Soun found his thoughts racing as he and his date walked briskly to the
upscale restaurant. Kachiko herself had made the reservations to ensure they
would have the 'right sort of atmosphere for their date'. In that she had
proven all too helpful, much to Soun's chagrin. It was just more bad luck
dumped by the truckload on him.

After informing Hinako of their destination, Soun had suggested taking the
train so they could get there quickly. Hinako refused, saying she preferred
walking. Now they were arm-in-arm as they strolled leisurely through the
neighborhood, toward the shopping district where the restaurant was located.

Despite his protests, Soun found himself concerned about making a good
impression with Hinako. Manly pride, which he still possessed to a small
degree, would not allow him to make a poor showing, even if he had no
interest in the woman. Or more to the point, no romantic interest.

Hinako moved closer, snuggling briefly against Soun's side and he could feel
the swell of her breast pressed against his arm. Soun found his body
reacting to the contact. There was no denying Hinako was a very desirable
woman. She was attractive, had a generous build, and was even a good bit
younger than him. It was also obvious she was interested in him, which was
flattering to his ego. There were no drawbacks or distasteful
characteristics to her at all.

Sparing a look -that was not a leer, he assured himself-  he realized that
there was something familiar about her. Not something about her personally,
as much as her appearance reminded him of someone. It took a moment for the
name to surface. Minato! That was it. Hinako's husky voice and ample build
reminded Soun of the only other woman he had loved. While there were obvious
differences, there were enough physical similarities that the familiar chord
struck within him suddenly made dealing with Hinako much easier.

Why not have a good time, Soun finally decided? He hadn't been out on a date
in ages, and at the least it would serve to knock some of the rust off his
romantic inclinations. He wasn't agreeing to marry the woman. It was a
simple date that had come about because of a misunderstanding. There were no
commitment issues involved, and the truth was, it felt good to spend some
time with a woman after more than ten years of loneliness.

Much more relaxed than at any point in the last couple of days, Soun decided
to cut loose and enjoy himself.

Xxxxxxx

Since they were on the street level and had a limited view of their
surroundings, the dating couple were unaware of the additional shadows they
had picked up. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, two figures followed the
course the pair on the ground were taking.

Kachiko spoke quietly, so as to not alert their targets. "The old fogy's
keeping his hands to himself."

"He's said he's not interested in her," Ranma reminded her.

"He can't keep his hands off me," Kachiko said with distaste. "I
automatically assumed he'd go after any girl that he had alone. I mean, I
know I'm a lot better looking than the walking bust, but guys with no sense
in what really makes a woman sexy go for skanky girls like her. And she
seems the type to sleep with any guy that throws a little attention her
way."

For a brief moment, Ranma pictured Soun and Hinako in a romantic clench, and
immediately felt nauseated. No way did he want to think of those two like
that. He wasn't comfortable of thinking of any girl in such a compromising
situation.

"You don't go for girls like that, do you?" Kachiko asked.

"Heck no!" Hinako was way too old, or too young, depending on the situation,
for him to think of her in those sorts of terms.

"Good," Kachiko said in an oddly satisfied tone.

Ranma wasn't sure why, but Kachiko seemed to be looking upon him with
approval. Despite not knowing what he had done to earn it, it made him feel
at ease, a very good thing since he was going to be at her side most of the
evening. That was something that had angered Akane to no end. He couldn't
figure out why, since Kachiko had specifically said they were not going on a
date, just chaperoning one to insure no one tried to disturb it. Akane
hadn't seen it that way, seemed to think they were up to something on the
sly, and stomped off in a fit of anger. It was stupid, really. He'd have let
her come along too, if she had asked.

The display of anger was hardly the first. While Akane always had something
of a temper, she had been acting increasingly moody since Kachiko's return,
and was getting progressively worse with each passing day. At least some of
the ire was directed toward Kachiko, though Ranma couldn't understand that
either since, aside from taking Akane's room, the two had little in the way
of interaction together. Most of Kachiko's time was being spent with Nabiki,
and it was in a good way rather than the 'Let me hug you so I can find a
good spot to sink this knife in' attitude they had first held toward one
another.

For some bizarre reason, Akane was becoming increasingly angry with Ranma,
and he hadn't done anything to deserve it. Other times she just acting
strangely, usually when he was just speaking his mind, like about postponing
the engagement. After the amusement park, she had become twice as bad. He
still couldn't figure that one out. It wasn't his fault that idiotic
hypnotist tricked him into thinking he was a monkey, but Akane acted as if
he had committed some great offense. The mood swings were getting a bit
tiring, even for Ranma's taste. He hoped she got better soon.

Admittedly, it wasn't hard to figure out where the dramatic mood swings
originated. While Ranma wasn't a thing like his father, that same could not
be said about Akane and Kachiko. They shared a lot of similar traits outside
of their physical similarity to one another. A quick temper seemed to be
something Akane had inherited from her mother, though Kachiko was quicker to
forgive as well incite. While Ranma had mostly adjusted to the physical
similarities, sometimes the common traits in their personalities still threw
him. The two were different from one another in other behaviors, but they
were family. Of that there was no doubt.

Time spent with Kachiko wasn't bad. He enjoyed it to a large degree, as long
as she didn't try to put the moves on him. Like now. They had a common goal,
and were working together to see it through. It was times like these he
liked her company, even if she was a blowhard that wasn't half as good as
she thought she was. And she did have a propensity to be shifty. And drank a
bit too much. But she was under a considerable amount of stress with being
in a different time and finding out she was supposed to die young.

He could understand, and even sympathize with her troubles. She even tended
to take his side in matters, like the engagement thing, which few people,
outside of Akane, did. The pros outweighed the cons when it came to spending
time with her. She was kind of fun to hang around with, though she had a
tendency to attract trouble.

Kachiko elbowed him in the side, breaking him out of his reverie. "What's
that over there?"

Ranma looked in the direction she was pointing. Accompanying a loud roar was
a motorcycle gang approaching the couple. They were a boisterous lot of
imposing figures decked out in riding leathers and with their gang emblems
hanging from their bikes. At the head of the pack rode the largest of them
all, a man nearly seven feet in height and wearing a hockey mask that
concealed his features. They radiated an aura of barely restrained menace
and violence, palpable even from Ranma's rooftop perch. Despite being a few
streets away from the dating couple, it did seem as though they were taking
the most direct course toward them.

"I smell trouble." Kachiko leaped across the rooftops in order to intercept
the gang before they made it to Soun and Hinako.

Ranma followed hot on her heels.

