On Tue, 28 Apr 1998, Coutuva wrote:

As noted previously, this story now incorporates
elements from what was to be the next story, so
hopefully it fills it out a bit better.

Thanks!

Hell Hath No Fury - Part 5 of 5
----------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, forgot to mention that you didn't update the heading on Part 4 in 
that last posting.

	Despite her words to Anita, she was actually very worried.
Hitomi knew full well that Anita was not just baka... she was
obsessed.  Obsessed with Kikyo, obsessed with winning, and obsessed
with control.  Unfortunately, she also had the wherewithal to act
with impunity whenever it suited her, and couldn't care less about
consequences.

Much like Mu Lin.

	As the anguished redhead continued to torture herself, she
abruptly had to smirk at a stray thought.  She actually caught
herself wishing she was more like Mu Lin... from what she had been
told, she guessed that Mu Lin would have easily solved the problem
by now.  The smirk faded quickly however, as she realized that Mu
Lin didn't have to live in her town.

And if Anita hauled out her cute preschooler as a shield...

	"That'd be great... just do one of these, and zap... no
more Anita."  she muttered aloud, waving her arm toward a trashcan.
Her eyes widened as she saw the trashcan react as if hit with a
blast of wind, flipping several yards down the waterfront.  "Kuso..."
she breathed, holding her hand up before her face.  "Ya... I'm
seeing things."  she abruptly deflected, closing her eyes tight and
shaking her head rapidly.  Still, the possibilities presented
intrigued her.
	After staring at her hand for several more seconds, she
decided to try it again, and pointed her hand toward the same can.
Flicking as if trying to spin a penny, she was stunned to see the
can spin on the spot; just like she had actually walked over and
kicked it.

Ooh, telekinesis!

	Her shock quickly melted away to an excited smile as she
tried a few other tricks, each more spectacular than its
predecessor. Before long, she was even moving cars around in an
adjacent parking lot, barely noticing the effort.

Quite some TK.

	Curious, she held one hand up in front of her and
concentrated on it.  She had been told of how Mu Lin had created
'energy spheres', and decided to try it herself.  If it worked,
she knew she could definitely make use of the technique.
	She had to smile.  It was warm, soft and pleasant to the
touch, and she swore it even made her feel better.  Holding the
tennis-ball sized orb up in her hand, she found her gaze drawn
deep into its dazzling blue.   She gasped aloud as she discovered
that it seemed to go on forever within itself, and looked as if
it was alive with movement.

ooh, pretty.

	Suddenly, she understood why it had been so hard to control.
	Finally breaking the almost hypnotic hold the orb had on
her, she grasped it in her hand and rose to her feet.  Looking up
and down the waterfront for boats and canoes, she took a deep
breath and launched the ball out over the river, watching intently
as it headed for the water.
	She didn't bank on the power of the blast she set off,
however.
	In the time it took her to realize her mistake, she was
blown off her feet and thoroughly drenched by the very wet shock
wave.  Upon picking herself up from the puddle, she looked at the
mess and her very wet clothes, and broke out laughing at her own
stupidity.

Not to worry, you were already female.  Now if you'd used *hot* ki...

	"Ranma, who are you taking to?"  Akane asked, regarding
her husband nervously.

"talking to"

	"Ano... Akane-chan, I have someone I'd like you to meet."
he replied with a sigh, rising to his feet and stepping around to
face his wife.  "This is Joy."  he indicated, gesturing to his
side.  As he did, a smiling young girl in a green satin China
Mini appeared out of thin air.
	"Hajimemashite, Saotome Akane."  Joy bowed pleasantly, a
bright smile on her face.
	"Masaka..." Akane gasped, lifting her hand to her gaping
mouth.

	But Akane met Joy before...ah, then the "visit to Japan" part of 
the dream sequence in "Just As Long" didn't happen *at all*?  This makes 
Hitomi's total belief in everything Kikyo told her even less palatable, 
since she then didn't even have the lame excuses Ranma gave in the dream 
sequence as an anchor.  Apparently, it was all a put-up job for Shampoo's 
"benefit"...  And it makes me even more annoyed at Kikyo's "teflon" 
ability not to be held accountable.

	"Sorry about that..."  Joy responded, flushing slightly.
"I just dropped in on Ranma to bring him up to speed on a few
things... I didn't mean to spook you."  she assured quickly,
clasping her hands behind her.

