and some cups. Soun has a
pleased expression on his face that changes into shock when he sees his
daughters standing across the table from him, presenting a unified
front. Kasumi is holding the family sword. Genma's sitting at the table,
trying to be invisible.

"What?" Soun asks.

"Oh, man." Ranma and Ryoga say together, softly.

"Father," Kasumi says and holds the sword out to him. "Tell us about the
history of this, please."

Soun puts the coffee pot down, swallow hard, takes the sword from his
oldest daughter, sinks to his knees.

The girls kneel at the opposite side of table as one, wearing hard but
expectant expressions. Dr. Tofu puts the cups down quietly, then sits,
pours three cups, pushes one across to Genma, one to Soun and keeps the
last one for himself.

Soun studies the sword, runs one hand caressingly down it's red lacquer
sheath. "This sword has been in our family for more than 2,500 years."

"Wow." Says Ranma softly.

"There is a legend that, at the dawn of time, this sword was involved in
a great battle against a terrible evil. An evil that it struck down."

"And the oath, father?" Kasumi asks.

"How...?" He asks, startled. He looks down, studies the patterns on the
tablecloth, then takes a shuddering breath and raises his head. "There
is an oath that every Tendo heir must take upon it."

"That being?" Nabiki asks.

Akane is sitting very still, looking pale. Ranma and Ryoga look at her,
wondering what's going on.

He stares at his youngest daughter. "That no more than two girl children
will be born of any Tendo heir, until the end of time."

"What?" Ranma, Ryoga and Genma all gasp.

Akane swallows hard, Kasumi reaches out to hug her with one arm.

"Did you take that oath, Father?" Kasumi asks.

"Yes." Soun states, still holding Akane's eyes with his own. "Your
mother was so sure she was carrying a boy. So sure."

"I can't imagine why." Ranma tells Ryoga quietly, but not quiet enough.

He barley manages to dodge the book that she launches at him.

"Shut up, Ranma!" She hisses.

"And when I held Akane in my arms for the first time, I couldn't...."
Soun trails off. He bows formally to Akane. "Forgive me." He asks
quietly, silent tears streaming down his face.

"Oh, Daddy." Nabiki says quietly, looking back and forth between her
Father and youngest sister who is just sitting in shocked silence.

"Does somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on!?" Ranma asks,
his voice breaking the silence.

"I think I might be able to answer some of that." Dr. Tofu says, pushing
the coffee at Soun. "Drink your coffee, Mr. Tendo, compose yourself."

"I did some research after the girls came to see me yesterday, thinking,
hoping, that there was nothing more to their dreams than normal
anxiety." He and Kasumi lock glances for a moment. "It seems that the
Tendo line goes back into legend, and legend, being what it is, is
filled with exaggerations and fancy. I was surprised when I found an old
legend that matches Kasumi's dream, in fact, hers goes into more detail
that any of the renditions I could find about it." Kasumi looks down
miserably.

"The basics is that somehow this sword, combined with the might of many
magical Families, hurled an unspeakable evil out of our world.
Apparently, to get back, it needs a variety of conditions that can be
met by any of the Families. It needs three Tendo daughters born of one
generation from this one."

"So what, do I have to kill myself?" Akane asks, a determined expression
appearing on her face.

Everyone gasps.

"No way!" Both Ranma and Ryoga shout.

"I don't think it will come to that, Akane." Dr. Tofu tells her
soothingly. "Because all  three of you have some guardians, too."

"The red-haired woman and the gray man?" Nabiki asks. Dr. Tofu nods.

"I believe that this dark force can only break through on the week of
the full moon and tonight is the last night of this cycle. I think we
should let the guardians do their work, then contact them and see what
else can be done."

The sisters look at each other, then nod.

"Why did the dreams start now?" Genma asks.

"I wondered about that too, until I remembered that Akane turns 17 this
month." Dr. Tofu answers.

"So?" Asks Nabiki.

"In magic, 17 is an important number. When a girl turns 17, she is
thought to come into her power, become an adult, magically."

"Get real." Nabiki snorts. "I've been 17 for 11 months now and nothing
'magic' has happened to me."

"How much money have you made betting this year, Nabiki?" He asks
innocently.

Nabiki glowers at him, then her look turns thoughtful.

"Well, I'd better get breakfast started." Kasumi rises. "Dr. Tofu, would
you like to stay?"

Dr. Tofu smiles at her, delighted. "I'd love to. Can I give you a hand?"

She nods yes with a shy little smile. He gets up and follows her into
the kitchen.

Akane rises slowly, not looking at anyone. "I'm going to get cleaned
up." She crosses behind her father as she heads for the bathroom.

"I couldn't kill my baby, not my little girl." Soun says to himself.
Akane hugs him from behind.

"It's O.K. daddy. I love you, too."

The mid-morning sun is shining softly through the maple tree, casting
sharp patterns along Akane's body. P-Chan is sitting droopy eyed by her
head, making endearing little pig noises. As Akane's mind drifts, she
could almost swear he is humming a lullaby.

At Dr. Tofu's suggestion, she had taken a bamboo mat out to take a nap
in the sun. Nabiki is laying by the pond, on another, originally
sunbathing and now snoozing with a magazine over her face. She hears a
rustle, turns her head languidly and opens one eye. She sees Ranma's
feet and shins. As he lowers himself to sit cross-legged beside her, she
sighs, closes her eye again, feeling drowsy and contented.

"Kasumi just told me about her dream." He studies her, seeing that she
looks much better. "Pretty weird stuff, huh."

"Uh-huh." Akane answers.

"And Dr. Tofu says that a lot of it really happened."

"Uh-huh." Akane answers.

"Uh...you want to tell me about your dream?" He suggests shyly.

"Uh-uh."

He frowns. "Is it about me?"

"Ranma, go away." She says, sighing as the drowsy contentment starts to
fade.

"It is about me, isn't it?" He persists.

"I'm trying to sleep." She responds, starting to sound aggravated.

"I don't, uh, hurt you or anything, do I?"

The tone of his voice brings her totally awake. She looks at him but
he's not looking at her , picking at the grass by his knee instead. She
studies him for a few seconds but can't read his face. He swallows hard,
a hint of distress touching his features, still picking at the grass.

"I do, don't I?"

She shakes her head no, thinking (he's really concerned!)

"You're sure?"

She nods her head yes.

"Then why is it a bad dream?" He really sounds like he sincerely wants
to understand.

She sighs inwardly. "Ranma, I just don't want to talk about it, O.K..?
You don't hurt me. From what Dr. Tofu said, it's not you, anyway, just
something," she emphasizes that, " that looks like you. So don't worry
about it. Just go work out or something and let me get some beauty
sleep." She smiles at him, waiting for his smart-ass response.

"Well, you look a lot better than you did yesterday, almost cute." He
offers.

Akane looks at him startled.

"Why are you being nice to me?" She responds, eyes narrowed in
suspicion.

"What, I can't be nice to you?" He asks back, his voice getting hard.

"No, I don't think you can!" She says back, her voice hardening in
response to his.

"Fine! See if I ever..." He realizes suddenly that they are starting a
fight, remembers his promise to Dr. Tofu, stands up quickly and stalks
away.

"Ranma, wait!" Akane calls after his retreating figure, but he doesn't
seem to hear her.

She flops her head back onto the mat. (He was really trying to just be
nice. Why can't I ever let him? Why do I always take it the wrong way?)
She can hear the sounds of fists striking the punching board set up in
the courtyard of the dojo. They get faster and faster until she hears
the sound of splintering wood.

(Oh, Ranma, I'm sorry!) She thinks and blinks back some tears, then
cuddles P-Chan close.  After a few minutes, the sunlight and the soft
whisper of the leaves reassert their power and she drifts off to sleep.

It's late afternoon when she wakes up. She stretches, luxuriously,
feeling a lot better. P-Chan lets out a huge yawn, stretches out too,
grunting little noises of pleasure. She smiles at him.

"Nothing like a good nap and a good stretch, eh, P-Chan?" She asks him,
rolling onto her belly.

He rubs his snout against her cheek. She gets up, rolls up the mat and
wanders into the house, not noticing that P-Chan heads for the dojo.

"Akane!" Kasumi calls to her from the kitchen. She heads that way, gets
a can of juice out of the fridge and perches on the kitchen stool.

"Are you hungry?" Kasumi asks.

Akane thinks about if for a minute, decides she is.

"Yes, I guess so."

"Good. I saved you some lunch." She pulls a bowl out of the fridge,
hands it to her. Akane starts eating and suddenly notices how quite the
house is.

"Where is everybody?" She asks around a mouthful.

"Well, Kuno came by after lunch and invited everyone to a party
tonight."

"Really!?"

"Yes. A country and western party. So Nabiki took Ranma shopping with
her. She said she'd get everything we needed."

"Nabiki? Spend her money? On a party?" Akane asks, amazed.

"Well, she said something about some owed favors, you know Nabiki."
Kasumi sighs, not quite approving of her middle sister's activities.

"Wow. But, should we go, I mean with everything that's going on?"

"Dr. Tofu said it would be a good idea, if we're feeling up to it. Get
our minds off it, for a while."

"Cool!" Akane bubbles, wondering what she's going to wear.

At 6:00 p.m. Dr. Tofu arrives at the Tendo house, wearing a cowboy hat,
brightly colored western style shirt, Levi's and boots. Kasumi meets him
at the front door, also in a cowboy hat with a frilly blouse, short jean
skirt and boots. They look at each other and giggle.

Behind her, Akane and Nabiki are similarly clad. Ranma and Ryoga are in
full cowboy garb also, jockeying for position to see themselves in the
hall mirror, trying to figure out how to wear their hats so that they
look cool.

"Clint Eastwood always wears his like this." Ryoga says and pulls the
brim down so low he can't see anything above mid-eye level.

Ranma puts his way back on his head, says "nope" and pulls the brim down
until it's lower than Ryoga's. "Nope." Moves it back. "Nope."

"Enough, already." Nabiki reaches over and adjusts both hats just right.
"Lets' go!" And starts out onto the sidewalk.

Dr. Tofu extends his arm, bent at the elbow, to Kasumi, who links her
own through it with a shy smile.

Ranma and Ryoga both offer their arms to Akane, glare at each other over
her head. Akane links arms with both of them. Soun and Genma watch them
leave.

"Now that's a strange sight." Soun says.

"A strange sight indeed." Genma responds, with a slow nod.   

By the time they reach the party hall, Ranma is wondering how to get rid
of the boots. The heels have been throwing his balance off the whole way
and he almost tripped twice over the pointed toes. He's pleased to note
that Ryoga is walking somewhat gingerly, too.

"Man," Ranma says to Ryoga as they usher Akane through the door, "how do
those guys stand to wear these things?" He rocks back and forth, toe to
heel.

"Oh, come on Ranma, they're not that bad." Ryoga quips back then almost
trips as a heel catches on the step.

"Yeah, right." Ranma snorts as he steps past him into the party.

Inside, it's packed, a line-dancing lesson going on at the dance floor.
Nabiki wades straight in while the rest of the group elbow their way to
a table. They have just sat when Kuno strides over, a little overdone in
the cowboy way, grinning hugely. He looks at the group and his smile
fades a little.

"Where is the pig-tailed girl?" He asks, forlornly.

"She couldn't make it." Ranma answers him, thinking (when is he going to
GET it?)

"Ah, well. Come Akane, dance with me!" He lifts her lightly out of her
chair, swirls her around once on his way to the dance floor, before
either Ranma or Ryoga can protest.

They look at each other, then leap up to follow them and are soon
stomping and spinning with the rest of the lines. Dr. Tofu and Kasumi
sit and watch for a few minutes, then Dr. Tofu takes her hand and leads
her to the floor.

Ranma and Ryoga are in the line behind Akane and Kuno, both starting to
have fun but neither going to admit it. Ranma watches Akane, amazed at
how fast she is catching on. When the song is over, Ranma is starting to
step forwards to move in beside Akane when two hands cover his eyes from
behind.

"Nihao, Ranma." A sweet voice chimes in his ear.

(Oh, no! Not Shampoo.) He thinks, getting a sinking feeling in the pit
of his stomach. He spins around, right into Shampoo's embrace.

"Hello, Shampoo." He states flatly, unwinding her arms from around his
neck.

"This kind dancing hard, yes? You teach Shampoo how?"

"No, I'm dancing with Akane."

"Really?" Shampoo asks, glancing over his shoulder. "Looks like Akane
dance with Ryoga and Kuno to Shampoo."

Ranma spins around and is pushed sideways by the line as another dance
starts. Ryoga has moved into the line on the other side of Akane.

"Why that..." He hisses, trying to keep pace with the line, Shampoo
locks arms with him, following the dance beside him effortlessly. Ranma
finishes the dance glaring at Ryoga and Kuno's back and trying to shake
Shampoo off his arm.

"See, Shampoo even better dancer than Akane." Shampoo says loudly when
the song ends. Akane whirls, glares at them.

"Actually, I thought she caught on really fast." Ryoga tells her.

"Uh, yeah, me too!" Ranma adds with a weak smile, pushing Shampoo's arm
down repeatedly from where she keeps encircling his waist.

Akane glowers at them.

"Akane, it's not what you think, she's just dancing beside me, like
you're dancing with Kuno and Ryoga!"

"I'm not dancing with Kuno or Ryoga like that!" She snarls, pointing at
Shampoo who has given up on Ranmas' waist and has encircled his left
bicep with both hands and is leaning against his arm, smiling
blissfully.

"And the next one is a slow one, for all you lover's out there. Grab
your partner, and follow me." The instructor calls, coming over and
pulling a blushing Kuno out after her.

"Come on, Ryoga." Akane growls, "let's dance." And holds her arms out to
him.

Ryoga embraces her gently, like she's some fragile piece of porcelain,
not believing his good luck.

"Uh, Shampoo, I," Ranma looks around frantically, sees Kasumi standing,
waiting for Tofu to get her a drink from the bar. "I promised I'd dance
the first slow dance with Kasumi." He wiggles away from her, dashes over
to Kasumi.

"Please." He pleads quietly to Kasumi.

She sees Shampoo bearing down on them, says "Oh, my." and steps up to
him, placing her left hand on his shoulder and offering her right. "Go!"
She says and follows him into the circle of dancing couples.

Dr. Tofu comes back with the soda, sees Kasumi and Ranma circle by,
Kasumi smiles at him and Ranma is watching his feet with a somewhat
panicked expression on his face. He sees Shampoo standing, arms folded
looking miffed watching them and spies Ukyou on the other side of the
room, watching the two-stepping couple also.

(Why can't anything ever be easy with this family?) He sighs to himself.

He scans the crowd, hoping to see Mousse, but can't sight him. (Never
easy.)

He wends his way over to Shampoo, depositing the soda on the table they
claimed earlier on the way, and smiles a charming smile at her. "Would
you care to dance, Shampoo?"

"No. Shampoo dance with Ranma." She grumps, still focused on Ranma and
Kasumi.

"Where's Mousse?" He asks.

"Mousse not like to dance. He stay home."

"Well, I like to dance, and Ranma seems to have stolen my partner, too."

Shampoo looks at him from the corner of her eye, not fooled.

"Why you not want Shampoo to be with Ranma?"

He decides to be frank with her. "Come here, Shampoo." He leads her over
to the quieter table and explains to her what has been happening at the
Tendo house.

"Oh." Shampoo looks at the table when he's done, troubled. "Chiesai, the
Dark One. My village have this legend too. Many Amazon woman die in that
battle. He really after all Tendo girls?"

Dr. Tofu nods.

"Hi-ya." She looks over, picks out Akane, flanked by Ranma and Ryoga who
have started the opening steps of another line dance. She sighs.   
"Shampoo not know what do, want Akane dead, but not that way. I wish
Great Grandmother here, not in China." She seems to hold a silent debate
with herself then looks at Dr. Tofu.

"Shampoo want help. Not like Akane, but Nabiki and Kasumi O.K.."

Dr. Tofu heaves a huge sigh of relief. "That would really be a help,
Shampoo."

"What you want Shampoo do?"

"Run interference. You dance with Ryoga and don't hang all over Ranma."

"Ryoga?" She wrinkles her nose a little, studies him, then nods. "Ryoga
not bad. Shampoo do it! For Nabiki and Kasumi." She adds.

Another slow dance is coming up, Dr. Tofu shoo's at her with his hand.
Shampoo goes and captures Ryoga. But Ukyou has closed in on Ranma,
giving Akane no way out when Kuno asks her to dance. Dr. Tofu looks
defeated, rests his chin on the palm of his hand. He's so distracted
that he doesn't notice Kasumi come up behind him. She slips her arms
around his neck and gives him a little squeeze. He turns beet red.

"Don't worry about them, you've averted the major disaster. The rest
will work itself out." She tells him, bringing her lips close to his ear
so he can hear her over the noise. She can feel the little tremor her
closeness is causing in him through her arms.

"Come, dance with me." She whispers in his ear and leads him unresisting
onto the dance floor.

After a few more line dances, Ranma manages to commandeer Akane for a
waltz.

"Uh, Akane, about Shampoo..."

"It's O.K.. Ranma," she sighs, "I know it's not your fault, I just hate
the way she hangs all over you."

"You do?" He asks, incredulously.

"Yeah," she says, blushing. "Don't make a big deal out of it, O.K.? I
just want to have a good time for the rest of the night."

"Uh...uh..." he stutters, not knowing what to say. "You dance really
good," he blurts out, "but stop leading." His mouth says, before he can
stop it. He winces inwardly.

Akane glares at him, then her expression softens. "O.K." She relaxes
into him and let's him guide her around the floor.

Ryoga had grabbed Ukyou at the beginning of the dance in self-defense
against Shampoo. They are waltzing opposite the circle from Akane and
Ranma. They're both glaring at them. Then Ukyou sighs.

"We're pretty pathetic, you know, Ryoga."

Ryoga focuses on her for the first time since they started dancing. He
has the good grace to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Ukyou. It's just,"
he looks at Akane, then looks away.

"Yeah, I know." Ukyou commiserates, then looks at him with a
conspiritorial gleam in her eye. "But they're not married, yet."

Ryoga meets her eyes, then smiles and nods. 


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 4 of 15 

As Kasumi predicted, the young couples adjust and readjust, but with no
major damage. Akane spreads her attention evenly among all of her
suitors, Ranma takes pity on Ryoga and dances with Shampoo every now and
then, and he and Ukyou laugh and quip back and forth between each other
in the line dances.

At 9:00 p.m., the band calls a break and everyone converges at the
table, huffing but in high spirits. The boys go on a bar run, the girls
chat about the fashions around them and the really cute lead singer. On
the way back, Dr. Tofu senses. . . something. He looks around, notices
Ranma looking around suspiciously, too.  He catches a glimmer of gray by
the door and the unmistakable flash of copper colored hair.

"Uh, Ranma, could you take this to Kasumi?" He glances at him for a
second to hand him the two drinks he's carrying, and when he looks back,
can't see the pair. He strides to the wall, pulls a vacant chair over
and stands on it to scan the crowd. Nothing. He frowns to himself,
returns to the table, leans down to speak to Kasumi.

"I feel the need for a breath of fresh air. I'm going to step outside
for a few minutes." He tells her.

"O.K." She smiles back, "I'll stay here and keep and eye on things."
Looking meaningfully at the chattering group of teens arrayed around
her.

Dr. Tofu hurries outside, walks up and down the front of the building,
but has lost the feeling of the two guardians.

"Tsk." He mutters, returning to the entrance. He glances up and sees a
lone figure perched on the roof, watching the comings and goings of the
partiers.

"Mousse?" He asks.

"Doctor." Mousse nods back.

"What are you doing up there?"

"Waiting for Shampoo." The young man hugs his knees.

"Well, why don't you come on in and join us?"

He can see Mousse shake his head 'no' in the moonlight.

"Why?"

"I don't dance very well." The young man states simply.

(More likely Shampoo threatened to kill you if you stepped foot inside.)
"Well, just come in and watch, then." He tries one more time.

"No. Thank-you."

Tofu sighs, wishing he could mend spirits as easily as he could bodies.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that everyone will be bushed pretty soon, and
heading home."

Mousse shrugs against the moonlight. Dr. Tofu goes back in and gets
hauled into a two-step by Akane.

At 11:00 p.m. the band has said good night and the party is dispersing.

"Can I walk home with you guys?" Ukyou asks Kasumi.

"Of course, Ukyou." she.

"Great! I'll be right back.!" She returns buckling her weapons belt
across her shoulders.

"I had to walk here by myself," she explains at Kasumi's questioning
look. "A girl can't be to careful , you know."

"Shampoo, would you like to walk with us?" She asks.

"Yes, Shampoo come with you, if you not mind?"

"Of course not." Dr. Tofu smiles at her.

"And I, too, shall escort you home." Kuno announces, striding up to
them, boken tucked into his belt.

"That's really not necessary, Kuno." Ranma tells him.

"Ah, but it is. For it gives me a few added moments to bask in the
lovely glow of the fair Akane." He offers her his arm.

"Oh, Kuno." She giggles, looking at him and Ranma and Ryoga, who are
hovering at Kuno's shoulder. She gets a playful look in her eyes.

"Three noble escorts await her hand, but, between them she cannot
choose, so sadly, she must walk alone." And walks stately out of the
door, leaving Kuno, Ryoga and Ranma staring after her, open mouthed.

"What's gotten into her?" Ranma asks.

"I guess she's been around Kuno to much tonight." Ryoga answers.

"Shut up, you cretins." Kuno answers them. "Wait, beloved!" and charges
after her.

"Oh, Jeez." Ranma and Ryoga say in unison as they hurriedly follow.

"Nabiki, come on, we're leaving!" Kasumi calls over to her middle sister
who is flirting with the lead singer. Nabiki blows him a kiss.

"Remember! Call me next time you're in town." She saunters over to join
them.

"Nabiki!" Kasumi scolds, scandalized.

"Well, Sister, I've got to find someone." Nabiki looks at the Doctor and
Kasumi and smiles sweetly.

"Oh, Nabiki." Kasumi responds, flushing a little. "I'm sure you'll find
a nice boy soon."

"Yeah, right." Nabiki says in a hard voice and heads out the door.

Kasumi and Dr. Tofu follow her out, Shampoo and Ukyou bring up the rear.
There is a soft whisper of air as Mousse leaps down to take up position
beside Shampoo.

"Hello Mousse." Shampoo says, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Did you have a good time?" He asks.

"Yes, very good time. To bad you not come. Ranma, wait for Shampoo!" She
shouts and springs forward to walk beside him.

Mousse just sighs, lowers his head and tucks his hand into the
voluminous sleeves of his kimono. Ukyou pats him on the shoulder.

"I know how you feel." She tells him, watching Ranma, Ryoga and Kuno
jockey for position around Akane.

They walk for a while, Ryoga, Kuno and Ranma turning their efforts at
walking beside Akane into a combative game, full of shoves and elbow
pokes. Akane pretends not to notice and is carrying on a conversation
with Kasumi and Dr. Tofu. None of them notice the slowly gathering group
of big dogs that have begun to tail them.

They are walking down a poorly lit, untrafficed street full of tall
walled warehouses when Dr. Tofu sees the dog sitting in the middle of
the street before them. It grins at him, showing long sharp teeth, it's
eyes glittering orange. Then more dogs form out of the shadows around
the buildings and slink over to gather behind the sitting one.

Dr. Tofu stops, pulls Kasumi back behind him protectively, puts his arm
out in front of Akane to stop her.

"Why'd we stop?" Ranma comes up to stand beside him as the sitting dog
stands and starts advancing, head lowered.

"What's with the dogs'?" Ryoga asks, coming up on the other side.

"Hi-ya!" "Shampoo!" "Oh, Shit!" Comes from behind them.

Ranma, Ryoga, Kuno and Akane whirl around to see Shampoo, Mousse and
Ukyou besieged by dogs. Dr. Tofu keeps his eyes on the advancing pack in
front, backing himself and Kasumi towards a wall.

"Ukyou!" Ranma shouts, as Ukyou swings her giant spatula sending a dog
flying, taking Akane by the arm and pulling her behind him.

"I'll go." Ryoga tells him and runs toward Ukyou. "You stay with Akane!"

A group of dogs surge around the fighters in the back and lunge towards
Ranma and Akane as the pack in front charges, the pack leader holding
back, watching.

Dr. Tofu uses the attacking dogs momentum against them, sending them
flying into walls and each other. Kasumi looks around, sees a discarded
push broom poking out of a trash can, ducks under a dog and retrieves
it, unscrews the brush part with a few strong twists and slides it into
the Doctor's hands. Armed with his weapon of choice, he keeps a barrier
of wood between them and the dogs.

Kuno, seeing a dog leaping at Nabiki, strikes it away with his boken,
then pushes her behind him, to put her and the wall to his back, and
starts to inflict some serious damage on dogs, Nabiki whacking on the
few that manage to flank him with a board she finds laying behind her,
driving them back.

Shampoo and Mousse are fighting back to back, Mousse flinging a variety
of sharp edges and swinging a length of chain and Shampoo using two
short  iron pipes she discovered in a trash heap, keeping a small circle
around them clear.

Uchio's swinging her spatula before her, slapping any dog bold enough to
dare it into the walls. Ryoga is holding his own at her back, throwing a
dazzling bunch of punches and kicks, but the dogs are scoring too,
leaving gashes with razor sharp claws and slashing teeth. And the dogs
keep coming.

Ranma is a blur of motion, but also taking similar damage as Ryoga,
Akane fighting a little behind and to the side of him, fending off dogs
with a trashcan lid.

There is an impressive pile of dog bodies building up around the
combatants, but the fighters are tiring quickly. And the dogs keep
coming.

Shampoo steps back to avoid an attack, entangles her feet with the body
of a dog and goes down with a little shriek. Mousse whirls to stand over
her, deflects two of the dogs leaping for them and braces himself for
the impact of the third which is heading straight for his throat. It
never reaches him, being snagged in mid air from behind by a man, his
eyes glaring blood red, oversized canines bared in a frightening snarl,
who shakes it once, the snap of it's neck clearly audible, then tosses
it away, never breaking stride on his way toward Akane and Ranma. Mousse
stares in amazement, first at him and then at the woman following him,
glowing like a miniature sun and swinging a katana which is flickering
with yellow light and scattering dogs around her. The dogs are yelping
in terror and fleeing back into the shadows away from her.

One of the dogs in the ring harrying Ukyou and Ryoga sees an opening and
leaps in low to sink fangs and claws deep into Ryoga's thigh. Ryoga
cries out in pain, drops to his knee and straight arms the beast away.
Ukyou, hearing Ryoga's cry, swings around and splats the dog heading for
Ryoga's head into the wall.

The Pack Leader stalks back and forth between the embattled groups,
growling in frustration. He can not get to any of the targets his master
has set for him. The man is too powerful with his broom handle, the boy
with the wooden sword is impressive, also. He moves to Akane's and
Ranma's position, then sees the opening he has been looking for. Akane,
in the momentum of her attacks, has drifted away from Ranma's side. He
springs.

Ranma, seeing him coming, throws himself in front of Akane, bellows in
pain as the Pack Leaders jaws tear into his shoulder and his claws
scrabble against his chest. They fall together, Pack Leader landing on
top. Pack Leader snarls into Ranma's face with frustrated fury. He
thrusts his head down to savage the boys' throat.

Pack Leader's teeth snap together on air as he is lifted from behind and
thrown clear of the fallen protector. He twists, cat-like to land on his
feet facing his attacker. The Man, crouching with one hand on the
pavement to regain his balance from the force of the throw, has placed
himself between Akane, Ranma and the dogs, snarls at him. Pack Leader,
seeing the Glowing One coming up quickly, narrows his eyes at the Man,
then turns and leaps away into the shadows, the rest of the pack
dispersing with him.

Ukyou, just having smacked the dog who was attacking Ryoga into the wall
sees the Man, much scarier than any of the dogs, who seems to be
attacking Ranma and flings her last four spatula-shaped shiriken at him.
She sees them score as she launches herself at him, one sinking into his
upper arm, one into his shoulder and the other two into his chest. He
dodges her blow, grabbing one wrist as he come up under it, she hears
more than feels the snap of bone, then he strikes at her chest, sending
her crashing into the wall across from him. She slides down,
unconscious.

Ryoga, seeing Ukyou launch herself at the man, ignores the pain in his
leg and leaps forwards with a round-house kick at the man as he is
throwing Ukyou into the wall. The man flies back, bounces off the wall
behind him and collapses into a huddle on the pavement. Ryoga, loosing
his balance as his leg gives out on him, falls and sees the woman
bearing down on him, glowing sword raised, murder in her face.

Tofu, seeing Ukyou bear down on the man shouts, "Ukyou, no!" Then
"Shiro, stop!"

He hears Kasumi gasp behind him as she realizes who the two are.
"Kasumi! Quick! Tell them to stop!" He gasps at her, trying to get some
air back into his lungs, as Ryoga sends the man into the wall.

"Rhiannon! Stop!" Kasumi commands.

The sword blade halts a hair's breath from the side of Ryoga's neck.
Wide-eyed, Ryoga scoots himself away from the woman, using his hands and
buttocks, then rolls over to hands and one knee, dragging his damaged
leg behind him, when she lowers the sword and crawls to Ukyou.

The woman, sword coming back up to the ready, backs toward Shiro,  who
has sat up and is plucking the shiriken out of his body and puts herself
between him, Akane and Ranma and the rest of the group. She tracks
Mousse, who is carrying Shampoo and Kuno, who is circling around past
her, guiding and keeping Nabiki behind him with one arm, boken held at
the ready before him in the other hand, with her eyes.

Akane, a terrified expression on her face, is trying to keep Ranma
prone, but he is struggling against her, trying to sit up. He is
clutching his shoulder, blood flowing from between his fingers, his face
grimaced in pain.

The woman stands, violence promised in every angle of her body. Then
Tofu steps forwards and bows to her, holding his makeshift bo out before
him with both hands in a posture of submission. The woman studies him
for a second, then lowers her sword and bows back, breaking the tension.

"Dr. Tofu!" Akane yells, her voice full of panic.

Tofu hurries to her and Ranma, Kasumi going to Ryoga and Ukyou. Kuno
drops to one knee, rests the tip of the boken on the ground, one hand
still on the hilt in a position to bring it back into play, if
necessary, and leans on it a little for support, chest heaving and body
trembling from exertion. Nabiki encircles his neck with her arms from
behind and gives him a gentle hug.

"Kuno, that was amazing!" She tells him.

He reaches up with his free hand, gives her crossed wrists a little
squeeze. "Oh, course. What else do you expect from Tatewake Kuno?" He
doesn't see her roll her eyes, but she doesn't remove her arms.

Mousse has knelt and gently placed Shampoo on the ground, Shampoo feels
of her ankle, decides it's not broken but badly sprained.

"Mousse, go see if Ranma hurt bad." She commands.

"No." He tells her firmly.

She looks at him, sees the stubborn, worried expression on his face,
sighs. "Then help Shampoo up."

She offers her arm and lets him haul her up, then shakes him off to
start limping over to where Dr. Tofu and Akane are working on Ranma. She
makes about six steps before she steps badly and Mousse is there
instantly to catch her. He sweeps her up into his arms and heads over to
where Ranma is.

Shampoo studies him for a moment.

"Thank-you Mousse." She simply says.

He doesn't respond, but lowers her gently down beside Dr. Tofu, then
steps back to stand guard over her.

Ranma has finally managed to push Akane enough out of the way to sit up,
the fierce fire in his shoulder subsiding into a nearly tolerable throb.
Dr. Tofu is stripped to the waist, making a pressure bandage out of his
shirt.

"Ow!" He yells as Akane dabs at one of the gashes on his chest.

"Oh," she draws back her hand, sits back onto her heels, bringing her
hands up to her mouth. "I'm...just trying to help." She whispers.

Ranma reaches over with his undamaged arm, gathers one of her small
hands into his own, hisses and squeezes it hard as Dr. Tofu starts to
apply the bandage.

"It's O.K. Akane. It just hurts." He whispers, twitching under the
Doctors ministrations. She nods at him, covers his hand with her other
one.

"Kasumi, how are Ukyou and Ryoga?" The Doctor calls to her, without
looking up from his work.

Ukyou is sitting up and leaning against the wall, looking dazed,
cradling her left arm against her chest. Kasumi is finishing a
make-shift bandage  for Ryoga's leg out of the remains of his shirt.

"I think Ukyou has broken her arm. Ryoga's got some deep wounds in his
thigh. They need stitches, I think." Kasumi calls back.

Dr. Tofu shakes his head. "I should have known better." He mutters to
himself.

The woman has sheathed the sword in the scabbard resting across her back
and helped the man up. She places her right hand on his chest, over the
shiriken wounds and a golden glows seeps out from under her palm. The
man encircles the woman with his arms, rests his forehead onto the top
of her head as her power flows into him, speeding his healing, driving
back the Darkness that has entwined itself into his soul. Then his head
snaps up as he hears something that the others can not.

"Take the children and go." He tilts her face up to him with a gentle
pressure under her chin and kisses her on the forehead. "I'll stay and
provide a little distraction."

She squeezes his hand then turns and glides over to Tofu.

"We must move." She tells him. "Pack Leader will be reforming the Pack
to try again."

Akane stares at her. "You're the woman from my dream."

The woman smiles at her. "None other."

Akane opens her mouth, a hoard of questions springing into her mind. The
woman raises one finger to her lips. "Later, Little Sister." She cocks
her head, seeming to hear something.

"We must go now." She pulls at Tofu's shoulder.

Ranma struggles to his feet, Akane lending him support, then starts to
sink back down as darkness invades the edges of his sight.

"Oops." Dr. Tofu says as he steadies him, then crouches and settles
Ranma's weight over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

"Ow...ow...ow..." Ranma complains with every step Dr. Tofu takes. "I'm
going to throw-up."

"That's all right." Dr. Tofu tells him. He feels Ranma swallow hard
against his back, and is thankful that nothing else follows.

"Kuno, you carry Ukyou. Akane, Nabiki, help Ryoga." He instructs. Mousse
has already picked up Shampoo. "Kasumi, come and walk behind me and keep
pressure on Ranma's shoulder."

They start out, moving as fast as Ryoga can hobble.

"Where are we going?" Dr. Tofu asks the woman pacing beside him.

"Are the wards still intact at the Tendo house?" She asks.

He nods.

"There, then. Pack Leader could get through them, but not the rest. And
he won't come by himself."

"Where's Shiro?" He asks.

"Providing some distraction." She answers as she slows and lets the
group go past her, a look of worry flickering across her face. She looks
behind them, draws her sword and brings up the rear.

Ryoga, hobbling between the two girls, looks at Akane who hasn't taken
her eyes off Ranma's still form.

"He'll be all right, Akane." He tries to reassure her.

"There was so much blood." She whispers, more to herself than to him.

"Oh, Ryoga! What if..." She can't finish that thought.

"He'll be all right." Ryoga tells her firmly, feeling a little knot of
cold tighten up around his heart.

The battered group stagger into the warm safety of the Tendo house.

"What...What's happened?!" Soun stands open mouthed and stuttering.

"Ranma!" Genma bellows, and helps unload his son from Dr. Tofu's
shoulders.

"I'm O.K." Ranma keeps muttering, over and over, managing to sit
upright.

Kuno takes Ukyou and sets her down so that her back is supported by some
cushions.

"Sorry." He says as the movement causes her to wince and turn even
paler.

Akane and Nabiki let Ryoga down beside her.

"Who are you?" Soun asks the woman with the drawn sword who enters last.

"Rhiannon of the House of Tendo." She bows to him, takes the sword and
holds it horizontally before her. "May I enter your house?"

Soun bows back, a look of terror coming into his face and nods
frantically. The woman sheaths the sword as she steps past him into the
main room where Dr. Tofu is firing out orders.

"Nabiki, get us some towels and the first aid kit. Do you still have the
one I made up for Kasumi?"

"It's on the shelf in my closet." Kasumi tells her sister.

"Kasumi, we're going to need hot water, some cold, some bowls and a lot
of bandages. Mr. Saotome, Mr. Tendo, could you give Kasumi a hand?" He
tells them, physically moving Genma out of his way.

"Shampoo and Mousse help." Shampoo volunteers for them both and limps
toward the kitchen, leaning on Mousses' arm.

"Akane, come here and keep pressure on Ranma's shoulder." Akane swaps
her hand with Kasumi's, who rises and herds both fathers before her into
the kitchen, starting in on an explanation.

Dr. Tofu undoes the bandage, nods at Akane who lets up on the pressure.
He lifts the blood-soaked shirt, looks at the wound with a critical eye.
Ranma hisses and lists over. Akane leans into him to keep him upright.

"I'm O.K." he mutters, eyes half-closed. Akane takes one good look at
the torn and gaping flesh and muscle, gulps and looks away. It's still
seeping blood slowly. Tofu puts the bandage back in place and places
Akane's hand back onto it.

"When Nabiki comes with the towels, exchange this," he indicates the
remains of his shirt, "for one. And keep the pressure firm. If he
totally looses consciousness, tell me." And turns to see to the others.

She nods at him, wide-eyed with worry.

"I'm all right Akane." Ranma finally manages to focus on her. "It's just
a little scratch, right?"

"Yeah, right." She says, letting her tone be hard, trying to tease him.
"I've done worse damage without even trying."

He starts to laugh, then quits suddenly as the movement causes the fire
to flare up in his shoulder.

"This sucks." He hisses through clenched teeth and lets his head rest on
Akane's' shoulder.    

Rhiannon looks the group over, sees that Dr. Tofu is busy tending Ranma
and walks to Kuno, who is standing on the sidelines. She bows to him.

"I am Rhiannon."

"Tatewaki Kuno." He bows back.

"May I ask a favor of you, Warrior?" She says, her head still low.

"I, uh, of course." He stutters, surprised.

"Would you stand guard on the door?"

"I would be honored." He bows deeply and goes to sit in seiza by the
door, but angled so he can still see what's going on in the main room.

Rhiannon heads for Ryoga and Ukyou. Ukyou draws back deeper into the
pillows, Ryoga rises to one knee and moves forwards, defensively.
Rhiannon stops a few feet away from him, sinks into seiza gracefully and
studies the pair in front of her.

"I'm sorry. You attacked my husband, I responded." She bows formally to
them. "I ask your forgiveness."

"You almost killed me!" Ryoga snarls, angry.

"Yes, I did. I would have, if Kasumi had not stopped me." She replies in
a steady tone.

Ryoga blinks, taken aback at her frankness.

"You attacked my husband, I defended him. Would you not do the same for
the one you love?" She continues, looking him straight in the eyes. She
does not miss his look at Akane. He lowers his gaze, eases himself down
off his knee to stretch his leg back out in front of him.

"Yeah. I guess I would."

(Why do you look to Akane, when it is this one) she glances at Ukyou's
pale face (who you guard so steadfastly?) She keeps that thought to
herself, sensing that it would only upset the boy more, and she needed
their trust to help them.

"I would make amends. I am a healer of some little skill. Will you let
me tend you wounds?" She asks.

He nods and she moves in to Ukyou. "I am Rhiannon." She tells her. "May
I?" She nods towards Ukyou's arm. Ukyou nods back, grits her teeth and
extends it into Rhiannon's hands.

"I'm really sorry." Ukyou gulps. "Your husband, I thought he was
attacking Ranma, and he looked so scary!"

Rhiannon extends her power, "seeing" a clean break across the radius and
ulna under the swelling and bruises, discovers some cracked ribs also.

"Yes, he can be very frightening sometimes." She says with a smile.

"Dr. Tofu." Ukyou says with quiet relief to the man who has come up
behind them. He kneels down beside her.

"If you can set the bones, I will mend them." Rhiannon tells him as he
gently commandeers Ukyou's arm away from her.

"You can?" Tofu asks in a surprised voice.

"I, too, am a healer." She responds with a little smile.

"Well, it's a clean break." He says. "This may hurt a bit, Ukyou."

She sets her teeth but still let's out a small shriek as he pulls the
bones into place.

"Hold it there." The woman beside him says, and lays her hands, one over
the breaks, the other over Ukyou's left ribcage. A flicker of light
travels up Ukyou's arm, flows over her shoulder and down to the other
hand against her ribs. She feels a rush of heat and is suddenly very
lightheaded.

"Oh." She says quietly as the pain leaves her, and faints into the
pillows.

The woman leans back a little as Dr. Tofu whirls on her, distrust naked
in his eyes.

"What did you do to her!" Ryoga snarls from her other side.

"She's all right." She defends herself "Just sleeping."

Dr. Tofu turns back, examines the young woman, feeling with amazement
that the bones in her arm are whole, her breathing deep and even and her
color coming back up.

"How'd you do that?" He asks her.

"Magic." She answers and flashes him a secret little smile.

While Dr. Tofu and Rhiannon are treating Ukyou, Akane is breathing a
small sigh of relief that Ranma's shoulder has finally stopped bleeding
after soaking through the towel. She exchanges it for a clean one,
keeping the pressure firm still, since Dr. Tofu said to keep pressure on
it. But he is so pale and she's having a problem keeping him awake.

"Ranma, wake up!" She wiggles him a little.

"I Am Awake." He mumbles at her, getting heavier against her shoulder.
"I'm just resting my eyes."

"Dr. Tofu said you need to stay awake." She pokes him gently in the ribs
on his undamaged side.

"Stop that." He grumbles and bats weakly at her hand.

"Come on. You can do better than that!" She taunts him, and pokes gently
again.

"Akane." He groans and lifts his head off her shoulder. At that moment,
Genma balancing a pan full of cold water in one hand and a bowl of hot
in the other, walks by and gets his feet entangled in Akane's discarded
towel. He stumbles and slooshes half the pan of cold water onto Ranma.
Ranma sits bolt upright as the change ripples through him, followed by a
blinding pain. She breaths out a soft ,"oh...". Nothing more will come
out of her around the pain.

"Sorry, son." Genma says, and pours half of the hot water over her.
Ranma screams as the change ripples back, accompanied by the pain, and
curls over himself and collapses to the floor in a tight knot. The
shoulder wound starts bleeding profusely again. Genma stands staring,
shocked.

"Dr. Tofu!" Akane screams, slamming the towel back onto his shoulder.

 "It hurt! It never hurt before." Ranma hisses at her before passing out
from shock and blood loss.

Tofu and Rhiannon rush to them, Dr. Tofu moving Akane aside, looking at
the wound then covering it with the towel again, a grim expression on
his face.

Rhiannon places both of her hands onto Ranma's chest, flares
incandescent as she lets her power flow into him. Akane throws up one
arm to shield her eyes, Tofu turns and ducks his head, keeping up his
pressure on Ranma's shoulder. Genma just squints into the light and
watches, dumbfounded. Ranma slowly uncurls under her hands, the gashes
on his arms and legs closing into fine lighter lines of almost healed
wounds. The ones on his chest, made by Pack Leader close, but leave
ugly, red and swollen welts. She sags a little and the light ceases as
quickly as it came. Tofu quickly checks Ranma, sees he's breathing
easier, his pulse is even and strong under his fingers but he is still
very pale. He lifts the towel, sees that the wound has stopped bleeding,
but remains raw and open, yet is tinged with the healthy pink of healing
flesh.

