<<< continued from part 1 <<<

--------------------
--- Suginami ---

Aiko suppressed her momentary mirth behind the rim of her teacup. The
young Nisei officer was doing quite well in suppressing his fidgeting,
but it was also obvious he was used to leading from the front.

The hallway door opened long enough for Seiko to step into the room.
"Pardon for the interruption, Okusama."

Aiko nodded to her assistant. "Seiko."

"Your daughter has arrived from Nerima-ku and requests a few moments of
your time."

"Indeed," Aiko replied. She turned back to the three men seated
opposite at the table after Seiko exited the room. "If you will please
excuse me for a moment, gentlemen."

"Certainly, Yamada-dono," Muggono said with a nod as Aiko stood up.
"May I inform his Majesty's staff on an approximate time for our
departure?"

Aiko allowed a small part of her worry to show on her face. "Please
convey my most sincere apologies to his Majesty and inform his staff
that we will be unavoidably delayed for an indeterminate length of
time. I'm afraid that Ranma-kun left rather abruptly shortly before you
arrived, and he did not leave me with any indication on how long he
would be out."

"Yamada-dono?" The Nisei officer held up a small cell phone. "Perhaps I
may be of some assistance?"

Aiko gave the commander an enigmatic smile. "You are certainly welcome
to try, Kuroi-san. I would be most pleasantly surprised if you could
locate him in such a manner. Now, if you will excuse me." She gave the
three men another brief acknowledgement before walking unhurriedly out
of the room.

--------------------

Katsu Mugonno hid a smirk as he watched the young commander dial. The
Americans were always so proud of their intelligence technology and
their ability to monitor everything at any time. Given Yamada-san's
parting comment, this should prove to be ... entertaining.

"Shinobi Two, status on Wild Colt."

Kuroi frowned a moment later. "Negative, Wild Colt is not on premises.
Check skywatch log from ten zero zero zero lima to zero eight zero zero
lima and report back." He closed the phone with a bit more force than
necessary.

"A problem, Kuroi-san?" Mugonno inquired.

"It shouldn't be, Mugonno-san."

Mugonno nodded once before taking a sip from his cup. He carefully hid
his amusement behind the delicate porcelain.

--------------------

The Yamada matriarch hurried to the foyer where Seiko was waiting. A
brief nod answered Aiko's arced eyebrow.

"Nodoka-san is waiting in the Maple room, Okusama," Seiko said. "She
asked if she could meet with Harukichi as well." She handed the
invitation back to the Yamada matriarch. "Haru-chan and the girls are
upstairs getting ready at the moment."

Aiko frowned momentarily. "When Haru-chan is ready, ask her to show our
guests around the premises. I'm sure they would enjoy a brief tour
while we are all waiting." She smiled in appreciation when Seiko handed
her both the Yamada and Saotome registries. "Please have whoever is
available bring in a tea service - Chinese White, preferably."

"Hai, Okusama."

--------------------

Aiko tried not to roll her eyes when she entered the Maple room. Her
daughter was standing next to the table in the middle of the room,
waiting for her arrival.

"Okaasama," Nodoka bowed deeper than Aiko thought necessary.

"Oh, do sit *down*, No-chan," Aiko admonished. "We have quite a bit of
ground to cover in order to deal with the mess we have both created,
you realize that?"

Nodoka waited until her mother was seated before taking a seat herself.
It took a few more seconds before Aiko's comment registered.
"Okaasama?"

Aiko nodded sharply. "Yes, and the mess is centered entirely around the
same subject: Ranma-kun." She gave her daughter a sharp look.
"Daughter, when was the last time you ate or slept?"

The Yamada matriarch's demeanor and tone of voice was having its
desired effect.

"Okaasan?" Nodoka gave her mother a puzzled look. "That's ... of little
importance at the moment."

"It's more relevant than you realize, No-chan." Aiko replied. She
smiled when Naomi entered the room with a tray. "Ah ... thank you, Naomi-
chan." Their quick exchange of signs went unnoticed by her daughter, to
Aiko's intense disappointment.

Nodoka waited for the black-haired maid to leave the room. "Okaasan, is
Harukichi-chan currently on the premises?"

Aiko nodded. "Yes, she is. Unfortunately, Haru-chan and the other girls
are currently unavailable at the moment."

