Nabiki - New Horizons
            Chapter 29 - There's A New Elder In Town
                       By: G.L. Sandborn




     "Nothing can stop me!" General Shibata Katsuie roared, his
eyes glowing bright blue.  Glowing bolts of energy danced around
his hand as it squeezed Jeffrey's throat.
     Nabiki thrashed about trying to free herself from her
manacles.  What she intended to do when free, she couldn't say. 
All that mattered to her at the moment was her husband was dying
before her eyes and she had to do something about it.
     "JEFFREY!" she screamed.  Blood rolled down her arms from
where the restraints bit into her tender flesh.  Sweat rolled
into her eyes, causing them to burn.  Ignoring the pain, she
shifted around and placed her feet on the wall, tugging at the
chain in hopes of dislodging it from its anchorage.
     It was no use, the chain held firm.  In desperation, she
looked to her companion for help.  Sodoshi Tanaka hung limply by
her chains, her head rolled to the side.  If it wasn't an act,
the girl had to be seriously injured.  With Jeffrey being
drained, Sodoshi unconscious and herself still chained to the
wall, all seemed lost.
     Another look Jeffrey's way and she stopped in mid-tug. 
Through the General's blue aura, she caught the first dim flicker
of amber from her husband's body.  Like a lighter being struck
without creating a flame, the glow appeared for the briefest
moment.  Could that just be his final flickers of life?  Or was
it something else - something more powerful?  Rubbing her face on
a shoulder, she squinted through burning eyes at her husband's
limp form.
     A sudden flash of light lit up the other half of the chamber
caused her to turn her head away from its intensity.  As it died
away, she saw Jeff's body glowing bright amber.  
     With a sudden gasp, his eyes snapped open.  They too glowed
brightly in the cave's dim light.  His right hand abruptly
grabbed the General's forearm.
     "What the..?"  The General hesitated, the blue haze drifting
away with his distraction.
     His astonishment grew as Jeffrey's hand gripped his arm.
"This is not possible," the General screamed.  "You have no
energy left."
     His next words were replaced by his own scream as the grip
tightened.  The sounds of bones cracking could be heard.
Releasing his victim, the General staggered back, clutching his
injured arm to his chest.  He glared with a hatred born of four
hundred years imprisonment.  
     Jeffrey dropped to a crouch for only an instant before
lashing out with such a powerful kick the General was flung
across the chamber.
     "Jeffrey!" Nabiki called, her spirits buoyed by the sight of
her husband fighting back.  She didn't know where this new-found
energy was coming from but it saved his life and that was all she
needed.
     The General staggered to his feet and shouted a series of
commands.  The room of rotting samurai turned towards Jeffrey,
their swords glittering in the dim light.
     Still glowing bright amber, Jeff's hand came up in a
throwing motion and quickly filled with pure energy.  With a
shout, his hand shot forward and the glowing ball darted like a
comet across the room, glancing off the shackles binding the two
women and springing them free.
     Nabiki fell heavily to the dirty floor.  Her shoulders ached
from their sudden release and her wrists burned where the
manacles had cut into her skin.  
     To her surprise, Sodoshi dropped to the floor in a crouch,
her blazing sword instantly forming in her hands.  It was as if
the girl had been feigning unconsciousness all along, waiting for
just this moment to strike. 
     "Now it's my turn," the kunoichi spirit growled.  "Time to
take out the garbage."
     With a long-dead battle cry that seemed to echo throughout
the cavern and its many tunnels, Sodoshi attacked.  Her sword
swung in continuous arcs so quickly it appeared like a giant
blazing wheel, cutting through the acrid atmosphere of the room
and rotting samurai alike.  Body parts flew in all directions.  A
severed samurai head landed directly in front of Nabiki, its
leering face staring at her for only a moment before it dissolved
into a plume of blue smoke.  The stench almost caused her to
retch on the dirty floor.
     Recovering from their surprise, the warlord's undead minions
swarmed towards the kunoichi.  Sodoshi turned up her attacks a
few more degrees but even that couldn't prevent the overwhelming
numbers from forcing her back.  Nabiki scrambled on her hands and
knees away from the fight, careful to keep Sodoshi between her
and the more aggressive of the samurai.  But there was only so
far she could crawl before a solid wall stopped any further
retreat.
     Pressing herself into the room's corner, she drew her legs
up and tried to hide behind her knees.  Sodoshi was frantically
cutting her way through the attacking warriors but their sheer
numbers caused her to retreat a few inches at a time.  It
wouldn't be long before Nabiki would find herself on the front
line facing the seemingly endless supply of undead horrors with
only her bare hands to defend herself.
     She searched for her husband through the sea of rotted
samurai legs.  Only the occasional glimpse of him fighting off
his own legion of attackers assured her he was alive - for now.
     With a groan that echoed through the chamber, the wall
behind her rolled as if alive.  Nabiki shielded her head with her
hands as small rocks pelted her like hail stones.  A loud moan
that sounded like another echo of Sodoshi's battle cry rolled
through the chamber.  When she chanced a look, large boulders
appeared to leap across the cave, slamming into samurai.  Their
exploding bodies only added to the stifling atmosphere.  She
gasped for breath in the oppressive atmosphere and rubbed her
irritated eyes.
     Cursing herself for being so helpless, Nabiki clung to her
protective corner of the cave.  Despite the overwhelming odds,
Jeffrey was fighting as well as she'd ever seen.  Sodoshi was
cleaving her attackers with desperate but lethal strokes.  Even
the very cavern itself seemed to be fighting.  Feeling worthless,
Nabiki cowered in her corner.  There was nothing she could do,
she told herself.  She was no fighter.  While that thought was
usually soothing in its rationalization, this time it did little
more than gnaw at her with all the shame she could imagine.  She
felt worthless watching others do all the fighting.
     One blow from a samurai rocked Sodoshi back, her blade
barely able to deflect what should have been a killing cut. 
Another like that and Nabiki figured it would be all over - for
both of them.
     Peeking over the tops of her arms held in front of her face
for protection, she saw a samurai sail across the room from
somewhere deep within the melee.  Then another cartwheeled across
the chamber until it smashed into a wall.  The attackers before
Sodoshi appeared to waver, their attacks lacking their earlier
intensity.  Whatever or whomever was cutting into their ranks
from this new direction, attacked with such fury as to cause the
entire room to waver.  
     Like a tide reversing, the samurai began to give ground. 
When they backed towards the center of the cave, she saw what had
turned the battle in their favor.
     In a black and red blur, Ranma Saotome arrived like a
typhoon.  Behind him, more because of his frantic rush than by
her own choosing, was Akane, her amulet glowing like a tiny star
as she darted from one side of Ranma's wake to the other.  The
General's henchmen began to dissolve into confused chaos.
     Nabiki crawled quickly towards the new arrivals.  Her
daughter's spirit guardian was good but Akane was family.
     "Hi, Sis," Akane chirped as she casually swatted away a
loose samurai head that dangled from a rotting body.  "I like
your outfit.  Is it new?"
     Nabiki glanced down at her torn and dirty shojoku before
peering up at her sister like she was nuts.  Here in the middle
of a fierce battle for their lives, Akane was talking about
clothes like the two of them were at home raking leaves or
something.
     Akane viciously kicked a samurai that had outflanked her
husband.  "Oh, by the way, Kasumi and I are both pregnant.  Isn't
that great?"
     The news caused Nabiki to roll over and plop into a sitting
position.  Pregnant?  Both of them?  When did THAT happen?
     Before she could ask, her sister darted around her husband,
a former samurai's sword in hand.  Swinging wildly, Akane sliced
her way through the rotting warriors, leaving a wake of twitching
body parts behind.
     Still pondering her sister's revelation, Nabiki again
checked on her own husband.  Did he know about her sisters?
     Glowing bright amber, Jeffrey fought like a man possessed -
or at least like a spirit possessed.  Positioned on a slightly
elevated ledge along the far wall where he had no worries about
being attacked from the rear, flaming shuriken seemed to appear
at will in his hands to be used with deadly precision on his
attackers.  The floor in front of him was ringed with body parts,
some dissolving into blue puffs of smoke as other bodies and body
parts fell on them.  Others continued to twitch as if still
alive.
     Sodoshi was fighting well, Ranma and Akane were tearing
through a swarm of samurai, and her husband was fighting off
everything within reach.  The room seemed filled with zombie-like
henchmen.
     Standing up, Nabiki dodged a spinning sword with a rotting
hand still attached and looked for the one person that really
mattered.  If the General got away, he would still threaten her
clan's spirit realm.  She glanced around hoping to see his body
among the fallen.
     Her hopes were dashed when she saw him across the room,
directly in front of the far tunnel opening, directing
reinforcements as they arrived.  He shoved the last towards the
melee before quickly disappearing into the tunnel.
     Nabiki started to shout a warning but stopped herself. 
Everyone was occupied with their own battles.  No one was left to
go after the General.  No one, that is, but her.
     A cold chill ran through her body.  This was fear unlike
anything she'd experienced in her life.  With her heart pounding
and palms sweating, she squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered in
frustration as she started towards the General.
     Grumbling how this was a mistake, she plunged into the
swirling battle.  Rotting bodies slammed into her, almost
knocking her off her feet, as they rushed to confront one of the
other clan combatants.  For some reason, they didn't consider her
a threat.  
     Ducking sword cuts and weaving through the mass of undead
samurai, she chased after the General.  Body parts crunched
beneath her feet, some bursting into sickening blue smoke as she
ran.  
     She didn't know why she was doing this.  He was a powerful
warlord accustomed to this realm.  She was only a novice - a
pretender who claimed the exalted and unearned position of elder. 
She wasn't even certain just what it all meant.  The only thing
she did know was that if the General got away, everyone past and
present was in mortal danger.  The argument that drove her
forward was the thought of her daughter and what losing this
battle would mean for her.  Nabiki shuddered and pressed ahead,
pushing and shoving foul-smelling bodies out of her way.