"Kasumi, I need some bandages." Tofu calls.

"Coming!" She calls back from the kitchen.

"You saved his life." He says to Rhiannon, somewhat awestruck by the
power he's just witnesses.

Rhiannon shakes her head 'no' at him, breathing hard.

Akane keeps reaching out to Ranma with a trembling hand, but never quite
touches him, tears streaming down her face.

Rhiannon pushes herself to her feet, avoiding Dr. Tofu's questioning
expression and comes around to her, encircles her with her arms. Akane
sobs into her shoulder.

"Hush, Little Sister, hush." The woman rocks her back and forth. Ryoga
crawls over and gathers one of Akane's hand into his own, squeezes it
gently.

Kuno has watched all this silently from his post, understanding finally
dawning on his face as he sees Ranma turn from he to she to he again.
Then a great sadness comes over him as he watches Akane, realizing that
she truly loves Ranma, and that Ranma is the pig-tailed girl of his
dreams. He thinks about that and shudders a little.

Kasumi comes from the kitchen carrying a pile of newly created bandages,
followed by Shampoo, limping heavily, but on her own and Mousse, who is
carrying a tray filled with a large tea pot and cups.

"You very powerful witch." Shampoo says to Rhiannon, as she sinks down
beside the table and starts to pour tea into cups. Nabiki starts to pass
them around.

"And you are?" Rhiannon asks, taking the proffered cup and placing it
into Akane's hands. "Drink this, Akane." She commands.

"Shampoo. This Mousse." She indicates with her head to the dark haired
boy wearing inch thick glasses hovering behind her.

Dr. Tofu has finished bandaging Ranma's shoulder. "Mr. Saotome, take
your son to bed."

Genma picks up Ranma gingerly, worry visible in his eyes and face, and
heads for their room. Akane starts to rise, to follow. Rhiannon
restrains her with a gentle hand.

"He's all right, Akane." Dr. Tofu assures her. "But he needs to sleep."

Akane looks to the woman comforting her. "He will be all right?"

Rhiannon nods. "He will mend. Now drink your tea." She takes a cup from
Nabiki and sips at it.

"I'd say your not a bad witch, yourself." She looks at Shampoo, who
smiles delightedly.

"Special tea Great Grandmother teach Shampoo to make. Help to restore
spirit and body."

Rhiannon studies the pair for a moment as she drinks her tea, then her
eyebrows go up with surprise.

"You're shape-shifters!"

Mousse coughs around a square swallow of tea, Shampoo looks embarrassed.

"Mousse and I fall in cursed springs. Now when get wet, change." She
sighs.

Rhiannon looks at Ryoga, who is gritting his teeth as Dr. Tofu gently
undoes the bandage around his thigh. "You too."

He shakes his head 'no' at her frantically, looking to see if Akane
heard her and has figured him out.

She swivels her head to look at Nabiki and Kuno, who are talking by the
door, frowns.

"Genma and Ranma are the other ones." Dr. Tofu tells her, guessing she's
searching for the rest of the magical auras, as he starts to clean the
deep gashes on Ryoga's leg. 


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 5 of 15 

Akane, tea finished, holds the cup between her hands, liking the feeling
the warmth that remains in the ceramic feels against her palms and
relaxes against Rhiannon, emotionally and physically drained, listening
to the rumble of conversation going on around her, but not paying
attention to the words. She's asleep before she knows it. Rhiannon
deftly catches the cup as it slides from her fingers.

"Soun Tendo." She calls. Soun peers at her from around the kitchen door
frame. "Put your daughter to bed."

Soun comes and gathers Akane out of Rhiannon's arms, looks at her, a
mixture of fear and shame in his eyes. She avoids his eyes and looks
around for the oldest sister.

"Kasumi." She calls, who is unhurriedly hustling about, picking up
towels, gathering bowls, etc.

"Yes, Rhiannon?"

"I want you and Nabiki to sleep in Akane's' room tonight."

"I had almost forgotten." Kasumi says quietly. Then, "Of course. Father
can put Ukyou in my room, I guess."  She looks meaningfully at Shampoo
and Mousse.

"You want us stay?" Shampoo asks Dr. Tofu. Tofu looks questionally at
Rhiannon.

"If you wish." She responds.

"O.K. We stay then. You want Shampoo stay with Ranma case he need
something in night?"

Kasumi leaves to get some mats and blankets. Rhiannon sees the
tightening of Mousse's shoulders.

"Why don't you both sleep down here and guard the back door?" She
suggests.

"If Dark One come, Mousse and Shampoo not be able stop him, anyway."
Shampoo counters.

"Dark One?" Mousse asks.

"Chiesai." Shampoo tells him.

"Chiesai! Coming here?!" There is a trace of terror in his voice.

"Who's Chiesai?" Soun asks, coming into the room, Genma following.

"Chiesai very powerful Creature of Darkness. Enslave my tribe for many
generations." Shampoo tells him.

"Why is he coming here?" Soun, Genma and Mousse ask in unison.

"He's after your daughters." Rhiannon directs her answer at Soun.

"My daughters!? Why?"

Rhiannon looks at him, her eyes full of sorrow. "With three of the
daughters from the House of the Sword, the Gate may be opened once
again. Do you recognize these words, Soun Tendo?"

"It's only a legend!" He says, loudly.

"Well, that legend is coming here tonight, and he intends to take your
daughters from you."

"What can I do?" He asks her pleadingly.

She sighs and shrugs. "Pray?"

"I'll start right now." He tells her and heads for the family shrine.

 "I'll help you." Genma says and follows.

"Rhiannon." Dr. Tofu summons her, "if you can?" He nods to Ryoga's leg.

She places her hand over the wound, Ryoga tenses, expecting it to hurt.
A warm tickle flows up and down his body, the smaller gashes from claws
and fangs closing completely, heats up at the fierce wound on his thigh
then surges up into his solar plexus. She lifts her hand and the gashes
are puckered up and scabbed over. The best part is that they've stopped
hurting.

"Wow." He says, leans down to take a good look, then straightens up and
yawns hugely.

"I don't know why I'm suddenly so tired." He mumbles around another
yawn.

"Kasumi, why don't you take Ryoga to Ranma's room and let him sleep
there for the night?" Tofu asks as he leaps up to help her deposit her
armload of blankets and mats into a corner. "I'll take Ukyou up to your
room." He gathers Ukyou's sleeping form and heads for the stairs.

"Come on, Ryoga." She tells him, as he blinks at her sleepily. She puts
her hand on his elbow to guide him as he obediently follows.

Kuno rises, takes his boken and goes to stand outside, looks up into the
night sky. He is mulling over everything he has just heard and seen.
Nabiki comes out to join him, a cup of gently steaming tea steady in her
hand. She offers it to him, he shakes his head 'no'.

"I didn't like the way the last cup tasted, but thank-you, anyway."

"You think this is bad, you should've tried some of the stuff Dr. Tofu
made us drink yesterday." She smiles at him, sinking down onto the step
and sipping the tea.

"A demon of Darkness?" He questions her, looking back up into the clear,
moonlit sky.

"Yeah. Pretty weird stuff, huh?"

"Tell me, Nabiki. Is Ranma Saotome and the pig-tailed girl one and the
same person." He asks her, still looking up.

"We wondered how long it was going to take for you to figure it out."
She looks up at his profile against the moonlight. He closes his eyes
and sighs.

"My love must have blinded me."

(Yeah, right.) Nabiki thinks.

"And Akane has truly given her heart to him?"

"I wouldn't let her hear you say that." Nabiki quips.

He sighs, crosses his arms and drops his head, a self-recriminating
smile on his lips.

"You certainly have an interesting family life." He tells her.

"Oh, and you don't?" She challenges.

"Well, at least we don't have any demons chasing after us." He pauses
for a moment. "Though I think truly that sometimes Kodachi is
possessed."

Nabiki laughs at this and Kuno's smile turns into one of amusement. Her
laughter is interrupted by a banging at the front gates. Kuno turns all
business as he heads for the gate, Nabiki padding after. He nods to
Nabiki who opens one side of the large wooden barrier and stands with
his boken held lowered at his right side in the ready position.

The Man is there, standing hip-shot, right arm resting on the upright
handle of Ukyou's giant spatula, it's end edge against the sidewalk. His
clothing is hanging in tatters around him and there's a large gash
running the length of his face, he's covered in blood but doesn't seem
to be bleeding from anywhere. His eyes are glowing red and his face has
an inhuman cast full of sharp angles.

"Tell the Lady Rhiannon that her husband is here." He says, a snarl
sounding under his words. Kuno swallows hard and raises his boken.

"I wouldn't advise it, boy." The man growls, oversized canines clearly
visible. "I'm to tired to pull my punches."

"Come through that gate and I will strike you." Kuno tells him fiercely.
Nabiki turns and runs back into the house.

"Rhiannon, come quick! Your husband is outside and Kuno's going to get
himself killed." She runs back out, followed by Rhiannon.

The two men haven't moved. Rhiannon goes up to Kuno and touches his
shoulder gently, then goes through the gate to Shiro, Nabiki watching
from behind Kuno's back. Shiro drapes his arm over Rhiannon's shoulder,
limping badly on his right leg, and as they step back through the gate,
a golden shimmer appears around them as they cross the threshold.

"Tatewaki Kuno, this is my husband, Shiro Tendo." She says as the couple
stop before him.

"Shiro...Tendo?" He asks.

Shiro bows to him, holding onto Rhiannon for balance. Kuno lowers his
boken, bows back. The two pass him, then stop at the step up to the
house. Rhiannon raises her hand to his cheek and glows a little, in the
radiance Kuno can see his face change, turn back into something more
human, the gash puckering up closed. Then they step up into the house.

"Shiro Tendo? Is he your Uncle or something?" Kuno asks Nabiki.

"More like Ancestor." Nabiki responds and sighs at the uncomprehending
expression on Kuno's face. "Come on." She pulls at his arm and follows
them in.

Inside, Kasumi is sitting by Dr. Tofu at the table, both sipping tea and
just enjoying being close to each other. Shampoo and Mousse are
spreading out mats by the sliding doors, Shampoo having lost her battle
for Ranma's room with Rhiannon. Soun and Genma are still praying in the
adjoining room at the family shrine.

"Hi-ya." Shampoo says quietly as she sees Shiro. Dr. Tofu and Kasumi
turn at Shampoo's soft exclamation.

"Oh, my." Kasumi says.

Soun comes in, drops at Shiro's feet into the lowest bow he can manage.

"I'm too tired to deal with you right now." Shiro hisses at him as he
steps past him without looking down.  Soun takes a deep breath of relief
and hurries back to the shrine.

Shiro leans Ukyou's spatula against a wall, drops the four shiriken into
a pile beside it. He looks down at himself with disgust. "I need to
bathe."

Kasumi rises, looking weary.

"I will take care of it Kasumi, if you don't mind." Rhiannon offers.
"You and Nabiki need to go to bed. Is there a spare room we could use?"

"Why don't you use Fathers'? It's on the left, one door down from the
bathroom."

Rhiannon walks her husband toward the bathroom.

"I hope Pack Leader looks worse that you do." She says to him.

"Pack Leader will be lucky if he can crawl into a hole before sunrise."
He responds with a wolfish grin.

Kasumi looks to Tofu. "Kinie?"

"I thought I'd sleep in with the boys, just in case."

She nods then looks at Kuno. "You can sleep in with them too, if you
wish to stay, Kuno."

"I said I would guard this door, and here I will stay until told
otherwise." He answers arrogantly.

She smiles to herself as she goes over and collects a mat, blanket and
pillow and brings it to him.

"You are a honorable man, Tatewake Kuno." She tells him and gives him a
sisterly kiss on the forehead as he takes the bundle from her. He
flushes bright red.

(What is this power these Tendo women have over men?) He wonders.

"Come on, Nabiki." Kasumi summons her sister.

"I don't see why we have to sleep in Akane's room." Tofu hears Nabiki
grumble as they start up the stairs. "I hate sleeping on the floor." 
And then they're out of earshot. He hears the water running in the
bathroom and the low murmur of Rhiannon and Shiro's voices. He finishes
his tea, goes and puts the cup into the sink in the kitchen, comes and
collects some bedding and goes to the guest room. He puts his bed
together then checks on the boys. They both are deeply asleep. He
debates with himself about checking Ranma's shoulder, but sees that the
bandage is still unsullied by blood and he's breathing easily and his
color is good. And lays back in his bed to sleep.   

At 4:00 a.m. he wakes at the sound of soft footsteps passing the door.
He sits up, looks over at the still forms of the sleeping boys, then
rises and soundlessly slides open the door and steps out into the hall.
He sees Rhiannon and Shiro standing at the end of the hall where it
opens into the main room. He moves quietly to join them.

"It's coming soon, isn't it?" He asks them in a whisper.

Shiro nods. Tofu notices that Rhiannon looks tired.

"Are you O.K.?" He asks her.

She nods at him, her hair moving around her face with a metallic
shimmer.

"Well enough to do what needs to be done. Would you come with us?" She
asks him. "We might have need of your strength before the night is
over."

"Of course!" He tells her, wondering if she knew he was determined to
stand guard over Kasumi, their permission or no.

As they pad across the room, Shampoo and Mousse raise their heads.

"It's O.K." Dr. Tofu whispers to them softly. They put their heads back
down.

They hear Soun and Genma breathing deeply from the adjoining room where
they have bedded down in front of the alter as they mount the stairs.
Shiro noiselessly opens Akane's door and they enter and take up
positions. Dr. Tofu sitting against the wall by Kasumi's sleeping form,
Shiro and Rhiannon sitting, holding hands with their backs to the wall
that holds Akane's window.

The clock in the Tendo kitchen reads 5:07 a.m.

A dark shadow seeps in through the kitchen window, swirls, then exits
into the quiet house, the curtains of the doorway rustling softly with
it's passing. It heads down the hall, flows through the crack of the
sliding door of the guest room, and hovers over Ranma's sleeping form.
Then it floats gently down to cover him.

Ranma's eyes fly open as an unbearable cold flows through his body. He
strikes out at the black mist that has enveloped him, but his hands pass
through it, then entwines itself around them. He tries to scream as he
feels as if he's being torn in two, his body starting to rise from the
mat.

Ryoga wakes up suddenly, realizes that he's lying on his back and can't
move. It feels as if there is a mountain sitting on top of him, making
it hard to even draw breath. He hears the sound of struggling, with a
supreme effort manages to turn his head toward the noise. Ranma is
standing, struggling against nothing, enshrouded by a black fog. His
eyes meet Ryoga's.

"Ryoga!" He cries in a breathless little voice.

Ryoga struggles as hard as he can, feels muscles start to give, but
can't move. Can't even open his mouth to cry for help. All he can do is
watch as Ranma becomes totally still, not even drawing breath as the fog
totally invades his body. Then it withdraws, coalescing with a wet
tearing sound into Ranma's male form, hugging Ranma's girl body to it in
a gentle embrace. Then Ranma-kun releases Ranma-chan, letting her drop
back onto the mat with a boneless grace. He smiles at Ryoga, then brings
his forefinger up to his lips in the universal 'hush' sign and pads
quietly out the door.

Ranma moves quickly down the hall, smiles at Shampoo who raises her head
and then lowers it back to her pillow when she see that it's him, and
floats up the stairs. The clock in the kitchen reads 5:10.

At 5:08 a.m. Rhiannon and Shiro both look around suspiciously. They feel
'something' but it's masked, hiding from them.

"Pack Leader?" Rhiannon asks Shiro.

He shakes his head no. "Something else." He rises, giving her hand a
squeeze before he releases it. "I'll go check the house."

Tofu whirls as the door to his right slams open.

"Ranma?" He asks of the young man standing there.

Ranma throw his arms out straight and fires a huge blast of black chi,
blowing Shiro and Rhiannon out through the wall. He laughs, and then
with a negligent wave of his hand blasts a hole in the ceiling, gestures
at the three girls, who float up, still sleeping, with him as he starts
rising through the hole he has just created in the ceiling.

Rhiannon, who managed to grab the bottom of the jagged hole in the wall,
scrabbles her way back in and makes a flying leap for the nearest
sleeping form. She wraps her arms securely around the girls' waist and
then pulls down, but her effort barley slows their ascent. Tofu grabs
Rhiannon by her ankles and adds his weight, feels himself being pulled
off the floor.

Mousse and Shampoo, being brought bolt upright from the repercussion of
the blasts, run outside to see Shiro take an amazing running leap up to
grapple with Ranma, who has just cleared the roof of the house, with
Rhiannon and Dr. Tofu hanging onto one of the girls. They run back
inside and thunder up the stairs, followed by Kuno, Soun and Genma.

In the guest room Ryoga, still trapped by the weight of Chiesai's spell,
is watching the still form of Ranma-chan take smaller and smaller gasps
of air, panic building in him as she starts to turn blue. Images come
unbidden of Ranma, fighting for him with the thugs from the rich old
couples mansion, Ranma, hauling his exhausted pig shape out of the
river, Akane never forgiving him for letting Ranma die.

(Damn you, Ranma!) He bellows mentally when Ranma stops breathing all
together. He feels the blast that rocks the house and the weight lifts,
just a little. He focuses his chi and starts to move. Slowly, but he
moves. He reaches Ranma-chan, pulls her straight, tilts back her chin
and breathes his own breath into her.

(Come on. Come on!) He continues, his own fight as desperate as the one
taking place over his head. Finally, Ranma-chan coughs and draws a deep
breath on her own. Ryoga sits back onto his heels, winded.

"Akane." Ranma-chan whispers to him and grabs the front of his shirt
weakly. Ryoga gathers her up into his arms and races for the stairs.

Rhiannon, Dr. Tofu, Shampoo, Mousse, Kuno, Soun and Genma have formed a
human chain, Genma anchoring them solidly to the floor. Shiro and Ranma
are trading viscous blows in midair, neither noticing that the sky to
the east is starting to lighten.

Ranma gathers a huge blast of black chi and blows Shiro down into the
backyard, where he bounces twice then lands to lie still under the maple
tree. He then snarls down at Rhiannon, who is a golden figure of fire,
then his head snaps up and he glowers at the lightening horizon.

Suddenly Rhiannon falls as Ranma releases his hold on the sister she has
latched onto. They all fall back into Akane's bedroom, Rhiannon twisting
herself to cushion the girl's fall. She lands badly and has the breath
knocked out of her.

Ryoga reaches Akane's open door as they all tumble down, staring
stricken as Ranma-kun and the two sleeping girls wink out into someplace
else from the air above him.

"Akane!" Ranma-chan yells, twisting herself out of Ryoga's arms and
staggering to the center of the room, collapsing onto her knees beside
Rhiannon. He turns the girl over. (Please, let it be Akane!)

Nabiki blinks up at him sleepily then squints into the rays of the just
risen sun.

"Why is there a big hole in the roof?" She asks no one in particular.

Rhiannon has propped herself up onto her elbows, then rolls over onto
her stomach, trying to get her knees under her and some air into her
body.

"Are you hurt?" Tofu asks, helping her up to sit on her knees.

"Get... Shiro....out....of..the...sun." She manages to gasp out, pushes
at him and starts crawling toward the hole in the wall.

Tofu jumps through it, down into the backyard, sees Shiro pulling
himself into a tight ball in the rapidly diminishing shadow under the
tree. He runs over, Shiro growls at him, his face more wolf-like than
human.

"Shiro, listen to me." He speaks softly, calmly. "I'm going to take you
to Rhiannon." He reaches out to him and pulls his hand back in a blur as
Shiro claws at him, his body starting to smoke. "Shiro, I'm going to
take you to Rhiannon." He tries again.

This time, Shiro lets him help him up. They stagger into the shade of
the house, Shiro collapsing into an unconscious heap as soon as they
make the deeper shadows. Tofu thinks frantically, trying to remember the
darkest room in the house and starts dragging him down the hall.

"This way, Kuno." He yells as he sees Kuno, supporting Rhiannon, coming
down the stairs.

It's after 10:00 when Rhiannon comes up from the cellar, the early
morning sun already turning hot and setting the cicadas singing. Dr.
Tofu notices that she looks exhausted as she heads out the doors to the
backyard, not even glancing at them she passes and sinks down
cross-legged into the grass.  He can hear Shampoo and Mousse bustling
around in the kitchen, Mousse trying to talk her into a date, Shampoo
deftly turning aside his every effort, making an early lunch.

He, Kuno, Ryoga and Ukyou are sitting around the table, Kuno and Ryoga
recounting to Ukyou what happened while she was asleep, Ukyou wandering
groggily into the hall after the battle to see Genma supporting
Ranma-chan down the hall, Ryoga following them looking distraught, and
Nabiki, looking grim, helping her father, who was leaning heavily
against her moaning "Akane! Kasumi!" over and over.

He rises from the table, goes and peeks into Ranma's room. She is still
asleep, Genma nods to him from where he is meditating, keeping watch
over her. He turns, goes down the hall to Soun Tendo's room, looks in to
see Nabiki's tending to her father, who has taken to his bed, avoiding
everyone. He then follows Rhiannon out.

"How's Shiro?" He asks as he lowers himself beside her.

"He'll live." She sighs, her face turned up to the sun, eyes closed. She
seems to be absorbing sunlight. "At the moment he's not very happy about
that fact, but he'll live." They sit quietly for a few minutes, he
trying to ask the unaskable.

"Are you going to ask me why I saved Nabiki and not Kasumi?"

"No. I know you just grabbed the closest one. It could have been any of
them." He stares at his knees.

"She's still alive, Doctor. He'll keep her unharmed until the dark of
the moon."

He slumps a little in relief. Then he thinks about what she just said.

"The dark of the moon?"

"That's when he can cast the spell to summon the Gate."

"But we still have Nabiki."

She sighs heavily. "When Chiesai obtained Akane and Kasumi and took
Ranma's body, he increased his power ten fold. It will be harder now to
keep her from him."

"What do we do?"

"Take Nabiki and run. Survive. We'll talk about it more after Shiro
rises."

Tofu straightens, a look of grim determination taking the place of his
normal gentle expression. "I need to get ready."

"We'll get them back." She assures him. "We'll get them back."   

Kuno notices at the grim expression on Tofu's face as he heads back
through the main room towards the door and rises to go out to ask
Rhiannon if she still wants him to guard the door. She is sitting
cross-legged, head thrown back so the sunlight can shine fully onto her
face, an almost sensuous smile on her lips. Her hair streams down her
back like molten copper and she seems to glow golden in the sunlight.

(So beautiful!) He gulps. (What is it with these Tendo women!)

"May I call you Kuno?" She asks, not opening her eyes.

"I would be honored if you call me anything!"

"I am married, Kuno" She tells him sternly, still not opening her eyes.

He blushes, embarrassed.

"But I am flattered that you find me attractive." She relents, a touch
of laughter in her voice. She tilts her face down, open's her eyes and
looks at him. The sunlight seems caught there in a yellow swirl. "Will
you come with us?"

"Where?" He asks, staring in wonder at her eyes.

"To challenge the forces of Darkness, where else?"

"I... yes!" He answers, visions of glory and honor flickering through
his imagination.

"Go and ask leave of your family, then. Join us here by sundown." He
bows to her deeply and turns back to the house.

"Where are you going, Kuno?" Nabiki asks as he passes her, she on her
way to the kitchen to get another ice pack for her father.

"Rhiannon asked me to join their rescue party." He grins at her on his
way out, his voice full of pride.

Ukyou has wandered outside, not quite sure why, but is drawn to sit by
Rhiannon.

"Ukyou." The older woman smiles at her.

"How is your husband?" Ukyou asks.

"Oh, he'll survive." Rhiannon answers with a hint of amusement under her
voice. "He's very hard to kill."

"You love each other very much." She sighs, picking up a fallen blossom
from the cherry tree and straightening it's wilted petals.

"And you love Ranma very much." Rhiannon says, catching her with her
golden stare.

The younger woman beside her nods her head up and down, flushed with
embarrassment.

"The journey before her will be a difficult one. She will need a
protector and a friend. Can you be that for her?"

"Yes." Ukyou answers, without even having to pause to consider.

"Even knowing it is Akane he will die for?" Rhiannon prods gently.

"Yes." The young woman answers unhesitently.

"We will leave tonight. I can't tell you how long we will be gone for."
She holds Ukyou with her eyes. "We might not make it back." She says
simply.

Ukyou nods in understanding. "I'll need to make a few arrangements, but
I'll be here by dark."

"Thank-you." Rhiannon  covers Ukyou's hand with her warm one and gives a
gentle squeeze.

Ukyou suddenly hugs her and Rhiannon laughs delightedly.

"Till tonight then, Warrior Sister." She says as Ukyou releases her and
heads into the house.

Ryoga, just having started the bowl of ramen that Mousse has set before
him, watches her hurry past.

"Where are you going?" He calls to her.

"I've got to get some stuff done before we leave tonight." She calls
back in a light voice.

He wonders if he should go out too, but decides to wait a little as he
sees Mousse head out into the back with a bowl of ramen, his glasses
perched on the top of his head.

Rhiannon watches Mousse, the source of her power singing soft songs to
her in the energizing rays of the sunlight. He goes to a shrub, leans
close to squint at it, over to one of the garden lanterns, lean close
and squints at it, heads for the fish pond.

"Mousse!" She calls, and he turns and heads for the sound of her voice.

"Shampoo thought you might like to have some lunch." He tells the
rosebush a few feet to her right.

"That's very kind." She tells him, watching him adjust himself to face
her.

(Heal Him.) the voice inside her whispers. (He must be able to See.) it
insists.

He leans down to hand her the bowl, she takes it, studies him.

"Sit with me for a moment, Mousse." She tugs his arm gently and takes a
sip of the broth as he settles himself.

She puts the bowl down and reaches up to lift the glasses from his head,
fighting the power singing through her, having learned from long
experience that sometimes a healing was not always wished for.

"Hey!" He grabs for them, misses by a lot.

She grabs his wrist gently, brings her face close to him so he can see
her clearly.

"Mousse, would you like me to fix your eyes?"

He draws back from her, trying to pull his arm away, his face setting
into lines of anger. "You taunt me."

"No, Mousse. It is in my power to do this thing."

She can see a long denied spark of hope start past his hurt and guarded
expression.

"I would give my soul to see clearly." He tells her quietly, the
softness of his voice just emphasizing the passion of his words.

She touches his cheek gently, a wondering expression on her face. "I
will not demand so much of you." She whispers, then covers each eye with
the palms of her hands.

He does not pull away as the fire flares against his face, into his
eyes, blinding him, clenches his teeth as an itch springs to life on the
inside of his skull, then his whole head tingles and then the sensation
passes.

"Close your eyes, Mousse." She commands him before she removes her
hands. "Keep them closed for a few minutes and come with me."

She rises with him and guides him toward the shadow of the maple tree.
She turns, smiles at the beauty of the garden spread before them. She
pushes him down by his shoulder's to sit and kneels behind him.

"Open your eyes, Mousse."

He does, slowly, expecting to see the normal blur of his life, barley
better with his hated glasses. The garden springs into sharp focus in
front of him and Rhiannon hears him gasp.

"Wow! This is so cool." He says softly, then yawns hugely and slumps
back against her, sound asleep.

She lowers the boy down into a comfortable position on the grass, smiles
at him, then the sun reasserts it hold, calling her back, and she crawls
clear of the sheltering shadow of the maple, rolls onto her back to
absorb more of its' life-giving rays.

Shampoo, glancing through the kitchen window while she's finishing up
the dishes sees Mousse talking to Rhiannon. Then Rhiannon covers
Mousse's eyes with her hands and a reflection of sunlight bounces
suddenly off the fish pond and temporarily dazzles her. After a few
blinks, she looks around, trying to find them and sees Mousse slump back
against the woman under the big tree in the back yard.

She drops the bowl she's washing back into the sink with a shattering
crash and hurls herself out of the kitchen and across the back yard.

"Mousse? Mousse!" She shakes him, whirls on the prone form of Rhiannon.
She reaches down and grabs the woman by the front of her sundress,
intending to drag her upright. Rhiannon grabs both of her wrists as she
starts to pull and sends her somersaulting over her head. Rhiannon rolls
over onto her stomach to watch her as Shampoo twists in mid-air and
lands on her feet in a crouch.

"What you do to Mousse!?" She demands.

"Why do you care?" Rhiannon asks back.

Shampoo blinks at her a few times, caught in something she won't admit
to herself. Her mind turns frantically until it comes up with a good
excuse.

"Mousse work for me in restaurant. He good worker, hard to replace." She
tells her firmly.

"Well, you'd better hire a part-timer for a few weeks. He's going on a
little trip." She rolls back onto her back, silently amused at the
intricacies of the relationships whirling around her and closes her
eyes.

"You take Mousse with you?" Shampoo asks incredulously.

"He's a very powerful fighter, and we're going to need all the power we
can get to take on Chiesai."

"Then you take Shampoo, too." The young Amazon tells her.

"Why?"

"Shampoo much more powerful fighter than Mousse." She states hautily.

"I don't think so." Rhiannon tells her gently.

"Shampoo beat Mousse all time." She responds, anger tingeing her voice.

"You win all the time, Shampoo, because it would kill him to hurt you."

Shampoo frowns at Rhiannon, not knowing how to answer her, because she
knows in her heart that what she says is true. And that is the heart of
her problem with Mousse.

"If Mousse truly love Shampoo, he would do what necessary to win her."
She fumes, in her anger blurting out what she sees as Mousse's
unredeemable weakness.

Rhiannon shrugs, the grass tickling her shoulders. "We need him." She
says, and by omission implies 'we don't need you.'

She hears the young Amazon's soft steps travel back to Mousse. Shampoo's
attack takes her totally by surprise. She raises her hands to guard her
face, feels the sharp whisper of an edge slice into her palm and Shampoo
grasping the damaged hand firmly into her own in a hard clasp. She
rotates her weight over her hips, bringing herself onto knees and
launches a strike with her free hand at Shampoo. She stops an inch from
Shampoo's unflinching face, as she realizes what the Amazon has done.

"It your right." Shampoo tells her. "Shampoo pledge her life to you, if
you not want it, you kill her now."

Rhiannon frowns at the young woman before her, anger sparking yellow
flashes in her eyes. Shampoo swallows hard but does not lower her gaze.

"What you do, Lady Rhiannon? You accept Shampoo's service or you kill
her." She asks boldly.

Rhiannon draws back her hand again to strike, tightening her own fingers
around Shampoos' hand locked around her own in a grip that bruises.
Shampoo closes her eye's just before the blow lands. She almost faints
when it's nothing more than a gentle tap to her forehead. She opens her
eyes, her body shaking.

"I do not like having my hand forced, little one." Rhiannon tells her
firmly, her eye's still angry. "If you ever try anything like that
again, I will kill you."

"Then you take Shampoo with you?"

"I don't seem to have much of a choice now, do I?"

Shampoo brings their joined hands to her lips, kissing the back of
Rhiannon's in fealty.

"Shampoo prove to you she better fighter than Mousse." She tells
Rhiannon fiercely.

Rhiannon just shakes her head, a little of the anger leaving her.

"You want Shampoo sit guard while you sleep?" Her new bodyguard asks
her.

"No. You go get the things you and Mousse will need to travel."

Shampoo bows and hurries to the house, passing under Ryoga who has been
perched on the roof watching.

(What was that all about?) He wonders as he drops easily into the grass.
He strides to Rhiannon, who is rubbing at the disappearing wound on her
palm and watching him advance on her.

"Did she cut you?" He asks, wonderingly, standing between her and the
sun, so his shadow covers her.

"It's of no consequence." She tells him. "Get out of my sunlight,
please."

He moves a few feet to her right, then squats down onto his heels.

"So when are we leaving?"

She doesn't look at him, but lowers her head, seeming to listen to some
inner voice.

"Come with me, Ryoga. I want you to see something first." She rises and
heads over to the pond.  


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 6 of 15

Ryoga shrugs, then follows. She sinks gracefully onto one of the large
rocks, pats the warm surface beside her, beckoning him to sit. He jumps
up, settles himself cross-legged as she leans down to dangle the fingers
of her left hand into the breeze-ruffled water. The oldest and biggest
carp rises up to rub it's jaw and run it's side against her fingers,
then flashes away with a flick of it's tail. She withdraws her hand and
the pool calms until it's mirror smooth. He can see his reflection
clearly.

"Look, Ryoga." She commands him, touching his reflection in the water
with her left forefinger and then turning her back to him.

His reflection ripples outwards with the concentric rings created by her
finger and as the center stills, he sees a scene start. Akane is bending
down to gather his little pig form up, tears of frustration streaming
from his eyes.

"Look at him, he's scared." She addresses Ranma-chan whose standing
behind her and kisses him on his soft little snout. He leans forwards
towards the water as the action speeds up, flashing past all of his life
with Akane and Ranma, the last part a blur to quick to be seen, then it
slows back down. Akane is draped across Ranma-chans' lifeless and
battered body, sobbing hysterically. Ryoga picks her up and carries her
away, she struggling in his arms, beating at him with her fists, trying
to get back to her dead love. Then she stops and buries her head into
his chest, crying pathetically.

He sees himself older, courting Akane, blissful. Older still, standing
at Akane's wedding as she marries another man. Older still, bitter and
wandering alone, a lost and forsaken old man.

"NO!" He bellows, striking with all of his power into the water, which
rises up around his blow like a geyser.

"No." He whispers, stunned and whirls on the woman who is sitting with
her back to him. He grabs her shoulder and spins her around to face him.

"Why did you do this!" He yells at her. The look of compassion on her
face calms his anger somewhat.

"Is this what's going to happen if I go with you?" He demands.

"The future is always moving, the beat of a butterfly's wing can change
the course of history."

"I don't want any of this Confucius bull. Tell me the truth."

"Can you hear the truth?" She asks gently.

He nods his head up and down, violently.

"Then listen to your own heart. What you have seen is a possible future,
a future that will occur if you continue down the path you have chosen."

"I don't understand!" He almost wails in frustration.

"The truth is not always easy to hear, many times we deny it because it
goes against the wishes of our own hearts." She takes his chin firmly
into her hand, raises his head so she can look into his eyes.

"Ryoga, this rescue party must be able to work together as one unit if
we are to have any hope of survival. Your bitterness and rivalry with
Ranma will cause a loss of focus that we cannot afford. If you can
master this part of yourself, then you are welcome. If you cannot, then
you must remain behind. Go think about it, Ryoga."

He flees from her, springs up onto the roof, tears hot in his eyes.

She watches him run.

(Poor boy.) She thinks sadly, wondering if she was ever that young.

"What's' with him?" Nabiki asks, sitting herself down on the rock next
to Rhiannon, two cans of juice dangling from one hand. She offers one to
Rhiannon, then sips on her own.

"How is your Father?" Rhiannon asks.

"Totally lost it." Nabiki says around a sigh and shakes her head. They
sit quietly together for a few minutes, Rhiannon thinking (It's going to
get worse once Shiro wakes up.)

"He's going to keep coming after me, isn't he?" She asks calmly.

"Yes."

"I could kill myself." She offers, in the same calm voice. "Then you
could go and get Akane and Kasumi without having to worry about me or
the Gate."

"Oh, Little Sister!" Rhiannon gasps.

"It might come to that, huh?"

"Shiro and I will never let that happen!" She tries to reassure the
girl, looking into death so calmly beside her.

"But what if you do? Get killed, I mean." She asks, flatly.

Rhiannon doesn't answer, looks down at the grass under her feet.

"I thought so. If it comes to that, how do I do it. So it doesn't hurt
much."

Rhiannon takes a deep breath. " I will give you a potion that will put
you to sleep. You should keep it with you at all times. If something
happens and you loose it and Kuno is still standing, have him behead
you. Make him do it on his honor. If you are alone, take a long bladed
knife or sword and place the point here, " She presses at a space
between Nabiki's ribs, "and fall on it." She tells her as emotionless as
possible, her heart aching with the quiet courage of the young woman
beside her.

"Right here?" Nabiki checks, poking the spot between her ribs with her
finger.

Rhiannon nods. Nabiki takes another sip of juice.

"I don't want to die." She whispers fiercely as tears begin to spill
down her face. "I said I wasn't going to do this." She sniffles and
wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand.

Rhiannon takes her into her arms as she totally breaks down, rocks her
back and forth, crooning, "Hush, Little Sister, Hush. It won't come to
that. I won't let it." She promises. She waits until Nabiki has cried
herself out before she nudges her into sleep with a little flair of
power. She carries the sleeping girl into the house, arranges her gently
on the floor with a pillow under her head and feels a great weariness
descending on her.

 She staggers back into the sunlight and lets herself sink down onto the
grass, sleep finally overtaking her.

Rhiannon wakes to the sound of Shampoo's intense whisper.

"I tell you, Lady sleep now. When wake up, will see to girl-type Ranma."

"Shampoo, I..." She hears Dr. Tofu's voice start to argue back.

"Shhhh.." Shampoo hisses at him.

Rhiannon opens her eyes, checking the time by the position of the sun.
It's somewhere around 4:00.

"It's all right, Shampoo." She says to the Amazon guarding her,
wondering how longs she's been there as she stretches her arms up over
her head, then sits up.

"What do you need, Doctor." She asks him, around a yawn.

"I really need for you to talk with Ranma. She's very upset and I can't
answer her questions." He tells her, ignoring Shampoo's glare.

"Shampoo, see if you can wake up Mousse." She asks as she rises.

Shampoo heads for the slumbering form of Mousse as she follows Tofu into
the house.

Ranma is sitting at the table, arms crossed, anger radiating out of her.

"Where's Akane?" She demands as soon as she sees Rhiannon.

"Chiesai has her. And Kasumi, too." Rhiannon tells him as she goes to
kneel beside her.

"Where!?"

"In his world." Rhiannon replies calmly, trying to slide the sleeve off
her left shoulder, Ranma keeps pulling it back up.

"Stop that!" She snaps at her. "I'm fine." Putting space between the
words for emphasis.

Rhiannon sits back, folds her hands into her lap, studies his aura.

"There is no trace of magic in his aura." She says softly.

"I noticed that too." Dr. Tofu tells her.

"What are you talking about?!" Ranma yells. "I want to know how we're
going to get Akane and Kasumi back! And my body, too! I can't believe
Ryoga let that, that... thing steal my body!"

"Calm yourself, Ranma." Genma tells her from his seat by the door. "Your
starting to sound like a girl!"

Ranma turns her head, getting ready to verbally assault her father, but
is brought up short with a stunned expression on her face as Rhiannon
places her hand firmly against her back and an internal tickle travels
throughout her body.

"This is bad." Rhiannon says, her face grim.

Ranma whips her head back around, opens her mouth, then closes it when
she sees Rhiannon's expression.

"Bad? What's bad?" She asks, a sinking feeling starting in her chest.

"There's no connection between them at all." Rhiannon directs her
comment to Dr. Tofu.

"No connection between who!" She demands, getting spooked.

Shampoo comes in from the backyard and takes up position behind
Rhiannon's right shoulder, Mousse following her in, yawning, his gaze
bouncing around the room, a silly, delighted expression appearing on his
face.

"Between your female self and your male self?" Dr. Tofu responds,
questioning his diagnosis.

Rhiannon nods.

"So?!" Ranma looks back and forth between them.

"So girl-type Ranma totally separate from boy-type Ranma now?" Shampoo
asks, a strange gleam coming into her eyes.

Dr. Tofu nods.

"Good. I kill you now." She states and launches herself at Ranma. Ranma
dodges her first blow, blocks the rest, looking stunned.

"Shampoo! Stop! I forbid this!" The tone of command in her voice
bringing Shampoo to a standstill.

"I give 'kiss of death' to girl-type Ranma!" She says in explanation and
starts to advance again.

"I forbid it!" Rhiannon raises her voice. "And your oath to me takes
precedence over any prior to it. Isn't that the Law?"

Shampoo stops, breathing heavily, her eyes narrowed at Ranma, then says,
"O.K." softly, turns and stomps back to her position at Rhiannon's
shoulder.

Ranma keeps a wary distance from Shampoo, clutching her damaged
shoulder. A red stain is starting to seep through the fabric of her
shirt.

"Shit!" She says quietly as it throbs in time with her heart. "This is
my favorite shirt, too." She glares at Shampoo as Dr. Tofu pushes her to
her knees and applies some pressure.

Before Rhiannon moves to them, she gives Shampoo a hard look.

"Sit down and stay here." Shampoo obediently sits.

She undoes the ties that hold Ranma's shirt closed and pulls it down to
expose her shoulder, Dr. Tofu deftly moving his hands past the fabric
without letting up the pressure. She places her hand, palm flat above
the curve of her breast and flares with power. The throbbing stops in
Ranma's shoulder and she looks a little woozy. Rhiannon lifts the edge
of the bandage, nods at Dr. Tofu, who let's up on the pressure.

He is relieved to see that the bleeding has stopped but what little
progress the wound had made to close itself is totally undone. Rhiannon,
peering at it says, "He's got to stop using it."

"I agree." He goes to his pack leaning against the wall by the door and
retrieves bandages and a sling, returns and begins to bind Ranma's
shoulder, mummy like.

"Hey, I can't move my arm when it's like that!" She complains as he
adjusts the sling and ties it around her upper chest, the knot behind
her back, out of reach.

"That's the point, Ranma." The Doctor tell her.

"No way! What if I have to fight?" She says, reaching around, trying for
the knot.

"Ranma." Rhiannon's voice brings her focus onto her. "This wound was
made by Pack Leader and as such, is resistant to my power. It should
have killed you. It will kill you if you don't start taking care of it."
She sees the rebellion in the young woman's face. Tries a different
track. "If you don't let it heal, now, you will be of no use to Akane
when she needs you."

Ranma slumps a little, pouts. "O.K."

Nabiki comes down the stairs, a loaded backpack dangling by it's straps
from the crook of her elbow. She puts it by the others and sits across
the table from Ranma.

"Shampoo, would you and Mousse fix us some tea, please?" Rhiannon asks.

"You want special tea or regular tea?"

"Regular would be fine."

"Come on Mousse. Why you look at me that way?" She asks him as they head
into the kitchen.

There's a knock at the front door. Nabiki goes to answer it.

"So how are we going to get them back?" Ranma asks again.

Nabiki and Ukyou come into the room, Ukyou putting the two bags full of
groceries on the floor and shrugging out of her pack, letting it drop by
the others.

"We'll go and get them." Rhiannon answers him back, a little grim smile
on her face.

"Mr. Saotome, would you help Ranma pack?" She asks Genma.

"Wait." Ranma says. "I want to know what you where talking about
earlier."

"Go pack." Dr. Tofu tells her gently.

"What's going on?" She demands, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

Tofu looks to Rhiannon, who meets his eyes with a concerned expression.

"What?" He pleads, looking at her.

She studies him, indecision warring with the compassion reflected on her
face.

"When Chiesai takes a body, given willing or not, the soul within that
body fights him, dampening his power. When Pack Leader bit you, Chiesai
became aware of the unique form of your curse. When he separated you, he
took your male body and left your soul here, in your girl form. There is
no spirit of Light, no soul, to fight him. It is his body, now." She
tells him, her face and voice serene.

"You mean you can't put us back together again?"