"I see. I would like to thank her in person if possible. However,"
Nodoka said as she handed her mother a sealed scroll, "in any event I
would appreciate if this could be delivered to her."

Aiko gave the scroll a cursory glance before accepting it. She had a
reasonably good idea what the document contained, and if she were
right, it would do Haru-chan quite a lot of good in the long term -
even if it would confuse the heck out of her right away.

"Certainly, daughter. However, there are a number of items that must be
addressed immediately. First," Aiko said curtly, opening the Yamada
registry, "there is this minor but glaring discrepancy in our family
records to correct."

Nodoka felt a small bump of anxiety when her mother pulled the final
Saotome registry scroll out of its storage case and unrolled it next to
the open Yamada book. Aiko carefully reentered Nodoka's information
into the Yamada registry, restoring her legal status as Aiko's second
daughter. She subconsciously relaxed when Aiko repeated the procedure
with Ranma's entry, effectively adopting him posthumously as she had
hoped. Nodoka tried hard not to beam when Aiko made a *third* new entry
into the Yamada registry for Ranko, repeating Ranma's birth information
and effectively making him his own twin. She had not expected that, but
it was a singular honor and quite appropriate considering the role his
Ranko personae had played.

"You do my son great honor, Okaasama," Nodoka said serenely. She had
received everything she had hoped for and more.

"You can tell him that in person." Aiko closed the registries and set
them to the side.

Nodoka's expression became slightly wistful. "I intend to, Okaasama."

Aiko nodded sharply, a grim smile on her face. "That does bring up the
next major item that needs resolution; this matter of family honor.
Tanto," the Yamada matriarch demanded, holding out a hand.

Nodoka blinked. That wasn't part of the script.

"Tanto," Aiko repeated firmly. "Come on, girl, we don't have all day."

Nodoka stared at her mother's hand. She couldn't have misjudged the
situation *that* badly, could she? She hesitantly handed the tanto
over.

Aiko snatched the tanto from Nodoka and set it down on the floor beside
her. "Good. You will not need that for some time, for a variety of
reasons. The first is that we have been invited to the Palace to meet
with His Imperial Majesty for a cup of tea, and Tennou Heika would be
more than just a little upset if I brought only the head of my daughter
along instead of the whole person." Aiko unfolded the Imperial
invitation and placed it on the table in front of Nodoka.

The younger Yamada glanced down at the official document. She voiced a
loud gasp a couple of seconds later and her gaze met her mother's at
the same instant, maroon eyes warring between shocked disbelief and
desperate pleading.

"The second reason is that I am certain Ranma would be devastated if
you were to leave us in such a manner at this point in time. Yes, your
son *is* alive, No-chan; the reason we didn't ..."

Aiko sighed. Fortunately, Naomi would be returning shortly with the
ammonium carbonate.

--------------------

Nodoka sat up with a gasp. This was immediately followed by a brief fit
of coughing and choking as her body tried to purge itself of the fumes
from her mother's smelling salts. It had been a long time since she was
forced awake in such a manner and she had forgotten - quite thankfully
- how frightfully effective the Yamada house recipe was.

"Welcome back to the living, daughter."

Aiko's wry comment snapped everything into focus. Nodoka ignored the
black-haired maid next to her and the enticing aroma of the food on the
table. She had thoughts for only one thing.

"Where is Ranma? Where is my son?"

Her mother frowned. "He is out practicing at the moment. However,"
Aiko's eyes hardened noticeably, "before you are allowed to see him,
you must make your intentions clear to me."

"Okaasan?!?"

"When you see him next, how are you going to treat him? Will you
welcome him with warmth and open arms, or do you still intend to hold
him to some ridiculous idealized standard of manliness?"

Nodoka inhaled sharply, ready to rebut her mother's accusation, before
shrinking in on herself. Okaasan had every right to question her
fitness as a mother. She bowed her head and fixed her eyes on her hands
in her lap.

"I ... have no right to judge my son, Okaasan," the kendoka responded
softly. "I only wish to know him once more. It has been far too long
since I last held my Ranma in my arms as a mother should."

"Look at me, daughter." Aiko's commanding tone held no warmth, and her
maroon eyes bored intently into Nodoka's for several seconds when their
gazes met. The Yamada Matriarch slowly nodded.

