Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Nemesis_Zero Act 3: Shuffling the Deck of Fate Part 4 Pre-readers: Kpjam Aondehafka Recap of Last Chapter: Ranma returned victorious (and somewhat worse for wear), from his quest for the moss of life, though Nerima had changed subtly in his absence. He first encountered Ukyo in a state of undress disposing of an even less covered Mousse. Rather than investigate further on his assumptions, he chose simply to give the couple their shares of the moss as well as instructions to care for their associates. His next stop was the Tendo home, still showing signs of his previous week's adventures. He avoided the majority of the residents in favor of seeing Nabiki, whose services he needed to distribute the moss and to gather the appropriate people for a meeting at his home. After moments of romance, pain, lies, and childhood revelations, he finally left, hoping that Nabiki's affectionate teasing was only a joke. Finally, he arrived at his home, where Genma was trying to make sense of the three houseguests Ranma brought to Nerima: Shinosuke and his grandfather, as well as Kumon Ryu who was revealed as Ranma's cousin on his father's side. After resolving several separate arguments, one with the help of his recently acquired grandmaster status, Ranma finally went to bed. That evening a gathering was held in the Saotome home for all the fiancées, most of their family members, and even some assorted rivals. The topic of discussion was Ranma's declaration that in his view the burden of choice fell on the girls rather than himself and that if they didn't resolve the dispute by dawn he would end it on his own, through seppuku. The situation was somewhat simplified however by the Kunos' final acceptance that Ranma was indeed cursed, leading to their rapid departure. --%%%%%-- A veritable wall of sound, composed of a variety of tones and pitches, accosted his senses at maximum volume from every direction. It represented a selection of sounds and utterances, long and short, angry and distressed, booming and begging... all aimed at achieving a single purpose: thwarting his attempt to break free or die trying. "Not this time..." he whispered to himself, "I won't let you stall this out any longer. We're facing up to this now." Apparently his soft response, not intended for the crowd's ears, managed to quiet them with curiosity where a shout probably would have failed. One voice, a voice he had long ago learned to ignore, continued unabated. "Are you completely out of your mind, Boy?" Genma demanded. "Not at all, Pop," Ranma replied, keeping his tone fairly low. "I think I'm just finally putting it ta work is all." "There is no way this will work, idiot! Certainly not with these two fanatics," Akane gestured towards Ukyo and Shampoo, earning a low growl from the Amazon. "Just take back this stupid pledge of yours and I'm sure we can all just forget about it. Act like it never happened." "I ain't gonna do that," Ranma snapped. "Look, it seems to me that everyone in this room thinks they know better than me how I should live my life... tonight a few of ya get a chance to prove it." "Oh that's so you, Ranma," sneered the previously quiet Ryoga, "trying to make Akane the scapegoat for your own shortcomings... I won't stand for it!" "Fine," the formerly pigtailed youth said uncaringly. "Door's that way, pal. Feel free to leave anytime you want. In fact, who invited you here anyway?" "That would be you, Ranma," Nabiki answered without looking up as she continued scribbling furiously in a small notebook. Ryoga grinned. "That doesn't matter anyhow. The point is that you just got out of the hospital. Happosai didn't." Ryoga's grin faded as Ranma continued. "Heck, half the people in this room were injured in some way last week, and alla' that is my fault. But it's not just me. It's this situation, this damned mess of honor, love, and jealousy we're all caught up in. If it wasn't for all this I wouldn't have lost my control... and we'd all be better off. Even you, Ryoga." "But is no good Airen do too too rash thing," Shampoo chimed in. "Ask more than can be done in night, maybe ever!" "Give him a chance, Shampoo," Mousse interrupted, giving the girl reason to stare incredulously at him. "If Ranma's serious enough about this to put his life on the line then I say we owe it to him to give it an honest try. At least he's finally trying to fix things, after all." "Ya know, as things stand I wish I never went on that training trip in the first place," Ranma sighed, nodding at the unexpectedly helpful Mousse. "All of ya probably would have been better off if I never came and screwed up your lives. Heck, maybe I could have been happier myself if I was just another normal kid." "But we can't go back, Ranma," Ukyo said in a near whisper, finally finding her voice. "Good or bad, this is where we are. All we can do is try to forgive each other for our stupid mistakes, maybe find a way to work things out if we just take the time." "That's all I've done since this mess began, just waited for things to sort themselves out and tried to keep things under control. Can't you see that it's not working, that in fact it's just getting worse every day?" he asked apologetically. "How many people have to die before it gets resolved? If I have anything to say about it, just one more: me." "No one has to die, Boy... just pick Akane once and for all like we all know you want to and get it over with," Genma added. "Stop being so damned sanctimonious and end these other girl's pain. Enough of the drama already." Ranma answered the charge with an accusational glare and a low, throaty growl. Genma flinched. "Anyway," Ranma continued, "the time for talking ta me about all this is long past. Now the girls need to get together and start talking about the here and now, unless of course they really do want me dead. Why don't the three of you go on upstairs to my room, away from all these distractions." "I think I'll join them," Nabiki added, rising to her feet. "No, you no sway us talking," Shampoo complained. "You said yourself that this is pushing the impossible as it is, Shampoo," she answered. "Don't you think this would go a little smoother with a moderator to keep the discussion from just completely locking up?" "Moderators are supposed to be without bias though," Ukyo chimed in. "That hardly qualifies you." "What, you want me to lie?" Nabiki snapped. "Of course I'd prefer my sister come out of this happy... but I know it's fair to say that she'd be happier with him alive than dead if it came down to it. I promise I won't get in the way if the three of you end up picking someone other than Akane." "Shampoo agree... but also promise throw you out on butt if not fair." "Whatever," Ukyo sighed. "Let's just get this started already." Ranma watched the girls take their leave from the room before continuing. "Well, that's the end of the announcements for the evening. Feel free to leave or stay, as you wish. I'm going to go outside for a bit and get a little air. If anyone has anything else to say that doesn't involve undermining this decision... I'd welcome your company." --<>=<>-- Age was an excellent teacher of the virtue of patience. Good thing, considering the time it was taking Ryoga to finish his conversation with Ranma. Still, even she had her limits, and this was an important matter. "...so you've gotta tell her, man," Ranma insisted. "If you can do that I'll give ya my full blessings. Depending on how things work out, of course." "Well, maybe you aren't the jerk I thought you were," Ryoga replied. "Thanks, Pal." Cologne seized the opportunity to break in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, young man, but I've something to discuss with Son-in- law here that might not be able wait." "I was