Rhiannon shakes her head. "I truly don't know. But I doubt we'll get a
chance to try. To stop Chiesai, we will have to damage him severely. And
to do that, we will have to kill the body he is inhabiting."

"Oh, Ranma." Ukyou whispers, from where she's been standing.

"Kill the body? Kill my body?" Ranma says softly to herself, as
Rhiannon's words sink in.

"NO!" Genma brings the palm of his hand down flat and hard against the
table, making everyone jump a little. "There must be another way."

"If there is, Mr. Saotome, you can be sure that we will do it." Rhiannon
assures him, knowing in her heart that this way is the only one.

Genma clenches his open hand into a fist, stares at his 'son', his face
full of guilt and compassion, who is staring down at nothing with a
blank look of shock.

"Don't worry about it, Ranma." Nabiki smiles at him. "Akane likes girls
better, anyway."

"Nabiki!" Dr. Tofu scowls at her.

"Hey, I was just trying to lighten the mood a little."

"Go help your son pack." Rhiannon tells Genma.

He helps Ranma to her feet, steers her toward their room. "Don't worry,
son, we'll think of something." He assures her.

Shampoo and Mousse come from the kitchen, bearing tea. Mousse looking
upset, Shampoo wearing her best 'annoyed' expression.

"I still can't believe you did that." He tells her, staring at Rhiannon
from the corner of his eye as he places the tray on the table.

"Now not time to talk about it, Mousse." Shampoo tells him quietly, her
voice promising trouble if he doesn't drop the subject now.

"Nihao, Ukyou." She calls to Ukyou as she starts pouring, who has picked
up the two bags of groceries and started for the kitchen.

"I figured since the two of you made lunch, I'd do dinner." She
explains, nodding at the bags.

"I'll need two, Shampoo." Rhiannon tells her, collects the cups and
rises. "Nabiki, please tell your father and Mr. Saotome that Shiro and I
wish to speak with them after they eat." She bows to them and heads down
the hall.

"You finish tea." Shampoo tells Mousse, picks up a cup for herself and
goes after Rhiannon, kneeling by the door to the cellar.

"What's with Shampoo?" Nabiki asks Mousse as she takes the cup he offers
her.

"Shampoo has taken the Shield Oath with Rhiannon." He tells them,
frowning.

"Why?" Dr. Tofu asks, startled.

He grinds his teeth, then with obvious effort relaxes his jaw. "She says
it's the only way that she could get Rhiannon to take her with us to
rescue Ranma-kun."

"So what's a Shield Oath?" Nabiki asks.

"She will be Rhiannon's shield. Go before her into battle, stand guard
over her. Die for her, if necessary." His jaw clenches up again and he
leans back a little so he can see down the hall to Shampoo's profile,
backlit by the late afternoon sun.

Rhiannon pads down the cellar stairs, not bothering with the light, her
own golden glow filling the room with a dim illumination. She goes to
the mat where Shiro is sleeping, sets the cups within easy reach and
just looks at him for a moment.

All the broken bones have healed, the bruises gone, the cuts and scrapes
fine pale lines that will be gone in a few more hours. She pulls the
sundress she pilfered from Kasumi's closet over her head and slides in
next to him, turning onto her side so her head rests in the hollow of
his shoulder and lays her arm across his chest, the palm of her hand
resting over his heart, the coolness of his body a familiar shock
against the warmth of her own. She feels the very slow beat of his heart
begin to speed up under her hand as the sun looses it's power over him.
His arm curls around her as his subconscious responds to her presence,
his chest starting to rise and fall as his breathing returns to a normal
pace. She knows the minute he wakes, fully conscious, as all Creatures
of the Darkness do.

"Good evening, husband." She murmurs into his chest.

He hugs her fiercely for many seconds, then lets her go. They sit up,
Rhiannon handing him a cup of the steaming tea, sips at her own as he
pulls her back close and tucks his arm around her waist.

"Some things have happened that you should know about."

He laughs a low growly laugh. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" And
listens quietly as she starts.

Shampoo and Mousse, who is sitting against the wall across from her, are
just finishing their dinners when the cellar door opens and Shiro's tall
form steps out. He looks down at the young Amazon.

"Shield Oath, huh?" He gives her a wolfish grin. "You have no idea of
what you've gotten yourself into." And strides past her, Rhiannon
following shaking her head, a smile on her face.

By the time they reach the main room, they are all business.

"You." Shiro points at Soun. "I need to talk to you." Soun puts his
utensils down, rises slowly, no expression on his face. Shiro points
toward the adjoining room which holds the family shrine.

"You too, Mr. Saotome." Rhiannon tells Genma, following her husband and
Soun into the room.

Genma considers running, but decides he can't leave his friend in his
time of need, rises and follows. Rhiannon waits until he clears the
door, then slides it shut. Shampoo takes up a position before it, Mousse
collapsing with a sigh at the table, never taking his eyes off Shampoo.

"What's with Shampoo?" Ranma asks the table in general. Ukyou starts
explaining, feeding her little bites.

"You don't think he's going to kill Daddy?" Nabiki asks as she angles
herself toward Dr. Tofu, looking a little worried.

"I don't know." He responds, looking worried back.

They both edge closer to the closed door, hoping to hear some of the
conversation coming from inside, withdraw at Shampoo's warning glare.

"Hello?" Kuno calls from the front door.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit, Shampoo?" Nabiki asks
snidley as she goes to let him in. He follows her in shrugging out of
his pack, she waves with her hand at the pile of packs against the wall.

"Come eat, Kuno!" Ukyou calls.

Kuno comes and joins the table, watching Ukyou feed Ranma a little
enviously.

They finish eating, clear the table, do the dishes and then sit,
carrying on soft conversations, checking packs, waiting for the ones in
the closed room.

Finally, the door slides open and Soun and Genma come out, both with
sheepish but relieved expressions.

Nabiki and Tofu breath a small sigh of relief.

Shiro and Rhiannon go to the family sword sitting on it's stand above
the shrine. Shiro reaches toward it, withdraws his hand. Rhiannon stands
on tiptoe and takes it reverently into her hands. They return to the
young people waiting, Rhiannon sinking into seiza to her husbands right,
placing the sword horizontally in front of her on the floor.

"Tatewake Kuno." Shiro summons.

Kuno startles a little, then comes to him, makes a deep bow.

"I have need of the service of an honorable warrior. Are you such a
man?" Shiro asks.

"Of course, honorable sir!" Kuno answers back. From his position, he
can't see the amused gleam come into Shiro's eye.

"Will you pledge yourself to me in this coming journey?"

Kuno hesitates for a moment, mind whirling, then chooses. "I would be
honored, noble sir." He drops to his knees and bows low.

"Sit up, Kuno." Shiro instructs him. He makes a little gesture to
Rhiannon, who bows to Kuno, picks up the sword and holds it out to him.

"You will carry this for me and the House of Tendo. You will use it only
in the service of the Light. Will you do this thing for me, Tatewake
Kuno?"

Kuno takes the sword from Rhiannon, his face a mixture of pride and
embarrassment. Bows again, not knowing what else to do.

"What a minute!" Ranma yells. "Why does Kuno get it? It should be me!
Akane's my fiancee and she's going to inherit the dojo!"

Kuno's knuckles whiten as he grips the sword possessively.

Shiro smiles at her. "My, what a fierce little woman." He says to
Rhiannon.

"Yeah, well you ain't seen nothing yet!" Ranma tells him defiantly.

"Ranma?" Shiro asks of Rhiannon. Rhiannon nods.

"Ranma, your art is an open-handed one, is it not?" He asks of her.

Ranma nods, glaring, seeing where he's headed.

"Kuno has been training for this sword all his life. He carries it
because he has the skill to use it. Do you?" They face each other, eyes
locked, then Ranma looks away.

"I still think I should be the one carrying it!" She mutters to herself.

"Get yourselves ready." Rhiannon tells them as Shiro takes Kuno aside
and speaks with him.

They help each other shrug into their backpacks.

"Come on, Pop." Ranma calls to her father as she sees him standing by
Mr. Tendo.

Genma shakes his head. "We're not going with you, son."

"Why not?" She asks, surprised.

"Someone must be here, in case you fail." He comes over, embraces his
boy in his girl body and gives him a gentle hug. "Don't you dare fail."
He whispers fiercely in her ear. Ranma hugs him back.

"I'm not going to fail, and I'm coming back in my proper body." She
promises him.

Rhiannon goes to Nabiki, reaches into a pocket and retrieves a slender
silver necklace with a small crystal vial hanging from it. She undoes
the clasp and places it around Nabiki's neck. They exchange a meaningful
glance, Rhiannon hugs her.

"Use it only if your sure, Little Sister." She whispers into the girls
ear. Nabiki nods, her check brushing against Rhiannon's.

When their ready, Rhiannon leads them into the twilight of the back
yard. Ryoga's waiting for them, leaning against the maple tree. He comes
and joins the group, keeping his head down as he passes Rhiannon.

Rhiannon and Shiro join hands, "Shampoo." She holds her hand out, arm
held a little behind her, Shampoo takes it.

"Kuno." Shiro holds out his own, matching Rhiannon's stance.

"Mousse, take Shampoo's hand, Nabiki take Kuno's." She waits until
they're in position.

"Ranma, take Mousse's hand, Ryoga, Nabiki's"

"Doctor, Ranma's please, Ukyou, Ryoga."

They end up forming a wide "V".

"Hold tight now!" Rhiannon calls. "Wouldn't do for anyone to get lost!."

She and Shiro start walking, a thick fog starting up from their first
step, rising and getting denser as they advance. Soun and Genma watch
from the doorway as the fog totally enshrouds them.

"Remember, Daddy," Soun hears his daughter call as she disappears, "you
need to pick up two extra classes to pay for the damage to the house!"

Akane drifts out of sleep, comfortably snuggled up against someone, her
head against a shoulder, a chest moving gently under her hand with the
even rhythm of sleep. Her eyes snap open and she angles her head back to
see the familiar profile of Ranma's face in the dim pre-dawn light. But
not quite familiar, older maybe, she thinks.

(What!)

She sits up suddenly, panic in her face, to peer at herself under the
covers. She lets out a little sigh of relief to see she's covered in a
long, whisper soft, sleeveless gown. Ranma rolls suddenly onto his right
side, drapes his left arm over her thighs and snuggles closer, sighing
in his sleep. She looks at his hand, resting possesivly over the blanket
that covers her right thigh, sees the ring on his left index finger, a
gold band holding a black opal. She stares at it as she pulls the
blanket up against her breasts, then holds her left hand out in front of
her as a glitter of light catches her eye.

(What!)

Her left index finger is circled by a ring that matches his, the band
not as wide and the opal flanked by two large diamonds.

(Wedding rings?!).

She slides slowly out from under Ranma's arm, heading for the side of
the wide bed in confusion. She's pulled up short when her long braid
gets trapped under her thighs.

(What?)

She's getting more panicked by the second, starts pulling at the braid
to free it and trying to slide her legs out from under the covers at the
same time, without waking up Ranma. She gets her feet entangled in the
sheets and the bottom of her gown and crashes over onto the floor. Ranma
sits bolt upright, crawls across the bed to look down over the edge at
her.

"Akane?" He blinks at her sleepily. "Are you all right?"

She grabs at the end of her braid to keep it out of the way and
scrabbles away from him, until she runs into the wall.

Ranma swings himself off the bed and follows her slowly.

"Little wife!" He calls her gently. "What is wrong?" Concern in his face
and voice.

(Little Wife? Aaaahh!) She squashes herself closer against the wall. He
stops a few feet from her, kneels down.

"You had that dream again, didn't you?" He reaches out to her, pulls his
hand back with a hurt expression as she shrinks away from it. "It's all
right." He assures her gently, then rises.

She watches him go to the door, open it and talk to someone outside. Her
eye's flick around the room, seeing beautiful furnishings, another door,
two windows open to the cool morning air, one with a large white hawk
with black stripes on it's wings hooded and tied to it's perch close to
it. She is considering making a run for the nearest window when Ranma
comes back to her.

"Look, Akane." He angles his left shoulder to her. "I am undamaged, no
bite, no scratches." His voice is full of sincerity. "It's a bad dream,
nothing more."

She sees snatches of a scene, of Ranma getting bitten by a huge dog, and
something about a glowing golden lady, but the rest of her memory is a
jumbled confusion. The only thing she's sure of is that she's not
married to Ranma.

(Or am I?), she wonders, truly confused. Tears of frustration start from
her eyes.

"Oh, Akane." He reaches for her and this time she doesn't pull away. He
places his open hand against her cheek. "Don't cry, Little Wife, you
know I can't stand it when you cry." He moves forward, gathers her
effortlessly into his arms and places her back on the bed and pulls some
pillows together for her to lean against then sits next to her on the
bed and holds her hand between his two strong ones.

"What's going on?!" She get  out around the tears and tightness of her
throat.

"You've had another bad dream." He tells her soothingly, as if speaking
to a child. "I've sent for Nadira. She'll be here soon to attend you."

"Who?" Akane asks, blankly.

"Nadira. Our Healer." He prompts.

She shakes her head from side to side. "My doctor's Doctor Tofu!"

"Who?" Ranma asks, looking confused.

"You know. Tall, brown hair, wears glasses, loves my sister Kasumi?" She
explains, a touch of anger starting in her voice.

"Akane, there is no one here like that and you don't have any sisters.
You know that!" He pats her hand gently.

(What!) She stares at him opened mouthed.

"Come!" He calls at a knock from the door.

An ancient woman enters, wearing a shapeless black dress and carrying a
big, many drawered box tucked under one arm. Akane dislikes her on
sight. The old one deposits her box onto the chest of drawers by the bed
and comes to them.

"Great Lord, if you would?" She asks in a gravely voice and waves him
out of the way. Ranma releases Akane's hand, crawls around her feet to
sit by her other side and takes up her other hand.

"So?" She squints at Akane.

"She had another spell and fell out of bed." Ranma answers.

The old one sighs. "Are you hurt, Great Lady?"

"What?"

"Did you injure yourself when you fell?" The crone rephrases, a hint of
annoyance in her voice. Ranma gives her a hard look.

"Uh, no. I don't think so. I'm just...so confused!" She cries, pulls her
hand from Ranma's, brings the other one up to join it and covers her
face.

"Great Lord, your Lady wife is distraught but unhurt. Go about your
business and let her gather her composure." She hears the old one tell
Ranma. Ranma gently pulls the hand nearest him away from her face,
kisses her palm.

"If your feeling up to it, would you ride with me this afternoon?" He
asks her.

"Uh, sure." Akane responds flatly, so confused she has decided to just
go with it.

Ranma slides off the bed, goes over, dons his leather wrist guards and
collects the hawk from it's perch. It flaps it's wings in protest at his
movement as he turns back to them.

"I don't want you badgering her." He commands the old woman, his tone
hard and uncompromising.

Nadira bows at him, then he turns and calls "Korin!"

A man in dark gray livery opens the other door set against the wall
across from the bed and shuts it as Ranma passes through.

"Now then." Nadira studies Akane up and down. "Do you remember your fall
last month?"

Akane shakes her head 'no'.

"There was an assassination attempt on your Lord. In the struggle, you
where knocked down the main staircase and got quite a bump on your head.
Since then you have been having 'spells' and strange reoccurring dreams
that are leaving you confused, as if you are getting lost in them."

"I am?" Akane asks, (Well, that would explain a lot.) beginning to
accept her situation and surroundings.

Nadira nods, turns, pours a glass of water from the pitcher on the
bedside table and opens several of the drawers in her chest, adding a
pinch of this and that into the glass. Done, she moves the glass in
circles, causing the water and powders within it to swirl and mix.

"Drink this up, Great Lady." Akane takes it and looks into the glass,
distrustingly. "It will help to clear your mind, refresh your spirit."
The old one assures her.

Akane takes a sip, smiles at the wonderful taste and swallows the rest
of it down.

"Good." Nadira smiles at her.

"What was Ranma talking about, before he left." She asks Nadira.

"He forbade me speak of it." The old woman reminds her.

"Well," she thinks for a moment, "I command you to tell me." She says,
regally.

Nadira looks torn. "He will be displeased and so will you."

"I promise I won't tell him." Akane prompts.

The old woman shuffles her feet, studying the pattern on the carpet
beneath them, then takes a deep breath. "I just wonder how long you will
keep refusing him." Nadira tells her, not meeting her eyes.

"Refusing him?" Akane responds, not quite sure of what she means.

"The rights of his marriage bed." Nadira snaps.

"What?" Akane snaps back, a little thrill of terror running through her.

"You truly don't remember, do you?" The old woman asks.

"What?" Akane asks back in frustration. (What is going on?)

"When you where given to the Great Lord you where no more than a child.
You were so terrified of him when he came to you that night and he so
smitten with you, that he swore he would not touch you until you decided
that he should."

"He did?" Akane whispers.

"And now the whole empire cries for an heir! Not a day goes by when his
advisors do not council him to put you aside and take another wife who
will bear him children. And he will not!" Nadira's voice is hard with
anger. She fixes her eyes on Akane.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 7 of 15 

"It's been five years, Great Lady! Do your duty!"

Akane blinks at her in stunned amazement. The old one makes a disgusted
sound, whirls, grabs her box and heads for the main door.

"Muri!" The old one calls as she leaves. "Attend your Mistress!"

Chiesai/Ranma is waiting for her as she exits, stroking the soft breast
of the hawk on his arm, the leashes of the jessie's wrapped firmly
around his palm, keeping her in place.

"Well?" He asks the witch.

"She is strong, that one. Her spirit fights both of our spells. But the
seed has been planted." She shrugs. "I don't think you'll win her before
Moondark. A shame really, for a willing sacrifice would be...nice." She
finishes, a strange evil gleam in her eye.

"A challenge, then. But one I will overcome, eh, beautiful one?" He asks
of the hawk perched on his forearm. She hisses at him and beats her
wings in a futile effort to rise. His eyes darken and a blue/black flash
jumps from his fingertips to strike her. She falls limp to hang swinging
from the leashes. He lets her swing until she starts to flop her wings a
little, then deftly returns her to his arm.

"Temper, temper, Kasumi." He croons gently, as the hawk huddles down
into herself in dispair.

    Akane watches the old woman leave.

(What is going on?) She asks of herself, staring at the ring on her
finger. (No way have I been married to Ranma for five years! Have I? And
he hasn't touched me?) She's so lost in thought that she doesn't see the
pretty, dark haired, golden skinned young woman slide in through the
door across from the bed and come to her side, head and eyes lowered
humbly.

"Great Lady?" She asks meekly.

Akane focuses onto her. "Who are you?"

The woman looks up at her, her hazel eyes almost matching the amber
color around her neck, startled.

"Muri, Great Lady."

"Who?" Akane asks again.

"Muri, your servant." She lowers her eyes, quickly.

"My servant?"

"Have you had another spell, Great Lady, that you don't remember me?"
She sounds a little scared.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I don't know you." Akane tells her firmly.

Muri folds and unfolds her hands in front of her, nervously. "I take
care of you, Great Lady. See to your bath, fix your hair, tend your
wardrobe?" She says, sounding hopeful.

"This is so weird." Akane says to the ceiling.

"Come, Great Lady, let me help you get ready for the day. Maybe
following our normal routine will help to settle your mind." Muri
suggests and holds out her hand to help Akane from the bed.

Akane lets Muri lead her to a vanity with a large mirror. Muri pushes
her down gently onto the soft padded stool and begins to undo her braid.
Unbraided, her tresses brush the floor.

(When did my hair get so long?) She gasps as an image of a little woman
with a pig-tail, (Ranma) her memory says, and a tall boy (Ryoga) staring
at her shorn hair, held together with a ribbon lying on the ground flash
before her in the mirror, then wink out when it reflects two dark, gray
clad men bringing in trays. They cross to the low table by the closer
window and deposit them, then bow themselves out.

"I'm sorry, Great Lady, I didn't mean to pull." Muri says at her gasp as
she reaches around her to retrieve a brush off the vanity and begins to
section and loop her hair up into a pretty style, fixing it into place
with golden pins capped with black opals. Akane almost doesn't recognize
the beauty who stares back at her from the mirror.

"Akane." She tells Muri, and herself.

"Great Lady?" Muri asks back around a mouthful of pins.

"Call me Akane." She tells her again.

"It would be improper of me to do so, Great Lady." Muri responds,
looking at her handiwork with a critical eye.

"I don't care. If you call me Great Lady one more time, I'm going to
scream." She turns and looks up into Muri's eyes.

Muri looks uncomfortable. "Gre..." She hurriedly rephrases as she sees
Akane take a deep breath, "Lady Akane, I would be punished for not
addressing you properly."

(She's really scared!) "Punished? By who?" Akane demands.

"Loran." She says in a hushed little voice.

"Loran?" (I've really got to stop repeating everything, I sound stupid!)
Akane asks.

"He's in charge of the household slaves."

"Household slaves?" Akane repeats.

Muri reaches up to touch the amber collar with the black opal set flush
in it's center.

"You're a slave!?" She asks, shocked, recalling that the two men who
brought the trays wore similar collars.

"It is my lot. I am better off than most, since I get serve you." She
smiles and shrugs.

Akane is completely repulsed by the whole idea. "I can't believe Ranma
would keep slaves!"

"Grea...Lady Akane! The Great Lord is generous to those who serve him
well. I am not troubled by it, and neither should you be. It is the way
it always has been, the way it always will be." Muri looks confused and
worried by Akane's reaction.

"Do you have any plans for the day?" Muri asks, going to the table and
pouring a cup of tea and bringing it to Akane, trying to change the
subject.

Akane senses that  Muri won't talk anymore about the subject, but makes
a mental note to discuss this matter further with Ranma, the next time
she sees him. (I can't believe he keeps slaves!)

"Ranma asked me to go riding with him, later. But at the moment I'm not
sure if I want to go!" She says in her temper.

Muri says nothing but looks at her feet, dismayed.

"What!?' Akane all but yells at her.

"Lady Akane, I don't understand your anger. The Great Lord puts aside
serious matters of state to make time for you. You should be pleased he
wishes to spend time with you, not angry."

Akane blinks at her, feels guilt creep over her. (She's right, you
know.) one part of her says, another screaming that something's not
right.

"Let me get out your riding clothes and you can still choose not to go,
but that way you will be ready if you change your mind."

Akane nods agreement, confusion threatening to engulf her again. She
let's Muri dress her in a pair of dove soft, gray leather pants, white
cotton poet's type shirt tucked in at the waist topped by a long, richly
embroidered green and gold tabard, thinking.

"Muri?" she asks as the woman tugs a pair of made to fit black boots
onto her feet, "Why does Ranma sleep in my bed if we don't...you know."

Muri's eyes open wide with surprise and she blushes a deep red beneath
her golden toned skin.

"Great Lady, it's not for me to..."

"Muri, I really need to know." She interrupts her firmly but gently.

"When you first where married, the Great Lord slept on the floor by your
bed, but last year, at the battle at Shodat he was gravely wounded. We
all thought he was going to die. But you, Great Lady, had him put onto
your bed and tended to him through the night and brought back his will
to live. Since he was bed-ridden for many weeks, you slept next to him
and there he has stayed ever since." Muri tells her, keeping her eyes
fixed on the floor.

"I did?" She has a vague memory of Ranma, badly injured, leaning against
her as she changes a dressing. "Of course I did." She says, her eyes
getting a dreamy cast to them. "I remember doing that! Maybe I should
walk around a little, see if anything else is familiar?" She asks Muri.

"Will you eat first?" Muri steers her toward the table.

"Hum?" Akane shakes her head a little, her eyes coming back into focus.

"You must eat to keep up your strength, Great Lady." Muri serves her
fruit, bread and cheese from the trays.

"I told you to call me Akane." She says after a few bites.

"Yes, Great Lady." Muri answers.

Akane sighs. (It's going to be a long day.) 

After she's eaten, she tried to coax Muri into eating with her with no
luck, they go out into the palace proper. Akane is amazed at it's size
and the wealth displayed everywhere. As they descend the huge sweeping
four story tall staircase, Akane looks at Muri.

"I fell down this, and survived?" She asks.

"You are a very strong woman, Great Lady." Muri answers her.

They wander the halls, servants in collars bowing as they hurry by, the
guards posted at strategic positions snapping to attention as they pass,
courtiers smiling at her as they drop little curtseys or bows and
calling greetings to her. She begins to secretly enjoy the attention.

"Who is that?" Became her favorite sentence.

"Lord so-in-so or Lady some-such" Muri's, followed by a brief
description of their relationship to her or Ranma.

A handsome blond man strides up to them, takes Akane's hand as he bows
low and kisses it.

"Yin-ko." Muri whispers in her ear. "The Great Lords right hand."

"It is good to see you up and about Great Lady." He smiles at her as he
straightens. "The Great Lord asks me to send his regrets that he can't
join you for lunch, but will come for you in the gardens afterwards if
you still wish to ride with him."

"Uh..." She stares down at his hand, still encircling her own and for
some reason a cold chill comes over her. She extracts it. "Yes, please,
tell Ranma I'd like to ride with him."

The man bows again with a flourish and strides away. Akane watches him,
a little shudder racking her. (Why am I reacting like this?)

"Do you wish to eat in the garden?" Muri asks.

"Sure. Who was that?"

"Yin-ko."

"Why does he give me the shivers?"

"Yin-ko gives everyone the shivers." Muri smiles back. "He is a fierce
and unrelenting warrior, better even than the Great Lord himself."

Muri steers her around a corner, stops a slave, whispers some
instructions.

"What was that about?" Akane asks as the man hurries away.

"I just told him to inform the kitchen that you would be lunching in the
garden today. I suggested the Peacock Walk." Muri looks at her shyly.
"Is that all right, Great Lady?"

"Fine, fine." Akane tells her, wondering what in the hell the Peacock
Walk was. She follows Muri around a few more corners and then out into
the gardens. They start following a stone path that wanders through the
beautiful lawns.

"Uh, Muri, do I know how to ride a horse?" She asks her companion.

Muri giggles a little, then quickly covers her mouth with her hands and
looks embarrassed.

"What?" Akane asks her with a sinking feeling.

"That depends on who you ask, Great Lady." Muri responds.

"I take it that's a 'no'." Akane sighs.

"Your mare is very gentle, Great Lady, you haven't fallen off of her
once." Muri assures her as they pass between huge hedges into a willow
filled area with a beautiful fountain shaped as a peacock. There are
real peacocks wandering free around the trees. Akane smiles with delight
as one of the birds spreads it's tail wide and struts before them. Muri
guides her to a bench and sits at her feet in the grass.

"This is beautiful." Akane smiles at her.

"It is my favorite garden, Great Lady." Muri smiles tentatively back.

A bustle of sound announces the coming of lunch, four slaves bringing in
a table, followed by a line carrying trays. Muri points to a spot close
to the fountain but out of the sun and the servants scurry and in
minutes have set the table and withdrawn.

Akane is eating and trying to coax Muri into joining her when a figure
appears at the hedge, bowing lowly and moving nervously.

"Great Lady?" Muri asks. Akane waves at her and she goes over to it.
Akane watches as they talk, sees the tightening of Muri's body, then the
messenger turns and scurries off. Muri stays where she is, apparently
upset about something. Akane rises and goes to her.

"Muri, what's wrong?" She asks gently, wondering what has distressed her
so much.

"It is nothing, Great Lady." She tells her, turning from her so Akane
can't see her face.

Akane takes Muri firmly by the shoulders and turns her around to face
her.

"What is it, Muri." She asks again. "And don't tell me 'nothing'."

Muri looks everywhere but at her, and doesn't answer.

"I command you to tell me." Akane says, as imperiously as she can
manage.

Muri swallows hard, indecision in every angle of her body.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to get really mad." Akane threatens and
winces inwardly as Muri throws herself down at her feet in submission
and starts to cry. She kneels down beside her. "I'm sorry Muri, don't
cry." She tells her, squeezing Muri's shoulder. "But I can't help you if
you don't tell me what's wrong."

Muri nods agreement, closes her eyes and tries to regain her composure.

"My mate, Great Lady." She stutters around her gasps. "My mate has
returned and is injured."

"Well, we'll get what's her name, Nadia? And have her see to him." Akane
tells her.

Muri shakes her head with an emphatic 'no', terror in her eyes.

"What?" Akane asks, confused.

"My mate failed in his mission, Great Lady. No one may tend to him,
except me."

"Then go." Akane tells her.

"I can not, Great Lady."

"Why?" Akane asks, getting exasperated.

"It is forbidden for me to leave your side during the day." She states
quietly.

"Then I'll go with you." Akane says, solving the problem.

"You cannot, Great Lady!" Muri tells her.

"Why?!" Akane demands.

"It is forbidden!" Muri wails.

"Am I the Great Lord's wife or not?" She demands of Muri.

Muri nods her head 'yes' emphatically.

"Then I may go anywhere I want to, anytime I want to. If anyone says
anything about it, they'll have to deal with me." She fumes. "Where is
your husband?" She demands.

Muri huddles over in a deep reverence, trembling in terror and
indecision.

Akane stands and storms out of the garden, looking for a servant. Muri
scrambles to follow her.

"YOU!" Akane bellows at the first one she sees. The woman comes to her,
looking terrified.

Akane takes a deep breath, pulling her frustration and anger into
control. "You, " she stops for a moment, looks at Muri, "You will tell
her what you need." She commands.

"Great Lady, please!" Muri begs of her, truly scared.

"Don't worry about it, Muri. If anyone touches you because of this, I'll
kill them. O.K.?"

Muri gulps, then rattles off a list of things. The slave before them
repeats the list, turns to go when Akane stops her by her shoulder.

"If anyone asks you what you're doing, you tell them that you are
running a special errand for the Great Lady, and she has sworn you to
secrecy." She holds the slaves eyes with her own. "Tell her where to
take them, Muri."

"To my quarters." Muri tells the woman, who hurries off, wide-eyed with
fear.

"Come on, Muri." Akane pulls her to her feet.

"But Great Lady, what if the Great Lord comes for you?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll think of something. Hurry up and maybe we
won't have to." She says and follows Muri as she heads for the far end
of the palace.

They enter into a side door and Muri whisks her into a storeroom of some
type, lined with shelves holding neatly stacked bedding and clothes.

"You mustn't be recognized, Great Lady. Please, take off your overdress
while I find something more appropriate." Muri tells her as she starts
rummaging in the shelves.

Akane obliges and Muri returns with a simply woven, long sleeved brown
shirt with an attached hood. She helps Akane shrug it on, then pulls the
hood up over her hair and forwards so it hides her face. She tucks the
tabard under a stack of clothes and then they go back into the corridor
and weave through the maze of the servants quarters. After a few
corners, Akane sees the slave she had spoken to standing nervously by a
door, standing guard over a pile of supplies. They hurry to her, she
bobs a nervous bow, then Muri leans close to her and whispers something
at her in a fierce hiss and she flees from them, apparently terrified.

"What did you say to her." Akane asks as she help Muri gather the things
by the door.

"Only that if she said anything of this to anyone, she would have to
deal with me and my mate." Muri tells her as she looks quickly both ways
down the corridor, then hurries Akane inside.

Akane stands for a moment, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the
darkened interior of the room, a heavy curtain being drawn against the
rays of the sun. Muri goes to the huddled form on the floor, rolls the
man over and cries out softly at his condition.

"What, did they just drag him in here and drop him?" Akane asks as her
eyes adjust enough to see the large form of a rather hairy, naked man.

Muri nods, grabs a bowl and hurries to a large jar in the corner of the
room and starts to fill it with water. Akane goes to the man, places her
armload of supplies next to him and fishes out a towel and drapes it
over his nakedness, gasping at his gaping wounds and wondering what
could have caused such damage.

"I really think we should send for Nadia." She tells Muri, who is
returning to them, slopping water over the sides of the bowl in her
haste.

"No!" Muri tells her firmly, a trace of terror in her voice. "If anyone
finds out what we're doing, they will kill us." She indicates herself
and the man before her. "Please, Great Lady!?" She pleads.

Akane takes in the terror of the woman before her, relents. "What can I
do to help?" She asks.

"First we must bathe the wounds, then bind them so that they will heal
quickly." Muri takes a sponge, dips it into the bowl and starts on one
side, Akane following her example, beginning on the other. The man
growls once as she is cleaning a particularly deep wound, opens the one
eye that isn't swollen shut and glares at her with a glowing orange eye.
Akane startles a little and Muri murmurs something to him in a soothing
tone. He relaxes and shuts his eye.

(I've seen those eyes somewhere before. But where?) She struggles with a
hazy memory that refuses to come into focus, then looses track of it as
she continues to work on the man in front of her. They finish their task
quickly and together manage to heave his heavy form onto the bed.

"Go wash yourself, Great Lady." Muri commands her, waving at the basin
and jar in the corner. As Akane finishes washing she turns to see Muri
rubbing her cheek against the man's, then rises to tug a blanket up over
him. Muri comes to her, takes her hands into both of her own, then bows
deeply and touches her forehead to the backs of Akane's hands.

"Thank-you, Lady Akane. We will never forget the kindness you have given
us this day."

"It was nothing, Muri." Akane responds, embarrassed.

Muri straightens, gives her hands a squeeze. "Come now, Great Lady, we
must hurry back before you are missed!" And hurries her out the door.

They stop and change her back into her riding tabard and rush out of the
side door. They hear a commotion coming from the direction of the
gardens.

"Come on!" Akane whispers to her and leaps a low hedge back into the
gardens proper, hurries to settle herself onto one of the benches lining
the walk. Muri drops into her place by her feet. A pair of guards trot
around a higher hedge, spy them.

"Here, Great Lord!" They yell. She can hear the rattle of armor and the
approach of a lot of people. Muri hunkers up, looking like she's getting
ready to run. Akane taps her with her foot.

"Get a grip, Muri!" She hisses at her, "We've been walking in the
gardens, nothing more."

Muri nods, takes a deep breath, composes herself. Ranma, flanked by a
squadron of guards, rounds the hedge and advances on them, a dark look
on his face, the hawk flapping her wings to steady herself against the
jar of his stride.

"Where have you been?" He demands as he halts before them, the guard
fanning out to take up position around the hedge enclosed space.

"Walking in the gardens." Akane smiles up at him, all innocence.

"Didn't you hear us calling for you?" He glares at her, then Muri.

Muri shakes her head no, betraying nothing of her state of mind.

"Why are you so upset?" Akane wants to know, sounding annoyed.

"I'm simply concerned for your safety." Something dark and alien flashes
across his face, then is gone. Akane wonders if she really saw it at
all. He takes her hand, brings it up to his lips. "If anything happened
to you..." He leaves that hanging.

"So, are we going to go riding?" She smiles at him, trying to distract
him.

"Do you wish it so?" He smiles that charming smile at her.

Akane nods. He pulls her gently to her feet, offers his arm and leads
her away, Muri breathing a nervous sigh of relief.

Akane sits nervously on top of the tall, sand colored mare that matches
the stallion Ranma is mounting next to her, Ranma handing the white hawk
to Ying-ko and then waving him off, fumbling with the reins. Muri pulls
up her darker gelding next to her and makes a show of collecting her
reins, then kicks the horse forward a little, reining left and right, so
Akane can see. Akane picks up her reins in fair imitation and gulps as
the party sets off at an easy trot.

As Muri had promised, the mares gliding gait was easy to sit and she
seemed willing to follow the stallion without much guidance. Akane
relaxes into the saddle and looks around her as they set off down the
hill from the palace, enjoying the scenery. They swing wide of the
surrounding city and tilled fields and head for the fringe of forest a
few miles away. The party, composed of about twenty men and women,
surrounded by an equal number of guards, is chatting together, one of
the men breaking into a song. Ranma keeps his horse close to hers, knees
almost brushing, and picks up the song. It's a love ballad, and as he
sings, he smiles at her. Akane blushes, lowers her eyes, embarrassed,
yet pleased. When it's done, everyone claps, then someone calls to him
and he reins back, letting Akane, Muri and a few of the other riders
pass him.

Suddenly, Akane's mare neighs in terror and rears up onto her hind legs,
Akane letting out a little shriek as she grips mane in one hand and
clenches the other firmly onto the high cantle. The mare shies sideways
with three great bounds then takes off at a flat out run, Akane slipping
sideways over the saddle as she looses her stirrups, only the crook of
her knee and her grip on the mares mane and saddle keeping her from
falling.

Muri, whose gelding is acting similarly, yanks it back under control,
hauls its' head around and kicks it after Akane's shrieking form. A
yellow flash passes her as Ranma gives chase. The stallion slowly closes
the distance between him and the mare, Akane trying to scrabble back
into the saddle but only compromising her precarious balance more. She
looses her grip on the cantle and feels herself begin to fall, then is
suddenly grabbed by the waist. They list towards the ground as her
weight tests Ranma's balance, then with a great heave, he hauls her up
over his saddle, slowing the stallion and bringing him around in a wide
circle.

"Are you all right?" He asks her as he rights her and gets her settled
comfortably onto the saddle in front of him.

She nods, her heart beating frantically. He hugs her tightly against him
with his right arm, guiding the horse with the reins in his left back
towards the riding party, Muri and the guards who has ridden after them
pulling up to ride a little behind.

The riders have pulled back a little, the horses skittish and hard to
control. Two of the guards are digging up something by where Akane's
mare freaked. Ranma reins in when they reach the group.

"What is it?" He calls to the digging guards who have pulled something
up.

One comes to him, bows low. "A konti ward, Great Lord."

Akane feels him tighten his grip around her. "Destroy it." He commands.
The guard backs away, turns to do his masters bidding.

One of the pair that went after her fleeing horse returns, bows from his
saddle.

"The Great Lady's' horse has lamed herself, Great One."

"Bring it and follow." He snaps and turns his stallion back toward the
palace. The riding party follows, quieter now, only anxious murmurs
passing between them.

"What is a konti ward?" Akane asks Ranma.

"Foul magic, Little Wife." He responds. "An assassins tool." He rests
his cheek against the back of her head. "That anything aimed at me would
bring you to harm." He whispers softly, his voice full of remorse. He
straightens. "It will not happen again, Akane, I promise you!" And kicks
the stallion into a lope, hugging her possesivly. Akane grips his strong
encircling arm tightly against the movement of the horse, very much
aware of his broad chest behind her as they ride.

The rest of the day passes as a blur, Akane letting Muri bathe her when
they return to her rooms, dress her for dinner, eats and laughs with the
rest of the court at the evening entertainment. Back in her room, she
sits quietly, turning the opal ring on her finger around and round.
She's once again in the soft white nightgown, anxiety building in her as
Muri brushes and braids her hair.

"Don't go." She whispers as Muri finishes.

"Great Lady." Muri responds, compassion in her light hazel eyes. "Do not
be afraid. I will be outside the door if you need me. All you have to do
is call." And lets herself out.

Akane remains on the stool in front of the mirror, gazing at her own
troubled refection. There was something she had been mad at Ranma about
earlier, but she just couldn't think of what it was.

(Must not have been important.)

The door across from the bed opens and Ranma comes in, hair loose about
his shoulders, wearing a pair of drawstring pants made out of the same
fabric as her gown. He takes the hawk to her perch, slides the hood over
her head and ties her firmly down for the night. He unties his leather
wrist guards as he strides over to her, tosses them onto the vanity,
stands behind her and looks at them both in the mirror. For a moment,
Akane see the refection of a woman standing behind her, then she blinks
and it's gone. Ranma takes her hand and leads her to the bed, she
following unresisting, her heart starting to hammer in her chest.

(What is wrong with me!) She hisses at herself. (He has been nothing but
loving and attentive, why am I so scared?)

He lifts her up onto the bed by her waist, sits next to her, moves the
braid to fall over her other shoulder, the brush of his fingers on her
neck sending a thrill through her.

(Just DO IT!) She commands herself, and tilts her face up to him, eyes
closed.

His kiss is gentle, caressing.

Her whole being shrieks in terror and defiance and she yanks herself
away from him, trembling. She stares at him wide-eyed and panting. He
stares down at his ring, a hurt, defeated look on his face.

"I'm sorry!" She tries to reach out to touch him, but can't bring
herself to do it.

He shakes his head with a little 'no'.

"I had just hoped." He sighs and hops off the bed and circles around and
climbs up onto his side, lays back and stretches out his right arm,
offering her his side.

(What is wrong with me?) Akane snarls at herself and forces herself into
his embrace.

"Perhaps tomorrow?" He questions as Akane snuggles herself against him,
hoping that he will think her shudders are from the cool night air.

He feels her nod against his shoulder. He hugs her gently against him,
waits until her shivers pass and her breathing evens out into the deep
rhythm of sleep, then casts the spell that will keep her somnolent until
sunrise.

He rolls the girl over onto her side, slides from the bed and covers her
tenderly with the blankets. He goes to the hawk, who is listening, head
cocked.

"She is strong, your sister." He tells her and runs a gentle finger down
the soft feathers of her breast. The hawk hisses at him and he laughs, a
low evil sound, as he goes through the door and into his study. Korin is
waiting for him with a gold encrusted black robe. He shrugs it on, waves
negligently at Muri, who bows herself out backward, a little look of
relief on her face, then turns to face the blond man who is sitting in
Chiesai's high backed chair, legs stretched out in front of him.

"No luck, huh?" He asks insolently.

"Watch your manner, dragon." Chiesai snaps back.

Yin-ko narrows his eyes in anger, but stands and bows.

"Well?" Chiesai asks, going to the window and looking out into the
night.

"They're moving. Nadira caught the aura of a gate spell, but it was done
before she could locate it."

"Find them. I want that third sister before the end of the week." He
commands, turning from the window to fix his underling with his gaze.

Yin-ko averts his face from the two dark, swirling pieces of night that
have taken the place of his masters eyes.

"Yes, Great Lord." He bows, and hurries out. 

Ranma tenses up, unable to see beyond her hand in Mousses', expecting to
run into the back wall any moment, the fog cold and thick against her,
bringing back unpleasant memories of another, blacker fog. Then it
swirls away, leaving them walking on a great plain of grass, rippling in
the chill, stiff breeze that blew away the fog. Nabiki leans back her
head and says "Wow!" at the bright stars, sharp against the night.

"Do we have everyone?" Rhiannon asks, releasing her hold on Shampoo.
There is a chorus of affirmatives as they look around at each other,
hastily dropping hands. She and Shiro set off at a brisk pace, Shampoo
walking close to Rhiannon's left shoulder, Mousse behind her, Nabiki
walking between him and Kuno, Ukyou and Ranma behind them, Tofu and
Ryoga bringing up the rear.

"Uh, where are we?" Ryoga calls up.

"Somewhere else." Shiro calls back.

"Well, where is somewhere else?" He tries again.

"Chiesai's world." Rhiannon answers him.

"Oh." He frowns.

"We're in another world?" Ukyou gulps.

Rhiannon laughs. "There are many worlds touching each other in many
places, Ukyou."

"It's not bad at all." Ranma tells Ukyou in a quiet voice.

"What do you mean?" Ukyou asks.

"Well, I don't know, I just expected it to be...evil." She says, unable
to put her images into words.

"There are many places still free of Chiesai's influence." Rhiannon
tells them. "It does get worse, believe me." She says, a hard look
coming into her face.

They walk for a while, then Tofu speeds up his pace to draw even to
Rhiannon.

"How did you bring us here?" He asks, a troubled look on his face.