     She skidded to a halt as two samurai stepped in front of the
tunnel.  They had obviously been left as a rear guard for the
General's getaway.  Both raised their rusting swords and stepped
towards her.  With the main battle raging directly behind her,
there was nowhere to run.  Her eyes grew wide.  She'd made a
mistake.  She was going to die.
     The cavern rumbled mightily, practically throwing Nabiki off
her feet.  Taking an unsteady step back, she raised her arms in
front of her face.
     Two objects whizzed past her head so fast she only felt them
pass.  When they impacted the samurai, both bodies exploded,
showering her with rotting body parts and filling her lungs with
an odor that caused her knees to wobble.  When the blue smoke
parted, she saw through watering eyes that the way was clear.  No
further guards protected the General's retreat.  She didn't know
what struck her adversaries.  She didn't care.  The way was open. 
The General was somewhere up ahead.  Throwing herself forward,
she plunged through the remaining stench, stumbling over rocks,
body parts, and discarded weapons.
     The tunnel's air was cleaner, enough so it didn't burn her
eyes as badly when she looked for her quarry.  In the dim light
from a few flaming pots along the tunnel walls, she caught sight
of movement far ahead.  It had to be him.
     Stumbling over rocks large and small, she pressed on, always
looking for any indication the General had slowed or stopped. 
Her footing became unsteady as the tunnel again rolled and
heaved, throwing her into one of the walls.  A shot of pain ran
up her leg as her knee scraped against the unyielding rock. 
Several small rocks pelted her as if something or someone was
urging her on.
     "Whoever you are, if you're going to help me, stop with the
rocks," she said as if speaking to someone accompanying her.  To
her surprise, the movement died away, leaving only a long
mournful rumble that seemed to run through the tunnel's length.
     She could hear movement somewhere behind her.  Either more
of the General's samurai were following or something else was
hunting her through the tunnel.  She didn't have time to worry
about pursuers.  She caught sight of the General ducking into a
large, well-lit chamber ahead.
     Tripping over a broken pot, its flame still burning
brightly, she stumbled into the same chamber where she and
Sodoshi had discovered the box.  Across the chamber, the General
frantically dug through the stacked treasures.  His curses echoed
through the room.  Nabiki swallowed and straightened up to
confront her nemesis.
     Before she could say or do anything, the General suddenly
snapped a look her direction.  A slow grin grew on his face when
he saw who it was.
     "So, the last elder of a dead clan has come for me," he said
through clenched teeth, adding an evil chuckle.  "I know who you
are, Nabiki of Nerima."
     Like the very sound of her name carried with it the power to
destroy her, she trembled but stood her ground.  She had no
weapon.  She had no plan.  She felt like the dog who had chased a
car out of instinct with no idea what to do with it once she'd
caught it.  Frozen with fear, all she could do was stand and face
one obviously more powerful.
     "I can still survive," he growled.  "I waited four hundred
years before this.  I can wait another four hundred.  All I need
is a little spirit energy to tide me over.  Yours will do just
fine."
     As the General began to glow, gathering his own ki, Nabiki
jumped with a squeak of surprise when she felt a hand on her
shoulder.  She quickly looked to see who it was.
     "This is your fight, Nabs," Jeffrey said, his eyes glowing
bright amber.  "I tried killing him several times back in the
other cavern.  For some reason, I can't touch him."
     "Why?" Nabiki gasped, looking again at the General as he
glowed even brighter.
     "I suppose because I'm only a spirit and an outsider one as
well.  This realm can only be purified by an elder of the Cold
Moon Clan."
     Nabiki was about to protest, to argue that it was all a
mistake.  She wasn't an elder, just a pretender with too big
ideas and too little experience to carry them out.  One look at
her husband standing defiantly in opposition to a force far
stronger than his own caused her to reconsider.  Jeffrey was
right.  She was the only person available and there wasn't much
time for her decide.
     "You can do it," Jeff said in the same reassuring tone he'd
used many times in the past.  Just the sound of his voice gave
her confidence.  "Close your eyes.  I'll help you."
     Despite her wariness about losing sight of her adversary,
she did as she was told.  Facing the General, she drew a deep
breath.
     "Zen," Jeff said, his voice sounding like the soothing tones
of a monk.  "Know yourself."
     Nabiki held her hands in front of her waist, her open right
hand covering her left, the tips of her thumbs touching.  She
didn't know how she knew to do this.  The words her husband spoke
seemed to cause her body to react on its own.  Perhaps it was the
place that gave her the knowledge.
     "Zai," he said, his voice sounding farther away.  "Control
the elements of nature."
     She felt a burning in the pit of her stomach.  It was all
she could do not to turn and throw up as her hands changed
position, her fingers outspread, palms out, with only her index
fingers and thumbs touching.
     "Retsu.  Mastery of space and time."
     Her hands changed positions again.  Her left hand made a
fist with her index finger pointing up.  Her right hand encircled
her index finger, her thumb nail digging into the outside edge of
the fingernail on her index finger.  Where Jeff's hand rested on
her shoulder, she felt a burning sensation.  Her arms began to
tremble as they too felt like they were on fire.
     ""RIN.  Strength of mind and body!"  Jeff's voice was almost
echoing in an ethereal way.  
     Her fingers interlocked with her middle fingers extended. 
Her whole body now felt like it was on fire.  Sweat mixed with
her tears and rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto her hands and
burning them like acid.  She wanted to cry out but couldn't.  Her
entire being was focused on her task.  Everything about her was
glowing so brightly it was becoming difficult to see the General.
     "KYO!  DIRECTION OF ENERGY!"
     Nabiki squeezed her eyes shut and screamed a long,
primordial cry, half born of fear and half of pain.  She was no
longer in control of her body.  Her knees wobbled.  Her hands
shook but remained pointed directly at the General.  The spot on
her shoulder where Jeffrey was touching her burned like a
branding iron.  This was worse than death.  This was torture.
     She opened her eyes just enough to see the General gesture
her direction.  A brilliant bolt of blue energy shot her way. 
She felt strangely unafraid - sick as a dog but unafraid.  
     Her nausea peaked.  She tasted bile.  The air around her was
tinged amber and smelled sickly sweet.  From her fingers, a bolt
of amber energy shot towards the General.
     The two beams collided halfway across the room.  The General
shouted as he increased his release of energy.  Nabiki gritted
her teeth and bore down harder.  It felt like giving birth to a
boulder through her navel.  The pain was indescribable.
     The two beams dueled briefly, neither initially strong
enough to overcome the other, before the General's beam began to
waver.  A sudden surge of energy burned through her body where
Jeffrey's hand touched her shoulder.  It was as if he had
purposely held back, applying full power only when the General
faltered.
     Her beam glowed brighter with the sudden influx of ki
energy.  Like an arrow through a wall of fire, it sliced through
the obstruction and slammed into the warlord's body.
     With a howl of pain, he was thrown against the wall, where
he twitched wildly.  An unearthly wail filled the cavern as pure
ki energy sliced through him, burning an outline of his body on
the cave wall.  The blue glow in the warlord's eyes flared and
died as four hundred years passed through his body, aging him
until his wrinkled, gray skin peeled away, revealing rotting
muscles and bone.
     With a final echoing cry, the General exploded in an amber
mist.
     Nabiki felt a sudden release, the cavern's cool air rushing
in around her body.  Her bladder emptied, its warmth covering the
goose bumps on her legs from the colder air.  Dropping to her
knees, her nausea finally gained the upper hand and expelled what
little remained in her stomach.
     Her body was like an empty shell as the room seemed to spin. 
With a final shudder, she pitched forward, welcoming the embrace
of unconsciousness.

*****#####*****

     With a loud gasp, Jeff's body arched off the bed.  Sister
Angelica lunged forward, catching little Sodoshi as her limp body
was bucked off.
     What medical personnel that remained in the ICU rushed to
Jeff's side, shouting orders and reporting various readings taken
with whatever non-electric devices they had available. 
     "I don't get it," one doctor said, shaking his head as he
removed his stethoscope.  "Everything reads normal now."
     "I've never seen a coma victim revive so completely or
quickly," another added in awe.
     "It's an amazing phenomena," someone else noted.
     Sister Angelica chuckled.  "No, it's a miracle."
     "Whatever the case, Sister, it is quite extraordinary."
     The nun cuddled Sodoshi's sleeping body and smiled at the
child.  "Yes, but the Lawrences are an extraordinary family. 
Most exceptional indeed."

     "Hello, hello, hello, what's all this then?" boomed a deep
male voice in a heavy English accent from across the room.  "I
heard there was a spot of trouble down here.  So I told myself:
Reggie, old boy, you just nip down and see what it's all about." 
He took a few steps into the ICU before encountering the Head of
Intensive Care, still writhing on the floor.  "I say, it's a bit
early in the day for you to be bagged, old boy.  And get up off
the floor.  It's dirty down there."  The man blinked a moment
before sheepishly chuckling.  "No wait.  This is the cleanest
room in the building.  Never mind.  Do carry on."

     "Who's that?" Troy asked Rachel in a low voice.
     "Doctor Cleese, the hospital administrator," Rachel hissed
back with a roll of her eyes.  "He's a real fruit loop."
     "My balls," Doctor Long gasped.
     "Eh?  What's that?" Doctor Cleese asked, bending over, his
head cocked to one side as if to listen better.
     "She got my balls."
     "Oh, I see.  Well, ex-wives sometimes take everything, old
boy."  Doctor Cleese straightened up and shook his head.  "You're
just lucky she didn't take your BMW.  Now THAT would have been
really painful."
     "Hurts..." the man gasped.
     Doctor Cleese sighed.  "Very well, you whiny little momma's
boy.  Nurse, get this man to a bed and give him a laxative."
     "But Doctor, how will that help him?" the nurse asked.