The series of leaps ended only two streets away from Soun and Hinako's
current position. Kachiko landed well in front of the approaching gang,
holding her hand out and motioning them to break. Ranma landed behind her,
content to allow her to take the lead.

The Road Ronin waved at his gang to slow down. They fell into position
behind him, spreading out as though they were a hungry wave of metal
prepared to bury any opposition beneath their treads at the slightest
provocation.

"What do you want, little girl?" The Road Ronin sneered in contempt.

"You wouldn't happen to be lusting for revenge upon a size changing witch
called Hinako, are you?"

The biker leader drew back in surprise. "How could you tell?"

"I know my luck. Any other answer would have made things too easy." Kachiko
sighed in disgust. "Ordinarily, I would be more than happy to allow you to
extract a pound of flesh from her, her chest could sure spare it, but it
just so happens she's doing me a favor in taking a creepy old guy off my
hands. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and go home."

The request was met with deep laughter from the gang. Once the laughter died
down, the Road Ronin said, "If you had a better build, I'd make you my
'bitch of the week'. But since you don't, I'll just have to content myself
with dragging you behind my bike for a couple of miles before getting my
revenge on Hinako."

"You couldn't drag a little kid in that piece of crap bike!" Kachiko stuck
out her tongue.

"How dare you insult my motorcycle! I'll kill you!" The Road Ronin signaled
to his men to run her down.

Ranma grabbed Kachiko by the shoulder and forced her behind him. "These guys
look dangerous. You'd better let me handle this."

"Okay." Kachiko took off running in the opposite direction.

Ranma watched in stunned silence as for the first time ever, Kachiko did as
she was told. It was unbelievable. Women never listened to him. What did he
do to make her listen, and more importantly, what could he do to make her do
it again?

The rattle of a chain alerted Ranma that there were more important matters
at hand than figuring out how he had managed that one. He ducked before the
metal links caved in his skull, allowing them to whistle through the air
just above his head. Ranma retaliated with a backfist to the biker's jaw,
knocking his attacker off the bike and onto the ground, where he skidded
along the asphalt for a half dozen meters before sliding to a stop.

The rest of the bikers revved up their engines and surrounded Ranma in a
circle of roaring, rotating steel. Nearly every man was armed with chains,
pipes, or other weapons with an extended reach. All of them were slavering
in anticipation of using them.

Just outside the circle, the Road Ronin stood on top of the handlebars of
his motorcycle, his merciless eyes boring holes through the youth that dared
place himself between the gang leader and the true target of his rage. "You
have made a mistake, boy, interfering with my revenge. Now feel the wrath of
the Road Ronin and his gang of-"

Ranma interrupted. "Hey, can we skip the long-winded introduction and move
directly to the action?"

The Road Ronin seemed at a loss. He considered the matter. "Well, it sort of
goes against standard biker protocol. Usually I go through a full minute of
preamble and intimidation before moving on to the beating." The leader
looked at his watch. "I am sort of in a hurry and running late. The wife
wants me back by ten, and I still have to get my revenge on Hinako. I guess
I can let it slide this one time."

"Thanks," Ranma said appreciatively .

The Road Ronin snapped his fingers. The rotating ring of bikers closed in on
Ranma.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Content with the knowledge that Ranma could handle himself against some
smelly biker gang, Kachiko returned to her original objective. Rather than
continuing her pursuit of Soun and Hinako from overhead, she decided to take
a more preventative measure by scouting ahead of the pair. It was easy
enough, knowing which restaurant they were going to limited the number of
paths they could take to it. Her precaution paid off as she spotted a
suspicious looking pack of women clustered around the middle of the
sidewalk, one street away from the restaurant. They appeared to be idly
hanging around, but a closer inspection showed wary gazes that shouted out
they were looking for someone in particular and wanted to do something other
than offering them a cigarette.

Kachiko casually strolled past the group, trying to listen for any snatch of
conversation that would let her know the identity of who they were waiting
for. There was only talk of make-up and men. No names came up, and soon
Kachiko was clear of the group. Now she found herself at an impasse. She
didn't want to pick a fight with a bunch of strangers, even if they were
trashy-looking tramps that crossdressers like Yumi probably went for. They
were rough-looking and a touch on the butch side. They might even be
lesbians themselves. Kachiko heard those kind of girls tended to hang out in
packs. On the other hand, Kachiko had walked past without being hit upon;
there wasn't even a catcall directed toward her. So that meant they were
probably straight, just in need of a major fashion overhaul.

Kachiko was still left with the issue of determining whether or not the
girls were going to cause a problem or were just in the wrong place at the
wrong time. She had to figure something out fast. Soun and Hinako would be
appearing any minute now. Eventually a plan came to her. Looking further up
the street, she called out, "Hello there, Miss Hinako! Bust any delinquents
lately?"

The gang perked up, openly eager for a fight as they looked up the street,
trying to see to whom Kachiko was speaking to.

That was all the evidence Kachiko needed. "While I can appreciate your
desire to kick the crap out of that annoying bitch, I'm afraid I have to
keep her from being molested by anyone other than her date."

Realizing they had been tricked, the gang parted and allowed their leader to
move to the front and confront Kachiko.

"Who in the hell are you?" Keiko asked, cigarette dangling from her mouth as
she spoke.

Kachiko smirked. "I am a martial artist of great renown. My skills in the
art of hand-to-hand combat are unparalleled among the ranks of mortal man.
In the halls of Furinkan High, where I reign mostly supreme, I have been
given the dreaded title of... 'The Sukeban Slayer'. She posed dramatically.

Keiko laughed so hard her cigarette flew out of her mouth. The rest of the
gang followed suit.

"Sukeban Slayer? You don't look like you could slay my brother's hamster."

"The only clash you can handle is the one your clothes are having right
now."

"You're lying. You were never called 'Sukeban Slayer."

"Am too," Kachiko said, even if she was the only one that had called herself
that. She should have been called that, though. She had taken out gangs of
thug girls, just like this one, on several different occasions.

"I'll take care of this," Keiko told the others as she drew her yo-yo out
and let it dangle from her finger.

Kachiko laughed at the display. "Oh no. A yo-yo. Whatever shall I do?
Perhaps I should counter you with my dreaded 'Hopscotch Houkudo'. Hahahaha!"

The laughter ended as Keiko flicked her wrist, striking her laughing foe
right between the eyes with the yo-yo with a hard and swift blow.

Kachiko's vision blurred and she staggered back, barely shaking her head
free of the cobwebs that threatened to take her over. "Okay, I didn't see
that one coming."