"I used a Gate." Rhiannon tells him simply.

"If it can be done this way, why does Chiesai need the girls?"

Rhiannon nods, smiles to herself, approving of this one more and more.
"A Gate can be opened for a few moments without much effort. To keep one
open and balanced so it doesn't destroy its' surroundings and anything
trying to go through it requires a huge amount of power. A spell that
will not only shake this world, but all of the one's it touches."

"So, he's gonna use Akane's life force to cast the spell?" Ranma asks.

"It will take all three. You see, the force between the sisters is
balanced." Rhiannon answers.

"Then why are we taking Nabiki with us?" Kuno asks.

"Believe me, I didn't want to come." Nabiki growls at him.

"Because she's safer with us than anywhere else we could hide her."
Shiro answers him back.

Kuno looks at the girl trudging along beside him, has a little passing
thought that her hair is pretty in the starlight. Then adjusts his pack
to rest a little easier on his shoulders. Their small talk ceases
quickly as they all begin to struggle at the grueling pace the two
guardians have set.

After a few hours, Rhiannon calls a halt, having paced the line and
seeing Ranma and Nabiki both starting to fail. Ranma sinks to the
ground, starts picking at the knot of the rope that is holding the
shoulder straps of her pack together over her sling entrapped arm. Ukyou
quickly shrugs off her own pack to help her. Ryoga squats down to rest
on his heels by them, blowing.

"You're out of shape, Ranma." Ryoga huffs at her.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 8 of 15 

Ranma throws a rock at him. Dr. Tofu rests his head and weight against
the bo he's been using as a walking staff.

Shampoo and Mousse don't remove their packs, but sit cross-legged side
by side. Nabiki flops down, just leans back into her pack until it's
supporting her weight against the ground.

"Are we there yet?" She pants.

Kuno, bending at the waist and resting his hands on his knees, chest
heaving, answers with a quiet,  "I hope so."

Shiro is pacing, away from them toward the low hills barely visible
against the horizon and back, again and again as Rhiannon retrieves a
thermos and a metal cup from her small pack. She waves at Shampoo to
stay where she is as she starts to distribute the tea.

"Are we there yet?" Nabiki groans as Rhiannon hauls her up into a
sitting position by a strap, places the cup into her hands.

"No, but we're making good time." Rhiannon smiles at her.

"How much farther?" Nabiki asks.

"Two, maybe three more hours." Rhiannon tells her, compassion warring
with amusement on her face, as Nabiki stares at her, stunned.

A variety of groans and rebellious mutters follow that statement.
Rhiannon straightens, her form radiating command.

"Listen, all of you. I know that this pace is hard, but we must be off
this plain by sunrise or we'll all be dead." She sees the rebellion in
them fade, replaced by some with grim determination, others with weary
acceptance.

"This is the only time we'll have to walk, they're mounts waiting for us
ahead." She offers, hoping this will help to spur them on. She doesn't
tell them that she and Shiro will carry Nabiki between them and leave
the rest, if it comes to that. She leaves the thermos within easy reach
of the group and goes to talk with Shiro.

Thirty minutes later she calls, "Everybody up!"

They rise, in better spirits now that they've regained their wind. Ukyou
starts to help Ranma with her pack and both are surprised when Rhiannon
comes over, takes it from her and begins to don it.

"Hey!" Ranma grabs the straps. "I can carry my own weight!"

Rhiannon stares at Ranma's hand, until she releases the strap.

"It's easier to carry this now, than you and it later." Rhiannon tells
her frankly, as she finishes shrugging into it.

"I just hate it when everyone treats me like I'm a girl." Ranma mutters.

"You are a girl." Ryoga says sweetly from behind his shoulder.

"Shut up, Ryoga." Ranma tells him quietly.

Rhiannon turns on Ryoga, gives him a hard stare before she heads back to
the front of the line. Ryoga drops his head, a troubled look on his
face.

(What's going on with those two?) Dr. Tofu and Ukyou wonder, as they
take in that exchange.

"Two hours. I can do two hours." Ranma tells herself and Ukyou as they
fall into step.

An hour and twenty minutes later, Shiro stops at the beginning slopes of
the foothills and between Rhiannon and Kuno, gets an exhausted Nabiki
and pack settled onto his back, the girl clinging with determined
tenacity to his neck. Ukyou has been pulling Ranma, who has slipped into
a daze, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, the
last few miles by the hand. Ryoga comes up beside Ranma, drapes her
uninjured arm across his shoulders and helps support her with an arm
around her waist.

"Ryoga!" Ranma pushes at him as she comes back into focus.

"Shut up and just let me help you." Ryoga hisses fiercely back at her.
Ranma looks at the slopes in front of them.

"Thanks, Ryoga." She whispers, in an embarrassed little voice. They
start off again, Kuno and Rhiannon keeping Nabiki steady between them.
After another hour of slow climbing and descending scrabbles Shiro
brings his head up sharply, as the smell of smoke and blood reaches his
sensitive nose.

"Rhiannon, go!" He tells her, that particular combination of scents
meaning nothing but trouble. "Almost there." He tells the girl clinging
to his neck and the exhausted group straggling behind him.

He hears the village bell ring in alarm at Rhiannon's arrival. He
strides up the last crest and looks down into the shattered remains of
Raven's Gate, Rhiannon the central focus of a group of milling
townsfolk. He starts down, heading for the easier footing of the road
leading into the town.

A group of helpful hands wait for their arrival as they pass through the
ruined gates, some moving to help Kuno get Nabiki off him, others
helping remove packs from weary backs.

Ryoga sinks to his knee's as he reaches the town square, Ranma a dead
weight against his side. Ukyou plops down on his other side, swaying
with exhaustion, leans against him and is asleep.

"Come. Come!" An older woman and some men say to him as they collect
Ukyou and take Ranma from him, help him out of his pack and lead him,
stumbling, to a building. There are mats set up waiting for them. Ryoga
heads for the nearest one and collapses on it, unconscious before his
head hits the pillow.

He wakes to an insistent shake at his shoulder. He blinks groggily up
into Dr. Tofu's face.

"Come on, Ryoga." Tofu shakes him again.

"What." He groans, wanting another eight hours of sleep, at least.

"They've got the bath heated. Unless you want a cold one, you'd better
come now." The Doctor informs him.

That brings him totally awake. He grumbles and hisses as sore muscles
protest moving. There is a pile of clothing stacked neatly next to his
mat.

"These aren't mine." He tells Dr. Tofu, shaking out a soft brown shirt
and looking at the darker, short sleeved leather vest studded with armor
plates.

"They are now." The Doctor smiles at him, a pile of similar clothing in
his own arms. "Come on."

Ryoga slides into his shoes, collects his new clothes and follows Tofu
out into the late afternoon sun. He looks around at the people working
to rebuild the ruins of their town as they walk, shocked.

"What happened here?" He asks.

"Apparently their tithe came up short and Chiesai got annoyed." Tofu
tells him, sadness and anger playing across his features. "Here." Tofu
steers him into a stone building, sans roof and where one of the walls
was destroyed, draped with blankets hanging from a rope, giving some
privacy.

Inside is a large steaming pool with a high, thin, stone wall running
through it. Kuno and Mousse are already in the water, Kuno with his head
resting back against the edge of the pool, eyes closed and body relaxed,
the Tendo sword laying in easy reach on a towel, Mousse sitting on the
bottom with as much of him submerged as he can get. Tofu and Ryoga wash
quickly, rinse and slide themselves into the hot water, Ryoga letting
out a little sigh of pleasure as the water starts to loosen up knotted
muscles. He can hear the murmur of female voices on the other side of
the wall, then Ranma's unmistakable soprano rises.

"Ukyou, there's soap in my eyes!" She complains.

"Well, if you'd hold still and keep your head tilted back, you wouldn't
get soap in your eyes." He hears Ukyou scold back.

"Nabiki, stop that!" Ranma yells.

"Just hold still, Ranma." He hears Nabiki laugh.

There's the sound of a body hitting the water and a little ripple flows
across to their side.

"Ranma!" He hears Shampoo shriek. Then the sounds of a shrieking,
giggling splash battle ensue. Kuno scowls and crosses his arms but
doesn't move when a large wave of water clears the dividing wall and
splashes onto him. Mousse moves up to sit by Ryoga on the stone ledge
that runs against the side of the pool, allowing a bather to sit
comfortably and still remain mostly submerged after the second time he's
swamped.

"Well, I think the girls have recovered well." Dr. Tofu says, moving to
the far side of the pool, out of splash range.

After about twenty minutes, Tofu calls over the wall to the girls and
herds the boys out to start dressing. They exit the building together,
similarly clad in warm thick pants, soft long sleeved shirts and long
leather vests, studded with mail, all in varying shades of brown, Kuno
stubbornly keeping his hakima, Ranma, under much protest, re-bandaged
and bound into her sling. There is a man waiting for them.

"This way, Honorables." He leads them over to the open area of the
square, where Rhiannon is overseeing the outfitting of the five
strangely dappled horses standing hip-shot and tethered.

"Uh, there are only five." Ryoga says, a little wave of distress
entering him as he wonders if some of them are going to be left behind.

"That is all that the Dragon left." Their guide tells him bitterly.

"The Dragon?" Kuno asks.

"Yin-ko. May his carcass rot in the deepest place of hell." The man
snarls.

Rhiannon waves them over. "Do any of you know how to take care of a
horse and tack?" She asks hopefully.

Ryoga and Ukyou raise their hands.

"Good. You two will be in charge of the horses." She tells them. "Does
everyone know how to ride?"

Everyone except Ranma and Nabiki raise their hands. Ranma quickly adds
her hand, leaving only Nabiki.

(How hard can it be?) She thinks to herself.

"Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, I need to know what your shape-shifts are." She
asks, tugging on a cinch.

The three look at each other uncomfortably.

"Ryoga's a pig." Ranma tells her helpfully.

"Ranma!" Ryoga snarls.

"Well, you are." Ranma smiles at him sweetly and retreats around a
horse.

Rhiannon nods. "Shampoo?"

"Shampoo take cat form."

"Big or little?" Rhiannon asks.

"Little." Shampoo sighs.

"Mousse?"

"A duck." He says quietly, embarrassed.

Rhiannon smiles at him, pleased.

"Good!"

"It is?" He asks, unbelieving.

"I was hoping one of you would be aerial. Eyes in the sky will greatly
improve our chances of keeping out of the way of Chiesai's patrols."

The group as a unit, groans. Rhiannon looks at them questioningly.

"Mousse not see past end of own nose! And leave glasses behind. Stupid."
Shampoo hisses at him.

"I can so." Mousse replies in a challenging voice.

"Yeah, right." Ranma chimes in. "So what color are those flowers?" She
points to a plant against a house wall, far across the square, knowing
Mousse can't even see it.

"The red ones or the yellow one?" He asks her.

They all look at him stunned. Rhiannon smiles to herself.

"There's a yellow one?" Ranma asks, squinting over at the bush.

Mousse nods, a self-satisfied look on his face.

"That what you do to Mousse yesterday?" Shampoo questions Rhiannon.

Rhiannon nods at her then calls, "Shari!"

An older woman, honey colored hair graying with age, comes to her.

"This is Ryoga and Ukyou." She waves the two forward. "They will be
taking care of your horses. Please make sure they can."

Shari nods to the pair of young people, then takes them over to the
waiting horses, talking quietly, asking of their experience.

"The rest of you, go with Kai. He'll take you to get something to eat,
and after that, feel free to relax, just don't wander outside of the
village walls. We'll leave after sunset."

The man who brought them from the bath house bows and leads the way
across the square and toward another damaged building. Shampoo begins to
help Rhiannon finish transferring the stuff from their backpacks into
saddlebags, Mousse hovering close.

"Mousse, please go get yourself and Shampoo something to eat and bring
it back here." Rhiannon suggests.

"And for you?" He asks.

"I've already eaten, thanks." She replies and watches Shampoo watch
Mousse out of the corner of her eye, a thoughtful expression on the
Amazon's face, as he hurries to follow the others. "Shampoo," she calls
the young woman's attention back to her, "tell me about the nature of
your shape shift."

And Shampoo begins to explain the strange nature of the Jusenkyou
training grounds.

After a simple supper taken communally with the rest of the villagers,
who seem to regard them with some awe, they wander back out into the
rapidly receding early evening sunlight, Ryoga and Ukyou going back to
the horses, followed by Nabiki, Kuno and Dr. Tofu, Ranma wandering off
to stretch her legs.

Kuno goes to one of the two stallions tethered to the outside of the
bunch and runs his hand along it's strong neck.

"They're so big!" Nabiki says to him, reaching up to pat the horses'
soft nose.

Dr. Tofu studies the tall horse Nabiki is patting, taking in the strange
dappling over the sand colored coat. They are sharp, light and dark
brown angular rosettes, like the pattern sunlight would make shining
through the leaves of a tree.

"I've never seen this kind of markings on a horse." He says to Shari who
is sitting near the horses, watching Ryoga and Ukyou fiddle with tack
with a critical eye.

"They are a very special breed, Honorable." Shari answers him. "Our
village has been breeding them for many generations. Those markings make
them hard to see from a distance. They are fast yet have great endurance
and are intelligent and sweet tempered. And they are the only breed who
will tolerate carrying the Children of Darkness. They are the wealth of
our village."

"Kai said these where the only one's you had left." Kuno asks.

Shari nods back to him, her eyes and face hard. "Yin-ko took the herd.
We hope that the Great Lady and her Lord will be able to return them to
us."

(Speaking of the Great Lady.) Tofu thinks and turns slowly, scanning the
surroundings, the gentle glow of oil lamps warring with the quickly
failing light. He sees Shampoo and Mousse in silouhette, standing guard
by the bath house. "Has Shiro risen?" He asks.

Shari points to the bathhouse. Rhiannon and Shiro come out together,
both wearing the same outfit as the rest of the party and head over to
the young people gathered at the horses.

"Good evening, all." Shiro nods. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Where's Ranma?" Nabiki asks, looking around.

"I'll go get hi...her." Ukyou volunteers and heads off in the direction
she had seen Ranma wander.

She finds her sitting on a pile of rubble where a house had once stood,
a strange, hard expression on her pretty face.

"Ranma?" Ukyou asks, unsure of her mood.

"I'm going to kill this creep." Ranma tells her flatly. "I'm gonna get
my body back, get Akane back and then beat him into pulp."

"Of course you will." Ukyou answers, swallowing a sad sigh. "We're ready
to go."

Ranma hops off the pile of stones and heads for the horses, her step
firm with determination.

The group is mounting when they join them, Shampoo with Mousse behind
her, Shiro tossing Nabiki up behind Kuno. Ryoga moves his foot out of
his stirrup and offers his hand to Ukyou.

"Why do you get the saddle!" She demands.

"Because I didn't go running off after Ranma." He smiles at her sweetly.

"Why don't you ride with him?" She says to Ranma and heads for Dr. Tofu.

"No way!" Ranma yells and sprints past her and tries to scrabbles up
behind Dr. Tofu, her sudden movements causing the mare to lay her ears
flat against her head and dance sideways. Ranma grabs at Dr. Tofu, who
grabs mane to keep his seat.

"Ranma!" He states firmly, as close to yelling as he ever comes. Shari
makes a quick grab at the mares head, her soothing whispers bringing the
horse back to a calm stand.

Dr. Tofu twists himself around, looks at Ranma, who is looking sheepish
and wiggling, trying to find a comfortable nook between the saddlebags.

"Well, I'm not going to ride with Ryoga!" She says back defiantly.

"Horses don't like quick movements. Please try to remember that in the
future, O.K.?" Dr. Tofu tells her as he settles himself back into the
saddle. "Quit wiggling Ranma." (This is going to be a long ride.) He
sighs to himself.

Ukyou is still standing, glaring at Ryoga.

"I'll swap off with you, O.K.?" He offers.

"We're leaving now Ukyou." Rhiannon calls from her perch behind Shiro's
saddle as he kicks the stallion forwards.

"Two hours each, then we switch." Ukyou growls at Ryoga as she grabs his
hand and lets him haul her up behind him.

"Three." Ryoga counters.

"Fine, three." Ukyou tells him, intending to keep the mare at as jarring
a gait as possible when it's her turn in the saddle.

They set out at a slow, ground eating trot, away from the plain they had
crossed the night before and toward the thick forest that looms a few
miles to the north of Raven's Gate.

"Are we always going to travel at night?" Ryoga asks, peering at the
landscape around him, frowning to himself as it becomes indistinct as
the light finally gives out.

Rhiannon turns herself so she is sitting with her back against Shiro,
resting her hands on the stallions hind quarters.

"Yes." She raises her voice so they can all hear. "We need to be moving
when Chiesai is the most powerful, which is at night. Tonight we should
be able to travel easily, but once we cross Goldwater, we're in
Chiesai's territory and will all have to be on guard."

"Shouldn't we be going the other way?" Kuno asks.

"Always do the unexpected." Rhiannon smiles at him. "It will take us ten
days to reach Blackwater, the Dark One's stronghold, if everything goes
well. We will have two days then before the Moondark to stage a rescue."

"Moondark?" Ukyou questions.

"The dark of the moon." Tofu calls up to her.

"Why the dark of the moon?" Ukyou asks.

"The Gate Chiesai wishes to open can only be cast on the one night there
is no sunlight reflected in the sky. After that, he'll have to wait
until another cycle passes."

"Ten days!" Ranma groans behind Dr. Tofu, still unable to find a
comfortable perch amid the gear strapped to the saddle.

They pass under the leading trees of the forest into the pitch blackness
of its' shelter. Shiro pulls up and Rhiannon slides off from behind him
and goes to the large crystal set in the chest strap of the stallions
tack and hums to it softly. It begins to emit a gentle glow, strong
enough to light the path in front of them. She goes to every horse,
repeats the process and checks girths, then lets Shiro tug her up behind
him again. They continue on, single file, the horses sure footed on the
narrow track. The rustle and sound of the forest and it's creatures
becoming familiar and unthreatening. After three hours, Shiro brings
them to a halt.

"Everyone off, we walk for a while, stretch out legs." He calls back to
them, handing the reins to Rhiannon and going to help Nabiki down. There
are a variety of small groans as people dismount.

"Stay close, Nabiki." Shiro smiles at her as he steadies her and goes
back to reclaim the stallion, Nabiki following, rubbing at her lower
back. Rhiannon rummages through a saddle bag, comes up with the thermos
and a cup and offers drinks as they start walking. She offers it to
Nabiki and Shiro first, then goes to Shampoo and Mousse. When they've
finished, Shampoo hands the reins to Mousse and lets him walk the horse
past her, staying with Rhiannon as she falls into step with Kuno.

"This afternoon, we start training, Warrior." She informs him.

"If you believe it necessary." He replies arrogantly, taking the cup and
drinking it down.

Rhiannon laughs with a wicked delight. "Oh, yes, Tatewake Kuno, it's
necessary."

"I might surprise you." He smiles back as he hands her the empty cup,
accompanied by little bow.

"We'll see tomorrow." She smiles back at him and steps aside to let him
pass.

"That one too sure of self." Shampoo says after him with a little scowl.

"You start training tomorrow, too." Rhiannon tells the Amazon.

"Why?" Shampoo asks.

"If you're going to be my Shield, you had best learn how I fight, so I
don't cut off your pretty little head by accident."

"You still mad at Shampoo?" The girl asks, looking at her, her eyes full
of remorse.

"Mad, no. Annoyed, yes." Rhiannon states as she offers Ryoga the cup.

"How are you holding up, Ryoga?" She asks.

"I've been traveling most of my life." He tells her with a little sigh.
"This is nothing new." And hands her back the cup.

They let him pass and go to Ukyou and Ranma, who are walking side by
side, Tofu bringing up the rear.

"Uh, Rhiannon, do you think Akane's all right." Ranma asks as she's
handing Ukyou the cup.

"Chiesai will not harm either of them until he has Nabiki and can cast
the Gate." She assures him.

"But what do you think he's doing to her?" Ranma asks, her voice full of
anxiety. The image of Akane bound and miserable in a dungeon haunting
her.

Rhiannon is silent for a moment, weighing her answer.

"I imagine he's trying to seduce her." She tells the young man in the
little woman's body gently.

"What?" Ranma and Ryoga both bellow, Ryoga having slowed the mare and
fallen back to walk by the stirrup when he heard Ranma ask about Akane.

"Akane's passion is the basis, the power of her soul. If he can harness
that passion, turn it to him, his power over the Gate will be greater.
It would be simple for him to throw a spell over her to make her
question her memories of you and her friends." She waves her hand to
take in the whole party. "And he has your body." She says meaningfully.

"He wouldn't dare." Ranma hisses.

"He would and probably is." Rhiannon responds, compassion in her eyes.

Ryoga tugs the mare forward, fury in his eyes. "I'm going to kill that
bastard!" He swears in a fierce mutter.

Rhiannon hands the cup and thermos to Shampoo, takes Ranma's clenched
fist into her hands. "Listen to me, Ranma. Akane's spirit is very
strong. Her soul will resist the Dark One, knowing that it is not you.
You must put your hope in that."

Ranma pulls her hand away and stomps forwards, eyes narrowed in
frustrated fury, Ukyou hurrying beside her, reasoning with her quietly.

Rhiannon takes the full cup from Shampoo and offers it to Tofu.

"And Kasumi?" He asks softly.

"I imagine he would have her locked into a very secure, very safe
dungeon."

"Well, it's probably the cleanest dungeon cell in history." He says it
lightly, trying not to betray the cold dispair that is taking root in
his soul.

Rhiannon covers his hand with her own as she takes back the empty cup,
giving a little squeeze in sympathy. He gives her a brave smile,
squeezes back. She walks with him for a few minutes then heads back for
the head of the line. After thirty minutes, they remount and continue
on.

Around three, Shiro leaves the trail and heads deeper into the forest.
Soon they can hear the rush of water. He reins in at the edge of a good
sized clearing, a small, fast moving river running through it and
dismounts.

"We'll make camp here." He calls to the saddle weary group.

"You know any shiatsu points for saddle sores?" Ranma complains quietly
to Tofu as he hands her down off the saddle.

"No." Tofu answers, wincing as he dismounts. "But I plan to discover
some immediately."

The rest of the party dismount, rubbing at knees and backs, the males of
the group walking a little gingerly.

"Ukyou, Ryoga, will you start on the horses?" Rhiannon asks. "Ranma,
Nabiki, go to the river and find some large flat stones to make a
fireplace. Everyone else, gather some firewood and get a fire started."

Shiro undoes the wide belt that holds the vest together at his waist and
hands it and his boots to Rhiannon. Then he pads over to Kuno.

"Stay with Nabiki, keep her safe." He commands him in a low growl, his
face starting to take on the angular leanness of his change.

Kuno bows to him, dropping his gaze from the glowing embers that have
started to burn in the depths of Shiro's eyes. Then the Child of
Darkness that rides with Shiro's soul turns and strides away into the
forest to hunt.

Kuno tugs his horse to Ukyou and throws the reins at her and hurries off
after Nabiki's shape disappearing into the trees.

"Hey!" Ukyou yells after him. "I'm not your slave, you know! What a
jerk!" She mutters to Ryoga as she coaxes the horse forwards with a
little cluck of her tongue to stand with the others.

Rhiannon brings the stallion over to stand with them and unloads the
saddle bags off his saddle, taking them over and leaning them against
the trunk of a huge tree. She makes several more trips, moving the ones
Ryoga and Ukyou are off loading. She then quickly unsaddles the stud
with a skill borne of many years of repetition, slides the bridal off
over his ears, leaving him with only his halter and tie rope.  She lets
it dangle, knowing that he will obey the ground tie, goes to the mare
next to him and starts on her.

"Where did Shiro go?" Ukyou asks, working on unsaddling another.

"Hunting." Rhiannon responds.

"Oh."

Rhiannon takes the stallions' saddle and one of the mares and hauls them
to the tree, Ranma passing her, carrying a rock in her usable hand,
plops it onto the pile she's creating.

"Where's Nabiki?" She demands, quickly looking around.

"Potty break." Ranma tells her, waves at the trees where Nabiki headed.
She can see Rhiannon tense. "It's O.K., Kuno went with her."

"I think that'll be enough, Ranma." She tells her, starting to arrange
them into a circle, Ranma helping, keeping her eye on the area where
Ranma had indicated.

Kuno plows into the underbrush where he lost sight of Nabiki, cursing
under his breath.

"Nabiki!" He calls loudly.

"I'm busy, Kuno." He hears her reply from behind a tree. He spins around
so his back is to her as he figures out what she's doing, makes a show
of collecting some fallen branches.

After a few seconds, Nabiki comes out from behind her tree, heads back
for the camp.

"Next time, take one of the other girls with you." He frowns at her,
following.

"I think I'm old enough to go to the bathroom by myself." She responds.

"You can't just go off by yourself!" He tells her, his voice raised.

"Are you worried about me?" She stops and turns to face him, her
eyebrows going up in surprise.

"Yes!" He responds quickly, then "Uh, no." Confused by the rush of
feelings that had washed over him when she had wandered out of his
sight. "Shiro said I had to keep an eye on you." He recovers.

"Your such a twit, Kuno." Nabiki tells him flatly and starts off again,
pausing every few steps to collect some wood.

He collects branches too, and they both have a good armload full when
they come back into the camp. They deposit it with the pile that the
Doctor and Mousse have collected, Kuno moving a saddle over to lean
against as he sits by the fire and stretches his legs out in front of
him, hissing at the soreness in his thighs and buttocks. Nabiki
pointedly goes around to the other side of the fire to sit with Ranma,
Ukyou and Ryoga coming in and joining them, having finished watering the
horses and  turning them out to graze.

"Trouble between the young couple?" Ranma quips at her.

"Curl up and die, Ranma." Nabiki responds an emotionless voice.

"Oh, I hit a nerve, huh, Nabiki?" She teases.

"Me and Kuno? Get real." She snaps back.

"Looked pretty chummy to me, all cuddled up on that horse." Ranma
continues.

"What, are you jealous because he hasn't been hanging all over you
lately?" Nabiki taunts.

"You know, now that you mention it, he hasn't tried to touch me once in
the last two days." She looks across at Kuno, who is talking with the
Doctor.

"Is he sick or something?" She asks.

Nabiki shrugs. "Maybe you've just lost your sex appeal?" She suggests,
striking back at Ranma through his ego. "What do you think, Ryoga, is
Ranma sexy?"

"I've never thought Ranma was sexy!" Ryoga answers her, looking
disgusted at the very idea.

"What do you think, Ukyou?" Nabiki asks, milking this for everything it
worth.

"Well...not at the moment." Ukyou hedges.

"What?!" Ranma looks at them, startled. "I'll show you!" She rises,
starts on her best Shampoo imitation as she closes in on Kuno.

"Oh, Kuno!" She calls to him, in a seductive, breathless little voice.

Kuno tenses up as Ranma drops to her knees beside him.

"What do you want, Saotome?" He asks her, his voice hard.

Ranma blinks, surprised.

"Are you feeling all right?" She asks sweetly, annoyed that he isn't
responding.

"I'm fine. Now, go away." He slides a little away from her.

She follows, sitting in close. He whirls to his feet, retreats around
the saddle, glowering at her.

"What do you think you're doing, Saotome?" He growls at her.

"Just trying to be friendly." Ranma makes puppy dog eyes at him.

Kuno shudders. "To think that I could ever have had feelings for a boy
masquerading in a woman's body!" He hisses at her.

"Huh?!" Ranma blinks.

"I think he's finally figured it out, Ranma." Nabiki calls sweetly, then
starts to laugh.

"Ha Ha. Very funny." She glares at Nabiki, then turns to the young man.
"Kuno..."

"Just stay away from me, Saotome." Kuno tells her as he turns his back
to her.

"There's a hot spring close if anyone's interested." Rhiannon breaks in, 
digging some cooking gear out of a pack, deciding it's time to defuse
the situation. Everyone perks up.

"Where!?" They ask in unison.

"Follow the stream up about 150 yards, there's a little fork there,
follow it to the left and you'll see a grove of trees. It's there." She
instructs them.

There is a mad scramble as everyone starts rummaging through saddle
bags, hunting bathing gear.

"Soap." Nabiki holds up her prize.

"I've got a towel." Ukyou chimes in.

"Me too!" Ranma adds, throwing it to Nabiki and pulling out another one.

"Hey! That's my stuff!" Ryoga shouts, grabbing at the towel Ranma has
retrieved.

Ranma flips it out of his grasp with a whirl and starts playing one
armed matador to Ryoga's lunges.

Rhiannon goes to the bag holding the rest of the towels, distributes
them.  "There are three pools, you can all go together." Rhiannon smiles
as Ryoga and Ranma start playing tug o'war, hurling insults at each
other.

The young people start off, Tofu leading the way.

"Hey, wait up!" Ryoga and Ranma call and run after them, each still in
firm possession of one end of the towel.

"You can go with them." Rhiannon tells Shampoo as she starts on their
simple supper.

"Shampoo duty to stay here." She tells the older woman stubbornly.

"Your choice." Rhiannon shrugs.

They return about forty minutes later to the smell of food, Rhiannon and
Shampoo just finishing pitching the large tent that will shelter them
through the coming day.

They hang their towels on some low branches and at Rhiannon's
suggestion, help themselves to the stew simmering over the fire.
Rhiannon joins them, politely waving off the bowl Nabiki offers.

"We need to set watches. There are enough of you to rotate through three
days, letting everyone get at least one full night. Mousse is excused,
he'll need all the rest he can get since he will be flying for us. We'll
stand four hours each, in pairs. Any volunteers for first watch?"

Dr. Tofu holds up his hand, Kuno adding, "I will."

"Ryoga, you and Ukyou take the second one." She decides.

Ryoga and Ukyou glare at each other.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Rhiannon asks, the look on her face
saying it better not be. They both look down, shake their heads.

"You can sleep where you choose." She tells them.

"You want us all to sleep in the tent?" The girls ask, looking at the
males of the party.

"Well, Shiro and I are going to rest there. As I said, you may sleep
where you wish." She responds, amused.

They all look at each other uneasily. Then Dr. Tofu smiles as he hits on
a solution.

"Come help me Ukyou, Nabiki." He asks, and collects a few blankets and a
length of rope and quickly rigs a curtain dividing the tent into two
sides. Rhiannon brings in her and Shiro's sleeping roll, starts to set
it up at the back of the tent, the rest of the party following suit.
Rhiannon finishes then goes out to stand by the river's edge in the
quickly fading night, Shampoo a shadow sitting a little down river from
her, Mousse the shadow's shadow. Shiro's shape forms out of the
darkness, from the direction of the hot springs, the water from his bath
steaming off of his hair in the cool pre-dawn breeze. He comes to her
and slides his arms around her waist, talking to her quietly.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 9 of 15


Nabiki and Ranma watch them from the fire, both with longing looks in
their eyes. Shiro and Rhiannon come into the camp, smile at the two
girls and go into the tent, Shampoo and Mousse following.

(How can anyone be so much in love?) Nabiki and Ranma both think, then
sigh in unison and follow.

Two hours into Tofu and Kuno's watch, Rhiannon comes out, followed
by a sleepy-eyed Shampoo who is carrying her bedding, nods to them and
goes and stretches herself out in the sunlight, Shampoo grumbling and
reshaping her bedroll in the shade of the tree. Four hours in, Tofu
makes a pot of tea, goes and shakes a drowsing Kuno into awareness and
heads in to wake up Ukyou and Ryoga.

Toward the end of their watch, Rhiannon stretches and comes to the fire
and pours herself a cup of tea, smiling at the two young people who are
sitting on opposite sides of the stone ring, locked in a staring match,
neither willing to admit fatigue. She finishes her morning drink,
meanders toward the river, shaking her head with amusement as the two
yawn in unison. She returns a little later, carrying two large fish.

"Here." She throws one each to the two guards. They both reach out and
snag them deftly, neither of them breaking eye contact. "Would you clean
these for me?" She asks, going to retrieve some spices out of a bag.

The two continue to stare at each other.

"Now." She suggests firmly.

"Draw?" Ryoga ask Ukyou.

"For now." Ukyou responds. They lower their eyes together. Rhiannon
throws two sharp knives to them which they catch with their free hands.
They rise and stretch, then head for the river to do the messy job. When
they return, Rhiannon sends them back to bed for a few more hours of
sleep, taking the watch and getting the meal started. Around three she
changes into a gi, then goes and nudges Kuno awake with her foot. He
blinks sleepily up at her. She smiles down at him, a devilish gleam in
her eye.

"Time, Warrior." She whispers to him, so as not to disturb the other
sleepers.

She waits until he has sat up, yawning hugely before she leaves the tent
and goes to warm up with the shorter of the two bokens they will use for
practice. Kuno comes out, wearing a gi and his hakima, goes and splashes
some water on his face from a large bowl, brushes his teeth, combs his
hair, then goes and sits by Shampoo, who has just risen herself and
pours himself a cup of tea. He studies Rhiannon with a critical eye as
he sips.

"Whenever your ready." She calls to him, running through a series of
complicated katas, most of which he recognizes. "Shampoo, you watch.
I'll call for you when we're ready."

He finishes his tea, goes and starts his warm up, trying to follow one
of the katas he's not sure of. Rhiannon slows it down, allowing him
follow, repeating a section if he's lost. After a few minutes, he turns
to face her, boken down and to his side at the ready. She matches his
stance, then attacks. They trade blows, both attacking and defending,
evenly matched, then break off. He smiles at her arrogantly, easily
blocking her attacks. She smiles back then steps up the difficulty of
her attack. He counters and responds, with a little more effort. They
break again.

"Your formal technique is very strong." She smiles at him. "Now, we'll
play for real."

This time she uses all her speed and training, sending him retreating
and barley blocking her attacks. She sees that he's leaving his left
lower flank repeatedly unguarded and strikes.

"Ow!" He drops the boken down into the pause position and leaps back
from her, rubs at his thigh.

"You're leaving an opening there." She tells him. "Again." And brings
her boken back up, repeating the attack.

Kuno responds, leaves the same opening, gets hit again.

"Again." This time he manages to block her thrust, but she catches him
at the wrist. The smug look of confidence is rapidly fading from his
face.

"Again." She attacks.

The rest of the party, except for Shiro, come straggling out of the
tent, the sound of wood striking wood and the shouts of the combatants
waking them up. They groggily move through their morning routines, then
gather at the fire for tea.

"Boy, she's good." Ranma remarks, watching the two dueling figures. Kuno
has managed to get through the attack without getting hit. Rhiannon
let's him attack first then comes back at him with something totally
different.

"Ow!" Kuno hisses and backs off, rubbing at his shoulder.

"Shampoo!" Rhiannon summons. The Amazon collects her bonburi and joins
them. "The rest of you, get warmed up and come and play." Rhiannon
calls.

There are two protests of pain during the next pass, Kuno leaving his
flank open again and Shampoo getting in the way of a strike. They work
for a while as the others warm up, Shampoo slowly getting the rhythm of
Rhiannon's attacks and defenses, Kuno learning new technique the hard
way.

"Doctor, if you'd like to join Kuno?" She asks.

He does, bring his bo into play. Rhiannon calls instruction to all of
them, trading opponents with Shampoo, then tells Kuno to step out for a
rest and calls in Ukyou and Mousse. It goes on that way, Rhiannon having
them spar with her and each other, sometimes signally, sometimes as
groups, swapping opponents frequently. When Ranma comes over, bored with
one armed katas and looking to join them, both she and the Doctor shake
their heads firmly no. Ranma stalks over and sinks down by Nabiki,
pouting, but can't help but be impressed at her fellow journiers skills,
seeing Rhiannon spot some strength in one and then counter it with the
skill of another. After about an hour, she calls a halt, smiling at the
huffing, bruised group with pleasure.

"You did very well. Better than I expected. Now, clean up and eat." She
bows to them formally and goes to collect her clothes and change.

They split up, some going to the river for a quick dip, others back to
the fire, some into the tent to change. She studies them when they
gather to eat the fish and rice she's prepared, noticing the limps and
rubbing going on, fishes a jar of ointment out of her saddlebag and
waits for them to finish. Tofu finishes first, so Rhiannon goes and
collects a towel and hands it to him.

"Get undressed." She tells him.

"Why?" He looks at her, unsure.

She holds out the jar. "We're going to have to do something, or none of
you are going to be able to move after ten hours on horseback."

He takes the towel, goes into the tent, returns with it wrapped around
his waist. He sits and presents his back to her, taking a helping of the
ointment and starting on his legs as she begins to massage the soothing
stuff into the weary muscles of his back.

"Everyone, into towels and help each other." Rhiannon instructs. "Girls
in the tent." She tells them, short circuiting that problem before it
can even raise it's head.

They all move to obey. Rhiannon, finished with Tofu, spreads a generous
amount of the ointment onto a leaf and hands it to him. He takes it and
goes to Mousse, who has just come out of the bushes where the guys are
changing. She takes the jar into the tent, starts to work on Shampoo,
Ranma starting on Ukyou.

"Why don't you go help the men?" Rhiannon suggests to Nabiki.

Nabiki looks at her suspiciously.

"You don't have to if you don't want too." She tells her quietly.

Nabiki goes out, sees the Doctor working on Ryoga, Mousse heading back
to change, Kuno sitting a little apart, his back to them. She takes a
deep breath, wondering if Rhiannon wasn't trying to matchmake, collects
a handful of the ointment as she passes the Doctor and heads for Kuno.
She kneels behind him, reaches  her arm around him and offers some.

"You're going to have to do your own legs." She tells him firmly.

He takes some from her hand, begins to rub it into his calf muscles as
she starts to work on his back. She intentionally starts out rough, but
after his first few winces, she relents and her hands become gentle. She
carefully avoids the angry red mark on his shoulder from the boken blow,
and scolds herself for thinking how nice and broad and well muscled his
back is beneath her hands.

"Thank-you, Nabiki." He says quietly as she finishes and rises, hurrying
away from him. She can't see the strange expression on his face. He
closes his eyes.

(Not another Tendo woman!) He promises himself, the feeling of Nabiki's
gentle hands seared into his flesh and memory.

By the time everyone is dressed, it's late afternoon, the sun casting
long shadows through the trees. Rhiannon asks them to start breaking
camp, sending Ukyou and Ryoga to retrieve the horses, collects two cups
of tea and goes into the tent. When she and Shiro come out, the sun has
dipped far enough toward the horizon to throw the interior of the forest
around them into a dim twilight. Everything is packed and loaded back
onto the saddled horses except the tent and the double bed roll which
they bring out with them. Shiro and Rhiannon strike the tent and pack it
and the bed roll quickly onto their stallion, the company relaxing, not
looking forwards to the nights ride. As Rhiannon goes and softly sings
to the crystals on the horses harness, Shiro calls them together.

"Tonight we start north and will cross the ford at Goldwater into
Chiesai's territory. From here on we be traveling hard and fast and
everyone will need to be on their guard. Rhiannon is going to have to
dampen her power, so try not to injure yourselves. If, for some reason
we become separated, continue due north until you reach the Barrens
Plain. There is a Traveler's House there, stay hidden and wait until we
regather." He holds them with his eyes, making sure they understand the
seriousness of the situation. "Any questions?"

"How will we know when we reach the Barrens Plain?" Ryoga asks.

"You'll know." Shiro tells them, a hard look on his face. "It's name
describes it to a tee."

"I don't know why you're worried about it, Ryoga. You'd never be able to
find it anyway." Ranma whispers to him.

Ryoga pokes her hard in the ribs with a stick he has been fiddling with.  

"Why is Rhiannon going to have to dampen her power." Nabiki asks, a
little scared at this prospect.

"Chiesai and his servants are very sensitive to the powers of the Light.
If Rhiannon has to tap into it, he will know where we are within
seconds. Anything else?" He waits. When no one speaks up he calls,
"Mount up then. Mousse, go change. Rhiannon will tell you what to watch
out for."

Mousse goes to Rhiannon as the others finish last minute business.
Rhiannon describes to him the livery, markings and habits of Chiesai's
patrols as they head to the river. She turns her back as Mousse goes
behind a tree and strips. She hears a splash and turns to see a large
white duck paddle over to bank and clamber out, shaking the water from
his wings. She collects his clothes and they go back to the mounted
party. She tucks his things into one of the saddlebags on Shampoos mare,
then goes and gathers the duck up into her arms. She gives him a little
hug, then changes her grip so she holds him by his body under his wings.

"Ready?" She asks.

Mousse nods. She tosses him high into the air and with a few strong
strokes of his wings, he's high above them and heading into the northern
sky.

 

After a few hours the forest starts to thin and they can hear the rush
of a large body of water. They halt at the edge of the forest, the trees
giving way to a wide meadow which slopes down to the banks of a large
river. Across the river they can see the forest resume.

"How are we going to cross that?" Ukyou asks of no one in particular as
she hands Ryoga down.

"Swim." Shiro answers her.

"I was afraid he was going to say something like that." Ryoga mutters.

Mousse flies in and lands on Shampoo's vacant saddle as Shiro issues
some instructions, sending Tofu, Kuno and Ryoga to cut some straight
saplings, having everyone else off load the saddlepacks. They quickly
form a small raft, drape the tent over it, pile on the saddlebags and
tie it up around them, trusting that the water resistant material will
keep their belongings dry. Shiro and Rhiannon begin to strip down until
they're in underwear, fold their clothes and put them in with the packs.
The rest of the group look at each other uncomfortably.

"Sitting in a saddle with wet clothes is not very comfortable." Rhiannon
says over her shoulder.

Dr. Tofu begins to undress, the others following his example. Kuno,
Ryoga and Tofu help Shiro drag the raft to the waters edge, Ryoga
stopping short of stepping into the cold water, where they tie it
securely between to the two stallions saddles, Ukyou shivering in the
already waist deep water, holding their heads, Ranma waiting on the bank
close by, holding the reins of the others. Ryoga and Shampoo stand side
by side and glare at the water rushing by in front of them.

Rhiannon comes to them. "Well?" She asks.

Ryoga sighs, turns his back to them, slides his briefs off and hands
them to Rhiannon, then jumps into the cold water. Rhiannon quickly snags
the little pig by the striped bandanna around it's neck and deposits him
on the grass. Shampoo follows suit, except she kneels and splashes
herself with a big armload of water, the seal point Siamese she turns
into shaking the water off it's soft fur with an unhappy meow. Rhiannon
carries both of them out to the raft, depositing them onto the tent
covered lump of their supplies. Shiro and Rhiannon take the reins of the
stallions from Ukyou, letting her go to one of the mares.

"Remember, everyone." Rhiannon calls, as she and Shiro start the
stallions out into the deeper water. "Stay to the current side of your
horse, keep hold of the saddle and keep yourself clear of the horses
legs and let the horse do the work for you."

Kuno makes sure Nabiki has a good hold of the mare's mane and cantle,
then urges her in with a firm swat to her haunches, making sure he has a
good hold of the straps which keep the saddlebags in place.

"Keep your legs tucked up and against her shoulder, Nabiki." He reminds
her as the mare looses the bottom and starts swimming, he keeping
himself as tucked up as possible by the mares belly, keeping his legs
clear of the powerful strokes of her hind legs.