     "It won't but it will distract him from the pain in his..." 
The Doctor waved his hand at the injured man.  "In any case, he
won't be doing the nasty with that night nurse up in the third
floor linen closet for awhile.  Never liked the man anyway.  Too
Harvard, if you know what I mean."
     More people poured into the ICU.  Doctors, interns,
technicians, nurses and orderlies were followed by an impressive
number of police and hospital security.  
     Rachel sagged against a wall.  It was finally over.  After
all the weird happenings, the demons, and the uncertainty, their
long nightmare had ended.
     "Ah, Ms. Magnum," Doctor Cleese said when he noticed her
presence.  "You look lovely as ever."
     Rachel nodded tiredly.  She knew he was lying.  She looked
like hell.  "Thank you, Doctor."
     "And just how is every little thing?"
     "Fine now," she replied with a heavy sigh.
     "Capital."  The doctor leaned in closer.  "I don't suppose
you know anything about what's been going on?"
     Casting a weary look his direction, Rachel shook her head. 
"I doubt you'd believe me anyway."
     "Well, perhaps over dinner you could explain it to me." 
Doctor Cleese adjusted his suit coat and clasped his hands behind
his back.  Even acting nonchalant, he still appeared predatory to
her.
     "Are you asking me out on a date?" she asked with a slightly
bemused expression.
     "Well, yes, I suppose I am.  Imagine that."
     "Yes, imagine that," she repeated.  Drawing a deep breath,
she pushed herself away from the wall.  "Why not?"
     "Excellent.  I'll pick you up at seven o'clock."  Doctor
Cleese beamed.
     "Just dinner and talk," Rachel added, holding up a warning
finger to show she was serious.  "Nothing... else."
     "Of course."  Doctor Cleese grinned.  "Your company at
dinner is all I ask."
     "I'm glad to hear that."  Rachel smiled at him hopefully. 
"Of course, dinner is going to be a little difficult eating
through bars."
     Doctor Cleese blinked for a moment.  "I don't understand."
     "The police."
     "Yes, what about the police?"
     "The police who are outside."
     "Outside where?"
     "The police that are outside in the hall with a strong
desire to arrest me and my friends," Rachel growled.
     The doctor nodded slowly before it all seemed to come
together for him.  "AH, yes, I see.  Leave everything to me," he
said, turning towards the door.
     Opening it, he stepped into a flood of people all talking at
the same time.  Sirens howled in the background.
     "May I have your attention please?" he shouted over the din. 
The hallway's noise melted away as everyone turned to listen. 
"Fine.  Now I appreciate your dedication to your duties but I
must insist you leave.  You see, your presence here is upsetting
my patients as well as a certain young lady who has agreed to
have dinner with me.  I certainly don't want her upset.  So, if
you'll all just leave quietly, I will be able to -"   His voice
was cut off by the door swinging shut.
     "What was that all about?" Kei asked, leaning around Rachel
to see what was happening.
     "I just traded an evening with the English Octopus to get us
off the hook," Rachel replied with a sigh.
     "Are you sure that's a good trade?"
     Rachel sighed and looked over at Jeff who was sitting up and
talking to a couple of doctors.  "The things I do for that man. 
His wife should be here."
     "I'm sure she had a good reason to be gone," Kei said.
     "Probably back in Tokyo spending his money on all her
Japanese friends."  Rachel sighed.  Would it ever end with that
woman?  When would she stop running home to Japan and start being
a mother to Sodoshi, not to mention a good wife to a man who
deserved better?

*****#####*****

     Master Sato groggily awakened to the feeling of something
poking his shoulder.
     "Wake up, my brother," came a familiar voice that seemed to
originate more in his mind than his ears.
     Grimacing at a spasm of pain in his joints from the cold
night air, he squinted at the glowing figure bending over him. 
He quickly remembered it was Akikazu Tanaka.  "What's wrong?"
     "You must open the shrine immediately."
     "Why?" Sato asked with another grimace when he painfully
moved his stiff joints.
     "The battle is over.  The way is now open," came the reply.
     With a grunt, Sato pushed himself to his feet, his warm
blanket sliding off his back.  "Over?"
     "She has done it.  Our elder has been victorious," the
ghostly last master of the Cold Moon Clan replied with more than
a little pride in his voice.  "She found a way to defeat the evil
warlord and purify our realm of his influence."
     Nodding, Sato adjusted his thin robe and shuddered as
another gust of cool evening mountain air swirled around him. 
Only the knowledge that Master Tanaka wouldn't lie about such an
important issue warmed his heart.  Their little fledgling elder
had indeed done well.
     "You must hurry, my brother," Master Tanaka said again. 
"Many wait the moment of their release from this mortal realm."
     Curious as to what he meant, Sato eyed the last clan master. 
Tanaka seemed to silently chuckle to himself before gesturing
towards the village.
     When Sato looked, his jaw dropped.  A long line of
shimmering ghostly figures snaked its way up the hill towards the
shrine.  The line was so long it stretched through the village
and back up the road he and Nabiki had used earlier.  As he
watched, the tiny huts that were the village of the Cold Moon
dissolved and disappeared.
     "Please, my brother," Master Tanaka said, his voice sounding
more insistent.  "You set the barrier.  Only you can open the
seal."
     Nodding, Sato stepped to the door.  His hand gripped the
seal that held two prayer strips together across its surface. 
Drawing a deep breath, he muttered an incantation and tugged on
the spirit-lock.
     For a moment, it held.  Like a loyal guard, reluctant to
give way, it resisted removal.  With a final muttered release of
the spell, it abruptly broke with a soft 'snap'.
     He barely had time to step aside when the long procession of
ghostly images drifted past and through the still closed door.
     They were a curious mix of young and old, modern and
ancient.  Whole families, obviously victims of the blood hunts,
passed silently through the door and into the realm of their
ancestors.  Sato bowed his head and turned away.  His own people
had probably been responsible for some of their deaths.  The
shame of seeing their faces caused his stomach to knot.  He felt
unworthy to stand there witnessing their passage.
     It took over an hour for all to pass through.  When the last
had gone, only Sato and Master Tanaka remained.
     Slumping to the cold floor, Sato held his face in his hands. 
"There were so many.  So many.  I couldn't bear to face them."
     Master Tanaka turned to look out over the place where the
village once existed.  "Those were turbulent times, my brother. 
You mustn't blame yourself for the actions of your ancestors." 
His words felt like a warm blanket.  "I can never repay you for
what you have done for my clan.  Whatever suffering your
ancestors might have brought, you have more than atoned."
     Raising his hand high above his head, a deep rumble of
thunder echoed through the valley.  Lightning flashed repeatedly
overhead as if they were in the midst of a strong electrical
storm.  Sato half-shielded his eyes with an arm as glowing balls
of luminescence screamed in from all directions.
     More crashes of thunder were answered by even more
lightning, illuminating the tiny shrine and leaving the odor of
burnt ozone clinging to the air around him.  A stream of glowing
balls sped in, ending their journey in Akikazu Tanaka's upraised
hand.  Slowly, they began to take the form of a staff.
     Sato expected such a master as Tanaka to have his own staff
but thought it odd the spirit was going through such trouble to
retrieve it.  Rather showy, he thought.
     With the last rumbles of thunder dying away, Tanaka's staff
darkened until it took on the color of dried blood.  With a loud
'crack', Tanaka struck the shrine's stone floor causing the solid
surface to ripple.
     "I believe you released the spirits of your own staff when
you departed your clan," Tanaka said.  "It is not proper for a
master of our trade to be without his staff."
     Sato closed his eyes and shook his head.  "I renounced my
position.  I am no longer a master of the craft."
     "Nonsense!"  Tanaka's voice boomed louder than the still-
rolling thunder.  "You cannot abandon such an obligation so
easily."
     Sato shook his head again, still not daring to look his
sempai's way.  "I am no longer welcome among my people.  They
only tolerate my presence so long as I keep to myself and care
for their shrine."
     "Then they are unworthy of a man of your skills.  Renounce
your clan, my brother.  Disown them here in our holy shrine."
     Sato choked at the thought of abandoning the only life he'd
ever known.  He still carried with him all the knowledge of his
clan, their techniques and secrets.  To cut himself off from all
he'd known was like death itself.
     "Yes, it is like dying," Master Tanaka said as if he could
read Sato's thoughts.  "But there always comes a rebirth after
death."
     Sato glanced up to see Tanaka's eyes glowing dark amber, the
color of the Cold Moon Clan.  The old man seemed to look through
him, reaching into his very soul with those unearthly eyes.  Sato
tried to break eye contact but found he couldn't.  Like Tanaka's
will had overpowered his own.  He hadn't felt so small and
miserable since his own training sixty years ago.
     "That young elder in there will need all the guidance she
can get from one as experienced and knowledgeable as yourself. 
She MUST rebuild the clan."  Tanaka's voice softened.  "I am
asking you to take my place so that I may pass over to my
afterlife."  He paused before bowing respectfully.  "Please, my
brother.  Do not let us die as a people.  Do not let my knowledge
be lost."
     Tanaka gently laid his staff at Sato's feet, its seven rings
of enlightenment jingling like it was happy to find a new master. 
Before Sato could protest, the spirit shouted a forceful
incantation.  Tanaka's hand slapped against his forehead. 
Instantly, a flood of images, techniques, concepts, and truths
flashed before his eyes.  Sato trembled, his body stiff and his
mouth frozen in a silent scream as his mind was overwhelmed by a
massive influx of information being forced into the very depths
of his consciousness.

     A moment later, it was over.  Sato slumped back unconscious.
     "Now you know everything I know," Tanaka said with a
satisfied smile as he draped Sato's limp body with the warm
blanket once again.  "I leave the clan in your hands, brother. 
Guide them well.  Do not let us die."
     Without another word, he turned and stepped through the door
leaving behind a lone unconscious figure in a deserted shrine.