wondering why you were so quiet earlier. Have a seat," Ranma replied, staying carefully neutral. "You aren't here to try and dissuade me, are you?" "No, though I do believe this to be the stupidest action I've yet witnessed, youngling. If it weren't for current circumstances I'd be much freer to save you from this foolishness, but unfortunately for you that's not the case." "Glad we got that cleared up," Ranma smirked. She ignored his sarcasm; there were more important matters at hand. "I've been trying to put something of a puzzle together, and I think you might be holding several of the pieces. Tell me, how exactly did you manage to defeat the God-king of the Phoenix Tribe?" "Barely," he smirked, though she sobered him with a displeased glance. "We were battling in midair, mostly using these magic staves with powers based on fire `n ice. I scored a couple a hits but nothing I did seemed to keep him down. Even chopped off his wings, but he just grew `em right back." "That would be in keeping with what I know of him, yes," she replied, trying to stay neutral as well. It wouldn't do to have the boy learn that before the last few days she hadn't believed such a creature even existed... The Amazons' traditionally oral history tended more towards exaggeration than fact sometimes. "I had him easily beat in skill and conditioning, but it didn't amount ta much when I had to keep dodging blasts that blew holes through the mountain. That's where he made his mistake though," Ranma smirked, "kinda the same as Herb; he filled the whole area with so much lingering heat that I was able ta blast him with a massive Hiryu Shoten Ha, charging it through the ice staff to make it extra cold. Guess I owe ya for teaching me the technique, actually." Cologne smiled slightly. "Nonsense, son-in-law. I'm pleased you put my teachings to such creative use. Still that doesn't explain everything Mousse told me... how did you manage to overpower the phoenix's blast with a -downwards- moving Hiryu Shoten Ha? Why did he appear to be cut to ribbons when your attack struck?" "Um, yeah. about that," Ranma fidgeted, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, the answer to the first is partially Akane... she was immune to his blasts because of her condition, and she somehow managed ta physically punch a hole through it so I could see him. I think she just fell outta my shirt and I got lucky, but it was really strange how she felt hot allova sudden... well, your guess is probably better than mine on that count." "Fascinating," the elder replied. "As ta the rest, right at the end I found a reserve of strength I didn't know I had and really poured it all into one shot. Then I sorta tweaked the technique with a special attack pop invented... I'd tell you more but it's kinda a family secret." "Oh no, not entirely secret my boy," she cackled. "If my guess is right you demonstrated the technique to me shortly after I arrived in Nerima. You probably don't remember, though, seeing as how you weren't exactly yourself at the time." "What?" he asked, apparently playing innocent. "The nekoken, Ranma. I told you at the time that I'd seen it before. What I didn't tell you is that I'd never seen it with claws like yours... in fact I've never seen the like anywhere else. It gave me quiet a start when I realized you were somehow channeling raw ki, so much so that I realized I might not be able to beat you without killing you." "Huh? But I didn't learn the technique `till almost eight months ago." "Perhaps you simply didn't learn to consciously control it until then. Regardless, I realized that day that you were quite a special find indeed, a natural spiritual adept. The ease with which you've discovered new techniques since then only goes to prove it," Cologne explained, before suddenly becoming rather morose. "... at least I thought that was it until recently." "And why the change?" "Partially because I saw you change, lad," she replied cryptically. "Tell me, how long has your curse been acting... unusual?" Ranma paused for a moment before answering. "Well, I first noticed it the day after the fight in the gym. I tried ta change back into a guy but it was different... seemed ta take longer than normal, like it was fighting somethin'. Hurt like hell, too. It's been getting worse since then, but if I know I'm gonna change I can handle it." "Very troubling, especially combined with your outburst at the school," she confided. "I must admit I'm surprised anyone survived the outpouring of yin you unleashed there, son-in-law. I'm even more surprised it affected only our chi rather than dissolving us completely." "Good thing I woke up from that damn dream then," Ranma stated without humor. "I realized something was really wrong and just kinda forced it all up, burned the reaction out before it could finish I guess." "Dream?" "Yeah," he replied, looking away. "I was having these stupid recurring nightmares ever since Jusendo... there's this pale guy in a dark robe who keeps talking about teaching me and my destiny and stuff. Weird, huh? Last time I had it I decked him though, and I haven't had the dream since." She stumbled back slightly as images ran through her mind, dark illustrations and nervously written notes from a tome she'd not dared to consult in ages. This could be much, much worse than she originally thought. "This... man. Describe him for me, Ranma. I need details." "Well, it's kinda hard to remember... haven't had the dream for a few days now," Ranma stated with puzzlement. "I remember he was really pale and thin, like a corpse almost. He was wearing this dark robe, but I can't be sure what color it was... it kept changing. His eyes were the worst... he didn't really have any, just these spots of flame. Oh, and once he actually had a name: Narou Mizumei, I think. Pretty screwed up dream, huh?" "By the gods..." she whispered, fearfully. "I'll be back soon, Son-in... Ranma. Until then try to avoid changing, or any use of chi, or even sleeping for that matter." "Yeah, fine, whatever," he replied as she left, looking up towards the window of his room, "assuming it will matter tomorrow anyway." --#####-- "I just don't see where we can even begin to make any compromises," Akane admitted with exasperation. They'd been arguing for over three hours now, stating repeatedly the basis for their claims and why each thought hers was, of course, the strongest. "What could we possibly say at this point that would change the way we feel or that we don't know already?" "I don't know, but we've got to keep trying. There must be some way to make sense of all of this." Nabiki sighed, flipping back once again to the beginning of her notes for the evening. "We should just march right back down there and make Ranma say who he wants," Akane replied scornfully. "Otherwise we're just going to keep voting for ourselves all night long." "Shampoo agree. Is no good idea this thing. It no fix anything." "Well, we could make a rule that you have to vote for someone besides yourself," Ukyo offered. "Oh hell no," Akane replied heatedly. "If we did that it would be even more of a simple popularity contest that the first vote was!" "Look," Nabiki tiredly replied. "We've been over this already. Ranma clearly doesn't feel capable of making a choice, either because of his honor or for emotional reasons. He honestly doesn't seem to know what he feels beyond a general attraction and general friendliness towards all of you. Trust me on this... he told me so after the wedding, and I told this all to Ukyo earlier." "But he must have -some- preference," the younger Tendo complained. "It just isn't possible for us all to be completely balanced, what with how different we are and everything." "And how differently we treat him..." Ukyo added. "What the hell do you know, anyway?" Akane