Hah hah, Joy-chama.

	"Ya... the one who still has it;  Seirei Hitomi.  It turns
out that..."
	"I don't want to hear it!"  Akane abruptly blurted, then
turned and dashed down the hall.

Yup, that visit never happened...

	Joy looked up at Ranma sadly, as he looked back at her
confirmingly.  "See?  I told you this would happen."  he sighed,
rubbing his eyes.  "I'd better go to her.  Stick around, Joy-sama...
I'm gonna need you to back me on this."  he added, firmly.
	"No worries, Ranma.  She's still pretty shaken up over it
all, ne?"  Joy noted, nodding.

And why shouldn't she be?  She's never even gotten an apology from any of 
the women responsible, and even Hitomi's is now revealed as a phony.

"Hai.  She still can't accept me like this.  I know she

tries, but I can tell.  She thinks I'm going to be taken away for
good any minute.  Kuso, sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been
easier the other way." he stated, lowering his eyes.
	"Ranma... don't think like that.  The Fates don't like being
second-guessed.

Tough.  They've been screwing with people, they can take the flak for it. 
I'll even third-guess them if I feel like it.

	As she stood in the middle of the grass wringing out her
braid, Hitomi suddenly shuddered as a feeling of terror ran her
spine.  It took her a few seconds to discover the significance,
however, but once she sorted it out, her face instantly darkened.
	"Kikyo... " she whispered angrily, realizing the she was

"that she"

	"Anita... this time you've pushed it *way* too far." she
growled, feeling her skin start to tingle.  "Nobody... hurts my
family...!"  she added, her fists clenching tightly at her sides.
	As she considered her next move,  her mind abruptly began
to flood with thoughts she knew were not her own.  Images of
battles; wispy, cloud-like creatures; her alter-ego surrounded
by a family; Joy; Mu Lin; Elysse; Shampoo; it was like watching
a tape on fast-forward.

Hmmm...still DXM, but a little better prepared for this time...

        She tried to figure out what was happening to her, but
was unable to get her mind to follow a thought while the images
still blurred through it.  She was becoming concerned when the
images abruptly stopped, only to be replaced by a solid white
field.
	Outwardly, she found herself unable to move, but that
didn't worry her.  Somehow, she had the feeling that she simply
had to wait, and her answers would come.
	Within a few moments, her thoughts were proven right.  In
her mind, Hitomi began to sense a presence, one that seemed to be
made up of several individuals.  Together, they seemed to be
speaking to her; but not so much to her conscious as her very
soul.  The experience both intimidated and excited her, leaving
her feeling almost euphoric.
	Again, her mind became a jumble of images and feelings,
although this time they were far too difficult to follow.  The
process felt like it went on forever, and when it was over, Hitomi
found herself standing as she was before it all occurred, only
she was now dry.

	That's either a sign she's been there a long time, or the Fates 
do dry-cleaning...
	I hope we'll eventually get a plausible explanation.

	A confident, assured smile replaced her surprised 

gape as > she realized that she finally understood herself.  And with this

understanding came the only thing that no one had so far been
able to give her, not even Kikyo.  A true sense of purpose.

You mean that brain short-circuit is *finally* fixed?

        Suddenly, Hitomi felt totally complete... and better than
she ever had in her entire life.
	Smiling gently, she closed her eyes and bowed deeply.
"Arigato, Kami-sama.  I will do my best."  she stated aloud,
emphatically.

ooh.

	It was like a scene from a fantasy; or perhaps a really
bad dream.  Kikyo was now in the midst of a massive,
cathedral-ceilinged room ringed with huge windows, and decked out
with expensive, quality antique furniture and a bed bigger than
the entire floor area of her parents home.  As well, it had a

"parents'"

somewhat unnerving decor, featuring strange statues and unusual
paintings.  Yet, despite the room and the attentive (and discreetly

Chthulhoid?

	Anita had come to see her arrive, and even personally set
up the bed and blankets for her to be placed in it.  She was so
sweet and caring that Kikyo found it hard to believe that she was
actually the same person who just had her kidnapped.

Just as I have trouble believing about Kikyo...

	Reaching to her side for another tissue, she jumped as she
heard the large doors open and the clack of heels coming toward
her.  She could tell even without looking that it was Anita, since
she was the only native Japanese in the house aside from herself.
The rapid, tight spacing of the clacks indicated the 'proper',
short-strided walk of the 'genteel'.  Inwardly, Kikyo had to smirk
at the wasted effort put into teaching Anita to be proper.  Just
as she turned back to face her 'host', a thought hit her.  If
Anita was a member of Japanese society...