*****#####*****

     The sound of something buzzing near her ear greeted Nabiki
as the world slowly reasserted itself.  Besides the odd noise,
she felt all warm and comfortable.  More comfortable than she'd
felt in some time.  What happened before felt like little more
than a bad nightmare.
     If it weren't for the soreness in her body, she might have
concluded it was all just a dream. 
     Swatting away the annoying insect, she tried sitting up,
hesitating when she noticed she was once again wearing the
clothes she had worn into the Village of the Cold Moon.  How she
came by the clothes since the battle, she couldn't say.
     "So, you're finally awake," came a woman's voice from
somewhere nearby.
     Nabiki rolled over and sat up before searching for the
source of the voice.  She was in no hurry.  There had been enough
surprises for one day.
     The field of flowers she was sitting in was on a gentle rise
sloping upwards towards a small clump of trees.  Squinting in the
bright sun, she easily located who had spoken to her.
     A beautiful young woman, probably not much older than
herself - certainly no older than thirty or so - stood just up
hill from her.  Wearing a bright-colored kimono of reds and
yellows, her hair done up as if going to a festival, the woman
stood with her hands clasped together in front of her.
     "Welcome, Nabiki Tendo, Elder of the clan," the woman said
with a respectful bow.
     "That's Tendo-Lawrence," Nabiki corrected, wincing as she
moved her tired legs.
     "Of course," the woman replied with an amused little smile.
     "Where am I?"  
     The woman drew a deep breath.  "This is a realm between the
mortal world and the domain of our ancestors.  Consider it a
dimensional engawa, if you wish."
     Nabiki chuckled before she had to cover a cough with her
hands as she tried to stand.
     "You have been in a terrible fight, my elder," the woman
said with genuine concern as she reached for Nabiki's arm.  "Let
me help you."
     It took a moment to get Nabiki on her feet.  Standing, she
felt like she was towering over the much shorter woman.  What she
had heard about early Japanese must be true, they were much
shorter than the modern version.
     "Come," the woman said, indicating the way up towards the
clump of trees.  "The others await us there."
     Nabiki followed the woman, her body protesting every step. 
Her feet, now confined in her dress shoes, swished through the
almost knee-high grass.  She could only imagine what it was doing
to her expensive pantyhose.
     It probably took longer than it should have due to Nabiki's
struggle to get her tired legs to do her bidding but they
eventually reached the trees where another surprise awaited her.
     "Nabiki!" came Akane's call as she hurried through the grass
to her sister's side.  "You're okay."  The last sounded more like
an exclamation of relief than a simple observation.  
     All Nabiki could do was nod and smile tiredly.  She was
relieved to see her sister still alive, if wandering about the
realm of the dead could be considered alive.
     "This place is really cool," Akane gushed as she led Nabiki
the rest of the way.  "Isn't it beautiful?  And this is just a
small part of the realm.  They really live over there."  Akane
indicated a sea of trees on the opposite side of the rise.  The
dense forest was punctuated by gentle valleys, meandering streams
and occasional clearings where telltale smoke indicated
settlements.  Fluffy white clouds dotted a deep blue sky
overhead.  It was a truly idyllic setting, even to a city girl
like Nabiki.
     She allowed herself to be guided by her sister to the grove
of trees where a small welcoming committee awaited them.  As they
got closer, it became easier to see details of the gathered
women.
     All were about the same age as the one she met earlier,
about thirty or so.  They were also quite attractive.  So much
so, she was certain they would have had the attention of many
young men back in her world.
     "These are the clan's elders," Akane said like she was
introducing a group of her friends.  "They're really nice."
     Nabiki scanned the semi-circle of women, all wearing
brightly colored festival kimonos, before acknowledging them with
a bow.  The only difficulty with her bow was she couldn't
determine how respectful to make it.  A lifetime of experience as
to just how much honor to extend someone in greeting seemed to go
out the window when faced with the prospect of honoring what had
to be several generations of clan elders.  
     Her bow ended a little deeper than she intended.  To her
relief, no one seemed to mind.
     "We are honored by your presence," the woman wearing a
bright green and gold kimono said.  "But there is one missing."
     Nabiki glanced at all in attendance.  It took her a moment
to notice that Sodoshi was not with her.  A chill ran through her
body.  She tried to think back to the last time she saw her
daughter's spirit guardian.  Could something have happened to the
stalwart Sodoshi?
     "Summon the guardian," the first woman said to another who
was standing behind her like a servant.
     With a clap of the servant's hands, the familiar figure of
Sodoshi Tanaka shimmered into their presence.  Silently, the girl
dropped into a feudal posture of submission, down on one knee
with her opposite fist planted firmly in the thick grass.
     "There, now everyone is present," the first elder said with
a satisfied expression.
     Nabiki looked back over her shoulder at the mountains in the
distance.  Not everyone was here.
     "Your husband's spirit has returned to the mortal realm,"
another elder said as if she could read Nabiki's thoughts.
     A warm feeling settled over Nabiki.  Jeffrey was safe.  That
meant more to her than even the freeing of her ancestors from the
General's tyranny.
     "For what you have done, there is little we can offer as a
reward," another elder said.  Her expression was something Nabiki
had seen on old Mrs. Suzuki when the woman felt like her efforts
were inadequate.
     Nabiki didn't know what to say.  She didn't enter the cave
with the thoughts of reward in mind.  Rescuing her husband was
all she wanted.  Now that he was safe, everything else seemed
trivial.
     "What about our fox friends?" Akane asked before she
realized what she had said and reacted with an embarrassed
grimace.
     "The three who brought you here?" the first elder asked.
     Akane nodded but never looked at any of the elders.
     "The fox creatures have been hostile to our people for
centuries.  Why you would befriend such as them is beyond us," a
regal-appearing elder said with a sour expression.  She stood
slightly apart from the others.
     "Perhaps it is because we treated them as individuals and
didn't judge them by what their ancestors did," Nabiki replied. 
Something in what the elder said struck close to home.  
     There was a long silence as the elders exchanged prolonged
looks.  Nabiki couldn't be sure but it seemed as if some sort of
communication was taking place, communication that didn't include
her.
     For what felt like an eternity, the silence was broken only
by sounds of chirping birds and the wind rustling through the
trees.  Finally, the first elder nodded and turned to regard
Nabiki with a smile.  "You are truly wise, Nabiki Tendo," she
said with a nod.  "We were correct in our conviction about the
well-being of our clan in the mortal world."
     "Your three...," another elder began, appearing to struggle
with how to describe their former adversaries, "friends are back
in the mortal realm where they wish to be.  Their reward for
helping you in your endeavor is their freedom."
     "And they can stay there?" Akane asked with a hopeful smile.
     "Certainly."
     "And they can come back to pick up anything they've
forgotten?"
     "Uh... I suppose."
     "And they can visit whenever they like?"
     "Don't push it," the elder warned in a flat voice.
     Akane ducked sheepishly.  "She never learned when to shut
up," Nabiki mumbled under her breath.
     "I'll say," came an elder's voice in Nabiki's head.  Her
eyes scanned the assembled ancestors but couldn't determine which
one made the comment.  With a shrug, she admitted to herself that
she had to agree.
     Akane thanked the elders in a humble voice.  Quite a change
from her usual outspoken self.
     The head elder gestured towards Akane's midsection.  "As for
you, we can only say that your son will bring you great
happiness, Akane Tendo."
     Akane cast a worried glance at Ranma.  Like Nabiki, she
'changed' her last name when she married.  She fidgeted like a
child who wanted to say something but thought better of it. 
Ranma's pained expression didn't help.  "I... we thank our
honorable elders," she finally said, with a warning glance
towards her husband.
     "A boy?" Ranma asked, his expression changing to delight as
what the elder finally registered.  "I'm going to have a boy?"
     "Yes, young warrior," one of the elders said with an amused
little smile.  
     "Train him well," another added.  "With such a skilled
mother and his relationship to the current elder, he will be sure
to wed a suitable woman.  Hopefully, they will bear female
children and increase our clan's numbers."
     Akane looked at the elders with a strange expression.  "You
mean my son will not be able to be a full clan member unless he
marries a woman capable enough to be a shadow warrior?" 
     "Well..."  The elders exchanged glances again, as if seeking
guidance from each other.  "We are a kunoichi clan.  It goes with
the territory."
     "We WERE a kunoichi clan," Nabiki corrected before she had
time to think about what she was saying.  The reaction it caused
almost made her regret her sudden outburst as it caused the
elders to regard her with curious expressions.  Even Sodoshi
broke her submissive posture to frown her way.  "What I mean to
say is that times have changed.  The world has changed.  We must
change with it.  In the modern world, women can be most powerful
but working in conjunction with men, they can take on a whole new
level of power.  You saw the fruits of such a collaboration.  I
could not face the General alone.  Jeffrey was there by my side. 
Only by him channeling his spirit energy through me were we able
to win."
     Her words appeared to be having some effect.  Long looks
between elders confirmed they were discussing the issue.
     "What you say has merit.  However, we're curious about this
'new level of power'." one of the elders said.
     Nabiki glanced at Ranma and smiled to herself.  Time to blow
their little minds, she thought.
     Stepping towards a small table where a cluster of small cups
sat, Nabiki selected one and dipped a finger in the liquid it
contained.  Satisfied it was cold enough, she moved next to
Ranma.
     "Oh, no," Ranma groaned.
     "You will find this interesting," Nabiki said pouring the
liquid over Ranma's head.
     The elders gasped when the dark-haired young man standing
before them suddenly transformed into a red-headed woman.
     "Extraordinary!" one of them cried.  Her exclamation caused
Nabiki to cringe as verbal and telepathic communication collided
in her head.
     "Is this the magic of your modern age?" another asked.
     "Not exactly."  Nabiki lowered the cup and glanced at Akane
before continuing.  "It is recent... uh, discovery.  In any case,
this male can move freely among the population as a female.  Most
effective, ne?"
