The Emperor gave a relaxing sigh as he lounged on a large, red satin couch
in one of the harem's chambers with his many, beautiful harem girls--whose
"outfits" looked like bikinis with sheer veils hanging around them. (OLD
VOICE: Huh?  Pretty ladies?) (NOTE: Oh, look.  It's awake.)  One girl knelt
by his head and massaged his temples; two more sat by his side and fanned
him with oversized bird feathers; one straddled his waist and massaged his
exposed chest; and one generously rubbed his feet. (OLD VOICE: Oooooh!)  The
dozen or so others either went to get wine and food or sat around and looked
pretty.

	The girl at his head cooed softly, "Your Highness is more tense than usual.
May it be because of the new girl?"

	The Emperor felt too at ease to get angry with her--and she knew that.  He
chuckled.  "Partially.  You are very resourceful to find out so fast."

	"News spread quickly of Lon's defeat.  I imagine the whole palace has heard
the story by now."

	The Emperor pursed his lips.  _Now, it would seem that my champion had
better redeem himself fast, or else he may lose popularity--losing to a
woman.  This is important news._  "Thank you, my dear."  The girl sighed
joyously and redoubled her efforts with her fingers.  The Emperor smiled at
how effective a well-placed compliment could be.

	There came a rapping (OLD VOICE: A rapping on my chamber door.) at the main
doors, and the Emperor sent two of the girls to answer it. (OLD VOICE: Only
this, and nothing more.) (CHEF'S NOTE: Geez.  Now that was lame.)

	They returned shortly with Liu-Sing in tow, each of them with their arms
wrapped around his; another girl pressed against him from behind and played
with his chest.  If he had any interest in them at all, he didn't show it.
He had just gotten through with wiping off all his makeup when he was
summoned, but he hadn't yet changed his smouldered clothes.

	Liu-Sing stood by the side of the couch and bowed; the three girls bowed
with him as if it were a game.  He then gestured with his head at the girl
behind him.  "This beautiful creature said that you wished to see me, Your
Highness."  She sighed dreamily.

	The Emperor propped himself on his elbow and chuckled at his jester's
slightly-cooked look.  "Has Salon been giving you a hard time?  You could
have changed before you came here."

	Liu-Sing smiled.  _Unusually nice and informal.  Maybe he's drunk._  "I
thought that my appearance might amuse you."

	Emperor Fang rested back onto his pillow, laughing.  "That it has."  His
face suddenly became gravely serious.  "The Dark One is almost here.  I can
feel it.  He will arrive some time today."

	The jester sighed.  _Can't he think of something else to call him besides
'The Dark One'?  It's so cliche._

	"I need you to inform Lon to keep his distance should he see him.  I do not
wish to lose my best warrior due to a misunderstanding."

	Liu-Sing was about to ask why he was being sent and not a soldier, but he
didn't want to spoil his emperor's good mood with backtalk, so he just
bowed--with the girls giggling beside him.  "I shall leave right away, Your
Highness."

	The Emperor waved his hand as if dismissing an idea, and one of the girls
with nothing to do rushed over and started massaging it, but he didn't mind.
"Why not stay a while, Liu-Sing?  Give someone else a chance to entertain
YOU for a change."  The jester glanced at the girls around him, who snuggled
closer at the suggestion.  "You see.  They like you."

	Liu-Sing gently pushed away.  "I'm sorry, ladies.  Business before
pleasure."  He walked off and the three girls stood in place and pouted,
then moved over to the couch to find something to massage.

	The Emperor sighed, "A pity."

		

	"But why won't you teach me how to fight, Daddy?"

	"We've been through this before.  Fighting is too dangerous for a girl to
learn."

	Miko was practically begging her father while at the same time holding back
an intense anger and frustration she felt.  Doshin was standing in the
middle of the livingroom with his arms folded, his eyes closed so his
daughter couldn't see how much their argument was paining him.  Reikiba was
leaning against the back wall watching the two, feeling more confused than
he'd ever felt.

	Miko stood in front of her father, clutched her hands in front of her
chest, and made the saddest puppydog eyes anyone had ever seen, but he
refused to look at her. (OLD VOICE: Smart man.) (CUTE VOICE: Yeah.) She
cried, "But people could have been hurt back at the inn!" (CUTE VOICE:
Attackers were.)

	Doshin turned away from her.  "YOU would have gotten hurt if you tried to
fight!  Your guardian spirit is here to fight for you!"  Something about his
own words made him grimmace.

	Miko threw her arms out dramatically behind his back.  "But she almost got
killed!  And I couldn't do anything about it!"

	Reikiba mumbled, not entirely certain he should be speaking up (CHEF'S
NOTE: Buy a clue, jackass!), "Uh....  Excuse me for interrupting..."

	Miko and Doshin shot cold glances at the samurai, and he shrugged back a
bit but continued his thought anyway: "I'm feeling kind of left out here,
and I was just wondering if Miko would introduce me to her twin sister."  He
pointed past them.

	Doshin and Miko quickly turned their heads around.  Ranma-chan stood in the
doorway to the hall holding a blanket around herself, looking almost as
confused as the samurai.