snapped. "It's not like you've suggested anything constructive. Heck, you've barely said a word all night!" "I stopped talking when I realized it was all pointless," the chef whispered in reply. "Hey, if you're ready to quit then just give your vote to one of us and get it over with," the most vocal girl snapped. "Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you, Sugar. Like I'd ever leave Ranchan to live out his days with your senseless beatings or under her institutionalized slavery." "Amazons no keep slaves!" "Yeah, sure... Mousse sure seems free to do whatever he pleases," Ukyo replied, but turned away afterwards with a grimace. "Girls, really," Nabiki interjected. "If you start arguing again we'll just end up wasting even more time. Let's try to keep a little focus here, okay? How about if we go back to taking turns speaking again?" Akane stood up and stretched, ignoring the others bickering. She just didn't have the strength left for a good argument anymore. "This would be so much easier if we just had some hint of how he feels. Why couldn't he do something sensible like writing a diary or something?" "Because if he had, I would have known about it," Nabiki admitted ruefully. "And Ranma wasn't stupid enough to think I wouldn't have read every page, and given half the chance the rest of you would have done the same. Besides, it wouldn't prove anything anyway... like I said." "This stupid room," Akane complained, kicking his rolled futon out of the way. "There's nothing in it that has any personality at all, nothing that even remotely says who lives here, much less what he really wants. Not one picture, or keepsake, or note, or anything." "What Violent Girl expect, big light-up sign say he love Shampoo?" said girl asked sarcastically. "He just move in, no time make comfortable yet." "Seriously though, the only difference between this room and the one he used to sleep in is that his father doesn't share it with him," Nabiki pointed out. "Well, it's a little cleaner and there are fewer dresses in the closet, but besides that, nothing. Ranma's quite the minimalist." "Minimalist, hell," Ukyo snapped. "He never had the money to buy anything with, on account of you." "Yes, let's all yell at the one person in the room who really has nothing to do with the important task at hand," Nabiki mocked. Ukyo said nothing, choosing rather to growl and turn away. Shampoo likewise suddenly found Ranma's backpack, already thoroughly searched twice over for any hints whatsoever, more engaging than the conversation. "Maybe we should take a break for a bit, get some fresh air and cool down a little," Nabiki suggested. "It certainly wouldn't be any worse than stewing in silence here." Akane glared at her opponents with open disgust as they sauntered out. If they would just stop being so annoyingly persistent they'd be able to admit that Ranma clearly cared more for her than them. She was the one he almost married, the one he stayed with, and the one he went to the greatest lengths to save. Heck, Ranma's family even backed her claim. It was the obvious choice. Why were they so completely unable to see it from her side? Did they really hate her so much that they would just let Ranma die rather than admitting that she was the only valid option? --&&&&&-- It was that time of night when time no longer seemed to matter, that great expanse between evening and dawn when the waking world shut down and a person could finally feel alone even in a city of millions. Rarely did Xian Pu find the occasion to experience the peculiar silence of the city at night, the strange barrenness of this concrete and steel landscape when the hustle and bustle cooled. Training and work kept her on a regular schedule, but those times when she could afford to stay up she loved to marvel at this stillness, a dark stasis that made her own home at night seem cacophonous by comparison. She sighed and took another sip of the strong western coffee her airen's mother had thoughtfully provided, enjoying the contrast between its heat and the air's cool, as well as the tingling sensation the drink gave her nerves. A faint horn blew in the distance, accompanied by the deliberate thrum of a passing late commuter train, reminding her that there was always someone else awake somewhere in this land. This was the third such break the girls had taken for the night, called by Nabiki on account of her sister's irrational declaration that they should just have a fight to resolve the issue. Well, actually it was her refusal to back down from the idea when the others balked that caused the communication to stall again. Xian Pu wasn't stupid enough to accept such an idea. Certainly she felt confident in her ability to defeat either girl under normal conditions, but this situation was far from normal and in this case her skill would be a detriment; it might give them reason to work together. Ukyo was a challenging opponent, but with the help of the usually negligible Akane (who already clearly preferred the chef's company to hers) she doubted if she could keep the upper hand. "Why do they hate me so much?" she wondered, not for the first time, as she rubbed her tired eyes. It wasn't just the situation, strained though it was, nor was it plain jealousy of her physical and martial superiority. It wasn't even restricted to just the rivals... some potential allies like Ryoga held a general condescending opinion of her for no good reason, too. Truth be told, most people in the city had the same look towards her; an attitude of smug superiority and an automatic distrust of her at first glance. The Japanese mindset seemed based, from her perspective, on a deeply held belief that they were just inherently better then everyone else. Since arriving here nearly two years ago she still had not made a single friend to just talk to and spend time with outside of `Mu-Mu' and Great Grandmother (who were both frankly useless in this regard) ...and of course Ranma. Mu Tsu thought Ranma was just as blatantly racist as just about everyone else, as he had tried to convince her several times. The poor male seemed unable to realize that it wasn't personal, that Ranma acted that smug towards -all- of his opponents as a means to break their focus. Elder Ku Lon had just the opposite problem... she was too biased in favor of Amazon culture to understand why Shampoo was even concerned by the Japanese feeling likewise. Ranma didn't much care for the rules of her society (not that she took it personally, as he didn't seem too keen on -any- rules), but he was still generally accepting of her opinions as not fundamentally less valid than any other person's. Perhaps it was his travels outside the country that allowed him a more accepting view, a more worldly perspective on social differences. Ranma's accepting and forgiving nature, especially when compared to the rest of his society, was one of the major points of attraction she held for the boy. Well... the non-physical ones, anyway. Of course, this trait wasn't entirely unique. Her newest Airen had, as far as she could so far tell, a similarly open perspective that was especially striking given his heartfelt adoption of traditional Japanese culture. Perhaps his studies of cultures outside his own had a similar effect to Ranma's travels? The boy was foolish and vain, even more so than Ranma, but perhaps in a charming way. No, she shook her head clear of such thoughts. She knew hardly anything about Tatewaki, barely an acquaintance in her time here. It was so utterly unfair that she was bound to him at such a crucial moment, tying her hands in the discussion at hand. Giving up on Ranma for his own sake was essentially the same as agreeing to marry the other young man, but winning the competition meant she still wasn't assured of ending up