Showing her contempt, Keiko didn't follow up the attack and instead lit
another cigarette. She blew a puff of smoke in Kachiko's direction. "Not
very impressive for a Sukeban Slayer."

Face swelling slightly, Kachiko shifted into an attack stance. She might
have taken the gang girl lightly, but no longer. The leader had some true

potential, and odds said there were a few more in the gang that could make
Kachiko break a sweat. Worse, there was no time left to posture. Soun and
Hinako could appear at any moment. If they came upon a fight, especially one
with Kachiko involved, it would ruin everything. Lacking the time needed to
defeat the girls either as a group or one at a time, Kachiko had to focus
all of their attention on her and lure them away from the street.

Her mind sifted through the various techniques she knew that could make the
gang girls follow her to the ends of the earth. What could she do to make
them that angry? What had people done to Kachiko herself that enraged her so
badly she dropped everything to seek revenge?

One thing immediately sprang to mind. It was something that crossdressing
pervert, Yumi used to do when Kachiko's guard was down, leaving her enraged
for days afterward. It took months to master the technique, all for the
purpose of understanding it enough to form an effective counter to it. The
very thought of using the attack against another girl made Kachiko sick to
the stomach, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Resigned to using the technique, Kachiko prepared to attack. She just prayed
no one saw her use it, or she'd never live the humiliation down.

Keiko began twirling her yo-yo back and forth, prepared to launch an attack
of her own.

The two were a blur as the raced toward one another at top speed. The rest
of the gang saw the foes pass by one another, the sound of an impact
reaching their ears as the duo continued past each other as though they had
missed. Neither turned around, but remained facing in the same direction
they had started in.

There was a rustling sound as the material of Kachiko's left shirt sleeve
fell to the ground, as though it had been severed by a blade.

Keiko knew by the sound that her attack had been successful. She turned and
smirked at her foe. "That's a point for me."

"And two points for me," Kachiko announced as she took a drag on the
cigarette that dangled from her mouth.

"That's only one point," Keiko said in annoyance at having fallen victim to
the attack.

"Ah, no, it's two." Kachiko spun a pair of panties around on her finger.

Keiko felt under her skirt, and the lack of something there. Her face
blushed furiously, as she shouted, "You sick pervert! Give me back my
panties!"

"Come and get them," Kachiko taunted, fleeing down a connecting alley as
fast as she could. Using the technique hadn't been as painfully bad as she
anticipated. Actually, it had been kind of fun, in a twisted sort way. She
just hoped Ranma or any of the others didn't see her use it, or she'd never
hear the end of it.

Kachiko had just made it to the end of the alley and around the corner,
coming onto the street it emptied into, when she slammed into the back of a
tall, broad-shouldered man. Caught off-guard, Kachiko fell onto her
backside, while the large man only grunted, barely being budged an inch.

Kachiko shot back to her feet and leveled an accusatory finger at the man.
"Hey you !#$%, watch where you're goAHHH!"

Kachiko screamed as the man, and the dozen large compatriots in front of
him, turned at the loud disturbance Kachiko was making. She recognized the
belt full of weapons, the stun sticks they wielded in their beefy hands, and
the cheesy fuchsia berets they wore.

The CLAP had found her again.

The eyes of the large man she had bumped into widened in recognition. "Hey,
it's that child molesting pervert that attacked us a few weeks ago."

"I am not a pervert!" Kachiko shouted.

It was at that moment Keiko and her gang of sukeban burst from the alleyway,
the leader shouting, "Give me back my panties!"

Kachiko looked at the finger the panties dangled from, the one that was
leveled at the CLAP. "I can explain! This isn't what it looks like!"

"That's what they all say," the leader of the CLAP intoned menacingly as he
stepped toward Kachiko. The other men followed suit.

Behind Kachiko, Keiko and her gang did the same.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Hinako paused in her walk long to enough to look down an alleyway.

"What is it?" Soun asked.

"I thought I heard a scream of pain. I was probably hearing things." Hinako
decided to let the incident pass. Ordinarily she would investigate the
disturbance, hoping for the opportunity to drain some delinquent of their
energy. Tonight was different. She had more important matters to deal with.
Romance took precedent over discipline, after all.

The pair continued their casual stroll until they arrived at their
destination. The outside of the restaurant was sedate, if tasteful. They
entered and informed the maitre d' of their reservation. The service proved
itself outstanding as the maitre'd was quick usher them toward their table.
As they sat down, Soun noticed their arrival had drawn the stares of many
people, mostly men, who looked upon Hinako with lust and at Soun with envy.
The former made him irritated and defensive; Hinako was with him, and they
had no business looking at her as though they could have her. The latter
made him fill with pride. He was unable to remember the last time anyone was
envious of him, even if it was only for the company he kept.

A part of Soun knew he shouldn't feel that way. He wasn't interested in
Hinako. He couldn't be. He had his wife back, sort of. Except it was Kachiko
who had insisted he go out with Hinako, and Kachiko wasn't exactly the same
as she was before. She was a lot like the Kachiko he had been thrust into an
arranged marriage with, but not quite. Thinking about the matter, he decided
it was more like she was the potential to be that woman, rather than the
actual person. Despite her continued presence, and the reminder of what he
had once had, in some ways the Kachiko with him now merely made him want his
dead wife all the more. It was paradoxical, and difficult to sort things
out.

"Are you all right?" Hinako asked in concern at the far off cast Soun's eyes
had taken.

It was such a simple question, yet Soun realized it was almost never
directed toward him. No one ever displayed much consideration over his
feelings. Not his best friend, not his young wife, not even his daughters.
It made him realize how lonely he was. That he was with someone concerned
about his emotions made him feel wanted. Hinako was proving herself
wonderful company. He found enjoying himself and making the date go well was
proving much easier than he thought it would be. Keeping his promise to
Kachiko was going to be easy.

For the first time in recent memory, Soun pushed his concerns aside and
decided to enjoy the evening. "I'm fine," he answered. And more importantly,
he meant it.

Xxxxxxx

The kitchen was a flurry of activity as food was prepared and served to the
clientele in the dining area. Cooks, managers, and waiters moved in a tangle
that would make morning rush hour traffic seem orderly by comparison.

The confusion made it easy for a ninja of Kyosuke Takiawa's skill to pick
open the lock of the back door of the restaurant, go the locker room to
steal a waiter's uniform, then blend in with his surroundings.

So far everything had proven easy. The Conehead's information concerning
Hinako's whereabouts had been accurate. Unlike the smelly biker fools, or
the sukeban tramps, Kyosuke had easily spotted the two people trailing
Hinako. It was easy to avoid them with his superior mastery of moving
silently in shadows. Kyosuke was so talented sometimes even he didn't
realize he was around.