Tofu and Ranma go next, following Kuno and Nabiki's example, Ukyou with
Mousse perched on the saddle following. They emerge on the other side
shivering with cold but without any mishaps. They all help Rhiannon and
Shiro drag the raft out of the water and up under the cover of the
waiting trees, then huddle into a little shivering knot. Rhiannon
retrieves the thermos and cup, tells Shiro something in a low voice. He
grows something back, not happy, but acquiescing as she brings it to
them.

"C...C....C...at!" Ranma hisses through her chattering teeth, retreating
behind Tofu as Shampoo follows Rhiannon. Rhiannon looks at her with a
lifted eyebrow.

"Ranma has this pathological aversion to cats." Dr. Tofu explains.

"Oh?" She questions as she hands him the cup and thermos.

"It's a long story." Ukyou says with a sigh as she drags a saddlebag
from the raft, looking for a towel and her clothing.

"Do you think the god's are trying to tell you something?" Rhiannon asks
the little cat at her feet as Shiro brings a heavy cloak and drapes it
around Nabiki, who has pulled another of the bags off and is pulling out
clothing.

Shampoo lays her ears flat against her head and yowls angrily at her,
then turns and with tail raised and nose in the air pads over to the
raft which Shiro is now demolishing. Rhiannon laughs after her, as the
others begin to dress and down the warming tea. After they've warmed up
they all help with the saddlebags, Rhiannon and Ukyou checking girths
and tack.

"Come on, Mousse." Rhiannon lifts him from where he's dozing on the
saddle. He yawns as she launches him into the air, snapping his wings
open at the last possible minute to clear the trees.

"Showoff!" Shampoo meows after him. Then goes and puts her paws onto
Rhiannon's leg, meowing demandingly, Ryoga joining her with a "bwee!"

"Sorry." She says down to them. "There is only one thermos and we don't
have time to build a fire to heat water. You're just going to have to go
the rest of the night like that."

Nabiki and Ranma laugh as Shampoo sits back onto her haunches, a
resigned look on her face and Ryoga launches into an unhappy round of
grunts and squeals.

"Ranma, you ride Shampoo's mare. Shampoo, you're with Shiro and me.
Ryoga?" She asks.

The pig goes and plops himself down onto his hindquarters, back to them,
sulking.

"He'll ride with me." Ukyou says as she lifts him by his bandanna, Ryoga
holding the same pose, muttering little oaths in pig under his breath.

They remount and head into the trees. Nabiki stares into the darkness
around her uneasily, the hairs on her arms standing up in response to
something she can't name, but it seems the light from the harnesses is
not making as much of a pool around them and the sound of the hooves
seems to be muffled and absorbed by the trees around them.

"This forest feels different." Nabiki tells Kuno after a few miles.

"Yes, I noticed too." He answers her, not telling her that he had
attributed it to nerves.

"It's like, the whole place is listening." She says, trying to put her
anxiety into words.

He squeezes her hands where they're resting loosely around his waist.
"Nothing to fear, Nabiki." He assures her, keeping his tone light. "Only
trees and the night."

She doesn't respond, but he can feel the tension in her against his
back.

"Kuno, I want to ask you to do something for me." She says in a tight
little voice.

"What?"

"Before I tell you, I want you to swear you will do it, on your honor."

He stiffens in front of her. "That will depend on what you ask me to
do."

"It's nothing hard or dishonorable, or expensive." She tells him.

"What then?" He asks, his curiosity peaked.

"If something happens to Shiro and Rhiannon, I want you to make sure
that Chiesai doesn't get me." She whispers.

"That I will swear to." He smiles, looking pleased, not being able to
see the dark fear on Nabiki's face.

"You swear on your honor?" She persists.

He nods.

"I want to hear you say it." Nabiki demands.

"I, Tatewake Kuno, swear that I will keep you from Chiesai's clutches,
to my dying breath." He says loud enough for the pair in front of him to
hear. Rhiannon and Shiro turn to look at him, he can't read their
expressions but bows to them from the saddle. They turn back, talking
together quietly. He'd have to remember to ask Shampoo what they said.

"You may have to kill me." Nabiki says simply.

Kuno cranes himself around in his saddle, looks Nabiki in the eyes in
shock.

"What?" He demands.

Shiro has reined the stallion in so that the two studs are walking side
by side.

"If we fall, Kuno, you cannot let Chiesai take Nabiki." Shiro tells him,
command in his tone. "If it comes to it, you will kill her before you
let him take her."

"But.... but..." He responds, (this is not the way this was supposed to
go!)

"It's O.K., Kuno baby." Nabiki tells him, a grim little smile on her
face. "Just make sure it doesn't hurt and I'll tell you where I've
hidden the key to my safety deposit box." Her voice cracks on that.

He nods, not knowing what to tell her, then whirls back into the correct
position on his saddle, feeling the girl behind him rest her head
against his back, the dampness of her tears a cold spot behind his
heart.

"It won't come to that, Nabiki. I'll make sure it won't." He swears to
her in a fierce whisper.

She nods against him.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Ranma asks Tofu, scratching at the
unceasing itch of her healing shoulder, not being able to hear the
exchange from her position behind Ukyou. Ukyou slows the mare until the
Doctor and Ranma pull up even, both horses pressing close together to
keep away from the encroaching forest.

"Nabiki made Kuno swear that he would kill her, if something should
happen to Shiro and Rhiannon." She tells Ranma in an awed little voice.

"What?" Ranma gasps, Ryoga adding a surprised little oink from where
he's wedged himself between the saddlebags on his and Ukyou's mare. "And
that idiot did it?"

Ukyou nods.

"Oh, man." Ranma drops her head, thinking. "Well, I guess we'll just
have to make sure nothing happens to Shiro and Rhiannon, though I don't
think that anything much could come close to hurting those two."

Ukyou nods agreement and kicks the mare forward, back into her place in
the line.

They continue through the night, slowing from trot to walk and back
every two hours or so. Around three in the morning, Shiro dismounts from
the walking stud, Rhiannon climbing up into the saddle, hands her his
vest, belt and boots and fades into the trees.

Rhiannon keeps them going for another hour until they splash through a
little stream and leads them off the trail to follow it up, hunting for
a good place to shelter through the coming day. She finds one that
satisfies her and calls for them to dismount.

They are all slow to swing down, Tofu grabbing at his stirrup as his
legs threaten to give out, Nabiki wobbling out of Kuno's way after he
hands her down, he leaning with his forehead against the saddle as he
holds to the cantle and raised back, waiting for his knee's to decide
that it is possible for them to support his weight. Ukyou mimics Kuno,
Ryoga giving her a questioning little oink, which she waves away, then
leaps down and heads for Rhiannon. Ranma, in better physical shape from
her constant training than the others goes over to Ukyou, determined not
to let the soreness in her knees and thighs be apparent to the others,
embarrassed enough at the infirmity caused by her shoulder.

"Here, Ukyou, let me give you a hand." She offers, taking the mare's
reins and placing her free hand under Ukyou's elbow and letting her lean
against her as she guides her to sit under the tree where Rhiannon has
started stacking saddlebags.

"Rocks, Ranma." Rhiannon orders as she dumps another bag. "Nabiki, this
time, you help Ranma." She tells the tired girl who is leaning against
the tree near them.

They head for the stream together, Ranma pausing to tether the mare with
the other horses. Ukyou starts to rise.

"Wait until we get the fire started and Ryoga can help you." Rhiannon
instructs her. Ukyou sinks back down.

The wood is gathered, Ryoga tugging in large branches, impatient to
return to his human form and the fire made quickly. Rhiannon returns
from the stream with the kettle and pot full of water as the fire leaps
up into full flame, Shampoo padding silently beside her, Mousse winging
in behind them to land by the packs. She sets them heating over the
water.

The weary group collapse around her, most so exhausted they simply stare
into the hypnotic dance of the flames. She studies them, sympathy and
amusement in her face, trying to decide the watches as she starts on a
simple supper. She tests the water in the kettle with a finger, decides
it's warm enough and goes and pulls Ryoga's, Shampoo's and Mousse's
clothing and some towels out of the packs.

"Come on you." She says to Ryoga who has been staring at the heating
kettle, grumbling, as she collects it and walks a little away from the
camp to give him some privacy.

"Finally." Ryoga snarls as he takes the towel from her. She leaves him
to dress and walks to the other side of the camp, beckoning to Shampoo
who is waiting at the edge of the firelight, keeping track of her with
incandescent eyes. She pours the hot water over Shampoo, watches as the
cat shimmers and stretches up into her human self.

"Shampoo think we need find way to keep hot water all the time." She
tells Rhiannon, her tone scolding as she takes the towel. "Cannot keep
Lady safe as cat."

"Why don't you and Ryoga put your heads together and see what you can
come up with?" Rhiannon suggests as she waits for the young woman to
dress. "You go and get some of the others to help you with the tent."
She instructs as they head back into the camp.

Rhiannon goes over to Mousse, who is sound asleep. She decides to leave
him as he is, goes to refill the kettle and start tea, then helps Ryoga
and Ukyou finish with the horses as the other's pitch the tent.

They have just sat down to eat when Shiro calls to Rhiannon from the
edge of the camp. She goes, retrieves the haunch of meat he's brought
and goes to hang it from a high branch over the fire as he skirts the
camp and heads for the stream.

"Shampoo, Ranma, you have first watch." She tells them as she tosses the
rope for a second time at the tree branch. "Nabiki, you and I will stand
second."

She smiles as her third cast lands where she wants it and she pulls the
haunch into place and ties the line off, then heads to the stream where
her husband is waiting for her. The party is already asleep before the
first tentative glimmers of the coming sun starts to lighten the eastern
sky. Rhiannon and Shiro enter the tent as the first rays of light touch
the top of the old tree sheltering them, picking their way as silently
as possible through the sleeping forms.

The next three days pass much the same as this one, rising in the late
afternoon for training, striking camp, riding through the night, the
company falling into the rhythm of their travel, all becoming accustomed
to the saddle and strange hours. It has become colder as they continue
north and Mousse has had to guide them around more and more of Chiesai's
patrols as the nights pass.

The next night, they stop early, Shiro remaining with them as they pitch
camp at the edge of the forest, which ends in a sharp line against the
wasted piece of land stretching out in front of it. They all go as a
group to stand at the edge of the treeline and look out the forbidding
cracked and parched piece of ground in front of them. Shiro moves to
Rhiannon, stands behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. There
is a sad faraway look on her face. 

"You weren't kidding when you said we'd know it." Ryoga tells Shiro.

"What happened here?" Tofu asks.

"This is Chiesai's handiwork." Rhiannon answers him, the sorrow in her
voice a reflection of her face. "There was a city here, once. Full of
scholars and artists and life and light. Now, there is this." She breaks
out of Shiro's hold and turns her back on the sight, her stride angry as
she returns to the camp.

They all look to Shiro questionally.

"We had many friends here." He tells them, squinting off into the
horizon.

They straggle back into the camp, Rhiannon calling Ukyou and Shampoo
over and asking them to help her make a special meal. The two girls
agree delightedly and hustle about, Mousse following Shampoo over to the
pile of packs.

"Hey! I'm a good cook too, you know!" Ranma volunteers herself and joins
Ukyou, conspiring over what they should cook.

Shiro watches Shampoo and Mousse's exchange, the rest of the party
ignoring it as it has become part of their nightly routine, Shampoo
delivering a particularly viscous rejection to Mousses' courting and
hurumphing back to the fireplace with her supplies, leaving Mousse
standing dejected and alone.

"Why doesn't he just give up!?" He hears Ranma ask Ukyou in a low voice.

"Because he loves her." Ukyou replies in a tight voice, knowing how he
feels. Ranma looks at her out of the corner of her eye and sighs. (I'm
sorry, Ukyou!) she thinks.

Shiro goes to the lone figure. "Come, walk with me Mousse." He asks.

They move into the surrounding trees, Shiro watching the young man out
of the corner of his eye.

"You come from the same village as Shampoo does, don't you?" He asks.

Mousse nods, kicking a rock along in front of him.

"What is the law, Mousse?"

"If I can defeat her in combat, she must submit to me." Mousse answers
in a tight voice, knowing this law in his soul, since it haunts his
life.

"Do you love her?"

Mousse halts and turns on him. "Do you love Rhiannon?"

Shiro laughs his low growly laugh. "More than life itself." He tells the
young man.

"Exactly!" Mousse nods.

"Then beat her." Shiro tells him.

"I could never hurt her." Mousse sends the rock flying with a viscous
kick.

"Have you ever thought that maybe she wants you to?" Shiro suggests.

Mousse looks at him, shocked. "What do you mean."

"A test, perhaps? To prove how strong you are? To do the one thing you
cannot do?"

Mousse looks thoughtful.

"Shiro!" They hear Rhiannon call. They turn and walk back in silence.

The meal is waiting for them and everyone praises the girls for creating
such a feast out of such skimpy supplies. After they've finished and
cleaned up, Shiro sets the watches.

"Kuno, Ukyou, first watch. Shampoo, Ryoga, second."

"It's going to be a hard ride tomorrow, we'll skip training and sleep
in." Rhiannon tells them.

That's met with a variety of smiles and appreciative comments. They
settle around the fire, telling jokes and giving and taking some good
natured teasing. Rhiannon rises, whispers something to Shampoo, who
blinks at her wide eyed but nods and goes into the tent, Shiro waiting a
few minutes until he sees her step out, their cloaks draped over her
arm. He goes to join her and they head out of camp, arms entwined around
each others waists. Tofu watches them go with a sad smile, wondering if
he and Kasumi will ever have a chance to be that close.

"Where are they going?" Ranma asks as she sees the couple leave.

"Where do you think, Ranma?" Ryoga responds, his tone derisive.

Ranma blinks at him, still uncomprehending.

"When the stars call and the night beckons, then must love be answered."
Kuno quotes, his eye's inadvertently meeting Nabiki's across the flames.
He looks away, quickly, Nabiki keeps her eyes on him, a thoughtful
expression on her face.

"Oh." Ranma says softly as she realizes what the two have gone to do.

A silence settles on the group as couples, recognized or not, struggle
not to look at each other.

"I'm going to bed." Nabiki announces and gets up.

"Good idea, Nabiki." Tofu says as he banks the fire and follows.

The rest of the party straggle in soon after, leaving Kuno and Ukyou to
watch over them. Rhiannon and Shiro return as the eastern horizon begins
to glow with the colors of day, Kuno snapping to attention as he hears
the rustle of their coming, relaxing as he hears Rhiannon giggle, a
light young sound. Shiro comes striding into the camp, Rhiannon thrown
over one shoulder. She waves to them and giggles again as he heads for
the tent. Ukyou sighs as she watches them enter, wanting with all her
heart a love like that. 

CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 10 of 15 

Rhiannon stretches in the sunlight, waking from her nap, Shampoo siting
close to her in the shade of a tree, looking sleepy-eyed. It's early
afternoon, maybe around two.

"Get some sleep." She commands the amazon. Shampoo nods and goes to curl
up on her blankets, arranged close to where Rhiannon had been sleeping.
Rhiannon goes to the fire, Ryoga not looking up from the piece of wood
he's whittling away on but acknowledging her with a curt,
"Good-afternoon."

She pours herself a cup of tea and leans back against one of the
saddles. She watches the boy work for a while, the wood taking the shape
of a dragon under his hands. She knows that there are two other pieces
that he has finished and stashed in his bag, one a graceful bird, wings
spread in flight, the other a rendition of the stallion she and Shiro
ride.

"You're very good." She tells him.

He smiles as he works, a little flush of pride on his cheeks. "I sell
them, sometimes, when I'm low on cash. I get lost a lot and this," he
indicates the forming dragon, "helps pass the time at night."

She nods, letting him know she is listening. He continues, then puts the
piece down and stretches.

"Go get some sleep, Ryoga." She tells him.

He smiles at her, goes and tucks the roughed out shape into his bag and
goes into the tent.

Rhiannon works around the camp, starting on their evening meal, setting
the remains of the feast from last night to heat in the coals. A change
in the breeze catches her attention and she walks to the treeline and
eyes the building clouds against the northern horizon with some concern.
She stands, looking over the wasted land shimmering in the sun before
her, lost in memory for a while. Then she shakes her head and goes back
into the camp.

She has just finished checking the girth straps of all the saddles and
has sat down to change out a worn check strap on one of the bridles when
Nabiki comes wandering out of the tent, her cloak wrapped around her
against the cold breeze that has started flowing from the north. She
blinks around sleepily, then comes and plops herself down beside
Rhiannon, reaching for the ever-present tea kettle.

"Little Sister?" Rhiannon queries, working on the bridle.

"They're snoring." Nabiki grumbles. "All of them, in unison."

Ukyou comes to the mouth of tent, shivers as the breeze bites into her,
ducks back in then emerges wrapped in her blanket. Ranma follows,
bringing her bedding with her.

"It sounds like a buzz saw convention in there." Ukyou complains as she
sits to the other side of Rhiannon and pours herself some tea.

Ranma spreads her bedding out by the fire and climbs in, trying to will
herself back to sleep.

"All of them?" Rhiannon asks with a little laugh.

"I think it's mostly Mousse and Ryoga." Ukyou answers.

"It is Mousse and Ryoga." Tofu answers as he joins them, shivering in
his cloak. "Tomorrow I'm going to make sure I do the snore points on
them before we sleep."

"Can't you do it now?" Ranma pleads, the cold breeze managing to find
it's way through her blankets.

Tofu shakes his head no. "It's a complicated technique." He explains. "I
tried waking them up, but..."

Rhiannon, finished with the bridle, goes to hang it with the others.

"Tell us about you and Shiro." Ukyou asks her shyly when she returns.

"What about myself and Shiro?" She responds.

"You know, how you met, how you fell in love."

Rhiannon laughs. "Nothing much to tell."

"Please?" Nabiki adds her plea to Ukyou's.

Rhiannon settles herself between them, pours herself another cup of tea.

"We were betrothed when we were born." She begins. "Travel was much
easier between places then, magic being much stronger in the worlds in
those days. We grew up together, sometimes my family fostering him,
sometimes Shiro's fostering me. We were more like brother and sister
then." She smiles at remembered times. Ukyou looks at Ranma, who won't
meet her eyes.

"Then Chiesai came." Her eyes darken. "That was a hard time. Afterwards,
it was decided that I should go and finish my training in Avalon, Shiro
remaining at home, to train with the Masters there. We exchanged letters
often and then the letters stopped coming. I was, sixteen I think, when
Shiro's family summoned me. He had," she stops for a moment, hunting for
words. "an accident and was dying." She stops and sips at her tea.

"Really?" Ukyou asks, caught up in the story.

"He had been honor bound by a friend to go on a quest. They took on
something they had no chance of defeating. Sho, Shiro's friend, was
killed. It did something worse to Shiro."

"What?" The young people around her demand.

"A thing of Darkness had entered him, wrapped itself around his soul."
She says quietly. They all gasp.

"I tried to heal him, that being my talent. I managed to restore his
body, but couldn't force the Darkness from his soul, the thing that
possessed him feeding on the source of my power, and for once being
satisfied. It almost killed me. When he woke, I was repulsed by what he
had become. I fled from him and he could do nothing but follow, the
thing in him hungry for the light that burned in me."

They blink, looking at her with incredulous expressions as she pauses
for breath.

"I didn't know what to do. I went back to my Masters, Shiro in hot
pursuit. They sent me to find the Temple of Light. I went, Shiro always
a shadow at my back, driving me on. It was terrible. And the worst thing
was I could hear him, hear his anguish in my soul every time he had to
kill to feed the thing within him!" She swallows hard, the cup trembling
in her hands.

"I'm sorry. I haven't thought about this for a long time. I didn't
realize it still had so much power over me." She tells them.

Ukyou and Nabiki sit closer to her, Nabiki giving her a one armed hug.
Ranma and Tofu blink at her wide eyed.

"Well, it all worked out, right?!" Ranma comforts.

Rhiannon shakes her head, as if to clear painful memories, then nods.

"Well?" Ranma demands, wanting to hear the rest.

"I found the temple and it let me enter, Shiro howling like a wild beast
at the gate, repulsed by the power of the Light in it, yet not being
able to leave it. I stepped into the Source and ask, 'What am I to do?!'
The answer was so simple! When it released me, I went out to him,
standing in the threshold of the gate. He was so...horrible." She
shudders, caught in her memory. "Then, he changed, forced that thing
driving him back. I think I fell in love with him at that moment,
watching him struggle so hard to become something that wouldn't frighten
me. 'Kill me.' He pleaded. 'Please.' Everything that was Shiro shining
out of him. I knew then what I had to do. I went to him, took him into
my arms.

'Do it.' I told him. He tried to get away from me. Then, the Darkness in
him took control and he began to feed on me and I let him, drawing on
the force of the Temple, until it was sated. And as it fed, we merged?"
A questioning expression in her eyes. "I still don't know how to
describe it, but it was," the soft, wondering look on her face causes
them all to smile, "wonderful. Since then, I have always had enough
power to feed it, keep it in control. And that's our story." She
finishes.

Ukyou wipes at some tears, Nabiki sighs, longingly, Ranma says "Wow."
Dr. Tofu smiles at her.

"I hope our story has as happy an outcome." He says.

Rhiannon stands suddenly. "I need to stretch my legs." She tells them,
her voice strained with emotion and walks away.

The other's watch her go, then start talking among themselves.

Inside the tent, Kuno is tossing between the two snoring forms of Ryoga
and Mousse, caught in a dream, the sword glowing, unnoticed, softly
beside him. Shiro frowns, something disturbing the deep trance the sun
holds him in.

Kuno's eyes snap open and he sits up suddenly, grabs the sword and
rounds the end of the dividing curtain, looking for Nabiki. His eyes
widen when he sees she's not there and he strides out of the tent, clad
only in his pants, looking for her. He moves to her purposefully as he
spies her, sorting and repacking one of the saddlebags. He stops and
stands over her, glaring into the northern sky.

"Kuno?" Nabiki asks, wondering at his odd behavior. She stands, waves
her hand in front of his eyes. He doesn't blink. "Anyone home?" She asks
again, louder. Tofu comes to them. Nabiki snaps her fingers in front of
his face, he still doesn't move. "Come on, Kuno. You're starting to
freak me out." Nabiki yells.

Kuno blinks a few times, then shivers as the cold breeze hits him. He
looks around, uncertain.

"Nabiki?" He queries.

"You were sleepwalking, Kuno." Dr. Tofu tells him.

"I was?" He frowns as the pieces of the strange dream slip away from
him. "I was having the strangest dream." He says, more to himself than
to them. A little flicker of fear travels across Nabiki's face, then is
gone.

"Well, what was it about?" She asks.

He frowns at her, still not awake. "I'm not sure, it's gone now."

"Go put on some clothes before you catch a chill." Tofu tells him.
"Maybe it will come back to you later."

Kuno nods to them, turns and heads back to the tent, still looking
confused.

"What do you think that was about?" Nabiki wonders, thinking about the
way Kuno was standing protectively over her.

Tofu shrugs. "Have you had any more dreams?" He asks.

"No. Thank god." Nabiki answers him. "But I've been so tired at the end
of the night, that I don't think I would have remembered any, anyway."

The Doctor smiles with her in sympathy. "It's probably nothing. Just to
much good food last night."

Nabiki giggles, the amount of food the boy's packed away being the big
joke of the night. Kuno comes back out of the tent, dressed and wrapped
in his cloak and goes to get himself a cup of tea. Mousse follows
shortly and after hurrying through his morning routine, goes and sits by
Shampoo, waiting for her to wake.

Kuno takes his cup, asks Ukyou where Rhiannon is and goes off in the
direction Ukyou points. He finds her sitting at the edge of the forest,
staring moodily at the storm building in the north. He doesn't notice
Ranma, perched in a tree branch above her, swinging the arm that Dr.
Tofu had just freed from it's imprisonment in an arc beside her, trying
to limber it up.

"Rhiannon, is there any way we can go around this?" He gestures at The
Barrens.

"Why?" Rhiannon asks him, surprised.

"I..." He frowns, not sure. "I just have this feeling that we should go
around, if possible."

"It is possible, but it would add at least four days to our travel. If
something should go wrong, there would be no way we could reach Chiesai
before the dark of the moon."

"Well, our main goal is to keep Nabiki away from him, right? If we go
out there, we'll be totally exposed." He argues.

"No way, Kuno!" Ranma explodes as she swings down from the tree to drop
in front of him. "We've got to get to Akane and Kasumi as fast as
possible!"

Kuno backpedals a little, to put some distance between them. "Butt out,
Saotome! You're just obsessed with getting your body back. We," he
indicates Rhiannon and himself, "have to keep Nabiki from him."

"Boys." Rhiannon breaks in as she stands, halting the confrontation.
"Kuno, it isn't possible anyway. The Free Tribes are gathering to help
us retrieve the girls, or shut down the Gate, if it comes to that. We
must be at Blackwater before Moondark. The lives of many hang on our
stopping Chiesai now, before he gets any stronger."

Kuno folds his arms and studies the ground before them, troubled.

"Come on, Kuno." Ranma calls him as she hurries after Rhiannon, who is
heading back toward the camp. Kuno raises his eyes to the building
thunderheads then follows, not seeing the small ebony bird that has been
watching them with ruby colored eyes launch itself from the tree where
Ranma had been sitting and heads into the storm with supernatural speed.

Shampoo stomps up to Rhiannon as they return. "Lady, you not supposed to
leave Shampoo!" She scolds.

Rhiannon raises her eyebrow, wondering what has caused the sudden
tension in the camp.

"Sorry. Now, what's going on?" She asks.

Shampoo scowls, whirls to face Mousse. "You tell Mousse no time for
challenges now."

Rhiannon looks at the young man, standing tense and alone.

"It is his right, is it not, Shampoo?" She questions.

Shampoo looks at her, eyes wide in surprise, then narrows them. "Shampoo
prove she better fighter, then." She says angrily.

"Come on, Mousse. Let's get this over." She goes and retrieves her
bonburi from her saddle.

They clear a space for them to fight as Shampoo and Mousse warm up. The
two take up positions, facing each other about ten feet apart, the stiff
breeze moving their hair and clothes.

Shampoo attacks, holding nothing back, Mousse countering and pulling his
attacks, as always. They make several passes at each other, Shampoo
scoring often, Mousse not hitting her once. He flips away from her,
landing on one knee and wipes the blood pouring from a cut above his eye
with the back of his hand. He looks over at the watching party and sees
Rhiannon shaking her head sadly.

"You give up?" Shampoo asks coldly.

Mousse stands, squares his shoulder and shakes his head 'no'.

"Fine. I kill you then." Shampoo hisses, really pissed off and launches
herself at him. Mousse responds for once with an equally savage assault
of chains and edges. They go at each other hard then stagger back to
square off again, both bleeding profusely.

"Woah! This is getting really out of hand!" Ranma takes a few steps
toward the two combatants. Rhiannon blocks her with an outstretched arm.
"They're going to kill each other!" She says in protest to Rhiannon, the
others looking equally anxious.

"It is an option." Rhiannon tells her, watching the two launch
themselves at each other again.

"No way!" Ranma yells and tries to push past Rhiannon's restraining arm.
Rhiannon grabs her and puts her into a wrist lock.

"If you try to interfere, I am going to have to hurt you." She tells the
little woman struggling against her.

"Rhiannon!" Tofu asks, desperation in his voice as he watches the two.

"No." Rhiannon tells him firmly.

Finally, Mousse manages to get Shampoo entrapped in lengths of chain,
she spitting something out at him in Chinese as he steps in and punches
her out, hard, then sinks to his knees beside her, gasping.

"Shampoo!" Ranma yells, starting to yank herself free. Rhiannon hits a
nerve cluster in her shoulder and she drops, momentarily numb.

"Rhiannon!" Nabiki yells at her in shock, coming to Ranma, who is
glaring at the woman standing over her.

Tofu is heading for the couple, stops short as Rhiannon moves to place
herself in front of him.

"This is part of it." She hisses at them. "Let them resolve it
themselves."

Tofu steps back, the healer in him still urging him on. He goes to Ranma
instead.

"I'm gonna kill her." Ranma hisses as Tofu rubs at the spot, sending
pins and needles down her body.

"Don't be stupid, Ranma." Tofu tells her firmly. "She gave you fair
warning. And in the mood she's in right now, she might not be so
forgiving the next time."

Mousse has unwrapped Shampoo from the chains and hefts her up into his
arms, sways a little, then straightens and limps toward the tent,
Rhiannon walking beside him, putting herself between them and the group,
her presence warning everyone off. She holds the flap open so he can
enter, then takes up a guard position at the entrance.

"Dr. Tofu, would you please bring your gear?" Rhiannon asks him, bowing
formally.

Tofu retrieves his kit and brings it to her with a little bow. She
enters the tent, comes back out, without it.

"Are they all right?" Ukyou asks.

"I don't know." She responds.

"How can you be so...so, uncaring!?" Ryoga demands. "Mousse just beat
the crap out of her!"

She gives Ryoga a quelling stare. Ryoga gulps, remembering how close
that blade had been to his throat.

"I do care, Ryoga. Shampoo is my sworn Shield. It is my duty now to
guard her and her husband, until she can return to her duties."

"Husband?" Ranma says, as it sinks in. "Mousse actually beat her."

"Ukyou, would you and Ryoga please start on the horses?" She asks, her
face betraying nothing of her emotions. "Everyone else, start breaking
camp."

"I still think you or Dr. Tofu should go see that they're O.K." Ryoga
tells her.

"If Mousse needs assistance, he will ask." She responds, her look
telling him that this matter is settled.

Everyone moves off to start their chores, exchanging troubled mutters.

Mousse emerges about twenty minutes later, still bloodied and
unbandaged, doesn't looks at Rhiannon or his friends working around the
camp and stalks off to sit a little ways away, his back to them.
Rhiannon ducks into the tent to check on Shampoo, who is still
unconscious but cleaned and bandaged. She examines her quickly,
breathing a sigh of relief that there was no major damage done. She
repacks Tofu's kit and leaves the tent, walks over to him and hands it
back with a little bow.

"She's all right." She tells him. "Would you tend to Mousse?"

Tofu rises and goes to the young man, talking to him quietly as he
begins to clean him up. Ranma takes this opportunity to sneak into the
tent, Nabiki and Ukyou following.

Ranma takes one look at Shampoo's quickly purpling face and storms back
out, bearing down on Mousse.

"Easy!" Tofu says, as he's heading back from Mousse's still form,
grabbing her arm and swinging her around to face him.

"You should see what he did to Shampoo!" Ranma snarls.

"You should see what Shampoo did to him." Tofu responds quietly.

"Huh?" Ranma responds, that breaking through the red haze of her anger.

She takes a couple of deep breaths before she goes to Mousse. Mousse is
sitting with his head resting against his drawn up knees, his hand
pressed against his ribcage where Shampoo bruised some ribs. What Ranma
can see of his face is turning the shade of Shampoo's hair and they're
are bandages all over him.

"I should beat you into a pulp for what you did to Shampoo." She tells
him.

"Yes, you should. Go ahead." He snarls back, his voice full of
self-rescrimination.

She blinks at him in surprise, noticing he's been crying.

"She wouldn't give up. Even when I punched her out, she was swearing she
would never be mine."

"Mousse..."

"Just go away, Saotome. You wouldn't understand, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Ranma responds.

"You don't love Akane. You just tolerate her because your parents
engaged you! I have loved Shampoo from the first time I saw her, from
the time we played as babies on our mother's floor. I did what she
required, and still she rejects me! How can you understand that."

"I do understand, Mousse." Ranma tells him quietly. "When we first came
to the Tendo's, it was raining and I was like this. Akane was really
nice to me, trying to make me feel welcome when Mr. Tendo and Kasumi and
Nabiki were all pissed off because they thought I was a girl. Then she
told me some stuff that she'd only tell a girl friend and I didn't know
what to do. I mean, she didn't know I was a guy then. Then she walked in
on me in the bath and really freaked out. Ever since then she has hated
me." She sighs.

"I thought you didn't like her." Mousse says from his huddled position.

"It doesn't matter. She doesn't like me, anyway." Ranma says, her eyes
sad and faraway.

"You love her, don't you Ranma?" Mousse asks, turning his head so he can
see her with the one eye that hasn't swollen shut.

"N...(No Way!), she starts to respond, automatically, then catches
himself. "I don't know. Maybe." (Yes.) He tells himself.

Mousse tries to smile, but quickly gives it up as his damaged face
protests.

Ryoga quietly backs away from them, not meaning to eavesdrop, his face
reflecting the distress in his heart. (I knew it! He does love her. What
am I going to do?)

Ukyou sees him head out of the camp with a distracted look on his face
and follows, knowing that he will loose his way. He starts running,
Ukyou barley keeping up with him. "Ryoga!" She hollers, but he doesn't
seem to hear. She looses him for a minute.

(Oh, no!) she thinks, panicked. Then she hears the sound of splintering
wood and heads for it. She stops, hiding in the shadows as she watches
Ryoga demolish a large tree. When he's finished, there's nothing left
but kindling sized pieces. He steps back, panting and sinks to the
ground, putting his head into his hands.

(Oh, Ryoga.) She thinks as she withdraws then comes toward him, making a
lot of noise.

"Ryoga!" She calls, making it sound as if she's been looking for him.
"There you are!" She scolds as she comes to him. "You should know better
that to go off like that by yourself. Especially with your sense of
direction!" She teases.

"Go away, Ukyou." He tells her from behind his hands.

She sighs, settles herself on a log by him. "It's hard to love someone
who doesn't love you back."

"She would, if it wasn't for Ranma getting in the way all the time."
Ryoga snarls.

"You know, Ranma says that about you a lot, too." Ryoga drops his hands
and gives her a hard look. "And no, she wouldn't."

"What do you mean?" He glares at her.

"Akane loves Ranma." She states the truth they both know.

"No she doesn't. All they do is argue and fight." He counters.

"It doesn't matter. I see it all the time. In the way she looks at him
when he's not paying attention. In the way he looks at her, when she
can't see him. And so do you. Your just to infatuated and stubborn to
admit it."

He stares at her in fury, she stares back with a righteous look. Then he
lowers his eyes.

"What am I going to do?" He asks her, desperate.

"Don't ask me, I can't seem to manage to let go of Ranma either." She
tells him around a sigh. They look at each other again, something
different in their eyes, but neither sure of what it is.

"We're pretty pathetic, you know." He tells her, with a tentative smile.
She smiles back as she nods.

"We should probably get back." She stands and offers her hand to pull
him up.

"God. I hope I haven't gotten us lost!" Ryoga says in a small voice as
he let's her pull him up, turns in a small circle, looking at the trees
around them.

"Fortunately, I have an excellent sense of direction." She assures him
and starts back the way they came.

"Why did you follow me?" Ryoga asks her after they've gone a little
ways.

"I didn't want to get stuck with the horses all by myself." She quips at
him.

They continue back to camp in companionable silence.

Rhiannon enters the tent, Ranma following and moves to Shampoo. She
breaks the capsule that Tofu has given her and waves it under the young
woman's nose. Shampoo coughs a few times, then bats at Rhiannon's hand.
Her eyelids flicker up and down, then she sits up with a groan. She
looks around dazed, then brings her hands up to her mouth as she
remembers what happened.

"No." She whispers, looking past Rhiannon to Ranma's hovering form. "Not
Mousse."

She starts to sob, Rhiannon gathering her to her and letting her cry
into her shoulder. She waves Ranma out with a hand. Ranma shifts her
weight from one foot to the other in indecision, wanting to comfort
Shampoo but knowing her presence will only make the situation worse. She
leaves, almost runs into Mousse, who's hovering by the entrance.

"Is she all right?" Mousse asks.

"She's crying." Ranma tells him.

Mousse spins on his heel and walks to the edge of the camp. Ryoga and
Ukyou pass him on their way in, neither making eye contact with him as
they pass, not knowing what to say. Everyone is keeping an eye on the
tent as they work on breaking camp, every now and then, someone finding
some reason to pass close to it, trying to overhear the soft murmur of
the conversation taking place inside. Shiro comes out, muttering,
obviously in a dark mood and stalks out of camp. After a few more
minutes, Rhiannon emerges, followed by a subdued Shampoo. Shampoo stops,
stares at Mousse, who is still standing, back rigid, to the camp.
Rhiannon gives her a shove in his direction. Shampoo walks slowly to
him, her whole attitude one of defeat. Everyone stops what they're doing
and watches.

Shampoo pulls up even to him, stands beside him. They don't look at each
other.

"I release you, Shampoo." Mousse tells her calmly, still not looking at
her. "But I want you always to remember that I beat you and in my heart
you will always be my bride."

There are a chorus of "What!" and "Huh?!" around the camp as Mousse
walks away from her. Rhiannon smiles to herself. (He's defeated you a
second time, Shampoo.) she thinks.

"Mousse!" Shampoo commands. He stops, keeping his eyes on the ground as
she strides to him, moving around to face him.

"You love Shampoo that much?" She asks, a look of amazement in her eyes.

He nods, blinking back tears. They hold that stance for a moment as
Shampoo thinks about that. Then she slowly moves close to him, brings
his chin up with a gentle finger and kisses him. His whole body goes
rigid with shock. Then he responds to her kiss, wrapping his trembling
arms around her in a fierce but gentle hug.

Everyone at the camp starts clapping. Even Ranma, who has a wistful look
on her face. Shampoo breaks their kiss, startled by the passion she has
found there.

"You win Shampoo fair and square. You mine, now." She smiles at him.
"You have no idea what you get into!" She warns him with a mischievous
gleam in her eye. He blushes furiously.

"Let's finish up, people." Rhiannon commands, clapping her hands,
letting the couple be by themselves for a little while.

Shampoo and Mousse come to them, holding hands as they move to mount. He
tosses Shampoo up onto her saddle, looks questionally at Rhiannon.

"Your not flying tonight. Not with those ribs." She tells him. He smiles
and swings up behind Shampoo. They start out, Shiro waiting for them at
the treeline, glaring at the darkening sky. Rhiannon swings down and
they talk quietly for a while. They seem to reach some kind of agreement
and he swings himself up into the saddle and pulls Rhiannon up behind
him and leads them out into the powdery sands of The Barrens.

The storm breaks over them with fierce fury about an hour and a half
into their ride. Rhiannon calls a halt, waiting as Shampoo and Mousse
race to strip down before they change and yells to Ranma to come and
ride their horse. Ryoga breaks out his umbrella while this is going on,
but gives up as the driving wind keeps threatening to pull it out of his
hands, the rain finding it's way under it anyhow. He feels the tingling
of the change start, quickly closes the umbrella and tucks it back into
it's place in the stowed gear and leaps off the mare, only long practice
keeping him from getting tangled in his clothes as he hit's the ground
on four little cloven hooves. Ukyou quickly swings down and gathers him
and his clothes and remounts, tucking the wet stuff into the handiest
bag and settling Ryoga in front of her, making a little tent over him
with her cloak. Rhiannon gets Mousse and Shampoo settled onto the gear
behind her, making sure that they are covered by her cloak, Shampoo
meowing unhappily as the water soaks her fur and Mousse spreading a wing
over her and quacking comfortingly and they start back into the rain,
the horses going slow, heads down.

After another two hours, the storms leading edge has passed over them,
leaving a steady soaking rain. Kuno straightens suddenly, the unease
that has been growing in him turning into full blown panic as the dim
light from the harness crystal throws a crazily warped shadow of him,
Nabiki and the horse against the remains of a crumbling wall, the images
of his afternoon dream returning with full force.

"Nabiki, get off!" He grabs her by her arm and heaves her from the
saddle as pieces of the night dive out of the sky toward them. He leaps
from the saddle, drawing the sword as he moves, it leaving the sheath
glowing like a piece of white lightning as things maybe once human but
now not, sporting huge bat like wings and long thick mobile tails, fall
on them.

The attacking Windriders split into two groups, the largest mob Rhiannon
and Shiro, knocking Shiro, Shampoo and Mousse off, their weight trapping
Rhiannon to the saddle and forcing the stallion off his feet, the other
trying to swarm over Kuno, Nabiki huddled against the wall behind him,
clutching the small vile between trembling fingers.

Tofu grabs his bo and rolls off his bucking mare, springing to Kuno's
aid. Ranma drops her reins and holds tight to the saddle as her mare
screams in terror and bolts into the storm. Ukyou fighting the
hysterical mare between her knees, looking between Ranma's quickly
vanishing figure and her embattled friends, then turns the mare after
her and let's her have her head, Ryoga squealing up at her in anger.

"If you want to stay, Ryoga, get off now! I told Rhiannon that I'd stay
with Ranma, and I'm going to!" She shouts.

Ryoga continues to complain with little squeals, but wedges himself more
firmly against her.

Rhiannon and Shiro are slowly managing to fight their way out from under
the Windriders, Kuno keeping the ones on him at bay for the moment, Tofu
thinning the ranks from behind. Then one of the Windriders strikes low
with it's tail, knocking Kuno off his feet, another raking at his
exposed back as he twists to roll with it's filthy claw like nails. He
bellows in pain but bounces back to his feet, taking three more down
before they mob him again and drive him farther away from Nabiki.

Nabiki, seeing Kuno fall, breaks the seal of the vial with a thumbnail,
her spirit and body now calm with the conviction of her decision, and
brings the stuff to her lips. Before she can tip it in, the largest of
the attacking Windriders grabs her wrist in a painful, vice like grip
and yanks it out of her grasp, breaking the chain from around her neck
and tosses it away. Nabiki narrows her eyes at it and gives it a few
viscous kicks. It makes a low guttural sound, that might have been a
laugh, then cuffs her with a gentle smack into unconsciousness. It
snarls at one of it's fellows, who takes firm hold of Nabiki's other arm
and they rise into the raining sky. 


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 11 of 15 

Rhiannon, having finally cleared the mob on top of her, sees the two
rise, the limp form of Nabiki swinging between them and screams her
anger and terror and launches a golden blast of power at the nearest of
the flying forms. It falls, flaming, the other Windrider loosing
airspeed and height as Nabiki's weight pulls at it. It bellows a
strange, haunting cry and the other things break their attack and rise
to their leader, one soaring to take the place of it's fallen comrade.
Rhiannon runs to the stallion, who is just struggling back to his feet
and leaps into the saddle. She places one hand onto his neck and he
starts to glow with the golden light of her power. She kicks him
forwards, to give chase, Shampoo making a mighty leap and grabbing onto
the wildly flapping end of her cloak with all twenty claws and starts
scrabbling upwards. Mousse launches himself after them.

"Rhiannon!" Shiro bellows after her, having been separated from her in
the battle, and looks frantically around for a horse, howls in
frustration as he sees they've all bolted.

Tofu is pulling Kuno to his feet, when the young man sees Nabiki still
form rising up between the two Windriders.

"Nabiki!" He pulls back his arm and throws the sword at one of the
riders holding her. The sword flies true, but before it can strike,
another of the Windriders veers into it's path, taking the blow for it's
mate. It falls and bounces heavily against the ground, the sword
sticking from it's chest, glowing like a beacon.

"NO!" Kuno bellows into the wind after them, watching the glowing form
of Rhiannon and the stud recede into the storm as she gives chase, every
now and then a bright blast of her power illuminating the horizon like
rouge lightning.