with him. Fate was just so cruel! A sudden shift broke her reverie, drawing her attention down to the yard below, long since abandoned by Ranma's visitors. Where before was only stillness, she now felt a presence... somewhere down below, unseen. She sharpened her vision, scanning the grounds with a concentration towards the trees in the far corner. Any interlopers would be personally dealt with. The slight feeling moved again, out of the trees into the middle of the yard, but still she saw nothing. She was almost convinced it was just her imagination when suddenly the air blurred as if heated, folding back upon itself to reveal the strange young man from earlier, whom Ranma asked to leave. She prepared to jump down and meet the trespasser when he collapsed to his knees, drenched in sweat and breathing rapidly as if exhausted. "Geez, Ranma," he asked between grasping breaths, "How do you... keep it up... so long?" "You must be out of practice, I guess," her beloved's voice answered before he appeared, again as if from nowhere, next to the man. He was topless and his skin also glistened with sweat in the moonlight. "The other versions of the technique aren't nearly as much fun, but if you want I can try to demonstrate them for you too." "Won't your dad be pissed when he finds out about this?" asked the camouflaged youth. "Ah, why would he care as long as we're discrete? It's still in the family..." Ranma's voice trailed off. He turned his face upwards to stare right at her. Shampoo nervously waved back, unsure of the situation. He leapt casually up to perch on the railing beside her. "Look, can I trust you to keep whatever you saw a secret? I'm trying to take care of some private business... family only kinda stuff. Understand?" Shampoo, asked, hesitantly, "Ranma... was no doing sex with other boy, right? Just misunderstand, yes?" "What!?" he squawked, nearly falling off the balcony. "Of course I wasn't!" "Whew, Shampoo sorry ask," she replied sheepishly. "Airen have habit of say wrong things, very bad luck. Shampoo no really think that, just check." "Look, I was just taking care of a debt of honor," he explained with frustration. "It's nothing like that, but it is something I'd prefer to keep secret." "Shampoo understand. Airen make sure all things okay if worst happen. Is good thing, even if no need," the Amazon replied. "Anyway, shouldn't you be inside talking with the others, Shampoo?" he asked, neutrally. "No, Money-Girl say take break after stupid Akane idea." She explained. "Great," Ranma sighed. "Airen no worry. Shampoo try extra hard convince them, be safe soon!" "Oh, I'm sure if there is a solution you girls will find it," he replied with false confidence. "Well, looks like the others are getting together in there, so you better get going. Oh, could you send Nabiki outside for a sec, downstairs I mean? I got something to take care of with her too, just in case." "Airen no sex Nabiki!" she complained with an exaggerated pout, causing his eyes to go wide. "Was joke! Airen too, too easy upset." She went back in with a much better mood, leaving her soon-to-be-husband grumbling. --YYYYY-- Dawn was only a few hours away now. She could feel it deep in the pit of her stomach, a dull throbbing ache that would only grow worse as the time passed. The clock calmly stated it was exactly 3:48, but that was unimportant. What was important was that this was probably the last hour of Ranma's life. The conversation died some time ago. Shampoo came back in with a wide smile, which of course set off `Mt. Akane' on yet another tirade, leading to an argument, leading to yet another period of angry silence. Or, in Ukyo's own case, contemplative silence. Nabiki didn't get the memo, apparently. She had been thinking aloud and scribbling in her notes this whole time, trying to find some sort of compromise that everyone would accept. It was a little disconcerting, really, to see her arguing all three sides of the case on her own. Then again she had to, considering nobody else seemed to have anything left to say besides the occasional one or two word answer. "Look, it's really simple," Nabiki sighed, attempting to explain her latest angle. "Since there's only three of you all it takes to save Ranma's life is for one of you to vote for someone besides yourself. That way he lives and you'll be the one he thanks for it. By dropping out you can make sure that Ranma ends up at least with the person you think is second best for him. Heck, if you're so damn angry then think of it as a way to make sure that someone else will never get him." The others didn't seem to be even listening anymore. Of course she had tuned out quite a few of Nabiki's ideas before this one, so Ukyo couldn't say too much. "Look at the alternatives then!" Nabiki continued, angry. "If none of you backs out then you all lose, and Ranma dies. There's nothing to gain by being stubborn!" Oh, but there was. Ukyo realized some time ago that the only way to really win this contest of wills was to stay in and hope that one of the others chose her... and that's why she was doing her best not to do anything to bother them. Now all she had to do was wait out their little staring contest and reap the rewards. That something throbbed deep in her guts again, hot and unpleasant. The truth was that she was gambling his life on the hopes that she would come out on top. She knew, unequivocally, that was she was doing was selfish and callous, but for some reason she just couldn't seem to care enough to stop. She wanted to feel sad, to pity Ranma for this burden, to rage against the situation that made him feel this way... but could only do so in a superficial way. She did want to marry the boy, really. Since she was a little girl it was all she wanted, all that drove her was the idea of being Mrs. Saotome Ukyo. All the things she did, even when she no longer considered herself a she, were for him. Even the worst of it, the humiliating and depraved things she had done to try to kill the remnants of her abandoned femininity... all of it was always because of her love. Why then was she trying to convince herself? The answer, though Ukyo was loathe to admit it, was that there was a part of her that didn't want to let go of her darker times. This aspect of her personality felt that she would have been better off without him, wished he'd stayed wherever he ran off to rather than coming back yesterday. He owed her for lost time, for all the hurts she suffered on his behalf then and now. Even if the initial mistake wasn't his (and she had nothing to go on for this but his own word, after all), the fact that he hadn't rectified the situation immediately upon finding out galled her. Every ill that had befallen her in Nerima, including her recent mistake with Mousse, was at least indirectly Ranma's fault. What was this seppuku stunt, really, but another escape attempt from their engagement... this time into realms where she dare not follow? Oh, but she was getting far too worked up, she realized. She had to keep her cool, not attract attention to herself until the proper moment. Momentary vengeance was less preferable to a lifetime of winning, after all. Luckily her inner turmoil went unnoticed, as Akane and Shampoo were arguing again for some reason. Ukyo quickly looked away to keep the hint of a smile from showing. It was turning out to be a win/win situation for her; Regardless of the outcome she could finally go home with her honor intact and the shadows of her misspent youth dead and buried. Of course she preferred to win... but if it came to the worst she could get over him, in time. --$$$$$-- She had never been one for mornings, like Kasumi. Sure, she understood at least indirectly that feeling the first rays of dawn was like "a warm kiss from the world" and that waking at