After confirming  no others would get in his way, the path to his enemy was
clear and he could execute his revenge. It was a simple plan. He would
impersonate Hinako's waiter, slipping a special poison in her food. It
wouldn't kill her. That would be too simple. Instead, he had something much
more elaborate in mind. The poison he'd slip her would merely render her in
a deathlike state, one that even the most highly trained of physicians could
not discern from actual death. Then, when her body was shipped to a morgue,
he would steal it. With Hinako legally declared dead, no one would seek her
out. Then his insidious revenge would begin.

He'd set up a classroom and make her take classes he was teaching by tying
her to a chair. Then he'd fail her for not attending them, even though she
was there. Then, when she tried to alter her grades, he would make sure she
couldn't. That would give her a taste of the hell he went through. Oh yes,
she was going to pay for her sins in that hell of his own devising. He was
almost sorry for her. Almost.

The ninja watched carefully as a waiter took Hinako's order. As the man came
through the door to the kitchen, Kyosuke took him aside, claiming a manager
wanted to see him. Once the two were out of sight, Kyosuke hit him in the
back of the head, then stuffed him in one of the lockers in the changing
room.

Kyosuke looked over the order. So, Hinako had chosen the salmon mousse. It
appeared revenge truly was going to be a dish served cold.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Soun found himself slightly uncomfortable as Hinako gazed upon him in open
adoration. It wasn't so much from the stare as Soun finding his reaction to
it most improper. He found his memory drifting to some of the things she
shared outwardly with Minato, and wondered if the resemblance was more than
superficial. Minato had been an incredibly talented woman, after all.

No! He had to keep such lecherous thoughts from his mind. This was their
first date. It had taken three months before he and Kachiko had progressed
to that sort of relationship. And for him and Minato... Well, the
circumstances surrounding his first 'date' with her were considerably
different from a standard relationship. A comparison didn't hold up there.
But it had been so long since he had enjoyed the company of a woman.

For the longest time, Soun simply didn't have the desire to think of them
that way. Then the first time Hinako had come around, she had made him
consider such things to the point he asked his daughters how they would feel
if he remarried. Receiving unequivocal  'No's from all of them, he tempered
those feelings for a while. But the return of a younger, incredibly sexy
Kachiko, had brought them back with a vengeance. It was on the verge of
being painful, and his body cried out for some form of relief. Hinako, and
the body she had, could certainly help him with his problem, and she seemed
attracted to him. They were adults. It would be fine. Many did so. It wasn't
the same thing as marriage, after all.

Soun's body was so tense, he broke out in a sweat. How could he think such
thoughts concerning another woman when his beloved Kachiko was returned to
him? Well, her refusal to allow him near her had a lot to do with it. The
harder he tried to get close to her, the more violent she was toward him. It
only made the situation worse, not better. Perhaps thinking those thoughts
concerning Hinako was only natural.

It was while he was in the middle of his mental diatribe that he felt a bare
foot force its way between his legs and make an up and down motion on his
crotch.

Surprised, Soun reacted by shooting up to his feet. It was at that exact
same moment the waiter arrived with their food. Soun rose so quickly the
waiter didn't have time to react as the platter laden with their meal was
shoved into his face.

"I'm sorry!" Hinako and Soun said as one, her comments directed toward her
date while his were to the waiter he had knocked over.

The waiter rose slowly, stunned from the blow. He started to unleash an
angry retort, when he smacked his lips together. His eyes bulged, and he ran
as though to make his way to the bathroom. He collapsed halfway there,
remaining motionless on the ground.

One of the managers, Jinto Gannosuke, was quick to appear. He snapped his
fingers, and two other waiters hoisted the limp body up and back toward the
kitchen.

Noting the rest of the patrons were watching the scene in varying degrees of
annoyance to scandal, Jinto reassured them. "Don't worry. Kurosawa is anemic
and passes out very easily. He'll be fine. Please return to your dining and
enjoy."

He went in back toward the kitchen. Once the doors swung shut behind him,
Jinto went to find the fallen waiter. He found him, and watched in concern
as the two chefs examined the motionless waiter. One of them turned away
from the body and informed the manager of his prognosis.

"He's dead, Jin."

Jinto stared in disbelief at the body. "What? How?"

The other chef smelled around the motionless man's mouth. "I believe it was
the salmon mousse."

"It's always the salmon mousse," the other chef said sagely.

Jinto wiped the sweat from his brow. "Who is he?"

The second chef said, "I don't know. I don't recognize him. Probably a
temp."

"Good, no one will miss him then. We'll deal with it the same way we did
during the incident with the mermaid flesh back in June." He stared
accusingly at the first chef.

"I thought it would be a good appetizer," he said defensively.

"It's poisonous and makes people die violently."

"Not everyone."

"Oh right, some turn into flesh eating monsters instead."

"Some people become immortal."

"What, one out of a hundred?!"

"They do tend tip well afterwards."

"Just throw the body in the dumpster out back," Jinto said tiredly. Before
retreating to his office, he told a passing janitor to deal with the mess in
the dining room.

The old man did as he was instructed, trudging along with his mop in hand.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Once the commotion died down, Soun returned to his seat. He saw that Hinako
instead chose to remain standing, bowing before him. "Please forgive me for
my inappropriate behavior."

Noting she was on the verge of tears, he said in reassuring tones, "Now,
now. It was nothing."

"It was wrong of me to be so forward. I dishonored you," she insisted.

Soun chuckled. "Actually, I'll let you in on a secret. My wife did that same
thing to me once when we were dating. I reacted the same way. So I think
it's safe to say no offense was taken now any more than it was then."

Hinako smiled at him, almost childlike in the way she gazed upon him. "Thank
you so much. You don't know how much it means..." she  trailed off, staring
curiously at her hand.

"What is it?" Soun asked.

"Some of the food spilled on my clothes," she said quickly. "I have to go
the lavatory and clean up." Distraught, she hurried off before Soun could
offer a word of protest.

Soun was left staring curiously at her retreating form. He could have sworn
the food had been flung in the opposite direction of his date.

As distracted as he was, he failed to notice the janitor cease cleaning up
the spill and head toward the women's restroom.

Xxxxxx

The door to the restroom had barely swung shut when Hinako felt the familiar
sensation of reverting to her younger form. Tearfully she walked to the wall
to wall mirror over the sink and forced herself to look at her image. She
had been so excited over the course of the date she had unintentionally
radiated a lot of excess energy and the supply that should have lasted all
night instead had given out no more than halfway in. She had almost changed
in front of Soun, and that would have ruined everything. Turning into an
eight year old child was the quickest way to kill any romance that had been
building up. He'd never want to see her again.  He wouldn't want to see her
now. The date was over! She slumped next to the sink and began bawling like
a little child.