	Miko took a step toward her.  "Uh.  When I said you were almost killed, I
just meant that...."  She suddenly looked shocked.  "Guardian Spirit?!  How
long have you been standing there?!"

	Ranma stared around the room and fidgeted.  "Uh... uh... er... I was... uh...."

	Miko whined, "But your wounds!  You should be in bed!"

	Doshin put a hand on his daughter's shoulder.  "Now don't worry about your
guardian spirit.  I'm sure he's strong enough to...."

	Miko slapped his hand away furiously and shouted, "And why can't I be just
as strong!?!"  Her limbs quivered with restless energy, and Ranma could have
swore she saw the faint outline of a battle aura.

	Doshin whispered harshly, "Please, Miko!  Not in front of guests!"

	She seemed to snap back to herself, suddenly embarrassed for blowing up
like that in front of her guardian.  She almost burst into tears on the
spot, but she would not allow herself to appear weak; instead, she turned to
her father and yelled, "Fine!  If you won't teach me to fight, then I'll
just have to learn on my own!"  She stormed out of the house before she
could feel guilty about it.

	Doshin was infinitely hurt by his daughter's words, like Soun when Ranma
made Akane cry.  Ranma was petrified, unsure whether she should have walked
into the room unannounced in the first place.  He looked directly at her and
silently uttered the word "Ranma" before he could say no more.

	Ranma understood that he wanted her to follow Miko.  She nodded slowly,
then peeked underneath her blanket.  "Can I get some hot water first?"

	She watched as Doshin wordlessly left for the kitchen.  She then glanced at
the strange, new samurai leaning against the back wall; he shrugged.
Suddenly, Ranma was assualted by about a liter of scalding water.  "Yeow!"
Reibiba raised his eyebrows at the transformation, but said nothing.

	Ranma-kun turned to see Doshin holding a washpan.  "Hey!  What's the big
idea?!"  Doshin walked straight toward him, a very unhappy look crossing his
face.  Ranma started backing up, and kept backing up until he was stopped by
the front door.  "Uh...  that is... I mean... uh... I think I'll go check on
Miko."  With that, Ranma hastily exitted the house.  Doshin heard Ranma's
fading voice: "Hey, Miko!  Wait up!  Miko!"

	Doshin sighed and looked calmly at his other guest, who smiled and said, "I
can already tell how much they really like you." (CHEF'S NOTE: Jackass.)

		

	"So, Miko.  Where're we off to this time?"  Ranma strode by Miko's side
with his hands in his pocket.  It felt kind of nice walking around without a
shirt--the subtle mixture of cool breeze and warm sun against his skin
helped to calm his nerves.

	Miko, on the other hand, was still furious, much indicated in the way she
stomped the poor grass beneath her into oblivion.  Without turning, she
growled, "I have work to do, and you don't need to follow me!"

	Ranma shrugged.  "That's Ok.  I wanna come with you. (CHEF'S NOTE: You want
to what, Ranchan!?!) (OLD VOICE: Now who's the pervert, Miss Kuonji?) Maybe
there's somethin I can do to help."

	"I don't need your help!"

	Ranma thought about it.  "Well, Ok, then I'll just watch you do...
whatever." (CHEF'S NOTE: Excuse me?!)

	Miko swiveled around in front of him and balled her fists.  "I CAN TAKE
CARE OF MYSELF!  I'M NOT WEAK!"  She felt like crying again, and this time,
she wouldn't be able to stop it.

	Ranma was momentarily startled, watching her chest heave eratically,
noticing again the faint blue of chi energy trying to rise past the
surface--he wondered how long she'd been suppressing her battle aura to make
it appear so depleated.  He suddenly felt more compassionate toward her.
(CHEF'S NOTE: WHAT?!) (NOTE: COMpassionate.) He said calmly, "I don't think
you're weak."

	Miko's eyes widened and glistened in the sunlight.  She threw her arms
around him and cried, "Thank you, Guardian Spirit!" then burried her face
into his chest. (CHEF'S NOTE: AAAAAAAAAAAA!  WHAT ARE YOU RANCHAN LET GO OF
THAT BITCH!!!) (OLD VOICE: Ever hear of Prozac?)

	Ranma didn't take his hands out of his pockets, but neither did he try to
move away.  He didn't have much experience dealing with women--himself being
excluded--but he knew he should do something.  He started to say 'Your
welcome', but instead, he yelled, "WAAAAAAA!  GET AWAY GET AWAY!!!"

	He suddenly jerked her away, but somehow, she steadied herself and kept
herself from falling.  She was about to resume her tears in full force, but
then realized that Ranma was cringing on the ground, shivering as though he
were doomed to die.  She dropped to her knees and shrieked, "What's wrong,
Guardian Spirit?"

	Ranma pointed a shaky finger in her direction.  "C-c-c-c-ca-ca-cat."

	Miko blinked a few times, then glanced over her shoulder.  Twilight sat at
the edge of the treeline, her tongue hanging out like a faithful dog
greeting its master.  "It's only Father's familiar.  He won't harm us.
C'mon Twilight!  It's alright!  He's a friend!"