     All the elders nodded slowly.
     "And to think, this... female can father a child," another
gasped, a slender hand covering her mouth in a most Kasumi-like
manner.
     "I hate this," Ranma-chan grumbled just loud enough for
Nabiki to hear.
     "Shut up, you fool," Nabiki hissed back.  "I'm making a
point."
     There was another round of glances among the elders before
one cleared her throat to speak.  "Impressive," she said.  "That
is truly a remarkable ability."
     "And he can do it anytime he wants," Nabiki added with a sly
grin as she looked at Ranma-chan.  "Can't you?"
     "Yeah, and sometimes when I don't --" Further words were
suddenly cut off when both sisters leaped to clamp their hands
over her mouth.
     "Of course he can," Akane said with a forced smile of
confidence.  Ranma-chan's grumbling behind her hand could barely
be heard.
     "Is he... I mean, is she...?"  The elder paused, trying to
sort out just how to describe such a person as Ranma.  "Do you
mean to tell us this person can be a female AND father a child?"
     Nabiki began to answer and then paused, a thought occurring
to her.  She leaned over to regard her sister with a curious
expression.  "We're sure he's the father, right?"
     "Of course," Akane snapped.  "I'm sure it happened that
night we used the furo and..."  She yelped and covered her own
mouth.  Ranma-chan groaned and hung her head.
     "What is it with my sisters and the furo?" Nabiki yelled. 
"You guys go at it like rabbits whenever there's water involved."
     "I can't help it," Akane yelled back.  "That's the only room
in the house where nobody will bother us."
     Ranma-chan whimpered and started to edge away when Nabiki
removed her hand to confront her sister.
     "You've never heard of a love hotel?  Get a room."  Without
looking she reached out and snagged her gender-switched brother-
in-law by the collar.
     "It's not my fault!  We heard all the fun Kasumi and Tofu
were having and..."  She suddenly stopped, covering her mouth
with both hands, her eyes wide at the revelation.
     "BOTH OF YOU?" Nabiki gasped.  "When did my home become a
bad episode of 'Sex in the City?'"
     "It's not your home anymore," Akane replied with a huff as
she crossed her arms.  "You moved away."
     "Not until I got married!"
     "Yeah, so?"
     One of the elders attempted to interrupt but that just
earned her an irritated response from the bickering sisters.
     "WHAT?" they yelled.
     "Just because we're dead doesn't mean we've got all day," an
elder grumbled.
     "Fine," Nabiki snapped before turning to her sister.  "We'll
discuss this later."
     "Count on it," Akane hissed back.
     Another elder came to the rescue.  "All that aside, do you
do you think this... uh, man - or woman, as the case may be -
would look favorably on clan membership?"
     "I don't know..."  Still smarting from her argument with
Akane, Nabiki paused long enough to draw glances from both her
sister and Ranma-chan.  "Why don't you ask him... er, her?."
     "Well?" the elder asked.
     Ranma-chan adjusted her collar.  "If it means I get to learn
the same things as Akane, yeah, I suppose."
     "Don't sound so enthusiastic," another elder said with a
disgusted expression.  "It's an honor to be asked."
     Ranma-chan shrugged.  "If you say so."
     The elders turned to Nabiki with concerned frowns.
     "Hey, don't look at me.  You asked him," Nabiki said in
protest.
     "True enough," another of the elders said with a peremptory
gesture the red-head's way.
     A flash of light flared in front of Ranma-chan causing
everyone to shield their eyes.  When it died away, an amber
amulet on a silver chain dangled over her breasts.
     "What's this?" Ranma-chan asked, gingerly fingering the
still-glowing talisman.
     "Your symbol of clan membership," another elder said with an
are of great importance.  "As you are now a member of our clan,
it is only right that you wear our crest."
     "Uh, okay."  Ranma-chan rubbed the back of her head. 
"Thanks - I guess."
     "Don't mention it."
     "What's it do?"
     "Do?"
     "Yeah, like is it magical or something?"
     One of the elders sighed heavily and hung her head in
resignation.  She'd obviously never dealt with someone like
Ranma.
     "It has powers but you must learn how to control them before
they can be used," another, more patient elder said.
     "Oh."  Ranma-chan looked disappointed as she dangled the
tiny amulet in front of her face.  "Does it come with an
instruction manual?"
     "No."
     "Then, how do I --"
     Akane slapped a hand over her husband's mouth.  "He... I
mean, she...  WE thank you," Akane answered with an almost
genuine smile.  "He'll figure it out."
     Ranma-chan swatted her hand away.  "Whatever.  Can we go
now?"
     "Go?" the elder asked.
     "Yeah, you know, as in 'go home'?"
     The elders sighed in unison.  "Sure, why not?"
     "Um, excuse me for asking," Akane said sheepishly.  "Just
how do we get home without our fox friends?"
     "Go down the hill and cross over the foot bridge," the
oldest-looking elder said as if it were something everyone should
know.
     "It will lead you to the Village of the Cold Moon," another
elder added.
     "From there, you are on your own," a third noted.  "Good
luck."
     Nabiki heard another elder mutter: "With a husband like
that, you're gonna need it."
     Ranma-chan obviously didn't hear the comment or chose to
ignore it.  She was fixated on getting home.  "Great, I don't
even have bus fare."
     "Come on, Ranma," Akane said, turning downhill.  "We'll work
that out when we get there."
     "I'll join you shortly and see you get home," Nabiki called
after the retreating duo.
     Everyone watched them until they were just specks in the
field of flowers.  
     "They are a most unusual pair," one of the elders noted.
     "Especially the boy," another added.
     "Ranma takes a little getting used to," Nabiki replied with
a chuckle.  "But when rebuilding a clan, you have to start
somewhere."
     There was a light rumble of approval from the elders before
one turned to the patiently waiting Sodoshi.
     "Noble Tanaka Sodoshi," she began with a regal expression. 
The kunoichi remained in her submissive position, her head bowed,
but obviously holding on to every word.  "You acted with great
courage in aiding Elder Tendo in her quest.  Whatever
transgressions you may have perpetrated while alive are hereby
forgiven.  Your family awaits you in the village below."  The
elder indicated where thin streams of smoke could be seen
drifting upward from the green forest canopy.
     Sodoshi's reaction was to snap a surprised look at the elder
before gazing at the smoke.  "You mean, my father and mother...?" 
Her voice broke.  She swallowed hard.  "My brother...?"
     "Yes, they await you in the village," the elder said in a
reassuring manner.  "You have earned your freedom."
     Sodoshi's eyes slowly left the place where her family waited
and turned to Nabiki.
     The pleading look in those eyes caused Nabiki to shudder. 
It was such a desperate expression of longing to see her family
again that Nabiki could do little but force a nod.  She felt a
tearing inside her when she did.  It was as if a part of her life
was ripping itself free.  She had few real friends.  In the short
time she had known Sodoshi, she felt like she had shared an
entire lifetime with the girl.  If she had lived, they might have
become fast friends.
     Sodoshi bounded to her feet and started towards the village,
bowing gratefully as she went.  The elders responded with a
series of return bows.  Eventually, one of the elders must have
tired of all the bowing.  Holding her back with one hand, she
swatted a 'go away' wave Sodoshi's direction and seemed to sigh. 
Obviously, proper etiquette could be a real pain in the back
sometimes.
     Sodoshi finally stopped bowing and started walking in
earnest towards her goal.  Her steps abruptly slowed and finally
stopped less than ten yards away.
     "What's the matter, child?" one of the elders asked.
     Slowly turning to look directly at Nabiki, the girl's
indecision was clear.  She stood rooted to the spot, breathing
heavily, an expression of anguish glued to her face.
     "What's wrong?" Nabiki finally asked when she couldn't take
looking at her friend's pained expression any longer.
     "This isn't right," Sodoshi gasped, her chest heaving like
she was about to break into tears.  "I... I made a promise."
     Nabiki knew what that meant.  In the battle with Fukoono,
Sodoshi Tanaka was thrust out of the fight with only one order:
act as guardian to Nabiki's child.
     The elders seemed to detect what was wrong.
     "Do you wish to do this?" one asked as if she didn't believe
it herself.
     "I have to," Sodoshi replied in a hushed voice.  "I have an
obligation that is not yet complete."
     There was more exchanging of glanced among the elders before
one turned to Sodoshi.  "We understand.  Resume your duties. 
Your place will still be here when you are ready."
     Sodoshi stood looking at the elders, gulping air as she
absorbed what she'd just been offered.  It was everything she had
ever wanted.  Everything except being alive again.  She looked at
Nabiki, her eyes fell away in shame at how she'd acted before.
     "You really are my best friend, Sodoshi," Nabiki said with a
painful smile.  She knew what the girl was giving up.  Despite
her friend's sacrifice, she was glad to have her back.
     Sodoshi slowly approached, her lower lip quivering slightly. 
When she was close enough, she suddenly grabbed Nabiki, hugging
her tightly to her body.  "I've never had a friend before.  I'm
glad to have you as my friend," she whispered.
     Hesitantly, her worried eyes still on the elders, Nabiki
lightly embraced Sodoshi.  It was probably the last time she
would ever get to do this.  Once back in the mortal realm,
Sodoshi would again be a ghost.  Her life would be absent such
acts of friendship.
     With a sniff, Sodoshi separated from her elder.  Bowing
deeply, she vowed to stay at her namesake's side until she was no
longer needed.
     "You must hurry, noble Sodoshi," one of the elders said. 
"Your young charge will be in need of your care."
     With another series of grateful bows, Sodoshi edged her way
down the hill.  The elders responded a few times before the same
one that waved her off before sighed and snapped her fingers. 
With a 'pop', Sodoshi disappeared.
     "There's such a thing as too much respect," the elder said,
adjusting her kimono.
     "No arguments here," Nabiki added, her arms crossed as she
stared at the spot where Sodoshi vanished.  "I trust she's back
home now."