that time "promoted harmony with the natural world." Her personal experiences though had always been more along the lines of "fiery daggers of eye-seeking vengeance" and "wasted time better spent dreaming." In the personal world Tendo Nabiki inhabited sunrise was an enemy to be feared, the harbinger of yet another pointless day in Nerima. The dawn was nearly here. She could feel it somehow; a certain tightness in her shoulders and a slight tremor down her spine offering clues from her subconscious that the rational part of herself could not explain, but trusted nonetheless. It was, after all, a carefully groomed defense mechanism against the horrors of wakefulness. Nobody ever died in her dreams. Not since she learned how to control them, anyway. But this was no dream, no nightmare to be contained. Try though she might, the situation had progressed despite all her attempts to control it. Ukyo had long ago shut down, withdrawn completely from the discussion, and without her as a balancing factor the other two fianc‚es' had found a focus for their frustrations in each other. It was a stalemate, and in this game that was the only real way she could lose. She'd tried every angle she could think of to seek a compromise, every scheme and ploy at her disposal to get the girls to just drop all their pride and anger so Ranma could live. She'd even pressed on after Ranma talked with her, trying to settle his affairs as if he'd already resigned himself to hopelessness. She'd given the situation her all, but it just wasn't enough. Nabiki slowly rose to her feet without a word. Ukyo glanced up, but quickly turned away again. The others were too intent on staring balefully at one another to pay her any mind. She wandered out onto the balcony, content for a moment just to close her eyes and deeply inhale the fresh, crisp air. Opening them brought the sight of the eastern sky alight with a much brighter shade of blue than the deep indigo the other directions offered. The distant clouds glowed from below with a faint orange light. She turned away from the reminder, finding instead the sight of Ranma sitting alone on the lower roof over the kitchen, facing his oncoming fate. He didn't seem to notice her, being intently focused with tightly furrowed brows on the piece of paper before him. Writing the traditional final haiku, no doubt, and probably struggling with his calligraphy. With a grumble he wadded up the paper and tossed it to the ground, where it joined several other rejected attempts. She smiled at the sight, finding a curious pleasure in it. Ranma was always so hopeless whenever he tried something new, so given to displays of frustration that she secretly found cute in their special childlike way. More charming, however infuriating it might occasionally be when directed at her own schemes, was the willful stubbornness that he drew upon whenever these situations arose, an all-consuming devotion to victory at any cost. That quality, more than any degree of skill, guile, or luck the young man possessed, was the chief reason that Saotome Ranma never lost when it really counted. Then his face was struck by the first rays of dawn and his eyes closed in resignation. "It couldn't be happening," her mind whirled. "Ranma never loses, never gives up. It's who he is, the very essence of his being!" The young man quietly gathered up his things and leapt down to the back yard where an area had been prepared earlier in the night. "I just have to wake up, that's all. It's dawn and the nightmares are trying to get me but I can make them go away or escape them like I always do. Ranma can't die in my dreams." He took his seat on a white cushion and turned his focus one last time on a piece of paper. This time his face remained relaxed, his hand steady and his brush strokes even. "What more can I do? What more can I sacrifice?" His mother approached with an official gait, carrying two objects. The first she laid before him. The second she began to unwrap. Nabiki's mind raced in every direction, drawing in random snippets of information that helped the problem at hand not a bit. There had to be something she'd missed, some angle she'd failed to exploit. Something, anything... And all at once it hit her; something at the time so insane and forgettable that she'd instantly dismissed it. Though it still made no sense to her, Nabiki was inexplicably drawn to yell a single word at the top of her lungs: "Pantyhose!" The exclamation had a result comparable to a gunshot against the early morning stillness. All eyes in the yard snapped to her with looks of bewilderment. The panda wandered outside and joined his family in confusion. A neighbor thrust her head from the safety of her home to glance about angrily. Its nonsequitor might was even enough to shock the deadlocked participants to come outside and see what she was yelling about. She had no answer to give to their questioning glances, but the knot of improbability at Nerima's heart refused to let this perfect opportunity slide. As if on cue, the beast-that-should- not-be descended on the yard with an angry bellow. "I guess we'd better go help Ranma," one of her balcony mates reflexively sighed. Nabiki found her fire again, wheeling on the girls before they wasted this final opportunity. "You want to help him? Then all of you go back inside and make use of the time this distraction just gave you!" "But..." "But nothing! Get back in there right now or I'll make each and every one of you suffer for the rest of your lives!" "Nabiki?" Akane cautiously inquired. "Go. Talk. Now," she growled in response. Nabiki had no idea how she would accomplish such a threat, but luckily the girls didn't call her bluff. They went back grudgingly to their chosen spaces in Ranma's room and once again opened the lines of communication. Unfortunately the participants and facts of the debate had changed not a note. This resulted almost immediately in another argument between Akane and Shampoo, while Ukyo acted, ineffectually, as a peacemaker. Something broke in Nabiki, something that had remained solid and dependable through all kinds of tribulations but could not withstand the frustration any longer. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she screamed at the others, pointing at each girl in return. "Money-girl say talk... Why no make up mind?" "I know what I said but this isn't getting us anywhere. Just shut up and let me think," she snapped. "There must be a way to solve this..." "God, let's just vote again or something," Ukyo sighed. "Tried that already... you all just voted for yourselves, remember?" Nabiki answered. "What if we made it a rule," Akane haltingly suggested, "that you had to vote... for someone else?" Nabiki looked up hopefully. "I thought you hated that idea when we first brought it up, sis..." and why the hell was Ukyo smiling? The votes were made on paper, each girl carefully hiding the results from the others as Nabiki checked each one. Ukyo voted for Shampoo. Akane voted for Ukyo. Shampoo voted for Akane. "What the hell, Shampoo?!" the miffed chef demanded. "You two spent the whole damned night at each others throats? How could you vote for her?" "You can't start arguing again," Nabiki pleaded. "There's no time for this crap!" If only there was some way to take the pressure off, to take the competition angle out of the problem... "Shampoo no like Violent-Girl, but at least she fighter. Amazons no like quitters." Quitters? "That's it..." Nabiki whispered. "What, you turned on me just because I wouldn't take part in your little time wasting fight?" Ukyo spat, regaining her feet. "If you want to see a real fighter then bring it, jackass!" "Stop, both of you! I've got the answer: You should all just quit!" "Yeah, quit with the posturing, already," Akane added. "Let's see