"You'll do." The hawk's stare was quickly replaced with a much
friendlier countenance. "Now, eat. We all have a long day ahead of us
and I can ill afford to have my daughter pass out in front of Tennou
Heika due to malnutrition."

"Okaasan, where is he?"

"I don't know, No-chan," Aiko replied with a worried voice. "He left
earlier this morning quite distraught when I told him about your
declaration of feud on the Tendous yesterday."

Nodoka gasped.

Aiko nodded with a grimace. "We've made quite a mess of things, you and
I. He holds considerable fondness for the two Tendou girls and your
actions the other day against their family have complicated his life
even further - something I did not think was possible."

Her mother brushed a stray strand of white hair out of her eyes before
continuing. "There is a lot happening in your son's life, No-chan, but
one thing is certain; right now Ranma needs everyone's unconditional
support. If you can accept him *totally*, without reservations, he can
finally start to heal from the years of constant abuse he's suffered at
the hands of that fat fool you used to call a husband. Can you do that
much, daughter?"

Nodoka nodded dumbly. She was quite confused by her mother's constant
changing of subject, but she would agree to anything if it led to a
chance to be reunited with her son once more.

"Good. Now, eat up. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, and you
will need your strength."

--------------------

Mugonno smiled vacuously while he allowed himself and his two
associates to be guided around the premises by the youngest of Yamada-
san's charges. The young redhead's training was obvious in its absence
- a rather remarkable achievement for one so young and further proof
that this clan must be preserved at all costs. Harukichi-chan would be
quite a formidable force once she reached her majority; it was his duty
to see she was given the chance along with her other family members.

The big question was how young Ranma-kun would react to the Emperor's
proposal. The risk was high, but the potential rewards were so great
that this opportunity simply could not be ignored. The combination of
the Yamada ryuu combined with the Musabetsu Kakutou ryuu, wielded by a
loyal house, was a prize worth taking almost any chance for. The
possibilities in such a union were quite endless.

The ringing of his companion's cell phone interrupted Mugonno's
ruminations.

"Shinobi Two," Commander Kuroi curtly answered.

"What do you mean skywatch log is negative? Have you checked for
equipment malfunction?"

The platinum-haired Nisei practically growled.

"He's just a kid, not a goddamned superhero; it's not as if he can
simply vanish into thin air. Run a full diagnostics on skywatch three
and check back. It's got to be something obvious." Kuroi snapped his
cell phone shut and swore.

"More problems, Kuroi-san?" Mugonno's inquiry was polite but his
attention was on the young redhead in front of the group. Her emerald
eyes were dancing with unconcealed mirth, which led to rather
interesting conclusions.

"Idiots can't keep a sat running for more than a day. I'm definitely
going to have words with HQ when I get back."

"Kuroi-san?" Muggono concealed his own merriment, silently pointing out
the presence of their current "guide".

"Right," Kuroi nodded. He turned towards the young Yamada girl and
bowed. "My apologies for the inappropriate language, Harukichi-san."

"Thank you, Kuroi-san," Harukichi replied with her own bow. "Such a
reaction is quite common whenever Ranma-nechan is concerned. Now if you
will follow me, the primary doujou is in this direction."

--------------------
--- Southesk Tablelands ---

"You want me to WHAT?"

{{Take hold of the gemstone at the peak of your tiara. Concentrate on
it.}}

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be something else designed
to embarrass the hell out of me?"

{{Ranma, all Guardians share this basic attack form. While it may
appear on the surface to be of limited power, its utility far exceeds
its effectiveness as a simple attack. It is quite versatile and
familiarity with it is crucial; you will doubtless have many uses for
it.}}

"Right," Khronos replied with a sigh. When her hand touched her tiara
she felt a brief surge of power; her hand moved into a flat plane on
its own accord, holding something that was most definitely *not* a
tiara.

{{Choose a target.}}

"Umm, okay. How about that rock over there?"

{{More than adequate.}}

Even though Khronos was starting to get used to the way the various
trigger phrases seemed to force their way into her brain, it still
creeped her out quite a bit when it happened. She concentrated on the
target.

"Khronos Tiara Action!" Her wind up and throw would have done a
professional Frisbee player proud.