Shiro stalks over to them, in the full form of his change. "Go get the
sword, Kuno." He growls.

Tofu helps Kuno limp over to the broken remains of the Windrider as
Shiro grows still, focusing his power, summoning the two remaining
horses back to him. The stallion and the mare loom out of the darkness,
walking slowly. Shiro goes to them, talking to them soothingly and runs
a practiced hand over their legs, thanking the Light that they haven't
damaged themselves.  Kuno and Tofu come to him, the sword cleaned and
sheathed once again against Kuno's back.

"You must choose now." Shiro tells them. "I must go after Rhiannon. You
may come with me or go after Ranma and the others."

"We're with you." Kuno tells him grimly and without hesitation. Tofu
glances in the direction that he had seen Ukyou chase after Ranma,
thinks of Kasumi and nods agreement.

"Doctor, you and Kuno ride the stallion, he'll be able to carry your
weight longer." He says as he swings onto the mare.

Tofu retrieves his kit from the mare's packs as Kuno mounts, then lets
him pull him up behind him, starting to clean and dress the wicked
slashes that adorn Kuno's back and side as they start off at a slow trot
into the now gentle rain.

Ukyou finally grabs one of the reins of Ranma's fleeing mare on the
third try, Ryoga balancing precariously on the cantle in front of her,
adding his strength by grabbing the bottom of Ukyou vest in his teeth
and using what little weight he has as a counter balance. She leans
back, putting all her strength into pulling her own mount and Ranma's to
a halt. The mares, almost winded anyway, slow to a jarring trot and then
stop to stand, trembling, heads down, blowing.

"You can let go now Ranma." Ukyou tells the woman who is sitting in
front of the cantle of her saddle, arms and legs wrapped tightly around
the mare's neck, eye's squeezed closed. She slides forwards down the
mares neck and oozes over her head to collapse in a limp huddle in front
of the mares nose. Ukyou dismounts, Ryoga jumping down after her to
squeal angrily into Ranma's face.

"Well, I was doing all right until that stupid horse decided to go
crazy!" Ranma snarls back at him.

"You all right?" Ukyou asks, leaning over her as she swipes at her rain
soaked bangs, trying to keep them from dripping water into her eyes.

Ranma springs to her feet, her sudden movement causing the nervous mare
to shy. Only Ukyou's firm grip on the rein keeps her from bolting again.

"Ranma!" She yells, full of frustration from being wet and cold and with
a little sinking feeling in her stomach, lost.

"Sorry." Ranma tells her quietly, head down.

Ukyou glares at her for a minute, then sighs, never able to stay angry
with Ranma for long. "Come on then, we'd better find the others."

She hands Ranma her reins, Ranma standing as far away from the horse as
she can and still keep hold of them.

"How about we walk for a while, Ukyou." She suggests.

Ryoga taunts her in pig.

"I am not!" Ranma snarls at him, squares her shoulders and stalks up to
the tall mare, pats it tentatively on it's shoulder, then scrabbles back
into the saddle. She sits gingerly, expecting the mare to take off once
again. She relaxes a little when the mare docilely follows Ukyou's as
she heads them in the direction she thinks they came from.

Ukyou, concentrating on catching Ranma, hadn't been paying much
attention to the direction of their flight and, not being able to check
her bearings by the cloud covered sky, heads them away from their
companions and back into The Barrens, the rain finally starting to ease
up, but being replaced by a frigid biting wind which cuts through their
rain soaked cloaks and chill them to the bone. They ride through the
rest of the night at a slow walk, both trying to nod off, only Ryoga's
warning squeals startling them awake enough every now and then to keep
one or the other of them from pitching from their saddle.

Toward dawn Ranma spies a fire flickering in the distance.

"Look, Ukyou! That's got to be them!" She kicks her mare into a weary
trot, passing Ukyou, who jerks herself out of a light doze.

She smiles with relief and nudges her mare after Ranma with a gentle tap
of her heels. Ryoga squeals and oinks, trying to urge caution, but the
girls are so tired and sure of their goal that they don't pay any
attention to him.

They trot into the camp, the fire centered in the sheltering circle of a
weather worn outcropping of boulders, a lone figure sitting covered and
hooded by a cloak near it. Neither dismount as the feeling of wrongness
grows in them.

"Well, well. And what have we here?" A male voice says as the figure
stands, throws back it's cloak to clear it's sword and show the black
and gray uniform of Chiesai's riders.

"Ukyou, run!" Ranma yells, tugging the mares head around, making her
rear onto her back legs and spin around.

Several lengths of weighted ropes fly from the rocks around them,
entangling them both. Ukyou shrieks as she's jerked from her saddle to
thud to the ground, trapping Ryoga beneath her in the folds of her
cloak. Ranma leaps so she's standing on the seat of her saddle, pulling
some of the rope holders off balance, getting one of her arms free. She
flips off, over the heads of the soldiers running for her, shedding some
more of the ropes, landing in a battle stance, spinning to keep track of
the warriors who are circling to surround her.

"It's a woman!" She hears one of the soldiers who is working on
restraining Ukyou call, as she launches her attack, then Ukyou lets out
a high scream of panic.

"Ukyou!" She yells, clearing a path towards her friend with a volley of
punches and kicks. She hears Ryoga's battle cry, which is suddenly cut
short. She is so intent on reaching Ukyou, she leaves a momentary
opening. She flies forwards as one of the soldiers strikes her in the
head with a mace, leaving her in a stunned heap.

"This one's feisty!" One of the soldiers chuckles as they stretch her
out, sitting on her arms and legs, pinning her to the ground. She panics
as she feel rough hands pull at her clothing, but can't bring her
reeling senses into focus. She struggles weakly, the men around her
laughing evily. Then the hefty soldier fumbling with the waistband of
her pants falls over her, blood gushing from his mouth, pinning her
under him with his considerable weight. The men holding her leap up
shouting curses, and she can hear the sounds of battle start around her.

She pushes feebly at the dead weight on top of her, desperate to find
Ukyou. Suddenly the weight is rolled off and Ukyou pulls her to her
knees and they huddle together, staying small and out of the way,
straining to pick out individual figures in the struggling knot of
fighters in the slowly growing light of the false dawn.

"Where's Ryoga?" Ranma yells, struggling to heard over the din.

Ukyou shakes her head, panic and terror in her eyes, her clothes torn
and in disarray. They stand as the melee finishes, poised to run, not
sure of who has won and if they are friend or enemy. The winning
warriors finish their work on those fallen and still breathing, no
quarter asked or given. Ukyou sees a tall, golden haired man raise his
sword to strike at a small familiar black form crumpled by his feet.

"NO!" Ukyou bellows and throws herself at the man, knocking him away and
kneeling to straighten Ryoga's still form. Ranma places herself between
Ukyou and the warrior, her stance threatening.

"Easy, Warrior Sister." The man facing them smiles, salutes her with his
sword.

"What do you think you're doing!" Ranma demands, not trusting his easy
manner.

"The animal is injured and dying. I was only going to put it out of it's
misery." The man answers, wondering why these two women are so fiercely
defending a pig.

"He's not just a pig!" The little woman yells at him.

"Captain." He bows a little at the gray haired man who is coming to see
what all the ruckus is about.

"Jai. What have you found here?" He looks at them suspiciously, taking
in the state of their clothing and the blood matted against Ranma's
hair.

"I believe these two Gentle Ones' where what was providing such a
helpful distraction for our attack."

"Ranma, Ryoga's hurt really bad." Ukyou says as she finishes tearing the
sleeve off her shirt and applies pressure to the gaping wound against
his side.

The captain looks around Ranma at the young woman tending to a pig.

"Just put it out of it's misery." He tells them.

"NO!" They both holler at him. He blinks into their fury.

"Ryoga's a guy, not a pig. He's just changed. We need some hot water and
a doctor." Ranma demands.

"Who are you?" The captain asks, getting annoyed at this girls
threatening tone and stance.

"Ranma Saotome. Who are you?" She snaps back.

"Seryl, Captain of this tribe of Free Riders." The man responds, drawing
himself up proudly.

"Free Riders? Are you Free Rider's?" Ranma asks, feeling relief wash
over her. (Good guys. Rhiannon said they were good guys!) "Rhiannon told
us that there where Free Rider's coming to help."

"Rhiannon? The Glowing One?" Seryl asks, his eye's widening in surprise.

"Well, yeah, I guess she does glow, when she gets pissed." Ranma answers
him.

"You're not the Sister, are you?" He asks nervously, a look of deference
starting onto his face.

"Who, Nabiki?" Ranma responds, sounding insulted. "No, we're not. We
just got separated from them during the night."

"Jai, get Jessi and whatever else these Gentle Ones might need." He
commands the warrior waiting by them. Jai nods and strides off across
the camp toward the knot of wounded warriors waiting to be tended by
their healer. "I must go arrange the camp, Gentle Ones." He bows to
them. "But anything you need, you ask for." He turns back into the camp,
issuing orders, men scurrying to obey him.

Ranma sways a little, dizzy, as her head reminds her it's damaged and
sinks to her knees by Ukyou, who has gathered Ryoga's unconscious pig
shape into her lap and is stroking his head gently, tears running down
her face.

"What happened?" Ranma asks, looking at the blood soaked bandage under
Ukyou's hand, her face getting grim.

"He tried to stop them from..." She shudders.

"They didn't, um," Ranma asks shyly, trying to pull Ukyou's shirt
together to cover her exposed breast.

Ukyou shakes her head. Ranma breaths out a breath he had realized he'd
been holding.

"Good, I'd hate to have to go find Happosai so he could resurrect them
so I could kill them all again for you!"

That lighthearted quip earns her a small smile through Ukyou's tears.
Then her eyes get wide.

"Ranma, they didn't..."

Ranma shakes her head no, swallowing the surge of nausea that threatens
to overwhelm her as she realizes how close she came to being raped. A
young man, about their own age hurries toward them, carrying a large bag
over his shoulder, Jai following carrying a kettle of water.

"Gentle Ones." He bobs a quick bow to them, shrugging out of his bag and
running a practiced eye over them. "Which of you is injured."

"It's Ryoga." Ukyou indicates to unconscious form of the pig in her lap.

The healer frowns. "It's is a pig, Gentle One."

Ranma sighs, grabs the kettle from Jai, Ukyou placing Ryoga gently onto
the ground before her, and pours the hot water over him. He groans as
his shape shimmers and stretches back into it's human form.

"By the Light!" The healer whispers in shock as he backs away from him,
Jai taking a couple of steps back, too. "A Child of Darkness!" They both
make some kind of sign.

"What!?" Ranma asks, looking back and forth between the two as Ukyou
lifts Ryoga's head so it rests on her lap.

"Kill it!" The healer yelps at Jai.

"What!" Ranma yells back, springing into her fighting stance before her
friends again.

Jai looks unsure, restrains the healer with one hand, the other resting
on his sword hilt.

"Explain this." He indicates Ryoga with his eyes, his voice hard.

"Ryoga's under a curse, same as me! When he gets wet, he turns into a
pig, that's all. He's not a demon or nothing!" Ranma snarls back. (Well,
sometimes he's a demon.) She adds to herself.

Jai seems to debate within himself, then turns his head to the young man
struggling against his grasp.

"They are companions of the Glowing One and the Gray Man. Do what you
can." He commands.

The healer's eyes widen at that.

"Really?" He asks Ukyou as he kneels by Ryoga, lifting the bandage and
probing at the wound with gentle fingers.

Ukyou nods to him.

"I'm called Jessi. Jai, I need a stretcher. See if they have my tent up
yet." This time Jessi is the one in command. Jai nods and goes.

"Ukyou." Ukyou says softly, brushing Ryoga's unruly bangs back from his
forehead.

"Ranma." Ranma adds. "Is Ryoga going to be O.K.?"

Jai returns, two men following him with a makeshift stretcher.

"It is a fierce wound." Jessi says, as they move Ryoga onto the
stretcher. "My skills are not anywhere as great as the Glowing One, but
I will do what I can."

He walks to one side of the stretcher, Ukyou on the other as they head
for the large tent being hastily erected by the fire. Ranma trails a
little behind, taking in the camp and their new companions.

They get Ryoga onto a cot, braced with rolled blankets so his injured
side is facing up, Ukyou keeping a firm hold of his hand. Jessi
retrieves some gear from his bag, arranges them in easy reach, then
places his hand on either side of the wound. He takes a deep breath,
then a gentle light glows from under his palms and into the gash. Ryoga
twitches, scowls and blinks groggily.

"Ukyou?" He whispers.

"I'm here." She gives his hand a squeeze.

"Are you O.K.?" He asks as he focuses on her, distressed at what he can
see of her clothing and the bruises coming up on her face and chest.

"Yes. You stopped them."

"Ranma?" He coughs, then groans as that restarts the fire-filled throb
in his side.

"I'm O.K., too, Ryoga." She tells him from where she's sitting near the
head of his cot.

"Good." He mutters, then sinks back into the quiet, pain free darkness
of unconsciousness.

Jai enters the tent, passing the more seriously injured of his tribe
mates, carrying a bundle of clothes, and young boy following with towels
and a bar of soap.

"Gentle Ones." He address Ukyou and Ranma. "I'm sorry we don't have
anything more befitting to your rank, but if you would care to change
and wash?"

Ranma takes the clothes from him, Ukyou focused on Jessi sewing up
Ryoga's side.

"Thanks."

"This is Rae." He indicates the boy beside him. "He will be your
assistant, if you'll have him?" The boy bows deep, his eyes wide with
awe.

"What?" Ranma snaps at him, the boys open admiration making her uneasy.

"Jai!" Someone calls from outside.

"If you'll excuse me?" He bows to Ranma again and leaves.

The boy stands, shifting his weight from one foot to the other
nervously. "Are you really one of the Glowing One's companions?" He asks
in a rush.

"Yes." Ranma sighs. If it's possible, the boy's eye's widen more.
(Sheesh!) Ranma thinks, trying to think of something to say to put the
boy at ease, but is distracted by Jessi, who is finishing bandaging
Ryoga.

"I've stopped the bleeding and healed the worse of the internal damage,
he should be all right." He smiles reassuringly at Ukyou, who blushes,
unsure of the emotions swirling through her as she looks at Ryoga's
pale, still form.     Ranma watches this exchange, her eyebrows going up
in surprise.

"Thank-you." Ukyou says to the healer, bowing formally to him.

Jessi looks embarrassed. "Go get cleaned up, Gentle One. Let your friend
sleep. I will keep watch on him until you return." He instructs her
gently. "Here." He hand her a jar of ointment. "For your bruises and
cuts."

"Come on, Ukyou." Ranma helps her up. "This is Rae." She nods to the boy
hovering close by.

"This way Great Ladies." Rae ushers them out of the tent, leads them
towards another.

"Who are you calling a lady." Ranma snarls at him as they follow.

The boy looks back at him over his shoulder, not too young to appreciate
the curvaceous form of the women following him and gives a nervous high
pitched giggle.

"I don't think I should call you Great Lord." He answers.

Ranma looks down at his body, clenches his fists, then decides he's too
tired to argue the point.

Shiro, Kuno and Tofu have been following a trail of charred Windrider
bodies northward, Shiro keeping the horses at a ground eating trot. He
brings them to a halt as the overcast sky begins to lighten. Tofu slides
to the ground, reaching out to steady Kuno as he follows. Shiro throws
his reins to Kuno and starts to pull some blankets out of the bags.

"There is rope in that pack." He points to one of the bags on the
stallion. Kuno rummages for it as Shiro starts to spread the blankets on
the ground, slightly overlapping.

"What are you doing?" Tofu asks, taking the rope from Kuno and bringing
it to him, avoiding meeting the glowing embers of his eyes.

"The sun is coming and we can't afford to stop. You will wrap me up in
these, tie them securely and carry me over one of the saddles."

Tofu nods his understanding and waits for Shiro to arrange himself on
the blankets, pulling his cloak tightly about him.

"Do it." He tells the doctor with a wolfish smile.

Tofu quickly begins to wrap him up, using the rope to secure the
blankets around him at ankles, knees, waist and shoulders, the sun
rising as he's finishing. The muffled growls coming from the blankets
raise the hairs on the back of his neck, and he retreats a little, but
the man inside remains still. The first weak rays of the sun penetrate
the clouds and touch them, the wrapped body stiffing as it touches it,
then goes limp.

"Kuno, I need some help." He calls as he struggles to lift Shiro's limp
form. Between the two of them, they manage to get him slung over the
stallions saddle, Tofu tying the rope that hold the blankets together to
strategic places on the tack, securing him.

"Do you want to ride with him, or shall I?" Tofu asks wearily of his
companion, suddenly noticing in the dim morning light that Kuno's color
is off and his eye's are glittering with fever. "Kuno?" He queries as he
goes to him, pushing his hood back so he can feel of his forehead with
the back of his hand. It is warm, but not dangerously so.

Kuno pushes his hand away. "I'm all right. Just tired. You ride with him
now, I'll trade off with you later, if you want."

Tofu keeps them at the trot, the Windrider corpses becoming fewer and
fewer as they continue, the horse seeming tireless between his aching
knees. He keeps an anxious eye on Kuno, keeping the stallion and mare
next to each other close enough to him to grab him if he should start to
fall, who is huddled low in his saddle, keeping his seat by will power
alone. About two hours into the morning a white shape angles toward them
out of the sky, quacking.

"Mousse!" Tofu yells as he waves to him.

The duck circles around them, his quack triumphant and scolding at the
same time and leads them a little more to the northeast. After another
hour of so he sees the faint line of a leading edge of forest in the
distance. It's noon by the time they pass into its' shadow, Mousse
leading them on, flying and landing until they catch up, about a mile in
until they enter a small glade, bounded on one side by an up thrust of
rock, a small pool bubbling from an underground spring at it's base. The
stallion Rhiannon rode off on is standing hip-shot in the shade,
patiently enduring it's saddle, it's reins on the ground, head lowered,
eyes closed. He hears Shampoo's frantic meow and heads his stud for the
crumpled shape of Rhiannon, who is lying half in and half out of the
shade of the rock, looking around hoping to spy Nabiki. He fights back
the feeling of panic building in his chest as he realizes they didn't
manage to rescue her.

He quickly slides off from behind the saddle, tugging the stud into the
deepest shade he can find for Shiro's sake and trying not to step on
Shampoo as she meows and runs between his feet, and starts for Rhiannon
when Mousse lets out a warning squawk. He whirls to see Kuno start to
list sideways out of his saddle. He springs over, manages to catch the
young man's shoulders, keeping him from a nasty fall as the rest of him
slides off, pulling them both to the ground.

"Sorry." Kuno gets out around chattering teeth before he goes limp in
Tofu's arms.

(He's burning up!) Tofu picks the young man up and carries him over to
Rhiannon, wrapping his shivering form in his own cloak also. Mousse
wings over, quacks quietly to Shampoo, who comes to join him, getting
out of the Doctors way.

He quickly goes to work, dragging Rhiannon's limp form all the way into
the sunlight and rolling her over onto her back, setting fire to the
mound of kindling stacked nearby and goes to get water, thinking
furiously about what is left in his medical arsenal, collects a few
pieces of larger wood to feed the fire and sets the water to heating. He
retrieves his kit and uncovers enough of Kuno to tend to his back. He
removes the vest and lifts his shirt to uncover the bandages, undoes
them gently, stares in shock at the festering black gashes, dark lines
that indicate blood poisoning radiating out from them.

(This shouldn't have happened, and not this quickly!) He takes one of
the two syringes from the padded compartment of his kit and injects the
antibiotic into Kuno's arm, then pulls out a variety of powders and
measures them into his hand and dumps them into a bowl. He goes to check
the water, Mousse and Shampoo following him, pours it on them, retaining
enough to fill his bowl. He gets some towels from the packs and hurries
back to Kuno, Shampoo following, naked.

"Where others!" She demands as he keeps his eyes averted and hands her a
towel, Mousse hunting for their clothing in the gear.

"Ranma, Ryoga and Ukyou got separated from us in the attack. I don't
know where they are. Shiro's over there." He points to the wrapped form
on the stallion.

"He not dead, is he?" Shampoo asks.

Tofu shakes his head, dipping the towel into the seeping herbs and
water, wringing it out and placing it onto Kuno's back.

"What happen Kuno?" Shampoo asks as she slips the shirt Mousse has
brought her over her head.

"One of the Windriders got him. I didn't think his injury was so
serious." He says guiltily, more to himself than her.

Shampoo lays her hand on his shoulder. "You good doctor, good man. Not
do anything wrong. Shampoo tend to Lady, then come help."

"Mousse, I'm going to need more water. Would you mind?" Mousse gets the
kettle and refills it, setting it to heat, then starts to unharness the
horses as Shampoo goes to Rhiannon and starts to undress her.

"What are you doing?" Tofu asks, brows raised.

"Lady need very much sunlight now. Very tired. Kill many winged ones,
but not able to get Nabiki back. She really upset!" She finishes,
leaving Rhiannon naked, her cloak spread under her. The woman sighs a
little as the cloud filtered sun soaks into her body, a smile appearing
on her face. Shampoo comes back over.

"What you need do?"

"If you could pitch the tent and get Shiro into it and unwrapped, that
would be a great help." He tells her, unwilling to leave Kuno.

Shampoo moves to help Mousse. They work together well, talking quietly,
every now and then coming close to squeeze a hand or just lean against
each other.

They get the tent pitched and together haul Shiro in, emerging a few
minutes later, Mousse coiling the rope up and returning it to the packs.
They come to him.

"I would like to go and look for Ranma and the others." Mousse asks him.
"I can catch up if you move."

Tofu looks up, weary in body and spirit, fearing he is loosing his
battle for Kuno's life.

"Fine. I don't think we'll be moving tonight anyway."

Mousse and Shampoo go toward the pool, Mousse quickly strips, then
kisses Shampoo passionately, she giggling a little, then steps into the
pool and launches himself skyward. Shampoo comes back to him, as he's
soothing Kuno, who is calling for Nabiki in his delirium, a look of
compassion on her face.

"I make you something to eat, then you go rest. Shampoo sit with Kuno."
She tells him firmly. He nods, to tired to argue.

(Rhiannon, I need your help.) He thinks as he rests his forehead onto
his palms, his eye's threatening to close of their own accord. He feels
something, like a little tickle inside his skull. He rubs at the back of
his head, but the feeling persists, something urging him to turn. He
turns his head, sees Rhiannon staring at him, her eyes barley open,
golden fire glowing from between the slits of her lids, her arm
outstretched toward him.

(Come.) He hears the voice summon in his head. He hurries over to her,
she moves her fingers a little, he takes her hand into his own.

(Poison. You must Heal or he will die.) The tickle tells him.

"How?!" He asks.

(The Light will answer you, if you call it.) Then the voice is gone as
her eyes slide back shut and her fingers go limp in his hand.

He lays her hand back gently to her side, moves purposefully back to
Kuno.

(Summon the Light. But how?) He folds his legs so he is sitting crossed
legged next to Kuno, in easy reach of the wounds. He closes his eyes,
becoming still as he focuses his chi. (Light. Think about light.) He
lets his mind clear, focuses on the feeling of the wan sunlight shining
on him. Suddenly he feels a warm rush of power sing through him.

(Cover the wounds.) It tells him.

He places his hands onto the hot flesh of the young man. He goes with
the Light into Kuno's body, becoming one with it. He can "see" the
poison rushing through his veins, uses the glowing power to change its'
molecular structure to something benign, forces the infection back,
incinerating it with a thought, speeding up the reproduction of muscle
and skin cells. Suddenly the power flows back out of Kuno and back into
his hands, then dissipates into his own body. Shampoo catches him as he
slumps backward.

"Wow." He whispers as he rests against her.

"What you do? You glow like Lady for a second." Shampoo asks, helping
him to sit upright.

He pushes his glasses back up onto his nose and leans to examine the
wounds on Kuno's back, the black lines of the blood poisoning are gone,
the gashes scabbing over as he watches.

"You fix Kuno. Good! He not die now." Shampoo smiles at him. He smiles
back, dumbfounded at what he's just done. "You eat now, then rest." She
pushes the bowl she'd brought into his hands.

He eats it, rather absentmindedly, thinking in wonder about what he just
did, hands the bowl back to Shampoo.

"You go sleep now. Shampoo watch both." She orders.

"O.K., Shampoo." He acquiesces. "Just let me check Kuno one more time."
He takes the young mans pulse, pleased that it's strong and steady,
watches him take the even breaths of deep sleep, then weaves into the
tent and wraps himself in his blanket and falls asleep.

It was early afternoon when Ukyou is roused from her light sleep,
Ryoga's uneasy tossing waking her. She glances over at Ranma's sleeping
form, Ranma doing her best impression of a log, then sits up, pulling
her blanket up around her shoulders against the chill, Ryoga's fever
bright eyes meeting with her own.

"What's wrong, Ryoga?" She asks quietly, so as not to disturb anyone
else in the tent.

"I'm hot and I hurt." He answers her crossly, shifting again on the cot,
trying to find a comfortable position. She places her hand against his
forehead, his skin hot and clammy against her palm.

"You're burning up." She tells him. "Let me go get Jessi." She hurries
on quiet feet over the healer sleeping across from them.

"Jessi!" She whispers. His eyes snap open. "Ryoga's running a fever."

Jessi rolls out of the cot, grabs his bag and goes with her over to
Ryoga. He repeats the forehead feeling, ignoring Ryoga's glare.

"Let's see, Ryoga." He says, rolling him onto his side with gentle
strength and raising his shirt and bandage. His face gets serious as he
sees the blackened edges of the wound, the beginnings of the spider
lines of Windrider poisoning starting away from it.

"What?" Ukyou asks, frightened by his look.

"Get me a bowl and some hot water. We're going to have to remove the
stitches and drain this."

"Why?" Ryoga snarls, grabbing Jessi's arm. Ukyou halts on her way out,
wanting to hear.

Jessi removes Ryoga's hand from his arm, his face emotionless. "Many of
Chiesai's men coat their sword with the Windriders blood. It is a
poison. It slows down the healing of wounds. Gentle One, the water
please."

Ryoga watches him pull a variety of packets from his bag and measure
them into the bowl Ukyou brings him, placing the kettle in easy reach.
He takes an ointment and smears it onto the wound. "This will help numb
it." He explains. Then he pours water over the powders and lets them
start to steep.

Ryoga grits his teeth as the healer cuts and pulls out the first stitch,
Ukyou offering her hand. Ryoga takes it, squeezing hard at every stitch
removed.

"Done." Jessi tells him, then dips a cloth into the hot solution. "This
is going to hurt." He warns as he places the steaming cloth against his
side. Ryoga yelps as the cloth lands, biting into his lower lip. "This
will help to draw the poison out."

One of the other men calls to him softly from across the tent, his voice
full of pain.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 12 of 15


"Ukyou, as soon as this cools, wet another and apply it. The hottest he
can stand, the better. I'll bring something to help with the fever
soon." He rises to go to cross the tent to the man who called. He
returns some minutes later, bringing a cup of tea and some more hot
water with him. He gives it to Ukyou, indicating that she should help
Ryoga drink it, checking the wound under the cloth. He nods to himself,
pleased that the dark lines are receding a little. Ukyou steadies the
cup for Ryoga, who sips at it. Finished, he lowers himself back down and
covers his eyes with his forearm, enduring. Finally the drug in the tea
takes effect and he slips into an uneasy sleep. After an hour or so, the
infection hasn't spread or retreated any more. Ryoga is cooler to the
touch and Jessi retrieves a small pouch from his bag sprinkles another
powder sparingly over and into the wound and lays a loose bandage over
it, pulling the covers up around Ryoga's shoulders. He stands, stretches
and moves to the entrance of the tent, Ukyou trailing him.

"He's going to be all right, isn't he?" She asks, a strange little
tremble, formerly reserved only for Ranma, starting in her heart at
Jessi's serious expression.

"We've managed to stop the infection for now, but unless we get him to a
more powerful healer, there is nothing more I can do, except keep it at
bay with the compresses for a few days, I'm going to count on you to
help me with that, and give him something to keep the fever down and the
pain tolerable."  He tells her sadly, wincing inwardly at the fear
reflected in her eyes. "I'm sorry. My power is very limited."

"We'll just have to get him to Rhiannon, then." She tells him firmly,
not willing to accept any other outcome.

"Go get some sleep, Gentle One." He tells her.

She shakes her head. "I'm to wound up, do you think it would be all
right to take a little walk? I'd like to check on our horses. I promised
Shari I'd take good care of them."

He nods. "Make sure you identify yourself to the sentries, though."

"O.K." Ukyou tells him as steps out into the cold air, making sure she
calls greetings to the sentries she passes on the way to the picket
line. She finds the two mares tethered toward the end of the line,
munching contentedly on a pile of hay before them. They raise their
heads as she approaches and wicker greeting. She goes to the nearest one
and rests her head against it's strong shoulder, trying to sort out her
feelings and figure out how she's going to get Ryoga to Rhiannon. A
flutter of white feathers lands close to her, letting out a familiar
quack.

"Mousse!" She yells as she runs to him, gathering him up into arms and
giving him a big hug. "Man, am I glad to see you!"

She runs back through the camp, pausing to snatch another kettle from
the cooking fire and rushes into Jessi's tent. Jessi rises to follow her
as she speeds by, wondering where she got the big duck.

"Ranma! Wake up!" She prods her with her foot as she upends the kettle
and Mousse takes shape before them. Jessi hisses from behind her and
there is the rattle of drawn swords and oaths from the men around them.

"Hey! It's O.K., it's O.K.!" Ranma says loudly, blinking sleep from her
eyes. "He's like Ryoga!"

Jessi waves the others to stand down as Ukyou hands Mousse her blanket,
which he quickly wraps around himself.

"What happened to you?" He asks, taking in the bruises that adorn both
of the girls faces and Ryoga's sleeping form on the cot behind them.

"Nothing." They answer in unison, blushing.

"Where is everyone?" Ukyou asks as Jessi shakes Rae awake and sends him
to get the Captain.

"About five hours hard ride from here."

"Is everyone O.K.?" Ranma queries.

Mousse shakes his head. "They got Nabiki."

"Oh, no!" Ukyou says softly, Ranma clenching her fists against this
news.

Seryl rushes in, buckling on his sword belt, Jai and Rae following.

"Who are you!" He demands.

"Mousse."  He bows politely.

"One of us." Ranma adds. "Mousse, this is Seryl, Captain of this tribe
of Free Riders."

Seryl nods in greeting, his eyes guarded. "You bring us news?"

Mousse nods back, his expression unhappy.

"What happened, Mousse?" Ukyou prods. Mousse sinks to sit cross-legged,
his listener's following his example.

"After Ranma's horse bolted," he gives her a hard stare and Ranma looks
down embarrassed, "the Windriders piled onto Rhiannon and Shiro,
literally burying them under their weight, some going after Kuno and
Nabiki. Kuno and the Doctor kept them off for a while, then they managed
to overwhelm them and take Nabiki." He pauses, swallows. Jessi whispers
something to Rae, who hurries out. "Rhiannon took off after them with
Shampoo, blasting them out of the sky. That was something. But always,
the ones guarding the ones carrying Nabiki would throw itself into her
blast. She killed most of them and we managed to keep up until we hit
the forest and the trees slowed us down. She rode until she fell from
the saddle."

Rae returns with a tray and begins handing out cups.

"Thank-you." Mousse tells the boy, takes a few sips, then continues. "I
went back out to find the others and lead them back to Rhiannon. Kuno is
badly injured, Rhiannon was still out when I left, and Shiro too. I
thought it best if I could see if I could find you."

"The Dark One has the last Sister?" Seryl asks. Mousse nods. "This is
grim news, indeed." He scowls, rubbing at his rough beard, then leans
close to Jai and talks with him quietly.

"Mousse, we need to get Ryoga to Rhiannon." Ukyou informs him.

"Why?" Ranma asks, confused. "I thought he was all better." She directs
this question to Jessi.

"The blade that made the wound was coated with a poison. It is beyond my
skill to heal." Jessi responds humbly.

"Five hours?" Ranma asks Mousse. Mousse nods. "Can he do five hours?"
She asks of Jessi.

Jessi shakes his head. Ranma drums her fingers on her thigh. "Then
she'll have to come here."

"I don't think she'll come." Mousse says quietly. "She's determined to
get to Nabiki as soon as possible."

Ranma frowns at that, thinking it was probably true.

"Ranma, you go back with Mousse. I'll stay here with Ryoga." Ukyou tells
her, her face stern with decision.

"I can't just leave you here!" She glares at Ukyou.

"I may have a solution." Seryl breaks in. "If we strike camp now, we
could meet them halfway, taking neither party too far off it's course."

"That would be great!" The three young people chorus.

"Let me write some instructions for you to carry." He rises, leaves the
tent issuing commands.

Ukyou goes to get Mousse something to eat, the camp astir with men
hurrying to pack and strike tents. By the time Mousse has finished,
Seryl returns with a letter. He gives it to Mousse. Ranma hunts up some
string while Ukyou pours the now cold water over Mousse.

"By the Light!" Seryl mutters, eyes wide as Mousse shimmers into a duck.

"It is a little unsettling." Jessi murmurs to his commander, a grin on
his face.

"Hold still, Mousse!" Ranma mutters, trying to concoct a harness around
his wings with the string. Mousse makes a hissing noise, sounding a
little like laughter. "I don't care if it tickles, you don't want to
lose it, do you?"

Mousse holds as still as possible, his body wiggling with suppressed
tickle. He lets out a surprised and somewhat angry honk as Ranma
finishes cinching it up tight.

"Well, it shouldn't come off now." She snarls back at him.

Mousse waddles to the Captain, who blinks down at him for a second, then
shakes his head.

"If you aren't waiting at the indicated spot, I will assume that you
cannot come. If that is so, tell the Glowing One and her Consort that we
will be in the prearranged place at the appointed time." He gives the
duck a little bow.

Ranma and Ukyou escort Mousse to the edge of the almost disassembled
camp and watch him fly off. Ranma takes Ukyou's hand, squeezes it tight.

""They'll come." She assures her. "They have to."

They move Ryoga into the smaller of the two light supply wagons, making
him as comfortable as possible amid the supplies, the other wounded men
going into the larger one. Ukyou volunteers to ride with Ryoga and tend
to him, seeing as there was only enough room for two in the cramped
space. Jessi agrees, telling her what to look for and to call him if any
of those things happen. Jessi moves up to flank the wagon carrying his
patients, Ranma keeping her mare close enough to the rear of Ukyou's
wagon so she can glance in and keep an eye on them as they set off at a
hard pace.

Ukyou has just started the next round of compresses when Ryoga takes her
hand into his own.

"Hi." She smiles at him. He frowns back, looking confused.

"Where?"

"We're taking you to Rhiannon. Now, you just rest and conserve your
strength." She tells him, seeing him try to fight off the sleep inducing
effect of the drug that they have been feeding him in the tea.

She frees her hand to remove the cooling compress and exchange it for a
hot one. He flinches as she applies it.

"Sorry." She winces with him.

"It's getting worse, isn't it." He asks in a tight voice.

She makes a show of peeking under the compress, not letting any of her
worry show in her face or voice. The dark lines have advanced some, but
not enough for her to call Jessi. "No better, no worse. Now, go to
sleep."

He studies her as she gets another cloth ready, she pretending not to
notice. He reaches up to touch the particularly nasty bruise on her left
cheek, from where one of Chiesai's men had punched her, with gentle
fingers.

"Ryoga!" She captures his hand, letting herself sound annoyed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't defend you better." He tells her quietly, looking
embarrassed.

"Oh, Ryoga." She sighs. "You stopped them for long enough, that's all
that matters. They would have...done it before the Freeriders showed up
if you hadn't!" She gives his hand a little squeeze and places it back
down onto the blankets underneath him. She goes through two more
compresses before he speaks again, startling her a little, because she
had thought he had fallen back asleep.

"I've been thinking about what you said."

"Which what I said?" She queries, pleased to see that the black spider
lines are receding back to their original position.

"About Akane. And Ranma. And me. I think you're right. I have been too
stubborn to see what's been in front of my face the whole time. They
love each other."

"Ryoga, don't think about that right now. I want you to concentrate on
getting better, O.K.?" (Me and my big mouth.) She snarls to herself,
giving him a big smile and brushing the bangs away from his eyes.

"You're really a sweet person, you know, Ukyou." He turns his head to
press his cheek against her hand. "I just wish..." He leaves that
hanging. Ukyou withdraws her hand.

"What, that I was Akane?" She asks, surprised at herself at how hard her
tone was when that came out.

He looks up at her startled, but she has turned her attention to
swapping the compresses.

"No." He waits until she's changed the cloth, then reaches for her hand
again. "I just sometimes wish you had a place in your heart for me,
too." He says it as if he has just realized this fact himself.

Ukyou blushes furiously, her heart doing a little flutter. (What is
going on!) she asks herself. (Stop this! You love Ranma, not Ryoga!)

"Ryoga." She says quietly, gently extracting her hand from his. "This is
the fever talking, nothing more. And you do have a place in my heart.
You're a kind, caring, honorable man. Now go to sleep." She tells him
firmly, seeing his eyelids starting to droop.

"I don't think so." He whispers, fighting sleep and pain, trying to sort
out the jumble of his feelings.

"We'll talk about it later, after your feeling better, O.K.?" She tells
him, trying to put his mind at ease.

"O.K." He mutters as he drifts off. She crawls to the back of the wagon,
leans out, needing some air.

"You O.K. in there?" Ranma calls, deciding that maybe a bra isn't such a
bad idea as she starts to feel the soreness in her chest from an hour of
jarring trot.

"Yes." Ukyou calls back, studying her, the image of Ranma-kun overlaying
Ranma-Chan and then being replaced by Ryoga. She shakes her head, hard.

(I'm just tired. That's all.) She tells herself firmly, then returns to
Ryoga's side. The gentle sway of the wagon lulls her with it's hypnotic
rhythm and after a while her eyes slide shut.   

"Ukyou! NO!" Ryoga's cry brings her bolt upright from the doze she had
slipped into. She tries to restrain his thrashing form, gasping at the
heat radiating off of him.

"Ranma!" She screams, "Bring Jessi now!"

Ranma kicks the mare forwards yelling for Jessi. The healer slows his
horse, brings it to the rear of the wagon, throws in his bag then swings
over the low gate with an ease born of years of practice. He moves
quickly to them, Ukyou all but laying on Ryoga to keep him still. Jessi
moves her a little, Ryoga snarling and crying out, caught in some
nightmare beneath her. He exposes the wound, closes his eyes for a
moment after he takes in the black webs that have covered Ryoga's side.

"Keep him still, Ukyou." Jessi commands, placing his hands to Ryoga's
side and summoning his power. He remains like that, Ukyou looking over
at him in surprise as Ryoga finally stops struggling beneath her, but
seems to have trouble taking breath.

"Talk to him, Ukyou. Keep him here. We're almost there." He hisses at
her, his body starting to tremble as he keeps forcing the power out of
himself.

"Ryoga. Ryoga!" She yells, taking his hand into both of hers and leaning
close. "Damn you, Hibiki! You're going to let Ranma win! He always said
you were a loser, guess it's true!" Ryoga's grip tightens around her
fingers. "That's it." She coaxes. "Where's all that fighting spirit
you're always going on about? Ranma would have shrugged a little scratch
like this off and been out there figuring out a way to rescue Akane, you
know he would."

Ryoga's eyes open a little, and he glares at her with naked fury.

"Come on Ryoga, fight back! Ranma doesn't think your man enough to
survive this. Prove him right!" She tells him, her tone as mean and
condescending as she can make it. His hand tightens into a bone bruising
crunch. Jessi can feel the young man's natural power rise to strengthen
him.

"Come on Ryoga, almost there! Ranma's outside laughing at you, you know.
He'll finally be rid of you!" She keeps taunting him, watching the
healer get weaker and weaker beside her with frantic eyes.

Suddenly there is another weight bouncing the wagon and Rhiannon crawls
in, places her hands over the healers and Ukyou is blinded by the golden
fire of her power. She is jolted as the wagon comes to a sudden stop and
blinks frantically, trying to see Ryoga through spots and tears. Ryoga
sits up suddenly, keeping hold of her hand.

"I'm going to kill Ranma for saying that." He says in a clear firm
voice, then slumps back into the healing coma Rhiannon's power creates.

"Come on, Ukyou." Rhiannon tells her tersely as she gently arranges
Jessi so he is resting comfortably, then wraps Ryoga up in his blankets
and hands him out to Shiro, who settles the boy across his lap. She
tosses Ukyou up onto her mare, tied to the wagon, frees the reins, hands
them to her, then springs up behind her. Seryl, who has exchanged some
brief words with Shiro salutes him as they kick the horses into a lope,
heading for the treeline a little off in the distance.

"Where are the others?" Ukyou yells back, seeing that only Shampoo has
accompanied them.

"Back at camp, resting. They're all right." Rhiannon assures her.

"Why are we running like this?" Ukyou asks.

"Because I just created a huge sign that said, 'Here we are, come and
get us.' How did this happen, Ukyou?" She asks, sounding annoyed.

Ukyou starts explaining as they race for cover.

It is close to dawn when Rhiannon enters the tent and moves to wake the
sleepers with gentle shakes and soft words. They gather at the fire,
sipping tea and eating the light meal waiting, Ukyou keeping the fire
between herself and Ryoga, who wouldn't meet her eyes when they bumped
into each other on the way out of the tent.

"It's almost dawn." Ranma complains, settling herself by Ukyou and
yawning hugely. "Why are we up now?"

"We're going to be moving by day for a while." Rhiannon informs her.

"Do opposite of what your opponent expects?" Kuno queries, scratching at
the scabs on his side.

Rhiannon smiles at him. "Exactly."

"What about Shiro?" Ukyou asks quietly, tracking his restless pacing
around the camp with her eyes.

"He'll manage." She says softly. "Now, when you're finished, let's get
the camp struck."

They all nod acknowledgment as they continue eating. She goes to her
husband, matches his stride for a few yards, then pulls him to a halt.

"I really hate this." He growls to her softly, glaring at the lightening
horizon.

"I know." She responds soothingly, running her hand along the sharp
definition of his cheek. "Shall we?"

She pulls him unresisting behind her toward the tent, her companions
busy with their now familiar routine of packing up. Shiro settles
himself onto the blankets they arrange to cover him through the coming
day and she snuggles beside him. He holds her tightly against him and
she feels him tense as his Darkness instinctively fights against the
rising sun then goes limp, his heart rate and breathing slowing to an
almost imperceptible rhythm beneath her hand. Tofu clears his throat
from the entrance.

"We're ready for the tent." He informs her, sounding a little
embarrassed.

Rhiannon sighs, rises and begins to wrap Shiro up. "Will you give me a
hand, Doctor?"

They load Shiro's limp form over the gear behind the stallions saddle,
Rhiannon padding it out with blankets and tying him down securely as the
other's strike the tent. They mount up, Ryoga moving his foot from the
stirrup and offering Ukyou his hand. She stares up at him, hands planted
on her hips, he looking away, still not able to meet her eyes, mad at
him and herself, but not quite sure why.

"I think I'll ride with Kuno, today." She tells him and spins on her
heel and lifts a hand imperiously to Kuno. Kuno looks down at her,
surprised.