what she's got in mind while we still have time to make it matter." "I just told you the idea. Quit." "Sugar, there's no way in hell we're just gonna step aside and let your sister have him because you say so." "No, listen," Nabiki tried again. "I mean all of you should quit. If you all agree to drop your claims then the problem evaporates and Ranma can live." "And where does that leave us?" Akane demanded. "It leaves you exactly where you were yesterday, minus Kodachi and all the pressure of the engagements. I'm not saying you have to stop pursuing Ranma, just that you drop the official bonds." "That no solve anything!" Shampoo complained. "Wrong, it solves the problem immediately at hand. Nobody can win if the prize is dead, after all." The room fell silent for a moment as the finality of the problem sunk in. "I'm in," Akane stated, first to respond. "It's really all we've got." "Typical, Sugar," Ukyo snidely commented. "You've spent the last two years screaming that you didn't want to be engaged anyway, so it's no loss to you. Of course, it helps that you're also right this time... I'm in, but only if Shampoo is too." "Shampoo... no can agree," the Amazon replied, averting her eyes. "Damn it Shampoo!" Akane grabbed the girl's shoulder and spun her around. "Is law problem... Shampoo can no quit right now." Ukyo snorted. "You mean your Kuno problem, right?" "Stupid Mousse," the girl mumbled, "Need learn to keep mouth shut. Shampoo teach him too too good when get home." "If she quits on Ranma then she has to marry Kuno," Ukyo explained for the others. "Apparently he somehow beat her, and until Ranma and Kuno settle things the law is up in the air for her. Hence the match last week." "Glad I'm not an Amazon..." Akane added, earning a glare from her sister. Nabiki honestly felt sorry for the girl, but there was too much at stake to let that sway her now. Besides, it was her own dumb laws to blame; the same ones that had made her a constant thorn in Ranma's side for quite a while now. "Let's examine it, then: If you quit, you have to marry Kuno. If you don't quit then Ranma dies because we've obviously got nothing else to try. If Ranma dies, what happens to you and Kuno?" "He be only Airen then," Shampoo sniffed, sadly, "and Shampoo must accept him at least until have first child." "So either way you end up with Kuno, really, and you still have a way out after a while," Nabiki summarized. "That doesn't matter at all then. The question is just whether you want Ranma to live or die today." "Please, Shampoo," Akane begged. Ukyo took the girl's other shoulder in a comforting posture. "It's the only thing you can do, Sugar." "Shampoo..." she began, then choked on a sob. "Shampoo agree." --%%%%%-- It's funny how sometimes things just all fall into place at the same time, despite thousands of attempts beforehand to accomplish just the same goal. Perhaps there is some sort of divine schedule to which all important events must align, regardless of the intents of frustrated humans to speed things along. A time for all things, as it were. Ranma didn't find his current situation funny. Not at all. In fact, it rather pissed him off. He'd been trying for over an hour to come up with some sort of lasting message to leave behind, something profound and beautiful to serve as his final summation on the experience of living. For a while he experimented with various themes of natural occurrences, trying to create some eloquent metaphor for his valiant struggles. Then he tried to capture some moment of particular wisdom in eloquent verse. Towards the end he was desperate enough to abandon any attempt at good writing and just fit in some touching personal message to his loved ones. Of course, none of these efforts worked out. When the sun struck his face he sighed and went down to meet his fate with all the boldness he could muster. He really didn't want to die yet, but it seemed his clever plan had failed... not that he had ever had that great a record with such schemes, he admitted. He had been so sure at least one of them would pass his test that he never really gave a serious thought to failure until he talked with Nabiki and learned how selfishly his fiancée's arguments had developed. Taking a seat in the prepared area for his death, Ranma once again lifted his brush. Out of time, he simply wrote about the first thing that came to mind: blame. My test has ended: If love is just a trophy, Then I prefer death. It wasn't a very good way to go, he knew, with such a sour goodbye. It certainly wasn't like the Saotome Ranma people would remember, but then the cheerful young man they knew hadn't been sentenced to death by the uncaring whims of others. "Well to hell with them," he decided. "It's my seppuku and I'll bitch if I want to." Unless of course his whining was derailed by a completely out-of-the-blue interruption, like someone (who should have been inside doing her damned job...) screaming "Pantyhose!" for no particular reason. Well, okay, so maybe she was just trying to warn him that one of his less frequent annoyances was dropping by for a visit. It still didn't explain why Nabiki, or the rest of the girls for that matter, hadn't at least come down to see him off. Downright rude in fact. "Somethin' ya need, Pantyhose?" he asked, dropping the brush to the side and cocking his head. "Better make it quick; I don't have much time." The beast stepped forward threateningly, then doused itself with presumably hot water from one of two flasks tied to its waist with its namesake fabric. Where the rest of his clothing came from was a question Ranma chose not ponder. "Kodachi asked me to come here and kick your butt, Fem-boy," he smirked. "How could I refuse such a request? Get up already." "I'm kinda busy at the moment," Ranma gestured to his katana- wielding mother, "What with killing myself and all. Think we can put this one off until my next life?" "I made a promise, Hermaphrodite. You remember what those are, don't you?" The foreign young man goaded. "Guess I could just desecrate your corpse a bit, but that's kinda beneath me." "You know, it occurs to me that we've never actually had a one-on-one fight before, Panty-ho," Ranma replied while taking off his shirt. "I think I'd regret dying without clearing that up first." "Huh, huh. Your funeral either way." The stocking-clad man hopped back a few paces back before taking up a combat stance with a very high guard. "Bring it, bitch." Ranma charged, leading off with a jumping right cross. His opponent pivoted to the side in response, fending off the blow with both forearms while striking with a quick knee. Ranma absorbed the impact with his thigh, but was pushed away when the blow became a thrusting kick. Taro immediately hopped forward, kicking out at his prey with the same right leg. Ranma ducked the attack and rolled out of the way of the follow-up axeheel. "I see you did more that just splash around in the springs since I last saw ya, Pantyhose. Take a trip through Thailand, perhaps?" Ranma asked with a knowing smile. "No, but I did study a little Muy Thai under a pit fighter in Hong Kong. Don't want to become too dependant on the curse, at least for dealing with lightweights like you." "Oh really? Try this on for size then, ya nylon nutjob!" Ranma charged in again, this time with a flying roundhouse. As expected, his foe countered with another lunging kick, which he twisted around with a strong motion from the waist. He landed in a crouch beneath the strike, and took the opportunity to punch the weight-bearing knee presented to him. Taro bent the joint to avoid serious harm, falling towards Ranma with an elbow drop. The shirtless boy rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the strike. He managed to regain his footing almost immediately though, and took