*WHOMP!*

Khronos blinked, even as the disc of crimson light returned to her hand
and she, with new reflexes, returned the tiara to her brow. "Whoa.
That's some headgear."

{{You will be able to guide the flight of the energized Tiara with
minimal training. It can act as a homing missile, cut bonds, knock a
number of low-powered opponents unconscious, and perform a variety of
other tasks. You should find it extremely useful.}}

"Well, it was about time some part of this stupid uniform turned out to
be useful. I don't suppose the earrings turn into miniature hand
grenades, do they?"

{{I'm afraid not, Ranma.}}

Khronos smirked. "Oh, well. At least it will make Ryouga freak out the
next time I see him - he's always been so proud of his Iron Cloth
technique and those stupid spinning bandanas of his."

She suddenly got a thoughtful look. "You know, I wonder ..."

Khronos reached behind her with her right hand and grabbed one end of
the ribbon that made up the bow on the back of the Guardian uniform.
She gave it a tug. An evil smile appeared on her face when the bow
detached from the outfit and unknotted itself to form a single long
length of ribbon.

"THOUGHT so!" she practically crowed. "Now, let's see if I can remember
how he did that ..."

Khronos concentrated briefly and a flash of white ki enveloped her hand
and the first part of the unrolled bow. The ribbon stiffened along the
first dozen inches to form a very good facsimile of a gymnastics
ribbon. She began twirling the ribbon in a spiral pattern in front of
her.

{{That ... is a very creative use of the uniform, Ranma. I have no memory
of any previous Guardian attempting such a feat.}}

"Yeah, well," Khronos replied with a smirk, "I've had to face off
against Kodachi so many times I've learned how useful the ribbon can
be. Kodachi could never use the tools to their full effectiveness
because she didn't know any real martial arts. This is a little short,
but I can still work with it."

{{One moment, Ranma. While I am unable to change the basic form of the
Guardian uniform, there is a certain mutability build into some of the
various definition parameters. It appears that the original designer
might have foreseen at least a variation of your ribbon usage, since
there is a duplicate set of parameters for the ribbon that are in force
when it is detached. Allow me to adjust them for you.}}

Khronos grinned when the ribbon suddenly narrowed and extended to
several times its original length. The fuku-clad Guardian snapped her
new weapon against several nearby rocks, splitting each of them neatly
in two. She thought for a moment before beginning a new kata, the
ribbon twirling around her form in a complicated yet graceful pattern.

This was *fun*.

--------------------
--- Suginami ---

Aiko suppressed a sigh. Everyone who had been invited to the Palace,
along with Mugonno-san and his two associates, had gathered in the
combined bamboo/blossom room for a light lunch. Everyone, that is,
except for Ranma-kun, whose seat next to her was conspicuously empty.

The family could only delay for so long before they would have to go
without him, and the Yamada matriarch was *not* looking forward to try
explaining that little disaster-in-the-making with His Imperial
Majesty, no, not one little bit.

It was already bad enough that she had been forced to gently separate
the four girls from her daughter. They were making no effort to hide
their animosity for Ranma-kun's mother and the tension across the table
was quite obvious.

It had all the earmarks of an excruciatingly long day.

--------------------
--- Southesk Tablelands ---

Khronos flopped down on a rock to rest for a moment. She had been
practicing for over five hours without a break and the heat and mid-
afternoon son were finally starting to make their presence known to the
young Guardian.

"Man, I'm going to have to start carrying around some water and a few
snacks if I'm going to train in the outback like this."

{{That would be a reasonable precaution, Ranma.}}

"It's either that or have enough loose change on hand to grab something
quick from a local convenience store." Khronos started laughing. "Could
you imagine the looks I'd get walking into a neighborhood Family Mart
decked out like this?"

{{It would depend entirely on the district you were in, Ranma. Some of
the school fuku worn by girls in Tokyo can be rather revealing - more
so than even the Guardian uniform.}}

"Yeah, right." Khronos gave one of her trademark smirks. "Well, you
sure aren't going to catch *me* wearing something like that anytime
soon. This stupid outfit is bad enough, even when no one can recognize
who I really am. No WAY am I going to wear something even shorter than
this for real."

The fiery-haired girl stretched briefly before closing her eyes and
relaxing a bit. She sat quietly undisturbed, enjoying the warmth of the
sun on her back. There were faint echoes of some unidentified insects
off in the distance, but the immediate vicinity was quiet and still. It
was ... peaceful. Several minutes passed in relative solitude.