The door to the restroom opened, and Tatsumi stalked in, recognizing his
prey's younger  form immediately. Clementine at the fore, he prepared to
lunge at the girl before she had a chance to do anything.

Hinako was faster, as, upon hearing someone enter the bathroom, she had
drawn her coin and called out "Happo-gojuuen Setsu!"

Tatsumi had closed only half the distance toward Hinako when he felt his
life force sucked out of his body. He crumpled to the ground, the draining
so all-consuming that even Clementine looked thinner than before.

The now adult Hinako looked down at the dried out form of the janitor. He
had possessed a surprisingly strong battle aura. Obviously the man attacked
dirt with true passion. Hinako felt filled with enough energy to make it
through the rest of the night.

Delight replacing depression, Hinako returned to enjoying the rest of her
date.

Xxxxxxx

It was an exhausted, physically drained Ranma that dragged himself in the
direction of the restaurant that Soun and Hinako were dining at. Running
across rooftops was out of the question. He was lucky to walk with the limp
in his right leg. He was certain a disc had slipped in his back too. It had
been a rough fight. Things had been fine until the Road Ronin had jumped
into the brawl. He had some sort of pressure point attack that had done a
number on Ranma's muscles every time the huge man landed a blow, even if it
was a block Ranma was using. It had gotten tricky then, and might have ended
badly until Ranma led him into a Hiryuu Shouten Ha. It was one of the most
difficult feats he had ever accomplished. While the Road Ronin had more than
enough hot chi channeling through him to use the technique, Ranma had to run
backward quickly, since the huge man had fought from the back of his moving
motorcycle the entire time.

Ranma had dragged himself most of the way there when a shadowy figure lunged
out from a connecting alleyway. Ranma came close to punching the person out,
but recognized her just in time to pull back his fist.

Kachiko was covered in bruises, black char marks, and curiously, panties.
"What happened to you?"

"I ran into some old friends and met some new." Her voice was exhaustion
personified.  "Let's go back home."

"What about the date?"

"I'd rather jump off an eighteen foot diving board and into an empty pool
than keep watching them." She sighed. "I'm so tired, I don't even care if
the old creep tries to jump in bed with me again. I just want to go to
sleep."

Ranma was inclined to agree. He had never envisioned chaperoning being such
hard work.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun and Hinako exited the restaurant, giggling inappropriately loud. The
wine undoubtedly had a great deal to do with it. Things had gone so well
after the collision with the waiter that Soun splurged and ordered a bottle
of wine, and a not altogether inexpensive one at that. Despite the cost, the
atmosphere had been too perfect to pass up. It had definitely been the
correct choice.

Now the streets were deserted as the two made their way out of the
restaurant, swaying as much as walking down the street in their revelry.

The restaurant was only a block behind them when Hinako staggered, one of
her heels catching in a crack. In her drunken stupor, she teetered into
Soun, and would have fallen altogether had his martial arts reflexes,
despite being dulled as they were by the alcohol, kicked in and he caught
her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Better than all right with where you're holding me." Hinako stared
meaningfully at where his hands were affixed to her chest.

Soun finally noticed. "I'm sorry!" he said, withdrawing his hands from their
improper perch.

Still off balance and lacking anything to prop her up, Hinako fell straight
onto her bottom.

"I'm sorry!" Soun babbled again, reaching under her arms to heft her up from
behind.

"How indecisive," she slurred out.

Soun wondered what she was talking about, then noticed that his hands,
having minds of their own and concluding their former grasp was good for
holding onto things, latched onto Hinako in the exact same spot as before.

Just as Soun's grip started to loosen, Hinako's own hands came to engulf
his, making certain they stayed right where they were. The intention was
unmistakable.

Soun gulped loudly. He knew he should insist on removing them, but could not
find the resolve to make the thought reality. Instead they remained right
where they were, the soft, yet firm, flesh producing a thousand different
conflicting emotions in the father of three.

While Soun was racked with indecision, Hinako moved back into his embrace.
In her deep, sultry voice, she whispered, "You're the first man I've ever
allowed to touch me like this. Please, leave them there."

A triphammer was pounding in Soun's chest, and he wondered if his heart
would break a rib with how powerfully it beat. He shouldn't be there, with
another woman, doing this. A different portion of his mind demanded he stay.
Yet a third had the audacity to insist he act like a man and further things
on his own initiative, rather than forcing Hinako to control the tempo of
the date.

Hinako peered over her shoulder. In her heels, she was tall enough to look
Soun in the eye. Slowly she brought her face toward his, and he began to do
the same.

"Well, well, well, if this isn't the most touching thing I've ever seen. It
would move me to tears, if I was still capable of them."

The voice cut through the building aura of mutual passion that had tuned out
the rest of the world. Reminded that they were in the middle of a public
street, and what they had been doing, Soun withdrew his hands as though
Hinako's skin had caught fire. Hinako firmed her outfit, which had ridden up
during her falling and rising from the ground.

The pair focused on the man who had interrupted their public tryst.

Hinako was stunned. "You, poor, poor man, I can't imagine what deformity you
have that forces you to wear that awful headgear."

"It looks like he's a giant pimple ready to burst," Soun said in
open-mouthed wonder.

"That is not my head! It's just a costume!" the Gargoyle raged.

"You look more ridiculous than that panda drawing that tried to date Ranma,"
Soun said, recalling the carnival incident, one of the less than memorable
experiences in his future son-in-law's life.

"It's stylish!" the Gargoyle insisted.

"It's the most horrible thing I've ever seen," Hinako said.

"I don't have to take that from you of all people," the Gargoyle intoned
menacingly. "All of those other idiots I recruited might have failed
miserably, but that's all right. Orchestrating your defeat is nowhere near
as satisfying as taking my revenge on you personally."

"I've never met you before," Hinako assured him. "I'm certain I'd remember
someone that looks like a giant dildo."

"I'll show you!" The Gargoyle removed his helmet, all four feet of it, and
tossed it to the ground. He then flexed his muscles, shredding the white
uniform he wore, leaving him in nothing more than a torn set of white boxers

Beneath the helmet was a visage straight out of sixteenth century cathedral
architecture. Now the Gargoyle looked far more like his namesake, displaying
a monstrous red face, with inhumanly large canines, a snout, and small white
horns poking out from his brow. Blood red eyes seemed to take in Hinako's
form with an inhuman hunger. His physique was every bit as demonic as his
face, with the huge, rippling muscles that were large, and in some cases
exaggerated beyond human dimensions, including what lay hidden beneath his
boxers.