the opportunity to kick his target in the ribs as he righted himself. "That feel like a lightweight did it, Panty-boy?" Ranma grinned, hoping lightly. This was exactly the kind of memory he wanted to leave behind; an exhilarating fight, not some silly string of words. "Cheap shot, Saotome," Taro replied as he resumed his stance, his guard a bit lower this time. "Lucky for me you still kick like a little girl. Here, let me show you how a kick is supposed to feel!" Pantyhose lunged as if to go for another straight-legged thrust, but instead merely hopped forward, continuing to twist as he landed to deliver a spinning heel kick to Ranma's side with the other leg, ending in a crouching position. Ranma managed to block the attack with his arm tight against his side, but the impact still caused him to stumble a few steps sideways. He retaliated with a snap kick at his opponent's face that was easily deflected, but it served the purpose of keeping his foe defensive while he waited out the sudden numbness in his limb. There was a lot more force behind those kicks then he expected! Fighting the urge to shake his arm, Ranma pressed in while his target was still slightly out of position. He unleashed a flurry of punches, forcing Taro to backpedal as he blocked and staying in close enough to prevent any more of those kicks from landing with any significant power. The retreating combatant managed to reestablish some tempo by leaning away from one punch while throwing a knee at Ranma's crotch. The blow missed by a good margin, but the distraction broke Ranma's timing enough for Taro to halt his flight and throw a few quick jabs of his own. Ranma slowed his attacks and blocks slightly, waiting for the right moment. At last his opponent launched a straight punch at his chin while his other arm was busy deflecting one of Ranma's off-hand strikes. Ranma deflected the strike from the outside while pivoting around the blow, then grabbed the outstretched arm with his left and stepped forward, delivering a crushing elbow to the bridge of his target's nose. Hearing the distinctive crack of bone, he released the held limb and ducked a wild swing from the other. As his target staggered back, wiping at the tears that such a blow reflexively caused, Ranma charged in low and delivered a salvo of Amaguriken punches to Taro's exposed gut. He finished the assault with a leg sweep as he dodged a feeble downward elbow attempt. "Yuu furkin' hunt!" the wounded boy yelled as he rolled to his feet, holding his nose as it dripped a thick stream of blood. "I'll hill you fur thot!" His other hand shot to his belt, pulling free a second canister and holding it above his head. "Cut him down now while you still can," that oh-so-familiar voice suggested. "Let loose on this beast to save the ones you care about" No, he was going to win this fight legitimately and with as little special technique as possible. Sure it would be easy to let loose another vacuum blade and take of the idiot's head, but it would hardly be a fitting end to his career as a martial artist. He was going to win this fight, but not that way. Ranma grinned darkly, then bolted forward while charging both hands with reddish-orange chi. He leapt upwards as he neared his opponent, traveling upwards fractionally slower than Taro gained height. He pivoted back to avoid a deadly swipe from the venom-barbed tentacles of his foe's newest form, pointing his hands towards the ground as he pivoted. With a blast of angry chi he gained tremendous speed just as the monster's transformation finished, landing a vicious double- knee blow to the base of the beast's unarmored chin. The hulking form was rocketed skywards, falling flatly on its back with a dull thud. Ranma wasted no time leaping once again at the fallen titan, landing in a kneeling position on its armored chest. "Lights out, Pantyhose," he snarled in the bleary-eyed face of his opponent as he jabbed each of his hands into the ground astride his bovine head. Twin eruptions of rock and soil blasted the beast's head, leaving it finally to lull into unconsciousness. --88888-- Genma watched with pride as his son took his opponent apart piece by piece, just as he was taught; test your foe, counter his strengths, then press your advantage on to victory. Not that the young man looked like much of a challenge, at least in his natural form. Hopefully Ranma would take him out before that became a problem... the house just finished being repaired, after all. Not that it was his house to protect, though. Nodoka had made it painfully clear, in deed if not in word, that he was only tolerated here, not welcome. Perhaps it was unreasonable to expect things to be as they were whenever he finally got around to returning... hell, who was he kidding? Of course it was. When he left he hadn't actually planned to return at all, so that hadn't really been a concern. The years on the road had been exciting, just like reliving his own childhood training with own father. At least until the war, of course... and after that it was never an option. He narrowly avoided contemplating the master's training in any depth, catching himself as the day he and Soun met the old bastard tried to sneak into mind. If not for Ranma's existence he would have judged the remainder of his life a waste, and he ruefully admitted he owed the fallen pervert that little bit of acknowledgement; he'd have never met Nodoka without his `assistance'. For a moment his heart leapt into his throat as the over- classed boy prepared to transform. Seeing the slight grin on Ranma's face eased any concerns, however... the boy never could hide it when he had a clever idea in mind. "Too honest for his own good sometimes," he grumbled aloud, though he knew deep down that his greatest joy was seeing Ranma's face light up with the joy of the art. Well, that and smacking him into the pond when he gets too predictable, of course. With careless ease the young man in question hopped off the beast's chest, casually brushing stray bits of debris from his arms. Besides a few scratches on these limbs and the occasional grass stain, he looked unharmed. "Heh, piece a cake," he smirked as Genma made his way towards the victor. "You're lucky you didn't kill him with that last stunt, Boy," he grumbled, tossing a cup of warm water on the defeated warrior, "especially after breaking his nose. Just plain sloppy." Wouldn't do for the boy to get a big head about such an easy win. "It was a solid blow ta the chin, Pop, and nothin' more. Not the first time I took this punk out with a good shot there." "Still, you should have been more careful. A martial artist must always strive to protect the weak, even if they happen to be your opponent at the time," Genma pronounced, quoting some material he had long ago committed to memory without thinking too hard about. At least this one sounded right when he said it. "Yeah, well, lucky for him I remembered that I'm the only one supposed ta die this morning," Ranma replied sourly. "Now that the fight's done let's get this over with `fore I lose my nerve." That chill ran down his spine again... the one that always seemed to come when Nodoka unsheathed that damned sword. Why had the boy done something as stupid as giving her any reason to take it back off the shelf? "Boy," he began, placing a hand on his son's bare shoulder. "Ranma, please think this over. If you want out of your engagements this badly then I'll take back the promises, honor be damned. I'm sure Soun will understand, but even if he doesn't I'd rather keep my son than his friendship." Not that it really mattered at this point anyway... Soun would be pissed at how this played out now regardless. He'd get over it eventually though, Genma hoped. "Pop, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said ta me," Ranma