"Help me up, you idiot!" She hisses at him.

"Why? " He asks.

"Because I want to ride with you today, O.K.?" She snarls.

"Don't tell me you're falling under the enchantment of my person also?"
He asks, amused, as he clears a stirrup and takes her hand to tug him up
behind him.

"Only in your dreams." She mutters.

He chuckles a little evily. "I have some very interesting dreams."

She thumps him hard between his shoulder blades. "You're such a
pervert!"

"Your the one who asked to ride with me." He responds innocently, then
kicks the stallion forwards into a lope, making her grab him around the
waist to keep her seat.

(This is going to be a long day.) Ukyou sighs, not seeing the hard, hurt
expression on Ryoga's face as they bound by.

Ranma watches this exchange from her perch behind Dr. Tofu, a puzzled
frown on her face, looking between Ukyou's retreating back and Ryoga's
dark expression. (Ukyou and Ryoga? NO WAY!)

She sways a little, then settles into the mares rhythm as Tofu urges her
forwards, thinking. (Ukyou and Ryoga? Hmmm...)

As Ukyou predicted, it was a long day, everyone struggling to stay awake
as their internal clocks protested the change in sleeping schedules,
Rhiannon keeping them at a steady trot until she pulls them up by a
small stream around three. Ukyou slides off from behind Kuno before he
brings the stallion to a full stop and stomps away, muttering, Kuno
shrugging as he watches her go.

"What did you say to her!" Ryoga demands, his voice and stance
threatening.

Kuno swings his leg over the stallions neck and slides down facing him.

"Nothing that should have upset her." He shrugs. "I was just recounting
some of my more stunning victories as Furinken High School Kendo
champion."

Ryoga blinks at him, no response forming in his brain to that kind of
torture, takes the stallions reins and leads it and his mare towards the
stream, Ranma bringing her mare to him.

"I'll bet she'll be riding with you tomorrow!" Ranma tells him with a
sweet smile.

"What...what are you talking about, Ranma!" He snaps at her, his
expression becoming guarded and his voice indignant.

Ranma blinks back at him wide-eyed. "Just that anything would be better
than listening to Kuno spew about his victories."

Ryoga clenches his fists around the reins he's holding.

"What?" Ranma asks, taking in his stance and visage. "You know, Ryoga,
the way your acting, I'd think you liked her or something. But we both
know that couldn't be the case, you being hopelessly in love with Akane,
hmm?" She takes in the narrowing of his eyes and the slight tremble
running through his frame that signals the start of one of his beserker
rages and springs back into a fighting stance.

Ryoga turns on her slowly, looks past her to where Rhiannon and Ukyou
are off loading tack, their backs to him, Rhiannon's warning at the pond
sounding in his head.

(I can master this!) He takes a few deep trembling breaths, willing the
red rage back. (I CAN!) He closes his eyes, focusing deep within
himself. When he opens them again, he is smiling. Ranma blinks at him in
surprise, still in her battle stance.

"It's none of your business, anyway, Ranma." He tells her, his tone
remarkably polite.

"Huh?!" Ranma says.

"Just go away, Saotome." He turns from her to finish watering the
horses.

(Boy! He's got it bad!) She thinks, continuing to stand and stare at
him, then realizes her mouth is hanging open and shuts it, then turns to
help set up camp.

    "Practice!" Rhiannon calls as they finish, going to change into her
gi.     That is met by a variety of groans. She smiles at the good
natured grumbling going on around her as she changes. She calls Ranma
into the practice for the first time, taking her measure against her
companions. The boy was good, even trapped in his female form. She cuts
the practice short, knowing that they were all tired and anyway, she had
an errand to run.

"Ukyou, Ryoga! I need two of the mares saddled and one of the stallions
rigged out to pack." She calls as she heads in to change. "Shampoo,
hurry up!"  Shampoo shrugs at Mousse's questioning look and trots to
follow her. There is some speculation around the camp as Ukyou and Ryoga
follow her instructions and several double takes when Rhiannon emerges,
clad in a beautifully embroidered deep blue overdress, the dove gray
silk of the shirt underneath puffing through the seven ties which hold
each sleeve together, her hair coiled prettily up around her head and
held in place with amber combs, Shampoo coming behind, dressed in dark
gray leathers, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, Rhiannon's
katana strapped to her back. They are every inch the cultured Lady and
her loyal bodyguard.

Mousse falls into step with Shampoo as they head for the horses, leans
close and whispers something into her ear, his hand running down the
soft suede that covers her back. She blushes and giggles, slapping his
hand away.

"Not now, Mousse!" She tries to sound firm, but the blush and giggle
give her away.

"Where are you going?" Tofu asks as Rhiannon mounts and settles the
dress around her with practiced ease, Shampoo taking the halter rope of
the stallion from Ryoga and swinging up onto the mare.

"Spying." Rhiannon answers with a little smile. "We're about an hour out
of Freegate and we've some friends there, hopefully with some helpful
intelligence. Take charge of the camp until Shiro wakes, he knows where
we're going. We'll be back by moonrise!" Shampoo waves at them as she
follows Rhiannon's lead, then is gone as the surrounding forest swallows
them up.

As promised, Rhiannon and Shampoo return a little after moonrise, Shiro
coming to meet them, his sensitive ears hearing them long before the
others, the stallion laden with interestingly shaped bundles.

Shiro helps Rhiannon down, Shampoo tossing the halter rope to Ukyou
before she swings down.

"Well?" Ukyou asks her, coming to take the mare also.

"Very big city close by! Many soldiers, many people going to Chiesai for
big festival he plan for Moondark!" Shampoo tells her, struggling with
the words to describe unfamiliar places and events. "Lady tell you more,
and better."

Ryoga and Ukyou have a lot more hands helping than usual as they off
load the stallion and unsaddle the mares, everyone curious as to what's
in the bags, one of them giving off tantalizing odors. Rhiannon has them
bring the bags close to the fire, sits and they gather around her.

"First, a treat!" She smiles at them and delves into the good smelling
bag and starts unwrapping a variety of meat filled pastries, the last
wrapped bundle in the bag a sweet concoction of pastry, honey, nuts and
fruits. They all help themselves and settle in to listen.

"Chiesai is having a little get together at his place on Moondark night,
partly to gather his forces around him, partly to celebrate the opening
of the Gate." They all look uneasy at this, but Rhiannon smiles. "It
will be our ticket in."

They look at her with questioning expressions, Shiro shaking his head
with a rueful smile on his face.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go alone." He tells her.

"It's perfect!" She responds, giving him a hard look.

"What's perfect?" Tofu asks, a little unsettled at the by-play going on
between the Guardians.

"We're going to have to stick to the main roads now, anyway, and we
certainly can't pass as a group of Chiesai's soldiers!" She says, more
to Shiro than to him.

"So?" A few more voices take up the query.

"I hope at least one of you has a decent singing voice." Shiro mutters
quietly.

"Oh you, hush!" Rhiannon smiles at him.

"Singing voice?" Ryoga asks, as a faint glimmer of what's coming dawns
on him.

"From now on, we're a traveling company of entertainers!" Rhiannon tells
them brightly. They all look at her, varying stunned expressions on
their faces, all silent.

"Well, I sing quite well." Kuno volunteers, dramatically brushing his
forelock back from his eyes.

Ranma, Ukyou and Ryoga all roll their eyes and groan.

"Well, I do!" He tells them.

"You have got to be kidding." Ukyou directs her question at Rhiannon.

"No. I'm deadly serious." Rhiannon answers back, her good humor seeming
unshaken by their unenthusiastic response to her plan.

Ranma, Ukyou and Ryoga look to Shiro, an unspoken plea in their eyes. He
just smiles and shrugs. They sigh.

"O.K. Now, who else besides Kuno can sing?" She asks, retrieving a
guitar like instrument from another, which she hands to Shiro, who takes
it with a resigned expression and starts to tune it., then starts to
remove brightly colored clothing from the bags and passing them out,

"I've been told I can carry a tune." Tofu offers, holding out the
multicolored shirt Rhiannon has handed him and blinking a little, not
sure whether to be offended or not.

"Mousse sing good." Shampoo volunteers for him.

"Shampoo!" Mousse blushes and shakes his head at her.

"Well, you do! You sing all time at shop when you think no one hear.
Even Grandmother say you have nice voice."

Rhiannon looks expectantly at Ryoga, who shakes his head. She gets a
wicked smile on her face and Ryoga gulps. She delves into another bundle
and pulls out a tambour like drum, tosses it to him.

"You can count, can't you?" She asks sweetly. He nods, wondering what's
coming.

"Good. I need someone to keep time for me when I dance. Look's like
you're it."

Ryoga sighs in relief, then catches the amused chuckle from Shiro.
(What's going on?) He wonders, looking back and forth between them.

Rhiannon looks to the girls next.

"Well, Ranma can't sing." Ukyou tells her.

"Thanks a lot, Ukyou." Ranma mutters.

"And it's not my strong suit either." Ukyou finishes.

"Shampoo not very good singer either." She says at Rhiannon's
questioning look.

"Well, then. Looks like the men will sing and the Ladies will dance."

"Dance?" The three girls ask in unison.

"Dance." Rhiannon responds with a little smile. "Lesson's start tomorrow
after battle practice."

"Dance." The three say to themselves.

"Now, lets get our cover stories straight." Rhiannon says and begins to
instruct them, Shiro adding little pieces around the music he's coaxing
from the guitar.

After making them all go over their created histories, they set the
watches and go to bed, Shiro and Rhiannon volunteering for first watch,
the beautiful sound of the guitar and their intertwined voices singing
them to sleep.

Ryoga and Kuno wake them an hour before sunrise, the men changing into
their new clothing and emerging, trying not to look embarrassed as they
start their morning routines, all looking to the tent and wondering what
is taking the female half or their party so long to emerge.

Then they hear a variety of muffled giggles followed by a very loud, "NO
WAY!" shouted in Ranma-chan's soprano. The sides of the tent wave, as if
caught in a high wind, every now and then bulging as something bounces
off the inside. Finally Ukyou and Shampoo step out, faces enhanced by
some artfully applied make-up and dressed in tight fitting blouses that
barley lace up the front and gauzy, multi-colored and tiered skirts,
hair caught up in brightly colored silk scarves. Rhiannon comes next
dragging a very prettily made-up and dressed and scowling Ranma-chan
behind her by the hand. Tofu smiles as they go by him on their way to
the fire and has a passing thought that they look like a bevy of exotic
butterflies.

"Wow!" Ryoga volunteers, his eyes mostly on Ukyou as the girls get
breakfast and settle, trying to become accustomed to the skirts that
swirl around their ankles.

Kuno looks closely at Ranma, a strange smile playing at his lips. "Now
that could almost make a man think truly perverted thoughts." He tells
her.  Ranma goes "ep!" and a little look of terror flashes across her
face.

"Relax, Saotome. I did say 'almost"." Kuno tells her, amusement
replacing the smirk.

While the girls eat, Rhiannon returns to the tent and attends to Shiro,
calling for Kuno to come and help her get him loaded this time. She
arranges the gear around him so he is just another indistinguishable
shape. As they finish striking the camp, Rhiannon brings the stallion to
Ukyou, the drum under her arm.

"I'll ride with Ryoga today, if you don't mind?" She asks.

"Why should I mind?" Ukyou smiles back, ignoring the little flash of
disappointment that goes through her.

"I get the saddle, Ryoga." She commands and he scrambles back over the
back to give her space.

They set off, Ranma letting everyone know in a loud voice how stupid it
is to try to ride a horse in skirts as she tries to get the thing
unwound from around her legs after she scrambles into her place behind
Tofu, moving out of the forest to join the traffic moving northwards on
the main road.

They keep a steady pace throughout the day, passing some of the slower
moving caravans and being passed by swiftly mounted soldiers, Rhiannon
tapping out rhythms for Ryoga and making him practice them on the drum.
They stop to eat the remains of the goodies at mid-day, Rhiannon pulling
them off the road as they came to a small stream around three and
heading them deep into the surrounding forest to insure them of a
private camp.

They pitch camp and she calls practice, making up for the time they lost
yesterday, then calls a halt, taking the girls and one of the new
bundles with her into the tent for a costume change.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 13 of 15

Kuno continues to practice, Mousse having volunteered for kitchen duty
starts work on the evening meal, Tofu and Ryoga sitting with their backs
to the tent, Tofu listening to Ryoga struggle through one of the harder
rhythms Rhiannon set him to learning when the women emerge.

Kuno freezes in mid-strike, a look of pure appreciation on his face,
Mousse, pouring water out of the kettle into a pot, stares and continues
to pour the water until it overflows the pot, threatening to swamp the
fire.

"Oh, shit." He hisses as he quickly grabs the pot off the fire.

Tofu turns to see what has so entranced Kuno and muddled Mousse and his
eyes widen at the scantily clad female forms bearing down on him,
Shampoo and Ukyou dragging a struggling Ranma between them who is
complaining mightily. The jingle of the fine chains that adorn their low
slung belts, which is the only thing holding the sheer silk triangles of
fabric that compose their skirts in place, a sweet high harmony to the
bells chiming from the anklets each wears. He gulps, realizing that only
an artfully draped scarf is keeping their breasts from sight and looks
down quickly.

"Come on, Ryoga." Rhiannon summons, tapping him gently on the shoulder.

He looks up from his concentration, then his eyes widen as he takes her
in, open-mouthed, then Ukyou, then Shampoo and finally Ranma, .

"Get a grip, Ryoga." Ranma snarls at him.

Ryoga snaps his mouth closed so hard they can hear his teeth click.

She leads them a little way from the camp, out of the sight of the men
and to a flat grassy spot.

"O.K., Ryoga." Rhiannon tells him as he settles himself on the grass,
the drum between his knees. "This one." She taps out the rhythm with her
foot.

He picks it up and she nods to him.

"Keep it at that speed. Now, watch ladies." She starts with the opening
steps of one of the easiest dances she knows, composed mostly of hip
sways and arm postures, making them repeat it over and over until they
can do it easily, then adding the next steps.

She stops them when they have learned the steps for two full dances, one
slow and sensuous, the second faster, full of shimmies and quick fluid
steps that set the silks spinning around them and stands back to watch
as she starts them again, calling corrections.

"Come on, Ranma! You have the hips for this, use them!" She yells for
the ninth time and for the ninth time Ranma snarls back at her.

"I keep telling you, I'm a guy! Why are you making me do this?" She
pleads to Ukyou and Shampoo, who answer in unison.

"If we have to do it, you do too!" and make threatening fists at her.

"O.K. That's enough for now!" She halts them as the light around them
starts to fade. "You did well." She smiles at their panting shapes.

Ryoga has watched the practice, struggling to keep a straight  face,
wondering what the big to-do between Shiro and Rhiannon had been the
night before about him drumming for her. He feels a hand on his shoulder
and looks up startled, not hearing Shiro come up behind him.

"May I?" He asks, indicating the drum.

"Uh, sure." Ryoga hands it to him. Shiro sits beside him, placing the
drum between his knees and smiles as Rhiannon finally sees him.

Rhiannon lifts her eyebrow at him, he nods. She turns back to the girls.

"You have the steps, next, you need to learn how to use them. Watch."

She moves to the center of their practice spot as they sit to watch,
closes her eyes as she drapes the square of fabric that covers her
breasts up over her head and arms too, leaning back so her hair swings
down like copper fire behind her. She holds that dramatic pose through
four of the opening measures Shiro beats out, the bells at her ankle
echoing the drum. Then she starts to dance, the same movements she has
just taught them, but turning it into something incredibly more, dancing
for Shiro alone, the whirl of her silks occasionally coming close enough
to caress his face. His drumming gets faster and faster, her dance more
and more moving. Ukyou glances at Ryoga, who has acquired a little
twitch under his right eye, his fists clenched where they rest against
his knee's and his color high. She nudges Shampoo, who looks at the two
males, then leans over and whispers to her,  "Shampoo need learn this
for Mousse."

Ukyou looks at Ranma, who is sitting to her other side, looking stunned.

"Ranma, you O.K.?" She whispers, concerned by her look.

Ranma nods back, not trusting her voice and no way going to let anyone
know the war that was raging in her at the moment as his male
sensibilities respond violently to the woman dancing before them.

Shiro ends it with a final resounding blow to the drum, Rhiannon ending
up on her knees before him, her face inches from his own. He hands Ryoga
back the drum, who takes it from him with nerveless fingers and rises,
guiding Rhiannon up with him by her shoulders, then sweeps her up into
his arms and strides toward the waiting forest away from them.

"Go on back to camp!" Rhiannon calls to them from Shiro's grasp. "We'll
be back in a little while!"

"Shampoo definitely going to learn do this to Mousse!" She chuckles as
she starts back toward the camp.

Ranma gets up and follows her, still looking stunned, trying to figure
out just exactly what it was that Rhiannon had done to effect her so
strangely.

Ukyou goes over to Ryoga, who hasn't moved, and she's not sure if he's
blinked in the last minute or not.

"Ryoga?" She asks.

He blinks a few times, shakes his head.

"That should be illegal." He whispers hoarsely, gulping as he realizes
that he's going to have to play for her again.

Rhiannon and Shiro return to the camp after an hour or so, Rhiannon
twirling across the camp a little out of Shiro's reach, he following her
with a huge grin on his face, stopping reluctantly by the fire, but
keeping his eyes glued to her form as she continues on alone to enter
the tent. He sighs a little as she disappears from his sight, then goes
and retrieves the guitar from the pile of stacked gear and quickly tunes
it, then calls the boys to him and starts a rehearsal.

Rhiannon comes out of the tent dressed in her old riding gear and goes
to sit by Ryoga, who looks at her nervously.

"I don't think I can do this." He tells her, studying his knuckles.

She laughs, pats his hand. "Did you know that most of the best dancers
have blind drummers."

"I can see why." Ryoga mutters.

"Let me tell you the secret." She leans close so she can whisper in his
ear.

"Just keep your eyes closed and listen to the ankle bells. Good dancers
who are in tune with their drummers will warn them of what they're
planning to do by the rhythm of their bells."

Ryoga blinks, grins at the simplicity of the solution.

"Will you try one more time?" She asks. "Besides, the girls aren't going
to be anywhere near as, enticing?, for quite some time."

"I hope they're never that good!" Ryoga tells her fervently, frowning.
"They could hurt someone, you know?"

Rhiannon laughs again, her mirth infectious. He smiles at her.

"Yeah, I'll try again." He nods. (Just remember too keep your eyes
closed!) He tells himself firmly.

They spend the next two days traveling the more and more congested
highway, the boys singing with each other, Rhiannon helping them with
harmonies and balancing their voices, practicing the songs Shiro is
teaching them, each one having one or two that they solo on, pulling off
in the mid-afternoon to find a place to pitch camp. The third day, the
day before the day of Moondark, Rhiannon doesn't halt them for their
noon meal, but keeps them going, weaving in and out of the heavy
traffic. Around one, they break out of the cover of the forest onto a
large, tilled plain that surrounds the high mesa sitting in the center
of it. A large, slow moving river curves around it, spanned by bridges
that cross into the city that huddles against it's flanks. The fortress
sits on top of the mesa, not the squat evil thing they've been
expecting, but a confection of high towers and flying buttresses.

"It's beautiful!" Ukyou says in surprise as Rhiannon pulls them off the
road and to a stop just in front of the treeline.

"Most of the Children of Darkness have an overwhelming longing for
beautiful things, trying to balance out the darkness of their souls.
Chiesai is no exception." She tells her, not looking at the Fortress,
but studying the huge army that is camping across the river from the
city.

She leads them along the tree line away from the road, taking them back
into the forest when she's certain that they've gone far enough to
guarantee as private a camp as possible. They move to set up camp, their
mood growing somber as they realize that tomorrow night, they will be
attacking Chiesai's stronghold.

They skip their battle practice, Rhiannon fearing discovery, and stick
to polishing their entertaining skills. As the sun starts to sink,
Rhiannon dismisses them and once again calls on all the girls to do the
evening meal. She and Shiro tell them that they are going to the
treeline to do some reconnaissance, and that they'll be back soon.

They eat quietly, all thinking about what tomorrow will hold.

The Guardians return as the group is packing up the remains of the meal
and the cleaned cooking gear.

They sit side by side at the fire, waiting for their companions to
gather around them. 

"We're going into Blackwater tomorrow." Shiro tells them. "From here on
out, it's for real. We'll be going first thing in the morning to
audition for the honor of performing in Chiesai's main hall during the
banquet. If you do your best, we'll make it. We'll discuss a backup plan
if for some reason we're refused, but for now, we'll plan on getting in.
There will be others in the hall who are going to be assisting us. Your
job will be to put on the best performance you can and then, when
dismissed, find the girls and get them out of the fortress. Do not try
to take on Chiesai." He holds each of them with his eyes, until they
acquiesce by nods or lowering their eyes. "That's our job." He indicates
himself and Rhiannon.

"In the morning?" Ryoga asks, looking confused. "I mean, are we going
without you?" He asks Shiro.

Shiro smiles, shakes his head. "Chiesai built this fortress here for a
reason. It sits over a huge series of caverns which are formed out of a
crystal which negates the suns hold over the Children of Darkness. It is
one of the few places we can move in broad daylight, though it is still
uncomfortable and makes us weak."

"Well, that's a relief!" Ukyou says to Ranma, not wanting to go into the
lions den only half armed.

Shiro takes a stick and draws a sketch of Blackwater Stronghold,
explaining where the dungeons are located, pointing out the most likely
places the girls would be held, then moving onto the main and lesser
gates, and the two secret ones he wants them to use, going to the second
if for some reason they can't make the first, and showing them where to
meet after they've gotten the girls and gotten out. They figure out how
to smuggle in all their weapons, Rhiannon telling them that Shiro will
cast a low level spell onto them, helping to hide their features, in
case any of them got accidentally close enough to Chiesai that he might
recognize them.

"Why Shiro, and not you?" Tofu asks.

"Shiro's power is from the same source as Chiesai's and shouldn't be
recognizable in all the other magic's that will floating around the
area, whereas anything I throw would be instantly obvious to any who
have any magic sensitivity in the court." Rhiannon explains.

They finish laying their plans, then Rhiannon and Shiro tell them that
they will take both of the watches, and for everyone to get as much rest
as possible. They try to relax, the boys going over their songs, Ryoga
keeping time for them with his drum, Shampoo going to Rhiannon and
talking with her quietly for a little while then going off to the tent.
Ranma goes over by the horses and starts doing katas, trying to work off
enough of her excitement and anxiety to sleep, trying to ignore the
little flutter in her heart and stomach at the prospect of being
reunited with Akane, Ukyou nearby, brushing the horses and braiding
colored ribbons into their manes and tails, her mood thoughtful and
withdrawn.

Shiro calls an end to their practice and suggests that they all retire,
they nod acceptance and go about getting ready, none of them expecting
to get much sleep. Mousse stands and stretches, then whirls, a frown of
anxiety on his face, scanning the camp when he doesn't see Shampoo in
her accustomed place close to Rhiannon.

"Shampoo!" He calls.

"Right here, Mousse." He hears her answer, her voice muffled from inside
the tent.

He walks toward it, wondering if she's already in bed. He stops short
when Shampoo moves aside the tent flap, striking a seductive pose
dressed in her dancing silks, their cloaks draped over one arm. He
swallow hard, hearing only the sound of his heartbeat thudding in his
ears and the jingle of the bells around her ankle as she comes to him.

"Shampoo dance for you now, Mousse." She whispers as she takes his hand
and leads him unresisting away from the camp and into the sheltering
privacy of the forest.

"Lucky duck." Kuno snorts as he watches them leave.

The rest of them straggle to the tent and settle themselves down.

Ukyou wakes from an uneasy sleep around three in the morning, tosses for
a few minutes, then sits up, glancing to Ranma, who is sleeping curled
up on her side. She can't see the long length of Akane's shorn hair,
tied at both ends with little ribbons clutched to her chest because her
back is to her. She hears the deep even breathing of the males on the
other side of the blanket, lays back down, tosses for a few more
minutes, then gives it up, pulls her blanket around her and catfoots out
of the tent. She stands outside of the entrance for a second, looking
around the camp, sees a pile of blankets close to the fire, the lumps
under it suggesting two cuddling shapes.

(Well, at least they came back to the camp.) Ukyou smiles. Shiro is
sitting leaning against the large trunk of one of the trees sheltering
them, Rhiannon reclining against him, her head resting on his chest.
There is apparently one other of their party who has given up on sleep.
Ryoga is sitting, a blanket loosely draped around his shoulders, working
on his dragon. Ukyou comes to the fire, shivering violently in the cold
air and pours herself a cup of tea, then sits by Ryoga, watching him
work. He finishes his sanding, then hands it to her, keeping his eyes
down. She takes the figure from him, examining it's gracefully fierce
figure closely in the firelight.

"It's beautiful!" She tells him, tries to hand it back.

"You can keep it, if you'd like." He tells her, his voice and face
bashful.

She holds it to her chest with both hands. "Thank-you, Ryoga." And bows
to him. She continues to shiver, not seeming to be able to get warm.

"Are you O.K., Ukyou?" He asks, concern playing across his features.

"Yeah, just cold, I guess." She tells him, placing the dragon in her lap
and pouring herself another cup of tea.

Ryoga takes one side of his blanket and holds it open, offering to share
his body heat, a tentative look on his face. Ukyou blushes, then shrugs
off her blanket, drapes it over Ryoga's and sits in close to him,
shoulder to shoulder, each holding one side of the blankets, keeping
them held closed between them. They sit in silence for a few minutes,
Ukyou's shivers finally subsiding. She turns her head slightly as she
sips her tea, studying Ryoga's profile in the flickering light.

(You know, he really is handsome.) She thinks. (And so lonely, just like
me.) She finishes her tea, puts the cup down, thinking about herself and
Ranma.

(Well, there's only one way to find out.) She tells herself. She moves a
little, snuggling closer into him, he moving his arm out of the way and
encircling her back, making room for her. She moves her arm and
encircles his waist as she angles her head so that her cheek is resting
against his shoulder. He becomes very still, and she can hear his
heartbeat speed up slightly beneath her ear. (Well, that's a good sign.)
She takes a deep breath.

"Ryoga."

He turns his face to her and she moves up to kiss him. He freezes as her
lips touch his own, a momentary look of panic flashing across his face.
Ukyou draws back from him a little, taking this in, then knows
instinctively that he has never kissed a girl before. She smiles at him,
he blinks back, unsure, then reaches up and places her forefinger on his
chin, pushing down a little to make him part his lips, then leans in
again to show him how. They both close their eyes as their lips touch.

It is a gentle and caressing kiss, full of both of their subdued longing
and passions. She breaks it, sits back, shocked at it's effect on her,
he still sitting bolt upright, eyes closed, a little tremble running
through his frame. He finally opens his eyes, meets hers for the first
time since his fever. She's not sure of the look in them.

"Ukyou?" He questions in a fierce whisper.

She blinks back at him, wide-eyed, unsure of her own reaction.

(Wow!) Just about described it.

He reaches out and pulls her back to him, repeating the kiss, this time
a little more fiercely. She puts her hand to his chest, pushes him back,
a little overwhelmed by his passion. He all but leaps out from under the
blankets, backing away from her, embarrassed panic on his face.

"I..I..I'm sorry, Ukyou. I didn't mean too, not after Chiesai's warriors
and all. I didn't mean to frighten you!"

Ukyou takes a few quick breaths, pulling the blankets around her, trying
to decide whether to tell Ryoga it was O.K. or not, confused that her
own passion rose to meet his own.

She decides and starts to carefully mimic the same movements he used to
offer her the sanctuary of his blanket a few minutes earlier.

"Come back, Ryoga." She tells him.

He moves back to her, his face closed and guarded, this time he
shivering. Ukyou cuddles close and snakes her arm back around his waist
to help return the body heat she'd borrowed.

After a few seconds, he places his arm back around her, leans his cheek
against her hair.

"What are you thinking?" She asks him.

"I'm not sure." He responds quietly. "How about you?"

(Good question.) She sighs. "I think we both need to see Akane and Ranma
together again, and make sure of our feelings before we decide whether
this should go any farther."

"O.K." He tells her, thinking that that kiss had broken through the
infatuation which has held him captive to Akane. He was just annoyed
that he was once again a rival with Ranma for a woman's affection. He
starts to withdraw his arm from around her, not wanting to push
anything.

"You can keep it there, if you want to." She tells him shyly, not moving
her own arm from around his waist. "I think I'm scared about tomorrow."
She confesses quietly, her face troubled.

"What, about dancing in front of all those people?" He asks,
intentionally misunderstanding.

She smiles, not fooled. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Well, don't. You've gotten really good." He smiles back.

"I just think I need someone to hold me tonight. If you don't mind."

He gives her a little squeeze. "No, I don't mind."

They sit together for a while, Ukyou becoming heavier and heavier
against him until she slips into sleep. He waits until he's sure that
she's asleep, then lowers them both back onto the ground, pillowing her
head on an outstretched arm and drifts off, too. For the first time in
over a year, his dreams filled with an image of a woman other than
Akane.

Rhiannon wakes them well before dawn and they quietly eat the leftovers
from the night before then quickly strike the camp and are clattering
across the main bridge into Blackwater by the time the sun rises.
Rhiannon and Shiro lead them up the main road, which has started to
climb and is already full of jostling people, to a large open square
which is full of many other parties of entertainers. They pull up into
the mass of brightly colored people, keeping themselves in a tight group
as they dismount and Shiro goes to register them at the open sided tent
that is pitched by the beginning of the only road that leads to the
fortress.

Rhiannon has the boys hold blankets up to form a rough, high walled
square as she and the girls change into their dancing costumes, the boys
all looking anxiously at each other as the voices around them rise and
fall in song, the throb of drums warring with the tuning of strings and
pipes, as dancers warm up, and every now and then a figure rises into
the air, thrown in an acrobatic routine. The girls emerge, covered by
their cloaks and start helping each other with their make-up, the boys
huddling together and going over their songs, softly, when Shiro comes
back to them.

"We audition at mid-morning." He tells them as they form a loose circle
around him. "Elentra and her crew are here, as well as Chay and Nesi and
the Mor clan. I think we'll be well represented in the hall."

Rhiannon smiles pleased.

"Some of the help we were talking about earlier." She explains to their
puzzled expressions. "Well, we've got some time, shall we wander and
take a look at our competition?" She asks them.

Shiro volunteers to stay with the horses and their gear, sinking down to
rest huddled in his cloak as they move into the swirling crowd,
enervated by the bright morning sunlight. Rhiannon leads them, stopping
to introduce them to the people Shiro had spoken of and confirming
plans. Elentra leading a group of dancers, Chay and Nesi a pair of
singers and the Mor clan a group of juggling acrobats.

They pause by the food stands, Rhiannon asking if anyone wants to eat,
somewhat surprised when no one takes her up one her offer, then move
toward the audition square and watch the performances for a while, all
of them getting more and more nervous as they watch, as many of the
groups are stopped in the middle of performances and dismissed by a
negative shake from the judging noble's head.

She leads them back to Shiro to warm up, then the herald summons them
and they hurry to the platform, Rhiannon and Shiro whispering 
encouragement's to each of them as they go.

Shiro and the boys go first, running through the best of their
repertory, expecting any minute to be dismissed. They breath a
collective sigh of relief when they finish and are met by a round of
light applause.

The girls do well, dancing as a group, and then Rhiannon nods to them,
and they move to sit in graceful postures around her as she starts a
solo, Ryoga keeping his eye's shut tight and focusing onto the rhythm of
her bells.

(Don't look, don't look, don't look) he repeats to himself in time with
the changing beats Rhiannon set's for him. Finally, she gives the
warning cadence that means she's ready to stop and he finishes with the
roll she likes to end on. This is met by another polite round of
applause, Rhiannon smiles at him as she rises, the girls following and
they gracefully sway off the stage and into the cloaks the boy's are
holding open, waiting.

They go back to the horses, all more relaxed now that they've performed,
chatting excitedly and exchanging equal amounts of praises and insults,
all hoping that they were good enough, for their only other access into
the fortress was through the sewers, and even Shiro and Rhiannon had
seemed uneasy when they had discussed that route.

Rhiannon takes them back to the food stalls, now that their jitters
where over, everyone realizing that their stomachs where growling,
strictly enforcing the rule that they stay together and go nowhere
without either herself or Shiro, and buys them a variety of tempting,
spicy meat filled breads and juices and lets them choose where they'd
like to sit to eat. They lead her back to the platform to watch some
more of the performers, exchanging soft comments between each other on
who does well or poorly. After they're done, they return to Shiro,
Rhiannon urging them to nap if possible, rest quietly if not, glaring at
them until they settle down, wishing she could tap into her power and
give them a nudge, knowing that they will need all their strength to get
through the coming night.

Around four the herald mounts the platform and strikes his staff of
office on it, a hush falling over the assembly for the first time that
day. He calls out the names of the groups that will entertain for the
Great Lord. He calls Elentra's group, Chay and Nesi, the Mor and toward
the bottom of the list, themselves.

"Yes!" Ranma crows and grabs Ukyou and swings her around, Tofu slapping
Kuno and Ryoga on the back, a huge smile on his face, Shampoo and Mousse
exchange a congratulatory kiss, Ukyou reaching out and pulling Ryoga in
to give him a hug after Ranma releases her. Shiro and Rhiannon sigh in
relief as they hurry the group toward the gathering knot of
entertainer's waiting to follow the noble up into the fortress.

They are allowed to take a small pack of gear, each, from the horses as
they are taken from them at the main gate and led to the stables and are
guided to a large hall to wait.

"Ranma, sit down!" Shiro and Rhiannon both snarl at her for the seventh
time, checking her restless pacing, the others in the group growing as
restless and short tempered as the afternoon drags on. Ranma sits for
all of thirty seconds then is back up, wanting nothing more that to go
hunt for Akane now and frustrated that she can't.

When the last of the sunset has faded from the windows of the holding
hall, the entertainers are summoned into the Great Hall to amuse the
gathering guests, the girls carrying their weapons hidden under their
cloaks, except for Dr. Tofu's bo, which is decorated at one end with
ribbons and bells. They carefully drape the cloaks with their hidden
weaponry into a handy pile in front of the tables they've been assigned
to entertain.

The head table is empty still, but the others are filling rapidly. Shiro
asks the gathered nobility which they'd like first, to see the dance or
hear their songs. He stands, head lowered humbly as they debate among
themselves and then commands them to sing.

He bows low to them, summons the young men to him with a wave and
obliges, the females of the party sitting in demur postures on the floor
beside them, their square silk tops draped over their heads, Ukyou and
Rhiannon keeping Ranma between them, every now and then hissing at her
to stop twitching.

Upstairs, Muri sighs in resigned patience as Akane wiggles, frustrating
her attempt to secure the last small braid into the hairstyle she has
been trying to create.

"Great Lady, please! I'm almost finished."

"Sorry, Muri." Akane murmurs, tugging at the lace of the form hugging
bodice of her black and silver embroidered dress, the black opals her
Lord so favors forming the centers of the silver embroidered flowers,
trying to get it to cover a little more of her cleavage.

"Great Lady." Muri tells her as she finally finishes with her hair and
re-pleats the lace back down into it's original position. "You said you
wanted to wear the dress that most pleases the Great Lord. This is it,
and this is the way it is supposed to fit."

Akane looks at herself in the mirror and blushes at the amount of
exposed skin the dress bares. "It's just so..."

"Exactly." Muri says firmly. "You are very beautiful." She smiles at
her, taking in the effect of her handiwork.

"I just want tonight to be special." Akane tells her friend, a small
smile on her face, having totally fallen under the enchantment that
Chiesai has woven for her. She doesn't see the troubled expression flash
across Muri's face. It is gone when she looks to her servant again.

"Tonight. I will do it, tonight." She tells her, a soft dreamy
expression clouding her eyes.

"Yes, Great Lady." Muri answers softly.

There is a rap at the door and Ranma strides in, stunning in black and
silver also, his hair pulled into a loose ponytail, secured with a huge
black opal clip. He stops, eyes wide with appreciation as Akane rises
from the vanity stool, back to him, then slowly turns, a shy smile on
her face. He swallows, grins back.

"Akane! You look, wonderful!"

"I am glad it pleases you." She smiles up into his gray eyes.

He offers her his right arm, the hawk in it's usual place on his left.
She places her hand over his and lets him escort her down to dinner,
Muri trailing after them at the correct distance.

A gong sounds, bring everything in the Great Hall to a halt. Those at
the tables rise, Shiro turns toward the head table in front of the short
staircase that leads up to a huge set of closed double doors, drops to
one knee and lowers his head, the boys following his example, Rhiannon
turning the girls to face the same direction and leans forwards into a
low reverence. The huge doors open slowly, moved by some unseen
mechanism in the walls to reveal the shapes of Ranma and Akane, Yin-ko
to his right, the other Most Favored who will share their table behind
them.

Ukyou and Shampoo give little gasps as they realize that the tall man
with the beautiful woman on one arm and the white hawk on the other is
Ranma, but as he will look in his prime, and they can hear the sharp
intake of breath from the boys as they come to the same realization.
Ranma-chan lets out a soft, strangled sound as she sees herself.

Chiesai hands the woman with him into the ornate chair that matches his
own and then seats himself. The rest of the table moving to their seats
quickly, Yin-ko remaining standing by his Lords right shoulder, a pretty
little woman hovering by the Lady's left. Chiesai claps his hands and
the hall rustles with the sound of people seating themselves and the
rising murmur of talk. Shiro rises with the other entertainers scattered
up and down the internal square of the gathered tables and starts them
singing again as servants scurry, bringing the food.

Ranma-chan studies himself, naked fury on her face, thankfully concealed
by the veil, wondering who in the hell the woman with him is and where
is Akane? Then he looks at the woman again and the fury on her face is
replaced by stunned shock.

"Akane?" She whispers.

Ryoga, hearing her, looks at the woman at the table, fumbles a few
beats, as he realizes the beauty there is, in fact, Akane. Shiro glares
at him and Rhiannon reaches over and pinches him on the arm, hard.

"Keep your mind on what your doing." She hisses at him fiercely.

He drops his eyes from the main table and tries to focus on the
drumbeats only, his mind a whirling turmoil.

Ukyou watches this, wondering what has upset Ryoga and Ranma so much,
studies the pair at the table, then her eyes widen as she realizes it's
Akane.

"Shampoo!" She hisses.

"What?" Shampoo whispers back.

"That's Akane up there!"

Shampoo looks at the table, then nods. "Good. Now know where one is for
sure."

Ukyou blinks, wondering just what it takes to surprise Shampoo. The boys
finish their set, come over  and huddle with them for a minute.

"Keep it together, people!" Shiro warns, a charming smile on his face
for the assembly.

"That's Akane?" Kuno gulps, trying to keep from staring.

"Wow!" Tofu and Mousse add, Mousse looking sheepish when he catches
Shampoo's scowl.

"Come on, Ladies, our turn. Just stick to the plan." Rhiannon tells them
softly as she leads them out, gives them her best reassuring smile, then
taps out the beat for Ryoga.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 14 of 15 


She leads them through their group dances, sends Shampoo, then Ukyou out
to solo, Ranma refusing with vehement shakes of her head 'no' when she
tries to get her out. She understands, and quickly covers by moving out
onto the floor herself, stretching out her dance to make up for the time
lost by Ranma's refusal. When she's finished, the whole group of
entertainers rotate a quarter way around the room, so that all the
guests get to see all the groups. They are just getting ready to deposit
their cloaks in front of the new group of tables when a servant comes to
Shiro, exchanges hurried words with him. Shiro beckons them to him.

"Chiesai wants us at his table." He tells them, his look guarded.
"Everyone be on guard, but try to stay relaxed. If we don't give him any
reason to question us, he won't." Giving his wife a hard look. She blows
him a kiss, more for their audience than him.

"Don't worry, Shiro. We'll be all right." She smiles at the young people
gathered around, but none of them miss the tense, worried expression in
her eyes.

"O.K. Let's do it." Shiro tells them under his breath as he squares his
shoulders and puts on his most charming smile as he leads his troupe to
the High Table.

They all make a deep reverence when they reach the table, staying there
until Chiesai deigns to notice them.

"You." He points to Rhiannon.

Ranma-chan twitches at the deep timber of her own voice, her heart
beating double-time as she stares at the beauty that Akane has become
from under her veil.

Rhiannon rises gracefully, moves to the edge of the table, keeping her
head down and her posture humble, yet at the same time, seductive.

"Great Lord?" She asks, lowering her voice to a husky, sensuous growl.

Yin-ko chuckles from his place behind Chiesai's shoulder. The Great Lord
gives her an amused look, Akane leaning over to whisper something into
his ear. He takes her hand, raises it up to his lips and kisses her
palm.

Ukyou quickly pokes Ranma-chan in the ribs with her elbow as she draws a
deep breath, fearing an outburst.

"My Lady Wife wishes for you to dance for me." Chiesai smiles at Akane,
and Akane, choosing this moment to display her acceptance of her Lord,
stretches up to kiss him.

The whole hall goes quiet as her lips meet his, then a smattering of
applause begins. At the same time, Ranma-chan leaps to her feet, screams
"Akane! No!" and launches herself over the table at Chiesai.

Yin-ko intercepts her and sends her flying back with two well placed
blows, Shiro moving to catch her as chaos erupts around them. Kuno,
Shampoo and Ukyou dive for their weapons as Rhiannon ducks and retreats
from Yin-ko's fierce attack as he leaps over the table, reaching down
into herself to summon her power as Chiesai swings Akane up into his
arms, keeping hold of Kasumi by the Jessi leashes, towing her flapping,
struggling form behind him as he runs up the steps, shouting orders to
close the doors.

Shiro snarls into Ranma's face and Ranma, in terror of him and
unreasoning need to get to Akane, punches him in the face as hard as she
can, making him drop her. She scrambles to her feet and rushes after
Chiesai. Rhiannon gathers a blast of light into her hand and blows
Yin-ko into the wall, then gives chase to Ranma and Chiesai through the
slowly closing doors.

"Kuno!" Shiro bellows, wading into a squad of guards, "Go after
Rhiannon.

Kuno fights his way to the door, the sword glowing like lightening in
his hands, yells, "Hey!" as Shampoo and Mousse beat him to it and leap
through, he managing to squeeze past just as the doors close, leaving
some chest skin on the way. He sees a few bodies scattered in the
hallway and hears the sound of fighting ahead.

"How dare they start without Tatewake Kuno!" He shouts and hurries to
join them.

In the main hall, Elentra and her troupe, Chay and Nesi and the Mor join
forces with Shiro, Tofu fighting at his side, Ukyou and Ryoga behind
them, shoulder to shoulder, sending spinning bandanna's and spatula
shiriken into the oncoming soldiers and guarding their back.

"Uh-oh." Ryoga says as Yin-ko pulls himself out of the person shaped
hole Rhiannon had made with him, his whole body reflecting the fury on
his face.