"I don't recall meeting any demons either," Hinako told him.

"I didn't look like this back then!" the Gargoyle roared. "Back in high
school, I was nothing more than a poor, misunderstood youth. All I wanted
was attention from my peers and recognition from those in charge. But I was
cruelly treated by both the system, and especially you!"

"So you were a delinquent of some kind?" Hinako asked.

"Don't label me, you bitch! That's the same attitude you displayed toward me
back then, and look what it turned me into!"

"You took steroids?"

"I made a deal with a sex-demon!" he shrieked.

"You sold him your soul?"

The Gargoyle calmed down. "Actually, no. It only cost me ten thousand yen.
Rellram wasn't what you would call a great bargainer. I got off pretty darn
lucky in acquiring this powerful body, as well as the 'special attachments'
if you know what I mean, for a bargain basement price."

"I still don't know who you are," Hinako said.

"I am Kenji Yasuroka. A student whose life you tormented until it drove me
toward the brink of insanity."

"You're Kenji 'The Pervert' Yasuroka?" Hinako asked, the dawn of realization
finally showing in her eyes. "I do remember you. You would hike up girls'
skirts, sneak into their lockers rooms, take naughty pictures, and all other
sorts of delinquent things."

"Being interested in the opposite sex is not a sign of being a delinquent!"

"It is when the girls don't want you holding them up to ridicule," Hinako
said, her voice taking on an authoritative tone. "You were one of the worst
delinquents I ever had to deal with. I had to drain you at least five times
a day to get you to stop. It took what, two months straight of draining,
including coming by your house weekends, to make you stop harassing all the
girls in school?"

"And it permanently drained me of my ability to..." What started out as a
yell became a whisper. "You know, become excited around women."

Hinako laughed. "Impossible. My abilities don't work that way. Even repeated
draining over an extended period of time has no long term effects. I've
drained weaker people than you a lot longer, and they were fine. If you had
any problems with arousal, they were psychological, not physical. Perhaps
you finally felt guilt at objectifying women for so long and that was the
punishment your mind chose."

"It was not my fault! It was yours!" the Gargoyle went from raging to
unleashing a hungry look at Hinako. "And now you'll pay. Thanks to my deal,
I'm able to be a true man once again. And I've been saving my improvements
just for you." He took a step forward.

Hinako turned red at the implication. Her hand, which had been drifting
toward the pocket in her dress since the conehead first appeared, whipped
out her largest coin. She lined up the hole in the center with the demon,
then shouted out "Happo-gojuuen Setsu!"

The Gargoyle's only reaction was to take another step forward, his gait
unaffected by Hinako's attempt to drain him. His feral smile grew at the
confusion on her face.

Hinako felt a surge of panic and called out the draining attack again, but
still she felt nothing flow from his body and into her.

The Gargoyle said, "That won't work. One of the deals of the pact I made was
immunity to your draining and shooting abilities. But you don't have to take
my word for it. By all means, release all of your pent up energy at me. I
don't care what form you're in when I take my revenge."

The boast, which held the weight of truth, made Hinako back away, uncertain
of what to do. She had never encountered someone that was immune to her
abilities. As Kachiko had accused her in the past, she was as much a 'one
trick pony' as one could get. Her reliance on them was total. She had never
bothered learning of another means of defending herself since her inherent
abilities had always sufficed. She was helpless in the face of the
Gargoyle's obvious power.

Before the creature could draw another step closer, Soun interceded, placing
himself between the beast and his prey.

"I won't let you harm her," he warned.

The Gargoyle laughed uproariously, an inhuman rattle that set everyone's
teeth on edge. "And exactly what is it you think you can do to me, little
man?"

"This!" Holding nothing back, Soun attacked with the full force of his demon
head.

The Gargoyle grabbed him casually by his elongated throat, choking the man
and making him revert to his human form. He brought Soun's face in close.
"You idiot. What good is such an attack against one who is already a
demon?!" He threw Soun headfirst into a wall. There was a sickening thud,
and Soun's limp form slumped to the ground.

"Soun-chan!" Fear of her foe forgotten, Hinako rushed to be at Soun's side.

She was intercepted by a huge hand that snared her arm, pulling her toward
the Gargoyle. She tried scratching him with her nails on her free hand, but
they broke harmlessly against his leathery hide. He caught her free hand by
the wrist, then forced both into one of his massive paws. Supporting her
weight with one hand, he effortlessly suspended her off the ground by her
wrists.

He brought her face near his demonic visage. A serpentine tongue darted out,
caressing her face. "Yum. Jasmine flavored perfume. Tastes great."

She recoiled at the fetid breath he exhaled.

"Let's see if the rest of you tastes the saARGH!" he snarled in pain,
releasing his hold on Hinako's wrists and held his back.

Hinako fell to the ground, landing on her side. Instantly she tried to crawl
away from the Gargoyle, looking for Soun at the same time. She saw her date
had regained his footing, and had launched some attack into the Gargoyle's
unprotected back.

Saliva dripped from the demon's jaws as he continued holding his back in
pain. "How dare you attack me! I was content to allow you to escape without
harm, but for defending this unworthy woman, and having the audacity to make
her happy by showing her a good time, I'm going to do something bad to you!
I'm not sure what, since I've never beaten up anyone before, and I've only
been fantasizing about Hinako all my life, but I'll come up with something
good. In a bad way."

The Gargoyle seemed to draw more power from somewhere as his mass increased.
Veins popped out from already inhumanly large muscles that grew as Hinako
watched. Steam rose from the creature and his skin's texture turned more
red.

Hinako shouted. "Run, Soun! It's me he wants!"

Soun shook his head. "I could hardly call myself a martial artist if I
allowed something as simple minded as this fool to ruin one of my dates."

Hinako couldn't believe her ears. "Look at him! He isn't even human!"

"He's nothing compared to my old martial arts master," Soun assured her.

"I've got it!" the Gargoyle shouted. "I'll pull down your pants and spank
you until you beg for mercy! That'll show you!"

Both Soun and Hinako cringed.

"All right, you do compare to the Master," Soun conceded. "But nonetheless,
I refuse to allow you to lay even a finger on my date."

"Oh, I'm going to lay more than finger on her," the Gargoyle threatened.
Content that he had struck the appropriate amount of fear into the
opposition, the Gargoyle rushed forward to attack Soun, shooting forward
with a blinding burst of speed.