"Eiko?"

{{Yes, Ranma?}}

"Thanks. This is real nice out here."

{{I am glad you find the location to your liking.}}

Khronos nodded as she opened her eyes. "Yes, but I bet I'm going to
have to find a different place to practice once the monsoon season is
over with. The last thing I want to do is start a huge brush fire out
here."

{{A commendable attitude to have. Ranma, have you figured out how you
are going to handle ...}}

"I don't want to think about that right now, Eiko," Khronos growled.

{{You are going to have to face it sometime today, Ranma.}}

"I know, but ... later, okay? I still have a couple of hours before it
will be too hot out here to practice. I'll just have to deal with it
when I'm done. In the meantime ..." Khronos got to her feet and pulled
her staff out of storage, "... there are still a few new moves I want to
try out before going home."

--------------------
--- Oume City ---

Happosai ignored the whispered comments that always accompanied his
presence in public. The Grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu was
accustomed to attracting an inordinate amount of attention due to his
various ... activities, but this was one of the few times he didn't
appreciate the attention his stature and force of personality brought
with it. The sparse Sunday crowd in Oume Station simply served to
highlight his presence, and the apparently-oversized backpack he wore
belied the image of an old and decrepit grandfather he often assumed
when he was not otherwise engaged in his hobbies.

Well, it couldn't be helped. Enough hikers passed through Oume on their
way up the river to Chichibutama that having one more - even one of his
stature - would quickly be forgotten. His destination was to the north
of town in the rugged forested hillsides, and he had been *very*
careful over the years never to ... entertain ... himself in this
particular area of the prefecture.

The elderly hiker headed north in the general direction of the Tama
River, following a path well worn by others of similar persuasion. As
expected, even his unusual presence was quickly forgotten by the local
residents.

--------------------
--- Southesk Tablelands ---

"Khronos Lance!"

A globe of garnet force formed around the orb end of the Guardian's
staff. She gave the staff a twirl and then slammed the glowing end down
on a large boulder embedded in the ground in front of her.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

The rock exploded in a dense spray of shrapnel. The explosion also
kicked up a large cloud of soil, dust, and shredded bit of various
plants, completely obscuring the young Guardian for several seconds.
When the dust cloud cleared, it left behind a rather disheveled
warrior. Her fuku was dirty and torn in several places and several bits
of twigs stuck out from her fiery mane at random angles. The minor cuts
on her legs and arms from the explosion barely had a chance to bleed
before they began to heal and disappear.

"I think that needs a bit more work," Khronos quipped. She looked down
at her damaged fuku and swore.

{{Ranma, the damage to the Guardian uniform is not permanent. It is
automatically repaired with every transformation sequence.}}

Her tirade halted as quickly as it had begun. "Really? Well, I was
pretty sure I couldn't use just any old fabric to repair it - it's nice
to know I won't have to."

She looked up to the late-afternoon sun and then checked her internal
clock. Five after four. Right then her stomach decided to give loud
notice about its currently unfilled state.

"I guess it's about time," Khronos said with a sigh. She was *not*
looking forward to dealing with the mess back home, but she really
couldn't put it off any longer. A blink and she stood in front of Eiko
once more. She detransformed, and when she transformed back to Khronos
she was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did the uniform
repair itself automatically, but her own appearance was also restored
to a pristine state.

"Man, what I wouldn't have given to have *that* ability on some of our
training trips."

Khronos took a deep breath before porting home.

--------------------

Ranma detransformed the instant she appeared back in her room. It was
getting easier and easier to deal with the instant changes in location,
and she was evidently quite fortunate to arrive at this particular
moment.

"Hi, Jun!" Ranma said cheerily.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!" The green-hair maid nearly leapt through the window she
had been looking out. Spinning around, her eyes widened briefly on
seeing Ranma standing in the middle of the room with a wry smile on her
face.

"Ranma-sama! Thank goodness you're home!" Jun hustled over to the
redheaded girl. She briefly wondered why Ranma-chan had gone back to
wearing her hair long after making such a fuss over it last night, but
that could wait until later. "Everyone's waiting for you downstairs and
we don't have much time to get you ready - we're late enough as it is."
She gently spun Ranma around and herded her out the door to the
stairway.