     "Naturally."
     "Good.  I guess that wraps things up here.  I better be on
my way."  Nabiki bowed once and turned to leave.  As idyllic as
this place might be, it wasn't meant for someone alive who had
family waiting for them.
     "Isn't there some reward we can give you?" one of the elders
asked.
     Nabiki paused and thought carefully.  Her husband's spirit
was back in his body, Ranma and Akane were on their way home, and
Sodoshi was back watching her namesake or tormenting Commander
Wilde - whichever appeared to be the most fun.  She was strange
that way.  "I've accomplished what I set out to do.  In the
mortal realm I have everything I will ever need.  I can't think
of any..."  Her voice trailed off as her eyes rose to take in the
distant mountains, the realm of outcasts.  There was only task
remaining.
     She slowly turned back to the elders.  There was something
they could do, something that should have been done long ago.
     "Yes?" another elder prompted.
     Nabiki swallowed as she tried to fit her desire into words. 
"There is one thing.  I wish you to grant freedom for our clan
member imprisoned in the realm of outcasts."
     There was a long pause as if the elders were either
considering her request or were too shocked at it they were
speechless.  Nabiki began to wonder if she had asked the
impossible or violated some unwritten law.
     "Are you sure this is your only wish?" an elder asked like
she couldn't believe what she had heard.
     Nabiki just nodded.  She couldn't think of anything else to
add.
     "That is all that was ever required," an elder said.
     "All?"  Nabiki didn't understand what they meant.
     "The one trapped in the realm of outcasts could only be
pardoned if an elder desired it.  We could not ask for such as
honor would not permit it.   But you, a new elder with no link to
her crime, could."  With that, the elder clapped her hands and
held them up as if imploring the realm to give up the trapped
spirit.
     A low rumble echoed across the valley between the gathered
elders and the mountains.  The wind rose and whipped around those
assembled in the grove.  Nearby trees hissed and swayed.  Nabiki
watched as the mountains slowly changed colors, from gray-brown
to deep amber.  With another rumble that made the earth beneath
their feet tremble, the amber color covering the mountains merged
into a single glowing ball that hovered for a moment before
streaking across the valley directly towards the assembled
elders.
     Nabiki glanced at the elders as the ball of light
approached.  Since none of them expressed the slightest hint of
fear, she concluded whatever it was, it presented no danger.
     As the glowing ball of light drew closer, it slowed and
shrank in size until by the time it reached the elders, it was no
larger than Nabiki.
     Silently, it pulsed in the presence of the elders, hovering
inches off the ground.  When the elder who had summoned it
nodded, it flared so brightly it caused Nabiki to shield her eyes
with an arm.
     In an instant, it disappeared.  What it left behind, caused
Nabiki's jaw to drop.
     Kneeling on the ground in a submissive manner before the
elders was a kunoichi wearing a most unusual outfit.  
     A dark red hood covered the girl's head, leaving an opening
for only her eyes.  Long leather gloves trimmed in amber
fasteners covered her arms up to her elbows.  Supple leggings
blended with her tabi and extended to mid-thigh.  Those were odd
enough.  What else she wore, or almost wore, caused Nabiki to
blush.
     With less material than usually seen on a typical Hawaiian
beach, the girl appeared practically naked.  A thin, flexible
material barely covered her ample breasts, wrapping itself around
her torso and extending to a string bikini bottom that showed
more than Nabiki thought dignified - even if the girl had a body
to pull it off.
     Unfazed by the kunoichi's attire, an elder stepped forward,
an amulet dangling from her fingers.
     "A clan elder has asked for your clemency.  It is so
granted.  Your misdeeds of the past are forgotten.  No one shall
speak if them again."  The amulet flared for a moment before
disappearing.  With a flash of amber light, it reappeared on its
golden chain around the kunoichi's neck.
     A slight tremble rolled through the girl's body before she
dropped to both knees, her forehead pressed into the soft grass. 
With a choking voice partially muffled by the ground, she
stumbled through her response.  "I... I thank you, my elders."
     "Thank not us.  Your freedom was requested by another," the
elder said, indicating Nabiki with her hand.
     The girl peeked at Nabiki before quickly turning on her
knees to prostrate herself at Nabiki's feet.  "I humbly thank
you, wise elder, for your generosity.  I am yours to command."
     Nabiki shuffled her feet and rocked over onto one leg.  "You
know, this is really embarrassing," she said, casting worried
looks at the other elders.  "Why don't you stand up?"
     The girl hesitated, as if she didn't understand or suspected
it was some sort of trick.  "Stand?"
     "Yeah, you know."  Nabiki gestured with both hands.  "Like
on your feet.  I don't like talking to the back of your head."
     With more worried glances at the other elders, the girl
slowly stood up.  Her eyes remained averted, her hands at her
side and her shoulders slumped.
     "There, that's better," Nabiki said with a tiny smile.
     The girl's reaction to her gesture was to bow a couple of
times, each one lower than the last.
     "And stop with the bowing and scraping.  It annoys me,"
Nabiki said, crossing her arms.  Respect was one thing but this
girl was taking it too far.
     Halting in mid-bow, the kunoichi tilted her head and cast a
worried look at her benefactor.  The girl also had beautiful
eyes.  It was easy to see why someone would fall in love with
such a person.
     "And take off that mask.  I like to see the person I'm
talking to," Nabiki demanded.
     With an embarrassed nod, the girl did as she was ordered. 
When the last binding came free, she pulled the hood off. 
     "You... you look like me," Nabiki gasped.  Every detail of
the girl's face, right down to its framing hair style was like
looking into a mirror.
     Her reaction was shared by the girl.  "How is this
possible?"
     Nabiki gently reached for the girl's face.  Her fingers
brushed a stray strand of dark brown hair from the girl's
forehead before gently tracing around her eye and down her cheek. 
It felt weird, like touching her own face on the body of someone
else.
     "Yuki Tanaka is from one of the oldest families in our
clan," one of the elders said.  "Her family tree was large and
had many branches.  One of those branches survived the early
blood hunts because they didn't live with the rest of our clan. 
To protect themselves, they hid several of their children among
distant relatives.  One of those children was your mother."
     Nabiki jerked her hand away from the girl's face.  If what
the elder said was true, the crime of Yuki Tanaka was her's as
well.
     "Not so, child," another elder said as if she could read
Nabiki's mind.  "You are not a Tanaka.  That line ended when your
mother married.  As was the custom, she no longer existed to her
family.  You are a Tendo and not subject to whatever curses may
lay upon the Tanaka name."
     "You got that right," came a strong male voice from further
down the hill.
     "Ah, brother Akikazu.  It is good to see you again," said an
elder who had been silent throughout Nabiki's presence.  "I trust
that your appearance says that the last of our people have
crossed over?"
     Akikazu Tanaka trudged the remaining distance as easily as
if it were level ground.  "I guess so."  He paused to scan the
skies and drew a deep breath.  "Have you noticed how many
different kinds of birds we have here?  I hope we have some
ducks.  I like ducks."
     The elders exchanged looks.  Nabiki couldn't be sure but it
appeared they thought something was wrong.
     "Brother Akikazu, are you all right?" one of the elders
asked.
     "Never better."  He smiled at the elder, who actually looked
younger than him.  "Are you seeing anybody at the moment?  You
have the most beautiful eyes."
     The elder blushed and took a step backwards, her hands
covering her face.
     Another elder, one more stern than the others, stepped
forward and frowned as she peered into his eyes.  "Tell us,
Brother, what happened before you passed over?"
     Akikazu shrugged.  "Not much to tell.  When the word came
that our current elder had vanquished the evil warlord, I opened
the shrine, watched the stranded spirits of our people pass
through, I transferred my knowledge to a nice young man, I made
sure I was the last and then I passed through the shrine and
found my self here."
     "YOU DID WHAT?" the elders yelled together.
     Akikazu slapped his arm.  "Bugs.  You have bugs here.  I was
certain the afterlife did not include bugs."
     "You gave a way ten generations of knowledge about our most
secret techniques to a complete stranger?" the stern elder
growled.
     "He seemed like a nice young man," Akikazu said with another
shrug.
     "Is that all you know about him?"
     "He helped seal and unseal the shrine.  What more did I need
to know?"  The former Shinobi master plucked another bug off his
sleeve.
     "Sisters, it is well known that using one's ki to transfer
knowledge from one person to another can sometimes lead to loss
of both long-term memory AND parts of the donating person's
personality," another elder noted.  
     "Like a lobotomy," Nabiki mumbled as she watched the former
master of the Cold Moon Clan pick a flower and smell it.
     "Fortunately, it is only temporary," another elder said. 
"While his knowledge of our techniques are gone forever, his
memories and personality will eventually return."
     They all watched as Master Tanaka picked up a toad and tried
to hold a conversation with it.
     "In the mean time," the more serious elder said with a sigh. 
"Perhaps he should be taken to his new home for a... rest."  She
motioned to the younger woman who before summoned Sodoshi.
     As the woman took Akikasu's arm, Nabiki felt it necessary to 
confirm who he donated his knowledge to before they dealt with
his infirmity.  "Uh, Brother Tanaka, did this person have a
name?"
     Akikazu scratched his head, his fingers skimming through
closely cut hair.  "It's hard to remember.  Funny, isn't it? 
Soon after I transferred my knowledge, I felt holes appear in my
memory."
     "Was his name Sato?" Nabiki pressed.
     "Yes, I believe it was," the man replied with a smile.
     "You know this man?" one of the elders asked.
     "He is my husband's mentor, an outcast from his own clan who
defied even the grand council to defend us."
     "He is Shinobi?"
     "Very much so."  Nabiki looked between Akikazu and the
elders.  "He has even been training my sister."
     "I see," another elder said.  "My sisters, if he accepted
Master Tanaka's gift, he now bears the mark of a Cold Moon
Master.  No other clan will have anything to do with him."