	Miko observed that with every step the shimmercat took, Ranma would scoot
two paces back.  She held out her hand and the cat sat down.  "Why are you
so afraid of her?"  No response.

	Miko waved the cat away.  Twilight moped back to the jungle wondering what
she did wrong this time.  Miko turned back to Ranma and started shaking him
gently.  "Snap out of it, Guardian Spirit.  Twilight wouldn't have hurt us."
(CHEF'S NOTE: Pity.)

		

	"Your FATHER strapped FISH to you and threw you into a pit of CATS!  What
kind of MONSTER is he to do such a thing?!"  Miko was furious all over
again, but for different reasons.  Ranma had just finished explaining how
his pop had tried to teach him cat-fu, but he left off the part about how he
actually DOES the cat-fist--he didn't want her to burst a blood vessel.
"How could such a SADISTIC FIEND FROM HELL be permitted to LIVE?!"

	Ranma strolled behind her with his hands clasped behind his head, elbows in
the air, and tried not to look at her directly.  It was bad enough that he
felt like laughing out loud at how she described his pop--it was going a bit
far, but he'd heard worse.  For now, Miko seemed completely different than
when he first met her, and he wasn't sure what he should think of it.

	Miko suddenly turned around.  "If your father is the type of ANIMAL that
can do something like THAT, there's no telling what he could be capable of!
He's probably the reason why your life is so difficult, why you have more
than one fiancee, why... why...!"

	_Well... he is an ANIMAL and...._  Ranma tried as hard as he could not to
laugh.  He didn't feel it within his honor to make fun of his own pop so far
behind his back--he'd wait until he got home. (OLD VOICE: That's the
spirit!) He held it back so much that his face flushed and tears came to his
eyes, making it appear as though he were ready to cry.

	Miko rushed to his side and placed a hand on his chest.  "I'm sorry,
Guardian Spirit.  I just mean that I can't believe someone like your father
could have raised such an angel like you."

	Ranma instantly forgot about what was so funny and focused on what she
said.  _Wha.... That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time._
He lowered his eyes.  _Why can't Akane ever say something like that?_

	Her eyes started watering yet again and she took a deep breath.  "I have no
doubt that you could have handled everything in the inn if Twilight hadn't
had come in, but if Tan hadn't have been there to stop that swordsman, you
could have been really hurt or possibly killed, and I wouldn't have been
able to do a thing to stop it because I can't fight and..."  _...i'm
useless._  She trailed off and started tracing the already-fading scars on
Ranma's torso, too choked to say any more.

	He scanned the area one last time to make sure Akane wasn't watching, then
carefully rested a hand on Miko's shoulder and asked softly, "Does it really
mean THAT much to you?"

	She nodded against his skin.

	He sighed heavily, not believing what he was about to do.  But she did have
a point; and he might not always be around to protect her.  He droned, "If
it really means that much to you... I guess I could...."

	"Teach me to fight!"  Miko's face lit up as she finished his thought.  "You
would do that for me, Guardian Spirit?!"

	Ranma started rocking on his heels.  "I... I guess that's what I'm sayin."

	Miko threw her arms around his waist and squeezed with all her bubbling
passion and tears of joy.  "Oh, thank you!"

	Ranma gasped, "Can't... breathe."

		

	Lon stood on a cliff and stared across the springs of Jusenkyo in deep
thought.  He frequently visited the area to watch the sunlight sparkle of
the many sufaces, as he had when he was young--he fould the landscape oddly
relaxing and it helped him concentrate.  Few people would have actually
believed that he would held such a sentiment.

	He took in a deep breath and folded his arms.  He wasn't having a good day.
Doshin escaped him... again; and then there was that door that slammed in
his face.  He reached up and lightly touched his cracked mask, now falling
to pieces on his face.  He'd have to replace it soon--he didn't look forward
to seeing people cringe when they saw what he looked like underneath.

	He sighed and decided to stay a few more minutes.  A few birds twittered
above the pools.  He felt a presence walk up and stand beside him and he
heard an icy voice: "This place truly is a marvelous sight to behold."

	Without turning, Lon asked tonelessly, "Where did you come from?"

	"I come and go where I please.  As for where I am from... you would not
understand."

	Lon huffed.  "One of THOSE, are we?"  He glanced in the other's direction,
but only saw a black, billowy robe with dabs of white to represent stars in
the sky--and even constellations, it seemed (like a piece of the night sky
was cut out and sewn into cloth).

	The voice groaned noncommitally.  "And might you know where I can find the
holder of a certain rare idol?"

	Lon growled and faced him directly, but he could only see dasrkness in the
cowl.  "What business is that of yours?"

	In the next instance, Lon found himself flying through the air and into the
jungle.  The robed man continued to peacefully look out across Jusenkyo's
springs.  He chuckled and mused to himself, "On the contrary, it is very
much my business."

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

	Well.  I was going to do something else with this chapter, but it just
seemed to turn out this way.  The story should be greatly picking up from
this point--I mean, of course, when I start the next chapter.