"Huh? Ready? Late?" Ranma let Jun guide her down the stairs. This
didn't seem to be related to this morning's events. "What are we late
for?" She rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairway and looked
back over her shoulder to the green-haired maid behind her. "Grandma
never mentioned anything about going out some... *ERK!*"

"RANMA!"

Ranma barely had time to register the presence of the approaching body
before she was enveloped in a crushing hug. Her vision was almost
totally obscured by the swaths of cloth surrounding her and it took
several seconds for her to finally register the identity of the voice's
owner. She stiffened.

"M ... mom?"

Nodoka kissed the top of her neo-daughter's head before pulling her in
even closer. "Shhhh. It's alright, son, I know all about it now." She
tried and failed to blink back eyefuls of tears. After all those lonely
years ...

"MOM!"

Nodoka winced when her son-turned-daughter wrapped her shorter arms
around her and squeezed. The nearly unbearable pressure released almost
instantly, replaced by a tolerably fierce embrace. The mother and her
female son stayed wrapped around each other for an indeterminate time.

"No-chan? Ranma-kun?" Aiko's voice rang out from across the foyer.

The Yamada matriarch sighed - those two were dead to the world right
now. She glided over to the pair and poked a particular spot in the
middle of her daughter's back. The results were instantly apparent:
Nodoka's entire body spasmed briefly, forcing her to release her hold
on her neo-daughter.

Ranma looked up quickly. "Are you okay, Mom?"

Nodoka smiled and gave her daughter a short nod before turning to glare
indignantly at her mother. "Okaasan ..."

"I'm sorry, No-chan, but you'll have to catch up on your son's life
later." Aiko turned her attention to the shorter girl. "Ranma-kun, I'm
sorry to interrupt, but we really have to leave right now."

Ranma disentangled herself from her mother's embrace. "Yeah, Jun just
mentioned some..."

Her reply cut off when she finally got a good look at everyone's
outfits. The entire household was dressed in full ceremonial kimono.
{{What the ...}}

"Grandma, what the heck's going on?"

Nodoka gasped when she finally registered all the changes in Ranma's
appearance.

"Quite a bit since you left this morning," Aiko replied. "The family,
and you by name specifically, has been invited to have tea with His
Imperial Majesty at the Palace today. We've all been waiting for you to
come home, and I'm afraid we need to leave right away - we've kept
Tennou Heika waiting long enough as it is. I can tell you more while
we're on the way."

Ranma flushed bright red. "Ah, geez, Grandma ... I'm sorry, I didn't
know."

Aiko nodded. "I know you didn't, son, and I'm sorry we started the day
out on such a bad note. You *did* leave in a bit of a rush this
morning."

"Yeah, well," Ranma chuckled, the blush slowly fading from her face. "I
went to see Eiko and spent the rest of the day practicing. I guess I
kind of lost track of time for a while."

"Understandable, given the circumstances," Aiko said with a small
smile. "Now, we *really* should head out for the Palace right away,
Ranma-kun - you'll just have to get changed in the car."

Ranma practically melted when her mother wrapped an arm around her
shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Blue eyes met crimson and saw
nothing but a mother's love reflected from a seemingly endless pool.

Maybe, just *maybe*, it was a sign that her life was FINALLY starting
to improve. She could face literally anything with her mother at her
side.

--------------------
--- Oume City ---

Happosai located the overgrown path fairly easily, the ki markers he
had embedded into several path-stones years ago still resonated
strongly when in his presence. A short hike up the hillside brought him
to the small cottage he had maintained for several decades, hidden from
view by the twists of terrain and subtle warding which imperceptibly
guided others around its location. He had little worry that the actual
structure could had been tampered with over the many years - the amado
and kuguri-do were pinned in place by physical means amply reinforced
by the grandmaster's own ki. It took less than fifteen minutes to stow
the amado, open a few of the exterior shoji, and fire up the stove for
both heat and tea. He then took time to relax and gather his thoughts -
the whole purpose of his return would fail if his thoughts were clouded
or dulled with fatigue.