     "Then I wish him to also be considered for clan membership,"
Nabiki said.
     "Under the circumstances, I don't see how we can refuse,"
the stern-looking elder said with a frown.  She obviously didn't
hold with the idea of 'taking in strays' as a way of increasing
clan numbers.
     It had the opposite effect on Nabiki.  Her spontaneous
request made her feel warm all over.  Claiming Master Sato for
the clan was the right thing to do.  She was certain of it.
     The elders exchanged looks, as if they were polling each
other to reach a consensus.  One finally looked directly at
Nabiki, her eyes glowing slightly.  "If this is your wish, so
shall it be."  With a clap of her hands, a small amber ball of
light appeared before her.  It hovered only a moment before
darting off down the hill, disappearing in the distance.
     "It is done.  Masaake Sato, clan ronin, is now and forever a
Master of the Cold Moon Clan."  The elder's declaration was
answered by a long, low rumble that seemed to come from
everywhere at once.
     As the sound died away, Nabiki again turned to her twin.  "I
suppose it was you who was throwing all those rocks in the cave."
     Yuki grimaced and nodded as her chin dropped.  "How long I
wanted to fight back.  The General had learned how to cage my
power and use it for his own purposes.  When you distracted him,
his power over my spirit loosened enough for me to act."  The
girl's face grew a little smile that was every bit as crooked as
Nabiki's.  "It felt good to fight again."
     "I'll bet," Nabiki replied.  "Those two rocks you threw past
my head really saved my life."
     Yuki blinked and added a confused frown.  "I didn't throw
those rocks."
     "Well, if you didn't, who did?"
     With a shake of her head, the kunoichi lowered her eyes
again.
     "No matter, I guess," Nabiki replied, taking Yuki's hand in
her own.  It felt warm and alive.  "I hope the elders will allow
you to a chance to see my world.  It has changed quite a bit in
four hundred years."
     Both looked at the gathered elders, silently imploring them
for permission.
     "Once a year the people welcome back the spirits of their
ancestors," one of the elders said.
     "The Bon Festival," Nabiki answered.  She never particularly
thought much about the festival for the dead, instead seeing it
only as a time to party.
     "If you follow the traditions, I'm certain Yuki will be
happy to visit you," another elder said with a nod.
     Yuki favored Nabiki with a broad smile.  "I would like to
visit and see how our clan has survived.  And..."  She paused to
blush slightly.  "I think I would like to see you again."
     "Then it's settled.  Oh, just one thing."  Nabiki waved a
hand at Yuki's attire.  "You might look into wearing something
less revealing.  You wear that getup around some of the men I
know and you'll have more attention than you want."
     The two giggled together.  It felt good to laugh again.  It
had been too long for Nabiki.  Lately life had proven to be
overwhelming.  She knew she needed to step back a little more and
spend more time with her family.  Business could wait.  There
were more important things in her life now, like her daughter. 
She wondered how she was going to make it up to the little girl
for missing so much of her life.
     One of the elders motioned for the woman escorting Akikazu
to proceed.  As they walked away, the woman yelped and jumped
away from the chuckling former master of the clan.
     "Obviously, the old lecher is going to take a lot of work." 
The gathered elders hummed their agreement, broken by the sound
of the young woman yelping again, followed by a loud slap.
     "Sounds to me like somebody already discovered how to handle
him," Nabiki noted with a wry grin.  The elders just exchanged
looks.  She could almost hear their psychic-laughter.
     "Yuki, your family is waiting for you in the village," one
of the elders said as if she was growing tired of the whole
meeting.
     The kunoichi nodded and bowed once more to Nabiki and then
to the elders before walking briskly towards her family and new
home.  Nabiki watched her go, noting how her firm, bare buttocks
rippled when she walked.  It reminded her that she needed to hit
the aerobics classes extra hard when she got home.  She'd been
neglecting her body as well as her family and that would not do. 
Jeffrey would certainly notice - not that he'd ever say anything. 
He was too smart for that.  Still, as she watched Yuki crest the
hill, she vowed to duplicate her twin's physical condition - for
Jeffrey's sake as well as her own.  She might even look into
getting a duplicate of the girl's outfit - for that vacation she
was going to take him on.
     Drawing a deep breath to clear thoughts of her ambushing
Jeffrey like a sex-crazed ninja, Nabiki again faced the elders. 
"I guess I better be going."
     "I will show you the way, Sister Nabiki," the elder who
first found her said.
     After a short round of bows, Nabiki and the elder set off
down the hill.  They hadn't gone far before Nabiki's curiosity
got the best of her.
     "I wonder if it would be proper to ask your name," she said
without looking at the woman.
     "Of course," the woman said.  "I am Aiko Ogata, elder from
the time when Oda Nobunaga was Shogun."
     Nabiki thought back to her high school classes on Japanese
History.  She wasn't sure but that would date the woman to about
the late 1500's.  That gave her an odd feeling.  To be walking
with someone born centuries before herself was really weird.
     "I was the last elder before the blood hunts," Aiko said as
if it was nothing special.  To be the last to die of natural
causes was certainly unique among her sister elders.
     "Oh," Nabiki sighed.  "It's too bad I couldn't open the
monk's cave earlier and spare everyone such pain and sorrow."
     "The monk's cave?" Aiko asked with a bemused expression. 
"Do they still believe that old wives' tale in your time?"
     "What?" Nabiki asked, jerking to a halt.
     "The tale about a traveling monk disappearing.  Surely,
you've heard it."
     "Heard it?  I lived it.  It cost the life of Sodoshi
Tanaka."  Nabiki couldn't believe what she was hearing.
     Aiko covered her mouth with both hands.  "Oh, I'm so sorry. 
It was supposed to stop the killings, not cause death for
anyone."
     "Well, it did," Nabiki snapped.  "What do you mean by wives'
tale, anyway?"
     "It was a ruse.  I was very old at the time Yuki Tanaka...
well, when she did what she did.  I knew the betrayal of the
clans by one of our people would cause much death and sadness.  I
wanted to prevent that so I invented a story about a traveling
monk and his prophecy.  We picked out a suitable cave and sealed
it.  One of the other elders placed a spell on the rocks to
resist its opening until a cold moon rose.  I even left a scroll
in the cave with some poetry on it."
     "YOU left that scroll?"
     "Yes.  Did you see it?"
     "See it?  Sodoshi read it to me."
     "Pretty good poem, huh?"
     Nabiki stared at the elder for a moment before resuming her
trek down the hill.  "Don't give up your day job."
     Aiko scurried after Nabiki.  "I thought it was pretty good. 
I got it from some old samurai who lived nearby.  He insisted it
was one of his better poems."
     "Look, it took four hundred years to open that cave.  After
all that time, people expect to find something better than some
cheap Chinese fortune cookie philosophy."
     "It was all I could think of," Aiko whined.  "We were
pressed for time and I had to come up with something in a hurry
or there wouldn't be anything in the cave."
     Nabiki considered what it must have been like when her
people were anxiously trying to avoid the impending carnage. 
"Well, it could have been worse.  It could have been a dirty
limerick or something."
     "Brother Tanaka was ready to substitute a tasteless haiku
about a sexually active man living in a world of women.  His was
really dumb."  Aiko made a face and shook her head.  "Mine was
much better."
     Nabiki groaned and rolled her eyes.  A trick.  The whole
episode was just some cheap Shinobi trick meant to confuse and
possibly deflect impending retribution from the other clans.  She
vowed not to tell Sodoshi the news.  It would kill her - again.
     At the base of the slope, they came to a small footbridge
across a meter-wide fast flowing stream.  It looked cool and
inviting and sounded so restful.
     "This is as far as I can go," Aiko said, holding her hands
together in front of her.  "Once you cross over, follow the path
into the woods and you will come out in the forest above the
shrine.  You cannot turn back, the way will be closed behind
you."  When Nabiki nodded, Aiko smiled.  "Don't worry, my friend,
when the time comes you will be welcomed back."
     Nabiki chuckled and shook her head.  "I don't know.  I think
I'd be happier in a big city."
     "If that is your wish, that will be your world in the
afterlife.  Each of us picks in our life that what makes us the
most comfortable and when we die, we go on to inhabit that world. 
If a busy city of your era is where you desire to live, that is
what you will get."
     Nabiki thanked Aiko and stepped onto the bridge.  It wasn't
a long structure, only a couple of meters long.  But by the time
she reached the other side, she chanced a look back.  Aiko was
gone, there were no elders under the trees at the crest of the
hill, and no smoke ascended from the forest beyond.  It looked
like Aiko was right.  She couldn't go back because there was
nothing for her to return to.
     Drawing a deep breath, she adjusted her suit jacket and
stepped onto the dirt path.  A cool breeze surrounded her as she
entered the woods, the tall trees blocking out enough light to
give the feeling of twilight.  It caused her to shudder and hug
herself as she walked a little faster.  Alone in strange woods at
night was no place for a single woman, even in Japan.
     Phantoms of her mind were just beginning to assert
themselves, almost causing her to break into a run, when she
stepped out of the woods exactly where Aiko said she would.  She
paused a moment to catch her breath and looked back the way she
had come.  The morning sun had just begun to assert itself, its
first rays penetrating the thick forest canopy and illuminating
the path enough for her to see it was nothing but an overgrown
trail offering little to fear to those who used it.
     With a deep sigh of relief, she turned back towards the
shrine.  Standing on the road at the bottom of the hill was
Ranma, Akane and Master Sato.  They appeared to be engaged in a
serious discussion and had not noticed her return.
     Just as well, she thought before threading her way down the
hill.  Her footing only slightly hampered by her now dust-covered
dress shoes.  She wasn't sure how much of their adventure they
would remember.
     "Nabiki!" her sister called when she reached the bottom. 
"We were beginning to worry."