"Look out!" Hinako cried.

Soun side stepped the rush, leaving one foot sticking out. The Gargoyle
tripped over the extended foot. Soun helped add velocity to the rush by
pushing on the demon's back, taking his turn to send the demon headfirst
into the wall.

The Gargoyle recovered from the blow more quickly than Soun had. He lashed
out with a wide swing toward Soun's head, intent on hitting a home run using
Soun's skull as the ball. The martial artist ducked out of the way and
struck with a fast three fist combination to his opponent's chin.

The Gargoyle recoiled in pain and clutched his mouth. "You made me chip a
fang!" he whined.

Soun took a moment to give Hinako a reassuring look. "For all of his power,
he has no skill. I suffered under one of the most grueling training
regimen's the human body could endure. I can handle one lousy demon."

"That's sex demon!" the Gargoyle proclaimed. From his sides and back a mass
of tentacles burst forth and lashed out toward Soun.

The numerous appendages caught Soun off guard, and he was relentlessly
hammered by the ropy strands of leathery flesh that seemed to be everywhere.
Two of them wrapped themselves around his torso, then threw him into the
ground a trio of times, before releasing him and leaving his still form
embedded in the ruins of the street.

Hinako drew back in horror at the sight. Then her eyes focused on the
tentacles, which appeared identical to those that would be on an octopus. "I
thought sex demons' tentacles were supposed to be more phallic."

The Gargoyle held his hands up helplessly, all of the tentacles mimicking
the movement. "I did only pay ten thousand yen. Rellram had to cut corners
somewhere on the transformation. I still think it was a good deal,
especially since my original 'tentacle' has been enhanced." He thrust his
pelvis meaningfully in Hinako's direction.

Hinako wanted to run, but was fearful. Even if she did escape, that would
leave the beaten Soun at the Gargoyle's mercy, and he would be doubly angry
at her evasion. There could be no doubt he would take all of his anger out
on the helpless Soun. That meant there was no other choice. "If you promise
to leave Soun alone, I'll go with you."

At first, the Gargoyle seemed delighted at the woman's shift in attitude.
Then it changed just as quickly. "Odd, it's nowhere near as fun if you just
give up. I preferred it when you were screaming and terrified of what I
implied I was going to do with you. How about if I give you a running start
instead?"

"You... won't... touch... her."

The Gargoyle turned in irritation while Hinako stared in shock as Soun
forced himself to a standing position.

"No! You can't fight anymore! Just give up!" Hinako insisted.

"Never!" Soun swore.

The Gargoyle watched the interaction, his attention riveted. To Hinako, he
said, "You know something. I think the best way I could hurt you was if I
was to really pound on your loverboy."

"No!"

The Gargoyle's smile was wide enough to show off all of his fangs. "Oh yes,
definitely."

Soun stared boldly at the demon. Taking a page from Ranma's book, he
taunted, "Come on over and get some, limpy."

The demon's eyes bulged until the orbs nearly fell out of his skull. "You'll
pay for that!"

While the demon raged Soun pulled out a cigarette, lit it up, and took a
long, drawn out puff of it. "Sure I will."

With an incoherent scream, the Gargoyle charged forward in a maddened rush
again, intent on pounding on Soun until nothing was left but a fleshy
puddle. Just as the fists were about to strike, Soun let the cigarette fall
from his lips and jumped up between the fists, using the Gargoyle's head as
springboard to vault over the creature. He landed deftly next to Hinako.

The Gargoyle's blow would have struck the street, save that he had already
shattered it to reveal the ground underneath. Including a gas main, one his
fists, backed by his tremendous strength and even more tremendous rage,
crumpled.

"Oops!" the Gargoyle said sheepishly as the abandoned cigarette ignited the
sudden release of gas.

Soun threw his tired, beaten body over Hinako's protecting her from the
debris kicked up by the explosion. Luckily, the Gargoyle's massive body bore
the brunt of it, and Soun was left with only a light bit of singing and some
of the smaller pieces of concrete bouncing off his body.

As the residue from the explosion settled, Soun slowly, aching like he
couldn't remember, and forced himself to stand up. Just as he regained his
vertical base, his legs threatened to give out. Before he could fall, Hinako
caught him, supporting him until he could stand on his own.

She stared at him through tearful eyes. "Oh Soun, I can't believe you risked
so much. You could have been killed. You're the most courageous man I've
ever met."

Despite his pain wracked body, Soun laughed embarrassedly, unused to such
gushing praise coming from a member of the opposite sex. Even Kachiko had
never referred to him in such glowing terms. "Ah, yes, well, it was
nothing."

Hinako said nothing else. Instead she cradled his jaw, bringing her face
close to his. Soun could have pulled away, knew he should have, but couldn't
seem to force his body to respond.

Her lips were just about to touch when a voice said, "Hey, you jerks! I
almost died and you're trying to suck face! Have you no shame?!"

Soun and Hinako turned to see the Gargoyle pull himself from the smoldering
ruin that used to be the middle of the street. He was charred around the
edges, and several tentacles flapped uselessly at his side, but he appeared
fit and able outside of those minor injuries.

"It's a good thing I'm fireproof," the Gargoyle boasted.

Soun gently, but firmly, pushed Hinako aside. "I've had enough of this guy."

The Gargoyle was offended. "Hey, that's my line! I'm the wronged party here,
like I have been all my life!"

"Shut up, you whiny little snot!" Soun roared. "All you do is snivel about
how no one gave you sympathy and let you do what you wanted and how you've
been offended by it. Well I have news for you. You're a self-centered
egotistical brat that's hurt others without consideration for their feelings
and isn't worth the sympathy you so desperately crave! You're the one that
needs to be put over someone's knee and spanked!"

"You're just like all the others and trying to blame me for the faults of
others! I'll kill you!" The Gargoyle charged forth once again.

Soun met the charge with one of his own. Once he drew close enough, the
demon lashed out with his working tentacles. Soun twisted and turned,
evading each one until he drew within the reach of the Gargoyle's arms. The
demon tried to hit him with his fists, but Soun deflected those as well.

That left the Gargoyle wide open for a powerful right that Soun put straight
to the huge creature's jaw. The blow caused the demon's jaw to snap shut,
and recoil from the force of the punch. Soun remained where he was, watching
the results of his handiwork.

Whip fast, the Gargoyle shook his head back and forth. He blinked his eyes
several times, then firmed up his stance. "Ha! If that's the best you can
do, little man, I hope you've made out your will. I'd hate for your
descendants to have to fight over their inheritance. I... Hey! Why is it
getting dark? It's only ten."

