First off: ignore that little estimate I made in the last post. That 
was largely a typo. 
And so begins the posting of the (hopefully) final revision of act 
two. 

   ACT TWO: Tomaranai mirai o mezashite...

   Chapter 8: Mahou no usagi da? Arrive Mokona!

   Everyone watched Hikaru worriedly as she cried herself to sleep in 
the corner of the Nekohanten. As much as everyone wanted to comfort 
her, Cologne suggested that with what she'd endured, Hikaru needed to 
be left alone for a few moments, to release her agony. Quietly, she 
summed up for the other two Magic Knights just exactly what had 
happened to Hikaru in China.
   Needless to say, Umi and Fuu were *very* angry when the tale was 
finished.
   "Too bad she didn't get a chance to barbecue the bastards," Umi 
commented, scowling.
   Fuu nodded. "Yes, if they were still around, I would not be 
opposed to extracting a bit of payback."
   Murmurs of assent ringed the cafe.

   Hikaru finally cried herself to sleep, and almost immediately, the 
redhead rose from the corner, blinking and rubbing at her now blue 
eyes, which were nevertheless red from crying.
   Everyone turned to her, saw that it was Ranma, and made room for 
her in the group.
   Ranma frowned thoughtfully. He'd been privy to Hikaru's tale, and 
to her anguish, as well as the tale of the other Knights. He wasn't 
in a particularly pleasant mood after all that. This girl, who he'd 
barely even realized existed, already felt like a sister, or...or 
something else to him. He wished he could *do* something, find some 
reimbursement for her pain.
   "Old ghoul," Ranma mused, after receiving some hot water, "Those 
guys who did that to Hikaru...do you know if they're really the 
ancestors of Herb and his two boneheaded flunkies?"
   Cologne rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and pogoed over to a cabinet 
in the back of the restaurant. She produced an ancient scroll, and 
examined it for a moment. "Yes," she said. "It shows it right here in 
this scroll. The Musk prince of that time was Rhi Fa," she said, 
tapping the scroll, "And all rulers of the Musk are produced from the 
same lineage, given their draconic blood."
   Ranma made a small noise of comprehension. "I had forgotten about 
that." He then frowned. "Hey, hold up. I thought they didn't start 
with that dragon stuff until *after* Nyanniichuan was formed."
   Cologne frowned. "You're right. I'll have to look into that, and 
find an explanation. In any case," she continued, "It seems the same 
two families have been producing warriors to serve the rulers 
personally for hundreds of years. One family adopts the mantle of the 
wolf, the other of the tiger. Rhi Fa's warriors were..." She paused 
to examine the slightly faded writing, and then continued, frowning 
slightly, "Kho Kain and Ghun Xia." Blinking at that, she muttered, 
"Where on earth did they come up with names like that?"
   Ranma frowned. "So, Lime and Mint are their descendants?"
   Cologne nodded.
   Ranma slammed his fist into his open palm. "It's settled then. If 
I see any of them again, when I get through with 'em, they'll make 
roadkill look pretty."
   That sentiment was heartily echoed by many of those present.
   Fuu frowned. "I don't mind the idea of vengeance, but is it really 
fair to take something that happened fifteen centuries ago out on the 
descendants of the people who did it?"
   Shampoo nodded. "It too too fair. Is warrior code."
   "Yeah," Umi nodded. "It's one of those samurai things."

   The group continued to talk for a while, Umi and Fuu getting to 
know everyone, and vice versa. 
   "Well," Umi said, "I'm afraid Fuu and I probably need to be 
getting home now."  
   Fuu nodded. "It is getting rather late."
   The girls said their goodbyes, and left Nekohanten, promising to 
return after school the next day and check in on Hikaru.

   On the bus ride home, Umi was staring out the window, and thought 
she saw something familiar on the sidewalk. She did a double-take, 
but it was gone. "Nah," she thought, "Couldn't be...could it?"
   She decided to dismiss the thought that she'd seen a fat white 
rabbit creature bouncing along the sidewalk as a product of her 
excitement over seeing Hikaru again.