     Nabiki endured her sister's exuberant greeting before
acknowledging Ranma, now strangely back in his male form.  She
wasn't sure how it happened but felt some odd satisfaction that
he wouldn't have to endure the form he found so distasteful until
they could find enough hot water.
     The sight of Master Sato caused her to pause.  He had
changed.  His hair was no longer white.  It was now a more
youthful dark black.  Even his beard bore only a few streaks of
white.  He looked thirty years younger, at least.  As odd as that
may have seemed, what really gave her pause was what he now wore
on her forehead.
     Like someone had taken a cold metal brand and punched it
into his forehead, leaving the symbol 'Fu', the word for
intellect in the Shinobi protection system.  He appeared to
suffer no ill effects from the branding, other than having a
highly distinctive mark on his face.
     "Are you all right?" she asked.
     "Never better," he replied in a voice that even sounded
younger than she remembered.
     "Akane?"
     Her little sister glanced at Ranma.  "We're fine.  How about
you?"
     Nabiki rubbed her shoulder and looked back up the hill at
the run-down shrine.  "I'm okay, I guess."
     She was fine, her sister was fine, and even Jeffrey was said
to be recovering back in Hawaii.  Everything turned out even
better than she could have hoped.  Accepting that, why didn't she
feel elated?
     Her eyes roamed over the wooded hill and down to the road
leading to the small town in the distance.  There was still the
obligation she had to her business associates back in Hawaii. 
They had trusted her to pull off a really big deal in Japan, a
deal she had totally blown.  It was going to be hard to return
empty handed.
     "It's sad that such a noble shrine should go untended,"
Master Sato said.
     "Yeah, it's hard to believe that four-hundred years ago,
where we are standing right now was a busy little village," Akane
added.
     "I think I would like to have seen that," Master Sato noted.
     Shrine?  Village?  Four hundred years ago?  Nabiki's mind
worked nimbly, weighing options and formulating a plan.  A smile
slowly grew as things began to add up.  "Master Sato, how would
you like to live here and tend the shrine?"
     The old man considered the question for a moment.  "There is
a school in that nearby town.  My granddaughter could probably
transfer there without any trouble."  He paused to look around. 
"I would have to scrape together something to live in."
     "What if I built you a home," Nabiki offered, her smile
growing as the last elements of her plan slipped into place.
     "I wouldn't want --"
     "It's not a gift, old man," Nabiki snapped.  "I always
expect something for my money."  
     "Of course," the old man replied with a hint of a smile. 
     "What are you thinking, Nabiki?"  Akane could be so
charmingly innocent at times.
     "Have any of you ever been to Iga-Ueno?  It's on the old
road between Nagoya and Osaka."  Nabiki smiled to herself when
Ranma and Akane shook their heads.  The gleam in Master Sato's
eyes told her he had already figured out where she was going. 
"They have a Ninja Museum there.  I understand it's pretty darn
popular.  They rebuilt a 'ninja house' and do guided tours all
year round."
     "So?  You want to build a museum here?" Ranma asked like he
didn't really think much of her idea.
     "Yeah, it's been done already," Akane added.
     "If all you want is a bunch of replica buildings with a few
guys dressed like ninjas hopping around, you're right.  I'm
thinking bigger."
     "Bigger?"  Akane's question only energized her.
     "I read about a theme park in the United States, somewhere
in Missouri, I believe.  They recreated an old-time mountain
village where they do crafts and stuff while seamlessly mixing in
an amusement park.  It's a huge hit during the tourist season." 
Nabiki grinned at her cleverness.
     "You're kidding," Ranma grumped.  "A theme park?  Out here?"
     Ranma's question never even slowed her down.  "Why not? 
We're less than an hour train ride from Tokyo.  Starting over
there," she waved an arm at the rest of the semi-wooded valley,
"we would build a theme park just like the one I read about.  And
over here, we could recreate something more traditional."
     "Traditional?" Akane asked.  "You mean like letting people
see what life was really like in an old ninja village.  Take them
back to 1600 Japan?"
     "You're kidding," Ranma grumped.
     "No, I think it's a cool idea," Akane exclaimed.  "And
Master Sato can be like the village head man, telling Shinobi
tales and managing the place."
     Master Sato stroked his beard, deep in thought.  He hadn't
yet agreed but seemed interested.
     "Naturally, his home would be outside the park and off
limits to tourists but he and his granddaughter would live here
all year round and could tend the shrine.  He could keep alive
the Shinobi traditions AND serve the Cold Moon Clan ancestors at
the same time."  Nabiki finished with an air of anticipation.
     "We could hire actors, artists, and craftsmen to recreate
all the aspects of an ancient village.  People will flock to the
amusement park and get to see how their ancestors lived, maybe
even learn something about the Shinobi as well."  Akane was
practically bobbing with excitement.  "We can build over there a
Geisha training house and demonstrate how kunoichi ninja learned
to imitate Geisha in order to infiltrate enemy strongholds.  They
could even do a traditional tea ceremony - a REAL tea ceremony,
not like the short-cut version we learned in school.  There could
be a blacksmith shop where ninja weapons were made.  We could
build ninja training devices and have actors demonstrate them for
the customers."
     "I'm not so sure the clan would approve turning their home
into an amusement park," Master Sato said with a worried frown.
     "You let me worry about that," Nabiki replied.  "What we've
got here is a gold mine."
     Like an idea just occurred to her, Akane almost jumped with
excitement.  "And I can continue to train with Master Sato. 
Naturally, if any customers see us, they will think it's all part
of the act.  As our clan grows, they can all come here for
training.   No one will be the wiser."
     "Hide in plain sight," Master Sato said, still stroking his
beard.  "I have to admit, the idea has merit."
     "I'll bet the nearby town will be thrilled with all the
commerce.  I know they'll like all the jobs.  This is a pretty
depressed region.  The tax bonanza alone would be worth it." 
     "I guess it would work," Ranma admitted.  "And we ARE a lot
closer to Tokyo than Iga-Ueno and people are always looking for
something new, we might bring in more than Tokyo Disneyland."
     "The school outing business alone would make us rich," Akane
added.
     "IF we do it right," Nabiki warned.  "I'll call Sean Gaffney
when I get back to the hotel.  He can get the ball rolling. 
Jeffrey's company is always looking for new investments.  With
his name on the project, it will be no trouble finding Japanese
partners."  Of that, Nabiki had no doubt.  She remembered how the
company she called on earlier reacted when they thought her
husband was behind her proposal.  Joining with his company wasn't
what her partners had in mind but after they got a look at the
profits such a plan would generate, she was certain they would
agree with her.
     "Very well," Master Sato said.  Drawing a deep breath he
looked up at the shrine.  "If it will help the clan and save the
shrine, I'm for it."
     Nabiki regarded him with a sly little smile.  "Then you're
one of us now."
     "I have little choice," Sato replied with a far away look. 
"Master Tanaka has set my path for me.  I cannot turn back."
     The two girls nodded their agreement.  Ranma, however,
examined Sato's altered appearance with a skeptical frown.  "Is
that real?" he finally asked, reaching for Master Sato's beard.
     Slapping his hand away, the old man never took his eyes off
the shrine.  "Don't touch the beard, kid."
     Akane giggled.  "He got you again, Ranma."
     "For now," Ranma replied, crossing his arms with a huff. 
"But someday, ..."
     The only response from Sato was one eyebrow rising as he
regarded the young man with a sideways look.  "Does this mean you
wish to become my student?"
     Ranma endured more of Akane's giggles and kicked at the
gravel road.  "Yeah, I suppose I do.  I mean, if SHE can do it, I
want to learn too."
     "Worried I'm better than you?" Akane said when she stopped
giggling.
     "No!"  Ranma bristled before recovering with another huff. 
"I just think the old man knows things now that the other guy
gave him all his knowledge."
     "Does our elder agree to this training?" Master Sato asked
with an expression that barely disguised his amusement.
     With a sigh, Nabiki regarded her brother-in-law with a look
he had seen many times before - especially when she was about to
make his life miserable.
     Ranma was ready for her.  "And I DON'T have any money."
     "Well..."  Nabiki paused long enough to watch his reaction. 
It was a predictably uneasy one.  "You're one of the clan now.  I
suppose we could offer training - at a reduced rate."
     Ranma groaned.
     "She's just kidding, Ranma," Akane replied with a knowing
grin.  "We can train together."
     "What about the dojo?"  Ranma's concern about their business
was admirable.  
     "We take Sunday's off," Akane said like she was considering
the situation.  "We can travel up here in the morning, train all
day, and be home that evening.  We can also take a week off, here
and there."
     "Then it's agreed," Sato said with a satisfied nod.  "I will
send word when I am ready."
     Ranma sighed.  "Fine.  Can we go now?  I'm hungry."
     "You haven't changed a bit," Nabiki said as she turned
towards the town.
     "Haven't you forgotten something?" Sato asked, causing the
three to stop and turn back.
     At first, Nabiki had no idea what he was talking about. 
When he held his hand out, her purse dangled from its strap. 
"It's fashionable but hardly my style."
     Nabiki relieved him of her property.  "It's also very
expensive," she growled, digging inside for her wallet.
     "Try the inside pocket," Sato offered.
     "I keep my cell phone there..."  Nabiki's shoulders sagged. 
With a sigh, she pulled out her wallet from the exact pocket he
noted.  "How did you know that?"
     Sato shrugged.  "Your cell phone is buried under your...
women's needs."
     With a growl, she dug deeper.  There under three tampax lay
her phone.
     "You left it on.  Your battery is dead."
     Snatching the phone from its hiding place, Nabiki rolled her
head in disgust.  "Oh, MAN!  I forgot to plug it in before I
left."
     "Would you care to use mine?" Sato said with a smile,
holding his phone out to her.
     Nabiki sighed again.  "It's going to be a long trip home."
     "Your trip, little one, will be as long as you wish to make
it."  Sato stared lovingly at the shrine again.  "For me, I'm
already home."