whispered, "and it really means a lot ta hear ya say it. But I've gotta do this, not just for me or you, or even the Tendos; If I don't deal with this then it'll dishonor our whole family, from the earliest antecessors to any future generations we might have. I won't let that happen to them, or ta Mom." Plan C it is then: take all the responsibility away from the kid and make a break for it. "Then let me take responsibility for it all, son. I've been thinking about it all night, and when it comes down to it this really is all my fault." "Who are you and what have ya done with Saotome Genma?" Ranma snapped, gripping his father's lapels. "What, you doubt your father's sincerity?" he replied, doing his best puffed-chest imitation of pride. "No, but I doubt you takin' alla the blame this time. I'm the one who promised Ucchan I'd watch over her forever. I'm the one who challenged Shampoo. I'm the one who pretty much accepted Akane's claim when we switched it back from Nabiki. I'm sorry Pop, but this is something I gotta do." "No you don't!" Both Saotomes wheeled around to find Nabiki and the fiancées entering the yard, the moderator with a very purposeful pace. As Nabiki approached she pounced on Ranma, hugging him excitedly in what seemed like her best attempt to make Shampoo's efforts seem lacking. No denying it, the boy just had the touch when it came to women, whether he wanted it or not. "Um, you wanna explain that, Nabiki?" Ranma asked, apparently trying to escape her grasp with some semblance of calm. "We solved the problem, Ranma! There are no more contradictions against your honor now!" she explained excitedly, though with less affection this time. Ranma stumbled back a step and collapsed into a sitting position, stunned. "You really did it? Wow, I thought for sure I was a goner. So, uh, who's the lucky girl?" None of the girls were forthcoming, but Shampoo didn't even seem to be paying attention. Must be pretty tired, Genma guessed, glad he snuck in a reasonable amount of rest. "Well, that's pretty much up to you to decide again, Ranma," Nabiki began. "What!" Ranma interrupted. "Damn it, I told you that I won't make a choice and I meant it. It's up to you three to figure it out. Look, I appreciate the effort but I'm not backing out of this. That's the way it has to be!" "Calm down, Ranma, geez," Nabiki complained. "What I mean to say is that we really did get rid of all the problems. You don't -have- to choose, but it's your choice again." "You're not making a whole lot of sense, you know that?" that narrowly pardoned young man retorted defensively. "You aren't engaged anymore, to anybody," Nabiki clarified. "I got them to agree to all drop their official claims so that you could live and none of them would lose... well, most of them wouldn't anyway." "You mean... you all," Ranma paused, gripping his forehead. "Not even one of you was willing to give up unless the others all did too?!" Genma boggled for a moment... what did it matter why he was free? Stupid boy can't even take the gift of life without thinking there's some catch. The catch doesn't matter if you leave before they can tell you what it is! "Of course we didn't, Ranchan... We all love you too much!" Ukyo pleaded. "No, Ukyo, you don't. None of you do," Ranma stated bluntly. "That was the whole damned point of this test, and you all failed miserably." "How can you say that you jerk?" Akane demanded. "This was some sicko game of yours? Some kind of psychotic stress test?" "You ever heard the saying `if you love something, let it go...'? It's really simple," Ranma snapped. "I was trying to see which of you would give up first, would sacrifice their own happiness for my sake. None of you made it." "You... used me," Nabiki whispered. "I'm real glad you all came to this decision, though you sure took your sweet time about it," Ranma continued. "It would have been a damned shame if I had to die over nothing." "Nothing?" Shampoo snarled tearfully. "You say Shampoo love nothing? Shampoo lose so much for you love; honor as tribe champion, body to springs, pride to stupid country, and now must give first time sex to stick-boy! Shampoo too too good for Ranma!" She finished the tirade by belting him across the face, then ran away as he crumpled into the dirt. Ukyo dropped to a knee next to him and helped him sit up. "You gambled your life and all our feelings on some silly cliche? You really are a jackass, Ranma." She slapped the boy hard across the cheek and walked calmly away. Akane took the opportunity to stomp on his crotch, call him a "stupid, arrogant bastard", and likewise leave in a huff. Nabiki followed after her, though she stopped to look back over her shoulder before leaving the yard. This last departure made Genma pause. He'd never before seen young Nabiki with that particular look on her face before, but he doubted it was a good thing. Had the boy finally managed to not just annoy her, but fully piss her off? "Perhaps you should leave the decisions regarding honor to me from now on, boy," Genma suggested, hopefully. Nodoka smiled enigmatically and shook her head, saying nothing. Author's Notes: Yeah... quite a delay since last update, huh? Truth is I had this chapter's first draft almost done when the last one was posted. Unfortunately, fate intervened in the form of the evil that is windows service pack 2. Some kind of crazy noncompliance error locked my system down into a nasty reboot loop that even safe mode, refresh to last known config, or hours on the phone with some random Hindu techs couldn't get it out of. The solution ended up being a full sweep and reload, resulting in me losing everything I had done. After having to download my own work from other people's servers just to have a copy I found it really hard to get any kind of motivation to work on this for any length of time. So no, I wasn't intentionally trying to screw with you over with the cliffhanger ending from last time. Sorry about that. Secondly, thanks for the suggestions, Max. I went back through all the previous chapters and tried to clean up all the stuff you mentioned. Better? This chapter was originally going to be all in the last chapter, but it obviously got too long. I was thinking of adding two or three more scenes to this one, but what is here is enough to cross my self-imposed 10,000-word minimum, and in the end I decided they fit better as the start of the next act, "Rhythm of the Flames." Finally, here's the part where I pontificate for a while about the subtle nature of the act title. Yes, I know it's pretentious as hell but it became a sort of tradition along the way, so there you have it. Don't like it? Then don't read it. The original name of this act was "The Paradox of Free Will", but discussions with reviewer Obsidian-Fox convinced me that the argument upon which this name was based was fatally flawed. The new title for this act still captures the same general point; that the primary thematic theme of this act was to tie up (or at least make preparations to tie up) several of the lingering conflicts from the original manga. A deck of fate, also known as the tarot, symbolizes the various situations of the characters from the manga and the earlier chapters, all of which have led up to Ranma's challenge this chapter. The deck has been shuffled for two reasons: first, the old story arcs are now mostly over, making room for the new stuff to begin. Secondly, the shuffling also refers to the way in which the standard shipped relationships have been twisted around to allow some much less common pairings... mostly just because I want to play around with some new dimensions of character outside of the typical portrayals. Nemesis_Zero, AKA Brian #4 (Recently demoted for slacking off... sigh) Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!