	Yes?

	"Hai... "  Kikyo sniffed affectedly, deliberately not
looking at her 'host'.  "Why am I here... why did you do this?"
she asked, trying to indicate her displeasure.
	"I couldn't see leaving you at that dreary, dingy
hospital... even though it's one of ours, it's still no place for
someone as special as you."  Anita smiled, winking.  "I thought
you'd be much more comfortable here, so I invited you to come stay
with me."  she added, quite seriously.

	"Besides, this way, when the police discover the massive weapons 
depot in the basement and a huge firefight erupts, you won't be in the 
crossfire."

  Kikyo had to suppress an

urge to shriek her indignance at being 'invited' in the manner
that she had, but bit her tongue.  It was obvious to her that Anita
had her own way of looking at things, and she wouldn't be receptive
anyway.  Instead, she opted for the question that would hopefully
put her mind at ease.  "What happened to Hitomi?"  she blurted,
holding her breath for the answer.
	"Ano... she came to speak to me, and then left when she
realized that I was the better person for you, Kikyo-chan."  she
replied, pleasantly.  Kikyo blinked as she took the statement in,
then blinked again as she realized that Anita truly believed what
she was saying.  That observance really unnerved her.

Definitely a Kunou relative.

	"Hai.  She left willingly.  That means we can be together
from now on, without worrying about her."  Anita replied, smiling

Ha!

happily.  "Oh, Kikyo-chan... I'm so happy.  I've missed you all
these days since we met, and my life hasn't been the same.  Now
that we're together, I can make you the happiest girl in the
world... as happy as I am right now."  she gushed, her eyes
actually shimmering as she reached for Kikyo's hand.
	Kikyo used the excuse of wiping her face to move her hand
away before Anita could touch it, then snuffled loudly and
affectedly to clear her nose.  She noted happily that Anita cringed
slightly at the sound.

Then she hawked up a huge blob of phlegm...

	"Kazagaya-san, I don't think you're going to be very happy
with me for long..." she began, lowering her eyes in an attempt to
look meek.  "There is something about me that you may not like...
but someone with your station should know." she continued, softly.

	"I prefer aquatranssexuals."

	Anita looked back at Kikyo questioningly, wondering what
she could possibly have missed in her background checks.  "Hai,
Kikyo-chan...?"  she finally asked, proddingly.
	"Ano... It's painful for me to say this, Kazagaya-san...
but... I am... burakumin.  If... you 'associate' with me, it will
bring you nothing but shame." Kikyo stated quietly, her
accompanying sniff all too painfully real.
	She could hear Anita's stifled gasp, and glanced up in time
to see her shudder slightly.  Inwardly, she prayed that she had
hit a nerve.

Yep.  Unfortunately, it's the "Kill everyone who knows about Kikyo's 
background" nerve.
 > 	For a long moment, Anita looked back at Kikyo

expressionlessly, then lowered her eyes.  Drawing a heavy sigh, she
lifted her gaze and forced a small smile.  "I ... knew that,

Sure you did.

Kikyo-chan.  It is something... I will have to deal with." she
responded softly, her voice talking an odd timbre.  "I... must
attend to affairs of business.  I will be back soon to see how
you are doing."  she abruptly flustered, then bowed quickly and
took her leave.

"I want everyone in Japan who knew Kikyo dead in 24 hours!"

	Kikyo watched her leave, wondering what to make of her
reaction.   Anita obviously cared about it, but it was also
obvious that she was willing to overlook it... at least personally.
That thought brought more tears to her face as she realized that
her gamble had failed.

	"I'll have to go back to lying.  That always worked!"

	Akane looked back at Ranma with reddened, puffy eyes, her
voice so broken by sobs that she could hardly speak.  "Then why
is she here...?  If she's this 'Hitomi's' guardian, why does she
need to bother you...?"  she finally stated, again wiping her face.
	"Akane-chan... she's just letting me know about some things
that are happening... so if I 'feel' anything, I'll know what it's
from.  She wanted to tell me some other stuff, too, but hasn't got
there yet."  Ranma assured gently, reaching up and placing his hand
on her flushed cheek, wiping a stray tear away with his thumb.
	Akane only looked back at him sadly, searching his eyes for
assurance.  Noticing how concerned he was, she sniffed back her
tears and wrapped him in a tight hug.  "Ranma... I'm scared... I'm
scared you'll be taken from us again... and this time you might not
be back."  she sobbed, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

You have reason to be...