He bellows, the sound warping as his form stretches and grows until
there is a very large, very pissed-off golden dragon facing them. Ryoga
grabs Ukyou around her waist, yells "Shiro, Doctor, watch out!" and
leaps them both out of the way of the stream of acid it spits at them,
Shiro and Tofu diving to opposite sides, the stream hitting two of the
guards, reducing them to smoldering heaps of flesh and bones and
splattering into the fighting crowd, creating a variety of shrieks and
screams. The dragon reaches down and takes one of the acrobats into his
jaws and crunches a few times, swiping at the Doctor with his talons,
whipping his razor spiked tail at Ukyou and Ryoga, who manage to leap
over it the first time but he catches Ukyou with it on the way back,
sending her tumbling, the breath knocked out of her, Ryoga rushing to
cover her as she works on struggling to her feet.

Yin-ko is reeking terrible damage on their forces, everyone in the hall
trying to find cover as he hunts Shiro, Shiro scrabbling under tables,
putting nobles and guards between them, Yin-ko not seeming to care when
he takes down his own people. Tofu steps in close to the golden body,
driving his staff into the softer hide under where the dragons forearm
joins it's body. Yin-ko bellows with pain, whirls, knocking the Doctor
aside and ends up facing Ukyou and Ryoga. He opens his jaws wide and
spits another stinking stream at them, Ryoga whipping open his umbrella
to block it. The stuff eats through the unknown, almost impervious
material, leaving only blackened ribs. Ryoga looks at the remains of his
umbrella in shock, then his eyes narrow as his anger overcomes him.

"Do you know how hard it's going to be for me to replace this!" He
snarls at the dragon advancing on them. He reaches over and puts his
palm onto one of the supporting arches that rise up gracefully into the
high ceiling of the hall.

"Exploding point technique!" He yells, letting as much chi as he can
summon flow through his hand and into the support beside him.

The dragon takes a few steps back, seeing the force leave the boy's
body, then chuckles, a terrible gurgling sound that sets the hairs on
Ukyou's arms standing up, as nothing seems to happen. Shiro leaps onto
the dragons back, pounding the back of his head with a heavy chair,
trying to distract him, but Yin-ko ignores him for the moment, wanting
to play with the boy and the pretty young girl cornered in front of him.
He snakes his head in low toward them, Shiro shouting, "Sword! Sword!"
to Tofu from his back, parting his jaws slowly showing them all his
teeth.

Ryoga pulls Ukyou behind him, swaying and weak from the amount of chi
he's just expended, his brain stupidly counting teeth when a shiver
passes through the walls. Yin-ko whips his head up to look at the
ceiling, where fine cracks are creating a crazy spider web, then the
ceiling comes down on them as Ryoga's technique finally finishes it's
work, burying them all in chunks of masonry.

Ranma has been following Chiesai's retreating figure at a flat out run,
cursing at himself for being in such good shape, gasps as she sees
Chiesai run through a wall, tries to brake but bounces off it.

"Damn!" She mutters, rubbing her nose, then picks herself up and
starting to examine the rough surface before her. She pushes at some
outcroppings, thinking that perhaps there is a hidden mechanism that
opens it, but nothing happens. She sinks cross-legged to the ground and
rests her chin in the palm of her hand, staring at it.

(Think! He just ran right through it!) Then she blinks a few times. (He
ran right through it! As if it wasn't there! But it felt pretty solid to
me.) She thinks about that for a few minutes, then gets to her feet,
closes her eyes, takes a few deep breaths and starts to walk straight
into the wall, refusing to flinch, refusing to believe it's there.

"Damn!" She mutters again as she bumps into a solid surface. She opens
her eyes, then realizes the dim light of the hallway has been replaced
by the cool blue glow of the crystals studding the wall in front of her.

(Huh?) She whirls to look back through the opening and into the hallway.
(I did it!) She crows to herself, then starts cautiously down the
sloping path.

She hears a crooning chant coming from around the next corner, the blue
light glowing brighter there also, throwing sharp shadows of the rocks
that thrust up here and there along the path against the walls. She
peeks around the corner to look upon a huge, high domed cavern.
Chiesai's standing in the middle of it, Akane, kneeling docilely, Nabiki
bound by rope and suspended spinning from nothing and the hawk, huddled
on the ground, apparently under some great invisible weight ranged
around him at the points of a huge equilateral triangle, Akane at the
apex.

She pads, silent, into the cavern hunkering down behind one of the
boulders, planning her attack.

"Well, what have we here?" A gravely voice asks from behind her.

She whirls to face an old woman, almost as gnarled and shrunken as
Cologne.

"Run away, old woman, I don't want to have to hurt you!" Ranma warns
her, dropping her weight into a battle stance.

"Hurt me? Hurt me." She breaks into peals of evil laughter. "I don't
think you can, sweetie."

Ranma swings at her and the old crone doesn't even try to move, taking
the punch. Black light crackles around her and over onto and into Ranma
as she connects, her power a reversed perversion of Rhiannon's, blasting
her back into a crumpled heap against the boulder. Nadira brushes the
front of her dress off with her hands, goes over and prods the still
form with her foot.

"Too easy." She sighs, reminding herself to heal it after Chiesai gets
his work done, and have a little more fun, as she turns to secrete
herself back into the nook, not seeing Ranma push herself to her feet
behind her, stagger under the weight of the huge rock she hefts,
Akane-like and nails her with it. The old one drops like a stone.

Ranma hopes she's dead as she coughs up blood, her body starting to
shake with bone racking chills.

(This is not a good sign.) She wipes at her mouth with the back of her
hand, trying not to look at the blood there and wondering what the old
witch did to her.

Chiesai's chant changes, bringing her attention back to the center of
the cavern. Three beams of blue-green light are streaming from the girls
into his frame, where he is gathering it to summon the Gate. Ranma
starts forwards, her staggering steps becoming firmer as she sees Akane
begin to fail under the spell, her body starting to turn gaunt as
Chiesai pulls not only power but substance from her. She can see the
same thing is happening to Nabiki and the hawk.

She throws herself into the stream of light coming from Akane, groans as
the spell rips into her, starts to suck her life-force away and begins
fighting her way up the stream, now starting to glow the red gold of her
own power, focusing only on reaching Chiesai.

Kuno races down the hall, rounding the corner to see Rhiannon, using a
sword she's snatched from a downed guard, Shampoo and Mousse holding
their own against the small army of elite guard that has filled the
hallway, covering Chiesai's retreat.  He looks around quickly.

"Where's Ranma?" He yells as he moves to her side, the Tendo sword
seeming to become a part of him the more he wields it, almost seeming to
guide his hands as he attacks.

"He made it past before they got here." She yells back. "If Chiesai
doesn't kill her, I'm going to!" She snarls and presses her attack,
driving the forces before them back.

He follows her, loosing himself into the rhythm of battle, not noticing
the wounds he's acquiring, raises the sword from where he's taken down a
warrior and slowly realizes that none comes to take his place. He blinks
as he pants, coming back into focus, turns to look at the carnage that
they've created behind them. Shampoo and Mousse lean back side by side
against the wall, huffing. Rhiannon strides down the hall, Kuno, Shampoo
and Mousse hurrying to follow.

"Where are they?" She's muttering to herself, her eyes narrowed in
concentration, the glow of her power creating a golden aura around her.

A small, female shaped form steps out of the shadows before them,
Shampoo and Kuno leaping in front of Rhiannon, weapons ready.

Muri drops to her knees, stretches out into the most submissive
reverence she can before them.

"Please! I know where he has taken the Great Lady and her sisters!"

Kuno raises his sword to strike, Rhiannon stops him with a gentle hand
to his shoulder.

"Who are you?" She asks.

"Muri, Glowing One. We must hurry! He is going to try to cast the Gate!"

Rhiannon nods to her and Muri springs back to her feet and leads them,
running, down the hall. They follow her deeper and deeper into the
depths of the mesa, until she skids to a stop before the stone wall of a
dead end.

"Treachery!" Kuno bellows and advances on her.

"Kuno." Rhiannon's soft command brings him up short. She moves to the
wall, studies it for a second, then places her palms against it, flares
a little and the illusion vanishes, leaving a rough hewn entrance into
the caverns below.

"Shampoo, Mousse. You stay here."

"Shampoo go with you!" The amazon protests.

Rhiannon shakes her head. "Don't fight me on this thing, Shampoo. I need
you here to guard my back. I can't do what I'm going to have to do, if
I've got to worry about reinforcements."

"O.K." Shampoo frowns. "But you be careful! Shampoo not want to go home
second time disgraced."

Rhiannon smiles at her, leans close and kisses her on the cheek. Shampoo
blushes.

"You go now. Hurry up! None get by us!" She promises.

"Muri, you stay here, too. Help them if you can." Rhiannon tells the
little woman as she steps through the wide entrance cautiously, Kuno
beside her. She shudders a little as the crystals embedded in the walls
around her moan in response to her power, causing Kuno to startle a
little. She grits her teeth and starts down the smooth sloping path.

In the Great Hall silence reigns as the dust starts to settle. Then
there is the rustle of stone moving against stone and Yin-ko heaves
himself out of the pile of rubble he'd been buried under, his head
cocked as if hearing something. He lets out a bellow, which brings some
more of the ceiling raining down on him, then throws himself at the
double doors, wrenching them from their hinges and disappears around the
corner.

Shiro digs his way out, stands, shakes the dirt and small chunks of
debris out of his hair as he summons his power to heal himself. He hears
Yin-ko roar from somewhere under his feet and picks his way to the
broken doors, pausing to rummage through the fallen stone and coming up
with Rhiannon's katana. He pauses for a minute, nostrils flaring as he
searches for Yin-ko's scent, then grins and lopes down the hall,
hunting.

Ukyou blinks a few times, trying to clear the dust from her eyes, coughs
as the irritating stuff tickles her throat and realizes that part of the
weight pinning her down is Ryoga, who is laying over her, still.

"Ryoga?" He doesn't respond. She tries to wiggle out from under him,
makes all of maybe two inches, then sinks back, panting and coughing,
fighting her rising panic.

"Ryoga! Please, wake up!" He stirs a little, turns his scraped face
towards her.

"Ukyou?" He whispers.

"Ryoga, can you get up?" She pleads. She feels him tense on top of her,
then sink back.

"No." He sounds exhausted.

She tries to wiggle out from under him, again making no progress, her
mind whirling frantically, then she hits on a plan. He'd probably be mad
as hell when he figured it out, but it should work. She screws her eyes
shut and starts taking little panting breaths.

"I can't breath!" She hisses, takes a few more shuddering breaths then
relaxes, holding her breath. (God, I hope this works!)

"Ukyou?" Ryoga asks as she goes still beneath him. "Ukyou!" He yells,
panic and new found love giving him the strength he needs to move. He
shrugs them out of the chunks of rubble, picking her up and carrying her
to a clearer space a few feet away, then sinks back to his knees, still
holding her tight.

She gives a few delicate coughs, bats her eyes a few times, then pulls
herself up enough to kiss him. He is too tired to respond to her kiss,
but hugs her more tightly to him.

"Are you O.K.?" She asks as she breaks her kiss.

He nods, the fine dust drifting off his hair at the movement.

"Come on, then, let's go find the others." She helps pull him to his
feet, then drapes his arm over her shoulder and encircles his waist as
he sways, steering them toward the double doors. They start down the
hallway, following the trail of broken bodies and muffled dragon roars.

Mousse, Shampoo and Muri hear Yin-ko coming long before they see him.
Mousse and Shampoo look at each other, shake their heads as neither of
them has any idea of what could be making such a racket. Muri gulps
beside them.

"Yin-ko!" She hisses, turns and runs into the entrance to the caves.

"What Yin-ko?" Shampoo yells after her.

"Uh, Shampoo." Mousse tugs on her arm.

"What Mousse?" She replies, a little cross at Muri's desertion, as she
turns back around and stares into the open mouth of the dragon.

"Hi-ya!" She screams as they dive opposite ways out of the dragons
lunge, his teeth snapping on air.

They attack from opposite sides, all hampered by the confining hallway.
Yin-ko spits at Mousse, who dodges most of the stuff, but catches a
splatter across the face. He screams and goes down, trying to wipe the
burning stuff off with his sleeves. He takes advantage of Shampoo's
momentary distraction as she looks at Mousse and strikes at her, his
talons raking her side from shoulder to hip, knocking her back into the
wall. She slides down, looking in stunned amazement at the blood pouring
from her side, then faints.

Mousse manages to focus on the still image of Shampoo before his sight
goes totally dark. He pushes himself to his feet, trembling with rage.

"I don't need to be able to see you to kill you, you bastard!" He
bellows and launches himself at Yin-ko.

Shiro charges down the hall towards the dragon, who is making a muffled
bellow because of the seventy or so yards of chain that is wrapped
around his muzzle, and has an interesting array of weapons sticking out
of him a varying points around his body, the most intriguing of which is
one of Shampoo's bonburi, handle end sticking out of one eye as he
finally batters Mousse into unconsciousness against the ceiling, the boy
clinging to his ear with one hand and repeatedly punching him between
the eyes, having finally run out of weapons. He tosses Mousse off with a
final shake of his head, starts into the tunnel mouth then is pulled
backwards as Shiro hauls on his tail, scrambles up his back and begins
to finish what Mousse had started.

Ukyou and Ryoga stagger down the hall to see Shiro step off the bloodied
corpse of the dragon, a satisfied grin on his face. They edge around
it's twitching form as Shiro carries Shampoo and Mousse into the tunnel
mouth, laying them out side by side, placing a hand on both of them and
glowing gray as he taps into the power of the crystals burning in the
walls around him, not able to heal, but able to halt and preserve until
a healing can be done. His head comes up suddenly and he whispers,
"Rhiannon!" and races down the tunnel. Ukyou and Ryoga follow, not
knowing what else to do.

Chiesai screams as Ranma's life-force reaches him, disrupting the spell
and sending the forces he had been so carefully orchestrating careening
out of control. He whirls to glare at the little woman advancing on him.

"You!" He hisses, letting go of the drain, Nabiki falling several feet
to the floor, Kasumi launching herself into a listing flight out of the
cavern and back toward the entrance, flapping over Rhiannon and Kuno as
they turn the corner into the maelstrom.

Ranma throws herself at Chiesai, her hands a blur as she throws
everything she's got left at him. He catches her wrists in his hands,
lifts her off the floor to hang in front of him.

"You want to play, little girl?" He narrows his eyes at her, his body
starting to glow with black power.

"Do it, Kuno!" She screams, breaking her arms free and wrapping them
around Chiesai in a bear hug to restrain him, as Kuno hesitates behind
him. Chiesai starts to turn as Kuno strikes, the blade slicing deep into
both bodies. They drop to their knees, face to face, still locked in
Ranma's embrace. Chiesai leans forwards and kisses her on the lips,
gently.

"Silly boy." He whispers, then they both slump over onto the ground.

Kuno sinks down beside them, panic and guilt in his face.

"Rhiannon!" He yells, but she is to busy trying to wrestle the titanic
forces howling around them back into control to hear. Then he springs
back as a black fog flows out of Ranma-kun's body to swirl in the air
before him. The blade in his hands seems to move of it's own accord,
pulling him along with it, striking through it again and again, driving
it back toward Rhiannon and the eye of the warped Gate, which is bending
and sucking the weird light of the cavern into it. He can feel it's draw
as he gets closer, Rhiannon figure becoming indistinct in the glowing
pillar of golden fire in front of it. He strikes the retreating
blackness one more time, sending it into the unopposable force of the
gate. It struggles, hanging on the edge for what seems to be an
eternity, then tatters and gets sucked away.

The hole expands some more, the pillar of fire that is Rhiannon sways
like a flame in a high wind.

"Kuno, get back!" He can hear her yell, as if from a great distance. He
backs away, fighting the thing's pull with all his might. Rhiannon's
yellow glow suddenly becomes brilliant white as her power flares to it's
full potential and reaches out to surround the Gate. Then as suddenly as
it started, it's gone, Kuno's ears ringing from the absence of the sound
of it's roaring.

The ringing is replaced by Akane's scream as she regains consciousness
and with it, the release from the glamour Chiesai had cast over her,
leaving only memories. She crawls to the separated bodies of the one she
loves, sits, hands to her mouth, not willing to believe what her eyes
see. Ranma-chan is still breathing and Akane lifts her head carefully to
place in on her lap.

"Oh, no." She whispers around her tears.

"Akane, I'm sorry." Kuno tells her from her shoulder. Akane doesn't
respond. He hears a groan behind him, whirls and sees Nabiki's wrapped
shape twitch.

"Nabiki!" He rushes to her, begins to cut her bindings, anger rising in
him as he sees the bruises and welts on her body.

Ranma-chan's eyes flutter open, to focus onto Akane's tear filled hazel
ones. She reaches up a weak hand to touch her cheek then her hand falls
back to her chest and she grows heavy and still in Akane's lap.

"NO!" Akane screams, again and again.

Ukyou and Ryoga follow Shiro into the cavern, see him run to the pillar
of fire, then they see Akane and Ranma's fallen forms, Akane beginning
to scream 'no'.

"Ranma!" Ukyou's scream joins Akane's and she starts to run to them, but
Ryoga keeps a hard grip on her arm, a strange expression on his face,
bringing her up short and back in to him.

"What?! Ryoga, what are you doing!" She struggles against him.

"Ukyou, don't! Listen! I've seen this! We can't interfere. Trust me,
please!" She tries to read the expression on his face, can't figure it,
but she can feel him twitch each time Akane screams, as if struck. She
holds him tight, watches as the light which Rhiannon has become moves
toward Akane and Ranma, taking them into her glow, Shiro looking anxious
and hovering close.

Akane squints, her screams stopping as the light surrounds her. There is
a presence beside her, but she can't see anything but Ranma-chan's pale
face in her lap.

"Akane." The beautiful voice from her dream calls to her. "Do you love
this one?"

"Yes." She whispers, admitting it to herself finally, now that she
cannot do anything about it. She swallows hard, grief threatening to
overwhelm her.

"There is a chance to change this, but it will be hard. And dangerous.
Do you love him enough?"

Akane nods.

"Enough to give some of your life for him?"

Akane nods again.

"If I fail, it may kill you."

"I don't care." Akane answers flatly, thinking that she'd rather die
than spend the rest of her life without him.

Ranma-chan's body rises out of her arms, Ranma-kun's following to spin
together, back to back, faster and faster until with a blinding flash,
they merge. Ranma's male form whole, undamaged and returned to it's
almost seventeen year old self, but still dead, floating gently down to
rest in the position on Akane's lap that Ranma-chan had just recently
held.

"Call him back, Akane." The voice instructs.

"How?" She asks, unsure.

"Hurry!" The voice warns.

Akane gulps, mind whirling, leans down and kisses his lips, putting all
her love and passion into that one act.

(Please! Come back to me, Ranma!) She feels a rush of heat pass from her
into him and sways, draws back, light-headed and weak. Ranma draws a
huge breath into his lungs, moves his hand to cover one of Akane's and
sinks into sleep, her hand clasped firmly in his own.

Akane smiles, brings his hand up to her cheek, presses it there, then
faints over him as the glowing light around her winks out.

Shiro catches Rhiannon as she collapses, limp. Kuno carries Nabiki to
them, weak but awake and clinging fiercely to his neck as Ukyou and
Ryoga come also. Muri peeks out of the crack she'd hidden in and hurries
to them also.

"Are they dead?" Nabiki asks, wondering at the guilty expression that
flashes across Kuno's face.

Ukyou checks. "No. Thank God! But I could've have sworn..."

"Where's Kasumi?!" Nabiki demands, looking around the cavern.

"I never saw her, Nabiki." Kuno tells her gently.

"She flew over us on our way down." Shiro informs them as he rises,
Rhiannon in his arms. "I imagine she was looking for Tofu. We need to
find him also."

"Flew?" Kuno, Ukyou and Ryoga ask.

"The hawk." Shiro answers.

"That was Kasumi?" Kuno asks.

"Her dream!" Ryoga realizes finally.

Shiro nods at him. "Ryoga, can you carry Ranma?"

Ukyou helps him heft up Ranma's limp form, gently disengaging his hand
from Akane's.

"I'll carry the Great Lady." Muri informs them and effortlessly lifts
Akane up into her arms. Ukyou hovers close, not trusting her as they
head back up the path.

Kasumi flashes past the vicious battle going on between the dragon and
Shiro, soars over Ryoga and Ukyou on their way to the cavern, dread
starting in her heart at the absence of Tofu. She has just cleared the
double doors when the spell holding her into this shape becomes undone.
She lands on the masonry strewn floor in a crouch, then springs up,
searching through the wreckage for him, ignoring the few dazed and
wandering nobles, hearing the sounds of battle growing closer and closer
as the forces united to bring down Chiesai finally gain the fortress.
She finally spies him, half buried in a pile of rubble. She moves toward
him, seeing one of the few guards left standing start to do the same.
She reaches out and snags an oversized frying type pan as she runs,
swinging it at the guards head with all her might as the guard raises
his sword to strike, it making a satisfying, reverberating boing off the
guard's head as he goes down.

She sees his glasses a few feet away, amazingly undamaged, reaches out
for them as she kneels by him, looking him over. He stirs as she starts
to clear the smaller stuff away.

"Kasumi?" He coughs.

"Right here." She answers, calmly, putting his glasses into place for
him which immediately fog over as he sees she is naked.

"Heh, Heh! Imagine meeting you here!" He half stutters, half giggles.

"Can you move?" She asks, sighing patiently.

"Move? Of course. Move? No problem." He sits up, then looks down at his
buried legs, a little pale. "Um, I'm stuck."

He helps her clear some more of the debris, until they uncover the large
beam that is pinning him in place.

"Oh, dear." Kasumi says, tugging at it. She stops as Tofu takes a
hissing breath of pain.

"What?" She asks.

"I think my leg's broken." He nods. "Definitely broken." His head snaps
up as the sound of fighting grows nearer. He pushes at her.

"Kasumi, go find Shiro and the others." He commands her as a group of
fighters enter the hall, fanning out.

"No." She tells him, quietly, taking hold of the pan and standing ready
as one of the men spots her and heads for them cautiously.

"Kasumi! Please!" Tofu cries, struggling against the beam.

"Stop that before you hurt yourself more!" Kasumi whispers to him.

"Who are you?" The warrior asks, stopping out of range of her pan,
eyeing her and the fiercely glaring man half-buried behind her,
wondering if they are one of their own.

"Kasumi Tendo. Who are you?" She asks sweetly.

"Tendo?" The man's face takes on an expression of awe. "Are you one of
the Sisters, Gentle One?"

"Well, I have two sisters, yes." She smiles back.

The man undoes his cloak, drops to one knee, keeping his eyes lowered
and off of her naked form and offers it to her. "I am Kori, Gentle One,
and at your service."

Kasumi takes it and quickly drapes it around her. "Well, I really need
to get Dr. Tofu out from under there and my sisters and friends are all
back that way and could use some help, I'm sure."

Kori nods and calls to the men with him, sending a few to go find the
Gentle One's companions, the others to come help him get the Doctor
removed from the debris.

"Kasumi, would you help me?" Tofu asks after they've dug him out,
indicating to the center of the hall where the early morning light is
spilling into the room through the ragged edges of the hole where the
ceiling had once been.

Kasumi lets him lean on her as he hops the few feet and helps him settle
onto a large chunk of ceiling. He keeps hold of her hand as he leans his
head back into the sun and summons the power of the Light into himself.
Kasumi laughs with delight as the sensation runs the length of her body,
driving away the last of the darkness Chiesai's touch has left on her
soul. Tofu has just finished his healing and is wondering if he's going
to fall into sleep when Shiro and the others come into the hall, the men
Kori sent to find them fanned out around them as a guard, two carrying
Shampoo and Mousse.

"Doctor." Shiro summons him, laying Rhiannon out into the sunlight, an
uncontrollable growl coming out of him as the daylight touches him. He
moves back into the shadow, keeping only his hand, wrapped around his
wife's, in the sunlight.

Kasumi rushes to Kuno and Nabiki, gathering her sister to her, Kuno
reluctantly relinquishing his grip on her, and the two of them go to
Muri, who is gently placing Akane onto the floor, Ukyou helping Ryoga
lay Ranma down beside her. Kasumi checks Akane, then Ranma, then
collects Muri into a fierce hug.

"Thank-you!" She whispers into the young woman's ear. Muri returns her
embrace gently, a shy smile on her face.


CHIESAI - DREAMS OF DARKNESS
A RANMA 1/2 STORY
by Shannon M. Richmeyer

Part 15 of 15 

Tofu has the two carrying Shampoo and Mousse bring them to him and
arranges them so that they are face up into the sunlight and calls on
his newfound power again, Shampoo's wounds healing quickly under his
hands. He then moves to Mousse, and all but the burns to the boys face
disappear under the command of the power flowing through his hands. He
sits back on his heels, tired, wondering why.

"That wound is made by Darkness." Shiro growls to him out of the shadow.
"You cannot heal it."

Tofu rises and starts hunting through the rubble by where they had last
deposited their gear, calling for some of the men to help him,
describing his medical kit. After a few minutes of determined searching,
one of them comes up with it and brings it to him. He asks for water and
some bandages and another healer, if one is available, and goes back to
work on Mousse.

His patients multiply as he finishes up with his companions, the wounded
from the battle beginning to trickle in. He keeps close track of Kasumi,
who is moving among the wounded, tending those not so seriously hurt and
introduces himself to the five healers who gather near him, not noticing
when his companions are moved out of the hall to more appropriate
quarters, Shiro taking Rhiannon outside into a private grass filled
courtyard near by. Kasumi finally takes him by the hand and leads him
away, stopping to collect a mug of stew and hunk of bread and making him
sit by her and eat. He yawns a few times, not realizing how exhausted he
was, then leans tentatively against Kasumi, who moves her arm so he can
rest his head against her shoulder. They fall asleep together, Kori
moving to stand guard over them.

Akane wakes up, snuggled up against a warm body, her head resting in the
hollow of someones shoulder, the chest under her hand rising and falling
with the even rhythms of sleep. She moves her head back a little to look
on the familiar features of Ranma's face. But not quite familiar,
younger, missing the sharper angles that will define it as he matures.
She smiles, snuggles closer for a few minutes, then moves up onto her
elbow, taking in the outlines of the tent around her in the late
afternoon sunlight. She takes the end of her braid and tickles his nose
with it. He wiggles his nose a few times, then bats at the braid. She
continues, grinning, until he opens his eyes. He blinks a few times,
uncomprehending.

"Hi." She smiles down at him.

His eyes widen and he sits up suddenly, carrying her with him and
bringing her to him in a fierce hug.

"Akane." He whispers into her hair.

She returns his hug gently. "Ranma." She says, a little question in the
word.

He lets her loose suddenly, moving back from her a little, blushing
furiously. "I...uh...don't think that....I..."

She puts her forefinger to his lips, stopping his stammering protest and
moves back into him, wanting some more of that hug. He hesitates for a
second, then wraps his arms back around her, frowning at a half
remembered dream about being dead and Akane calling him back to life. He
shakes his head, making it go away.

"Oh, man. Am I glad to see you!" He smiles down into her face, gulping
at the beauty that her gentle smile creates on her face.

"Me too." She replies.

"Great Lady?" Comes a quiet voice from the entrance.

"Yes, Muri?" Akane answers, sighing as Ranma moves away from her again.

"I brought you some tea." Muri enters, bowing to them, placing the tray
with it's cups and pot in easy reach. "The others are up and about and
asking for you." She tells them as she pours, studying Ranma without
apparently doing so.

Ranma fidgets a little, uncomfortable with his situation and this
strange sweet tempered Akane. He takes the cup Akane offers him, watches
her sip on her own. He puts it down, needing some air suddenly.

"I, um, I need to.."

"I need to dress anyway." Akane responds.

He seems to realize for the first time that she's in nothing but the
soft cotton gown. He stands and hurries out of the tent, the two women
giggling together as he flees.

"I think instead of being the hunted, now you must be the hunter." Muri
tells Akane with a smile, laying out the clothes she has brought.

"Yeah, well that's probably going to be harder than you think." Akane
sighs back.

Muri gets a strange gleam in her eyes. "Well, we can at least make sure
he enjoys the view, one last time, Great Lady?"

Akane laughs as Muri starts to unbraid her hair. "What am I going to do
with this," she flips a strand back over her shoulder, "without you?"
The laughter suddenly replaced by sadness as she realizes she's going to
have to leave her friend soon.

"It is very nice just braided, Great Lady." Muri answers gently,
responding to Akane's shift in mood. "But now, we do something
spectacular with it!"

Ranma halts as he clears the entrance, looking around in confusion at
the huge camp of brightly colored tents, turns slowly to spy the
fortress rising high behind him on its' mesa and realizes that he is on
the plain surrounding the city.

"Ranma!"

He whirls to see Ukyou waving at him, sitting on a rug outside another
large tent with Ryoga, Kuno and Nabiki, Dr. Tofu and Kasumi changing the
bandages that cover Mousses eyes, Shampoo hovering close by. He strides
to them, returning Ukyou's hug, leaning down to punch Ryoga good
naturedly in the shoulder, who grins up at him.

"What happened to Mousse?" He asks as Ukyou pulls him down onto the rug
to join them.

"Yin-ko got him." Ukyou answers.

"Yin-ko?" Ranma asks, looking confused, then embarrassed as his stomach
growls loudly.

Ukyou laughs. "Well, I'm not surprised. You've been asleep for two
days."

"I have?" Ranma asks in disbelief.

"I guess being dead takes a lot out of you." Ryoga grins and punches him
back.

"Dead?" He gulps out.

"Yeah. Kuno killed you." Ryoga continues.

"Kuno killed me?" He gets out as a fuzzy memory surfaces.

"Well, you shouldn't have turned into my strike." Kuno defends from
where he's sitting.

"I'll be back in a minute." Ukyou tells him, trying not to smile at the
expression on Ranma's face as she rises, squeezes Ryoga's shoulder,
whispers "Don't be so mean!" into his ear and goes get him something to
eat.     She passes Tofu on her way back heading with Jessi to do rounds
in the hospital tent and hands Ranma the plate, not interrupting Ryoga,
Mousse and Kuno who are filling Ranma in on the battle and wonders where
the sisters have gotten off to. She goes to Shampoo, who is listening to
the men, an amused expression on her face.

"Where are Nabiki and Kasumi?" She asks.

"They go see Akane." Shampoo responds.

Ukyou rises and goes toward Akane's tent, pauses for a moment outside,
listening to the happy voices coming from within.

"Um, can I come in?" She asks shyly from the entrance.

"Of course!" The girls inside call.

She enters to see Akane, hair done up and held in place with the opal
pins and beautiful in a lavender dress helping Nabiki with the ties of a
sky blue one, Kasumi sitting still under the busy hands of Muri.

"Um, I just wanted to ask you what the Doctor said about Mousse's eyes."
She asks Kasumi, feeling very much the outsider.

"Tofu says he should regain some of his sight and the scars will be
almost unnoticeable when they've healed." Kasumi tells her.

"What happened to Mousse?" She hears Akane ask Nabiki.

"A dragon tried to eat him." Nabiki responds.

"Your kidding." Akane gasps.

"Do I kid?" Nabiki responds, straight faced.

"Well, I guess I'll go." She turns to step back through the entrance.

"Ukyou, stay!" Akane asks.

Ukyou looks up at her, seeing the offer of friendship in Akane's face.
"Well, if you don't mind."

"Muri, would you do Ukyou next?" She asks.

"It would be my honor, Great Lady." Muri answers, smiling at Ukyou
around a mouthful of pins.

Nabiki picks a yellow dress out of the pile of clothes, holds it up to
Ukyou. "What do you think, Akane? Or this one?" She goes back over and
pulls out a gray one.

"The yellow. Come on Ukyou, off with those things!" Akane urges.

Ukyou lets them help her with the dress.

"Ryoga, huh?" Akane asks her, off handedly.

Ukyou blushes a little. "Well, maybe."

"He's a nice guy." Akane tells her, smiling.

"Who'd thought?" Nabiki grins.

"Well, it's not as strange as you and Kuno!" Ukyou grins back.

"Hey! Kuno's a good catch. He's attractive and, better still, fabulously
wealthy. So he's a little short on brains, but I have enough to make up
for both of us." Nabiki defends herself.

"It's about time." Kasumi adds quietly from her seat, handing Muri a
pin.

They all turn to look at her.

"What are you talking about, Kasumi?" Nabiki asks, eyes narrowed.

Kasumi smiles at her sister. "Kuno has been in love with you since he's
been twelve years old."

"Yeah, he's just been to stupid to realize it!" Akane adds, grinning
hugely as Nabiki whirls on her.

"What are you talking about!" Nabiki demands.

"You remember when you where eleven, just after Mother died and those
bullies where after you every morning for your lunch money?" Kasumi
asks.

"Yes." Nabiki answers, frowning.

"And Kuno caught them and beat the living daylights out of them?" Kasumi
prompts.

Nabiki nods. "And they beat the crap out of him, too."

"And you brought him home to me to get cleaned up before he went to
school?" Kasumi continues.

Nabiki nods again, thinking hard.

"Well, I knew right then."

"Oh, come on, Kasumi." Nabiki snorts. "We were just kids."

"Who always comes to your defense, Sister?" Kasumi asks. "Whether he
wants to or not?"

Nabiki looks embarrassed for the first time her sisters can remember.
"Well, I guess you could be right."

"You know we are!" Akane giggles. Nabiki throws a pillow at her, which
she dodges.

"Done." Muri tells Kasumi, who goes to let her sisters dress her and
Muri beckons to Ukyou.

Ranma, finished with his meal and mulling over the story he's just been
told by the guys decides he needs to change into something more
substantial than the light draw string pants he woke up in.

"I'm going to go change." He informs them as he heads back for the tent.
He pauses outside, hearing the happy, animated voices coming from
inside, shifts his weight back and forth, wondering if he should just go
in. He decides it would be smarter to call from outside.

"Um, Akane, I need my clothes."

There is the rustle of fabrics from inside accompanied by "shush"es and
giggles. Muri parts the tent opening and hands him a neatly folded pile
of clothes. He tries to peer around her, wondering what the girls are up
to, but Muri keeps moving to block his view. She points to a smaller
tent standing a little apart from the others.

"There, young Lord." Then she steps back, letting the tent flap fall in
front of her.

Ranma frowns at the tent and the new batch of giggles coming from
inside, suspecting that they are directed at himself, then shrugs and
heads for the tent Muri indicated. Inside, there are shelves with
towels, a highly polished sheet of metal which serves as a mirror, a
barrel of water with a large bowl beside it on a stand and a brazier
keeping a large kettle of water hot. He puts his clothes onto one of the
shelves, looks at himself in the mirror.

(I really died. And Akane did something to bring me back. I wonder.) He
looks at the barrel of cold water and the kettle. He uses the ladle
hanging on the barrel side to fill the bowl, takes a deep breath and
upends it over himself. He blinks a few times to clear the water off his
lashes, sighs as his voluptuous female self stares back.

(Can't blame a guy for hoping.) He sighs, fills the bowl with the hot
water and changes himself back. He towels himself off and changes, his
expression one of deep thought, as he exits and turns to avoid his
friends and wanders off, needing some time to himself. His steps bring
him to the edge of the camp where a group of warriors are engaging in a
fighting display and stops to watch. It's dusk when Tofu comes up to
him. He stands by the young man, having a good idea of what is troubling
him and knowing that there is nothing he can do except offer what
comfort the boy will take.

"They want to feed us before they send us home." He tells Ranma, smiling
brightly.

"Uh, O.K." Ranma responds, finally coming back into focus his lips
smiling back, the rest of his face still glum. They return through the
camp together, going back toward Akane's tent.

"What, they still haven't come out?" He asks the Doctor.

Tofu shakes his head as they join Kuno and Ryoga, both who are waiting
outside of it, looking a little annoyed. There is a rustle and the tent
flap moves aside as Muri steps through and holds it open for the women
behind her. The males all blink as a beautiful Lady steps through, then
Tofu gasps as it hits him that this is Kasumi. She holds out one hand to
him as she gathers up her skirts with the other. Kuno and Ryoga nudge
him forward and he stumbles a little, then takes her hand with an
idiotic grin on his face, leading her toward the food and music waiting
for them. There is the sound of a little scuffle from inside the tent,
then a hissed, "Nabiki, go on!"

Kuno, hearing this, begins to step forwards, then freezes in mid-stride
as Nabiki emerges, blushing a little at the look on his face.

"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seem she hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear;

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!

So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows

As yonder Lady o'er her fellows shows.

The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand

And," offering her his hand, "touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.

Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

Nabiki takes his hand, an smile of mixed embarrassed and amusement on
her face at his speech. He bows low over it, kissing the back.

"Kuno, your embarrassing me." She giggles at him.

He straightens, undaunted by her protest and leads her after the Doctor
and Kasumi, still quoting.

Ryoga and Ranma look at each other, shaking their heads.

"Well?" Ukyou asks them both as she emerges, spinning around.

"Wow!" They both answer.

Ryoga offers his arm. "You look even nicer than you did in your dancing
silks." He tells her shyly. She gives him a quick, thankful kiss on his
cheek and leads them after the others.

Ranma begins to fidget, wondering why Akane hasn't come out.

"Great Lady!" Muri scolds, then reaches in and pulls her out by her
hand.

Ranma straightens, swallows hard as the beauty that came in on Chiesai's
arm the night before steps out to face him. She smiles at him
tentatively, then looks a little wistful when he just stands there.

"Come on. We don't want to be late." She comes up to him, then waits
until he turns to walk with her.

They walk a few feet in silence, Ranma staring at her out of the corner
of his eye.

"You are beautiful." He whispers.

"No, just well presented." She laughs. "Tomorrow I'll be back to just
plain old Akane."

He reaches over and takes her hand into his, not slowing or looking at
her.

"You've never been just plain old Akane, to me." He says quietly,
realizing he means it and steeling himself for the mean response he
knows is coming.

She squeezes his hand, not slowing or looking at him.

"Thanks, Ranma. That means a lot to me." She tells him quietly back.

He turns to look at her, stunned, pulls her to a stop at the edge of the
circle of firelight that defines the feasting and gaiety going on.

"Akane, I, um, I need to tell you something."

She turns to face him, her expression curious. She can feel the tremble
in him through his hand, sees the twitch start under one eye.

"Yes?" She asks, all innocence.

"I, um, I, um...oh, hell!" He leans down to her and gives her a gentle,
inexperienced kiss. He feels her tense against him and breaks it off,
shutting his eyes and waiting for the slap. His eyes fly open as Akane
reaches one hand up behind his neck to pull his head back down to her
and returns it. She breaks it off, leaning against him, giggling at the
stunned expression on his face.

"What are you laughing at?" He demands, his ego getting ruffled.

"You. Me. Us." She smiles up at him. "That was nice. Let's do it again."
Taking him by surprise one more time, his anger melting under her lips.

"Akane! Ranma! Come on!" They hear Kasumi call from somewhere within the
ring of light.

She pulls him, unprotesting, into the circle of their friends. They go
to the piled rugs and pillows under and around the low table where the
rest of the company is and are soon enjoying the entertainment and food
and each other.

"Look, it's Rhiannon and Shiro!" Ukyou yells, waving furiously as their
Guardians weave their way through the gathered revelers, pausing every
now and then to exchange words, Rhiannon leaning heavily on Shiro's arm,
still looking gaunt and tired, Shampoo following in her gray leathers,
Mousse walking beside her, holding her hand.

They reach their table, Ryoga and Ukyou moving so that Rhiannon can sit
by the sisters. They huddle around her, looking concerned.

"Are you all right?" Kasumi asks.

She smiles at them, nods. "I just won't be up to any major magic's for a
while, I think." She spreads her arms, gathering the girls in.

Around ten, the Captains of the Free Rider's comes to them and bow as
one.

"It is time, Great Ones." Seryl informs them.

The Captains spread out to form an honor guard around them as they
escort them out of the camp toward the ring of rectangular stones
standing near the edge of the forest, the people of the camp following
behind them and carrying torches to light the way. They stop at the
ring, some of the group that had been escorting them moving to stand
between the upright stones and starting a sweet chant, summoning the
magic of the place.

Rhiannon turns to Shampoo, takes a knife from her belt and cuts her
forefinger, drawing a straight line with her blood across Shampoo's
brow.

"I release you, Shield Sworn. You have served me well."

Shampoo takes her hands, places her forehead to the backs of them, tears
starting in her eyes.

"Lady," She starts.

Rhiannon stops her with a gentle finger to her lips, then hugs her
fiercely. "Now, go! Have a wonderful life." She commands, stepping by
her to give Mousse a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm sorry I can't fix your eyes again." She whispers in his ear.

"It's O.K." He whispers back. "She just has to come closer for me to be
able to see her." He grins.

Rhiannon smiles at him, thankful that he'll be all right, then moves on.

"Kasumi, I expect a wedding invitation." She tells her as she kisses
her. "Soon." She tells Tofu as she hugs him, who blushes furiously.

"What do you think?" She whispers into Nabiki's ear as she gives her her
kiss.

Nabiki grins back at her.

"Warrior." She bows to Kuno. He bows back, then leans forwards, offering
his cheek. She laughs, kisses it.

"Careful, boy." Shiro growls good-naturedly at him.

"Always!" Kuno smiles as he bows deeply to Shiro also.

"Ukyou, Ryoga. I wish you joy." She hugs them both, together.

She goes to Akane, takes her hands into her own, a little glow of power
flickering around her momentarily. She leans forwards and whispers
something into her ear. Akane blushes furiously, then reaches out and
gathers her into a bear hug.

She stands before Ranma, knowing how prickly the boy's ego and sense of
honor is, raises her eyebrows at him. He steps up to her, gives her a
gentle hug.

"Thank-you. For Akane. For giving me back my chance." He whispers to
her.

She smiles sweetly, returns his embrace. "You have no idea of what
you've gotten yourself into." She whispers.

"Oh, I think I do!" He laughs back.

"It's time, now." She steps away from them and lets Shiro start to lead
them toward the ring, Akane turning to tell Muri good-bye when a blood
curdling howl erupts from the forest in front of them.

There is the rattle of swords being drawn, the warriors spreading out
when a lone lupine form steps out of the shadows of the trees, his eyes
glowing orange in the torch light.

"Hold!" Shiro and Muri both cry.

Shiro turns to Muri. "I was wondering what happened to the Pack during
the battle. No one has seen hide nor hair of them since the attack
started."

Muri bows low to him. "We had a debt to repay." She answers.

She takes Akane's hands into her own, gives them a hard squeeze the
releases them and reaches up to the collar around her neck and breaks it
in half with a quick snap. She offers it to Akane, who takes the two
half-circles, looking at her friend in wonder.

"We are slaves no longer!" She whispers fiercely to Akane, then whirls
and runs toward Pack Leader, her form rippling as she moves until two
dogs meet under the treeline, pause to lick each others muzzles then
turn to disappear into the forest.

Shiro waves them into the circle, standing between the two stones they
entered through, closing the circle.

"Good journey!" They hear him call as the white fog swirls up around
them.  They clutch at each other as they lose all sense of perspective,
then the ground steadies under their feet and the fog tatters into the
humid air of a Tokyo summer night. They look around and realize that
they're back in the Tendo's back yard, the house glowing with light in
front of them. They move in an excited knot to the house, realizing that
they've made it home and in one piece, Soun and Genma rushing out to
them.