Once sufficiently refreshed Happosai set brush, ink, and a small stack
of paper with a peculiar sheen out on the table and began his
preparations. Precise brush strokes formed peculiar sequences of
characters and symbols in a language long lost to all but a few monks
of a particular order; knowledge hoarded carefully throughout the
centuries, hidden from certain persecution by distance, terrain, and
secrecy. Ward after ward flowed from the grandmaster's brush until they
covered the table and littered the floor - only when the supply of
paper became exhausted did the production of the arcane symbols cease.

Happosai cleaned and stowed his brush and ink before carefully
arranging the wards in their proper order. Erecting a protective
barrier was vital to his safety as well as that of the surrounding
countryside; even a single misstep could produce immediate and dire
consequences. He opened his grimoire and began chanting, placing wards
about the room in a specific pattern with each spoken line, binding the
local ley lines within the pattern and anchoring the room to both
material and astral planes. The final ward and the end of the
incantation brought the barrier ward crackling into place, its power
briefly visible before it settled back into the pattern and faded from
view.

The elder closed his book and sank wearily into his chair. With the
barrier erected he could take a few moments to rest. After setting the
kettle back on the stove to boil, he carefully unpacked a small black
leather case and set it on the table. He brushed a hand over the gilt
pattern inlaid in the top of the case and chuckled - the old bat would
throw a complete hissy fit if she knew he had this in his possession.
Of course, the Nyuchezuu were quite presumptuous in claiming possession
of half the items he had liberated from them over the years, since a
vast majority of "their" artifacts had been stolen from previous owners
in years past. Getting them to acknowledge that little fact was a cause
long lost. Twitting them about it, however, had provided endless
entertainment over the years.

Happosai brewed a fresh pot of tea before returning his attention to
the task at hand. Moving the case to the side he brought out a metal
censer with stand, a vial half full of a golden metallic liquid, an
ornate woman's haircomb, and a round cloth of purple silk embroidered
with arcane symbols. He carefully unrolled the silk on the table and
placed the censer directly on top of the cloth's center rune before
lighting the charcoal inside, then sat back and nursed his cup of tea
until the censer had warmed up.

It was finally time. Happosai carefully opened the small case. Inside
were three crystalline eggs, each facetted shell imprisoning a delicate
white mist within.

Only three soulstones left. Three more chances to set things right.
Three more times to hold her in his arms once more and beg her
forgiveness.

And one would be lost forever on this day.

The diminutive grandmaster opened the censer and gingerly placed one of
the soulstones within. Unstoppering the vial, he poured the entire
volume of the golden liquid over the crystal before quickly closing the
censer and picking up the haircomb. He held the comb in both hands,
closed his eyes, and put his entire heart and soul into the Calling.

"Yasuko-chan."

His Naming was barely a whisper, yet the shattering of the soulstone
and the ethereal wind which followed roared deafeningly in his ears.
His form shifted as he was carried aloft, limbs and torso elongated,
skin clarified and smoothed, dark black hair covered the once bald
expanse of his head, years of wear all discarded in an instant. One
final distorted wave traveled quickly through his frame before the
transformation was complete.

Happi opened his eyes to the grey void of Limbo. All he could do now
was to wait patiently.

A time later - short, long, it was impossible to tell - a trickle of
white mist gathered in front of him. It swirled and danced and caressed
his cheek only to dart suddenly sideways and resume its delicate
cavorting. Additional streamers of mist arrived, each adding complexity
to the ethereal display in front of him, each misty thread greeting him
once before joining its brethren in dance.

More and more threads of the delicate mist arrived until the dance
towered far above him. When a thread arrived and joined the tower
directly, the dance suddenly stopped - the mist collapsing into itself,
glowing brighter and brighter as it compacted. One flash of unbearable
light and the mist faded away entirely to reveal a beautiful young
woman in a light blue summer yukata, luxurious waist length black hair
held back in a cascade of waves by an ornate comb.

"Su-chan," Happosai whispered past a sudden lump in his throat.

"Papa."

Her bright cerulean eyes glistening with unshed tears, the spiritual
essence of Yasuko Saotome ran forward to luxuriate in the gentle crush
of her father's embrace.
========================================================================

***END CHAPTER 8***

Hope you're having fun with this - I know I am!

============================================================
Mark Shurtleff
   email: gaijin@sfcmd.com
   irc alias: Gaijin -or- togashi_gaijin
   fanfiction homepage: http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic
============================================================ 


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