The question was never answered as the Gargoyle collapsed face first into
the ground. He didn't move. He just lay there limply, like all of his
tentacles.

"That takes care of that." Soun wiped his hands off on his now ruined suit.
Despite the way his body ached and pleaded with him to lie down for a while,
he was forced to admit that the fight had been exhilarating. He hadn't
defeated a proper foe in years, and the battle had been close at the
beginning. It made him feel alive and that he had accomplished something of
significance, neither an emotion he had felt in some time.

Soun's musings ended abruptly as Hinako nearly tackled him in an embrace.
Her eyes were watery as she stared at him in adoration. "No one has ever
done anything like that for me before. You could have been hurt keeping that
monster from having his way with me."

Though it was the honest truth, Soun still felt embarrassed by the
accolades. "Well, a man's got to do what a man's got to do."

"And you are a true man," Hinako all but swooned as she grabbed him by the
face and kissed him long and hard.

Soun's first reaction was to stiffen at the embrace. Then, still on a
euphoric high from the endorphins running through his body, as well as the
very female attributes pressing against him, became caught up in the heat of
the moment and returned the kiss with just as much as he was receiving.

The kiss opened the gates and began releasing ten years of stored up
passion. Soun lost himself in the embrace. It was the first time in over a
decade that he had acted like a man with a woman. Basking in the feel of her
lips, the warmth of her body, the intoxicating scent of her ardor, it was
like he had died and gone to heaven. He never wanted the feeling to end.

Hinako broke off the kiss, and it was all Soun could do to not force her
lips back to his again.

She continued holding him close. She all but breathed, "There's a motel
nearby. Why don't we go there and spend the entire night?"

Soun felt his heart nearly seize up at what the gorgeous, voluptuous woman
before him was asking. Almost automatically, he said yes, for there were
other yearnings beyond kissing he wanted to experience again. But there was
one thing stopping him, one thing forcing him back to reality. "I... can't.
I'm sorry." They were some of the hardest words he had ever spoken. He
didn't even want to say them, not really. But he had to. There was no choice
in the matter. It was the way of things.

His waited for the slap to the face. Or the protests. Or the tears. Or the
cold glare and cursing that would follow his rejection. Instead, Hinako
moved her head close to his and whispered in his ear, "I'll wait until
you're ready. I'll keep waiting until that day."

She didn't say anything else. She released her hold, looked upon him fondly,
then turned and headed in a direction away from his home.

Soun watched her leave, wanting to say something, but knowing it would do no
good. It felt like something important, integral to him, was leaving. He
knew he should stop her. He knew he should give in to what they both wanted.
But at the same time he still couldn't, and instead was stuck with his
quasi-half-life once again.

He was such a detestable man.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was past midnight by the time Soun forced himself to return to his home.
He had tried going out to a bar to drown his sorrows and trick himself into
thinking he had done the right thing, but he had no desire to taste alcohol.
So instead he walked around Nerima, alone, just like he had been in so many
ways since his wife died. His life, as defined by others, was exclusively
that of 'father', and with the return of Saotome, ' friend', but only with a
woman could be become 'lover' again. He had a chance tonight, but he turned
it away, and no amount of drink could convince him otherwise.

Soun was more miserable than he had been for years. It was made all the
worse because just hours earlier he had been the happiest he had felt in
years. Falling from a height was so much worse than falling from a ditch.
Things could not have turned out worse than if it had been planned that way
from the beginning.

Soun had already rejected the company of someone he wanted; he wanted no
others whose attention he desired even less, around him either. He walked
around in aimless circles until the others in his household would be asleep.
Waiting until it was well past midnight, he walked by his home. No lights
were on, so he hoped for the best as he entered, heading directly toward the
living room. Sleep would not come for a while, and he did not want to be in
cold bed alone now. It was too appropriate for what he felt.

Soun left the lights off, preferring the cold comfort darkness afforded him.
It matched the feeling in his soul. So he sat in dark silence, wondering why
everything that should have been so right felt so wrong instead.

He became aware of the presence a second before it entered the room. He
said, "Not tonight, please," just as Kachiko entered.

Instead of leaving, she sat down opposite him across the table. "That bad,
huh?"

For the first time in over ten years, Soun felt anger toward his wife. Or
the memory of her. It was hard to differentiate the two with the recent turn
of events. "You're the last person I can speak to of this."

Kachiko pondered that. "Yeah, I can see that. Okay, I'll leave." She rose
and headed for the doorway. Just as she was about to leave, she turned and
said in soft tones, "Look, let's say for the sake of argument I did end up
married, and raised a family, and I loved my husband with all my heart, and
I died young. Even if all of that happened, I would never, ever, have wanted
anyone left behind to mourn me for too long. Ten years is way more than
enough. Five years is the max, even with how unforgettable I am. After that,
it's time to move on. Only one person died, not two, and to behave otherwise
is only to belittle everything that was shared between the two. Love is
supposed to make a person better than they can be on their own, but it
shouldn't destroy what was there to begin with. If it does, then it wasn't
really love at all, but a convenient obsession. No matter what happened to
me, what kind of misery and problems I'd go through, I'd never be like that,
and I don't think you're that sort of person either. I'm going to bed now."
And she left.

Soun remained where he was, in the darkness, the words echoing in his mind.
Tears began pouring down his face as he felt something laid to rest within
in his breast. Those were Kachiko's words, even if the girl that had just
spoken them wasn't the real Kachiko. Or at least his 'Kachi'. Nor was she
ever going to be. She was only the potential to be his Kachi, but that was
irrelevant; he wasn't a possible suitor to her now the way he had been back
when they had first met.

His wife, his real wife, had changed him into something else when they had
met. It had been that way for years, transforming him even as he transformed
her. Now, that time had come and gone, never to return. Kachiko was dead. He
had mourned her passing for an eternity, and tonight, Hinako had made him
realize he had grown tired of mourning perpetually in solitude. But he
couldn't let it go, not until she spoke the words and made him understand
the truth he could not admit to himself, and no one else could convince him
with. Now, the weight that had been breaking his back for so long was gone.
He felt like a new man with a future that he could call his own, rather than
a bystander watching the world go by. For all the relief, there was a touch
of sadness at the passing of an era, but it was outweighed by the knowledge
that it was time to move on.

When the sun eventually crested the horizon and filled the room with yellow
light, it was a new day dawning in more ways than one. But it wasn't really
a surprise.

Absolution made everything better, after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[END NOTES]

Special thanks to:
Eternal Lost Lurker
The Apprentice
Max M.
Christopher Horton
David Tai
Michael A. Chase






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