	"No.  I won't ever let that happen, Akane-chan.  I swear it."
Ranma insisted, lifting her to look deep in her eyes.  "Like I
said before... I came back to be with you and my family... I'm not
about to leave now."  he added, firmly.  "Not now or ever."

Oh yeah?

	Abruptly, the emotional silence in the room was broken by
the sound of someone clearing her throat.
	"I hate to disturb you Ranma-san, but things have just
escalated; she's been matured.  That means..."  Joy began, only to
have her sentence finished by a surprised Ranma.

	"She now is attracted to men."

        "She's fully aware..."  he breathed, shaking his head.  "I

She is, huh?  Will it really make a difference?

can feel it." he added, smiling.
        "Ano... and what does that mean?"  Akane blinked, feeling a
little like a fifth wheel.
	Joy smiled mischievously.  "Things are going to get
exciting."  she quipped, as Ranma rolled his eyes.

Joy no baka!  Exorcism hammer!

	"Ano... who..?"  she blurted, discovering suddenly that
she must have finally cried herself to sleep.  Lifting herself
onto her side, she almost screamed when she saw who the voice
belonged to.

The Crypt-Keeper.

	"Hitomi-chan!!"  she squealed, as quietly as she could
given her excitement.
	"Hai!  I missed you so much I just had to come see you."
the redhead smiled, kneeling beside the bed and wrapping Kikyo

either:" you," the   or "you."  The

in a huge hug.  "Are you okay, Kiko-chan?"
	Kikyo studied Hitomi's smiling face for a few moments,
then broke out in a smile of her own.  "Hell, I don't care if you
came out of thin air... I'm just so relieved you're okay.  Anita
said you just walked out, but I didn't believe her...  I was sure
something had happened to you."  she babbled, reaching up and
touching Hitomi's shoulder and cheek as she did.
	"I did.  I told her that I knew I had nothing to worry
about.  I also told her you loved me, not her, and nothing she could
ever do to me would change that."  Hitomi nodded, still smiling.

True, but the Amnesia Shampoo expert Anita hired might have worked...

        Hitomi smirked knowingly.  "Kasagaya-san, there are two
things you can never defeat with brute force, no matter how much
you posses.  The spirit of Love..." she began, only to vanish

"possess"

	"Wrong way, Baka... I'm over here."  Hitomi chimed, again
grinning.

Umm, watch the end quote punctuation.

	The guards looked at each other, then at Anita, then back
at each other.  Anita, meantime, recovered the power of speech and
snarled at them.  "Take her OUT!!"  she shouted, pointing toward
the stunned female guard.  She blinked as she noticed that Hitomi

Poor guard...

	"Kazagaya-san... the way I see it, you only have two

You've spelled the name a couple of different ways now.

choices; fix up everything that you've done and leave us alone,
or make me mad.  It's up to you."  Hitomi indicated, walking up

Make her mad!

and looking the shaking woman in the eyes.
	"I... w - won't." she finally stammered, summoning what
remained of her indignance.  "I... love Kikyo-chan.  I won't give
her up." she insisted, trying to display her best tough face.

"Would you?"

	As she did, the room suddenly became dark and cold, and
all of the hidden video cameras began to explode in sequence
around them.  As Anita saw the glow emanate from Hitomi's eyes,
she started to shake her head violently.  "No... this isn't real...
you're hypnotizing me...!" she protested, grabbing her head and
closing her eyes.

Yup.

	At the same moment, a yawning chasm opened under Anita's
feet, a dull but powerful red glow spilling from it as it widened.
The odour of Sulfur filled the room, and flames licked at the top

no caps on "sulfur"

	"Do you swear... on your life?"  Hitomi responded, eyes
narrowing.
	"I do... I do... I beg of you... spare me...!"  Anita
repeated, her eyes showing her fear plainly to Hitomi's searching
glare.