   The Nekohanten began to clear out, as the Tendous, Ranma, Genma, 
Tofuu, Ukyou, and Ryouga all went their separate ways. 
   On the walk home, Ranma suddenly froze, and stumbled slightly. 
Akane, concerned, rushed up to him. She stopped in shock when she saw 
his eyes were red.
   Hikaru blinked, and looked down at...himself? "What the--?"
   Akane stared. "Hikaru? How--?"
   Hikaru frowned. "I don't know. I'm...this is Ranma's real form, 
isn't it?" Akane nodded. Hikaru looked upset. "How did I wake up in 
this body? If what Cologne-san said is right, this shouldn't happen...
"
   A thoughtful, troublesome silence ensued. After a moment, it was 
shattered by a frantic and insistent sound, which was coming closer. 

   Akane frowned. As the sound drew nearer, she could distinctly make 
it out. It sounded like, 'puu-puu-puu'. "What on earth is that sound?
"
   Hikaru's head snapped up, and he looked around. "It can't be..."
   Suddenly, a fat, white rabbit with a jewel on its forehead bounced 
around the corner, headed right for them. Akane looked at it, and 
smiled. "How kawaii! I wonder who it belongs to?"
   Hikaru's reaction was completely different. At first he was 
shocked, then he grinned happily. "Mokona!"
   Mokona bounced in front of them. "Puu?" it asked.
   Hikaru frowned. "You don't recognize me, do you, Mokona?"
   "Puu..."
   Akane blinked. "THAT...is Mokona?"
   Hikaru nodded. "Hai."
   "What's it doing here in Tokyo?"
   Hikaru shrugged. "I dunno. Why don't we ask it?"
   Mokona looked back and forth between them, puzzled. "Puu puu?"
   Hikaru grinned. "Mokona, it's me! Hikaru!"
   "PUU!?" 
   At that moment, as if by some grand design, someone's sprinklers 
went off, spraying Hikaru. Mokona hopped backwards a couple paces, 
and shook itself. 
   Hikaru smiled, and willed her armor into existence.
   Mokona bounced up high in surprise, then bounced toward Hikaru 
excitedly. "PUU! PUUPUUPUU!!!!"
   Hikaru giggled. "I'm happy to see you too, Mokona!"
   Akane smiled at the happy scene.
   "So, Mokona, what are you doing here in Tokyo, hmm?"
   "Puu! Puupuupuu! Puu..."
   Akane frowned. "Doesn't make much sense, does it."
   "Puu!" Mokona told Akane crossly. Akane backed up a step 
involuntarily, and scowled at it.
   "I think it's upset about something. Maybe there's trouble in 
Cephiro?" Hikaru mused.
   "Puu!" Mokona hopped out of Hikaru's arms. "Puu, puu! Puu puu!" 
The gem on its forehead flared, and began tracing a pentagram in the 
air. The pentagram shimmered, and became an image of clouds, and 
mountains, with a large fish *flying* in circles in the air. Akane 
gasped. 
   "I think Mokona wants us to go back to Cephiro with it," Hikaru 
said.
   "Puuuuuuuu," Mokona announced satisfactorily.
   "Alright...it must be pretty important, if you came all the way 
here, but everyone is very tired. Can we find the others in the 
morning? And maybe we can get our new friends to help out," Hikaru 
offered. While she was concerned, she was a bit apprehensive about 
going back to Cephiro.
   Mokona considered this for a moment, then finally bounced once in 
a bizarre approximation of a solemn nod. "Puu," it agreed.
   "Okay then," Hikaru said. "Come on with us, and in the morning 
we'll get the others and go back to Cephiro."
   "Puu!" Mokona bounced into Hikaru's arms, and the trio continued 
on to the Tendou dojo. Akane silently shook her head, wondering if 
things were destined to get stranger than they'd ever been...


____
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Ryodachi Kouma
"The Eternal Lost Lurker"
squn29a@prodigy.com
My Web Page is UPDATED! Check it out!
http://pages.prodigy.com/EtLostLurker

no da.