But keep in mind she's a little nutso, so she might go "around" her word.

or it's effects.  "Now... sleep, foolish Mortal, and when you
awaken, you will reverse all you have done, and by way of
compensation to her, get Citizenship for Lin Shan Pu.  Then, you
will bother us no more.  Oyasumi."  she reiterated, and snapped
her fingers.  Anita collapsed to the floor with a long sigh,
leaving a satisfied Hitomi standing alone among a sea of
unconscious bodies.

hmm...

	"Kiko-chan...?  Is something wrong?"  Hitomi asked,
worriedly reaching for her arm.
	Kikyo jerked her arm away and leaned out of Hitomi's reach.
"Ano... Who... are you?"  she asked, fearfully.

"I'm Batman!"

	Hitomi lowered her head and sighed, suddenly understanding
what was happening.   "It's really me, Kiko-chan... Your Hitomi."
she assured, softly.
	"Really...?  You're not... Mu Lin?"  Kikyo ventured in
reply, eyeing the redhead nervously.
	"Hai.  Really."  she smiled warmly, meeting Kikyo's still
fearful gaze.  "I'm sorry if I scared you, but she left me no
choice.  Had I not..." she began explaining, but Kikyo cut her off.
	"If you're not Mu Lin, then how... did you..."  she
blurted, still trying to absorb all that had happened.

She's not human.

	"Kiko-chan... It's a long story.  I'll explain the best I
can after we get home and get you settled, ne? 

Oh, really?

	"Lin-san, you wouldn't believe it if you saw it yourself.
Hitomi was even nastier than Mu Lin... she really surprised me;
hell, she scared me to death.  I thought for sure Mu Lin was
back."  Kikyo indicated, still shaking her head over the affair.
"I'm still nervous about that, actually."

Nah, she got a free ticket out of the world of the unliving, despite her 
bollixing.
 >         "Hai... she did seem a bit different today... is she

okay?"
        "Far as I can tell... but, now that you mention it, I
noticed that, too.  Even this morning."  Kikyo noted, thoughfully.
        "Probably from the troubles... So... what happened to
Anita?"  the Amazon blinked, setting Kikyo's teacup down.

Hypnosis.

	"I don't know and I don't care.  She got you your papers

But as a victim of Fate, there's bound to be more repercussions down the 
road.
 > and fixed Anata's banking, and that's all I know.  I'm just glad
I don't think "Anata" would be used in the third person.
 

this is all over."  Kikyo affirmed, dropping her head back against
the chair.  "Hey, speaking of 'what happened?', you said you got
away from those guys, but you never said how.  And where did you
go?" she abruptly asked, looking back at the grinning Amazon.
	"I went back to the Center, but you two were not there.
Since I didn't know where else to go, I stayed there until Hitomi
came to work today.  I didn't think they would send others there."
Shampoo indicated, shrugging.  "And as far as the getting away,
let's just say that there is more than one reason I am called
'Shampoo'. she grinned, wryly.

okay...

	"Well, Ranma?  What do you think?  Not bad for a first
effort, ne?"  Joy smiled, proudly.
	"Hai... but she'll need more than illusions to deal with
the big guys.  Does she know about that yet?"  he replied, sipping
his tea.
	"Ya... she still needs a bit of experience, and that's
what you're being counted on for.  I just hope that this convinces
them to lay low for a while longer."

Big guys?

	"Me too... I ain't looking forward to this.  Akane's still
freaked about you being here, and I can just imagine how she'll
feel when I give her the news."  he noted, sighing.  "It kinda makes
me wonder why the Fates chose this method though... why not just do
the same things as the other guys?  You know... the possessions
and stuff."
        "As I understand it, this whole thing was the result of a
combination of good and bad circumstance.  Mu Lin's..."

utter stupidity and arrogance...

	"Ranma...!  Breakfast!"  the sweetest voice Ranma knew
called out, interrupting their conversation.
	"Hai, Akane-chan!" he responded, smiling.  "Gotta go,
Joy-sama.  Keep an eye on my body, huh?"  he smirked, then
rose to his feet.
	Joy smiled broadly.  "Hai.  That's my job, ne?  Ja Ne!"
she winked, fading from sight.
	Ranma huffed bemusedly at the remark, then turned and
headed into the house shaking his head.  Inwardly, he was still
nervous about what was coming, and sincerely hoped that the Fates
knew what they were doing.

	Given their actions so far, I gotta wonder.
	Lots of hinting this time, we can only hope the revelations are 
up to the buildup.
	And yes, this is a lot better ending.

SKJAM!