Ranma could feel a warm body curled up next to his, a body that he warmly
and lovingly gripped. (CUTE VOICE: Oh!  Can Shampoo play?  Can Shampoo
play?) He smiled at the tender feeling of someone's naked breasts pressed
against his bare chest, the unusual, alluring sensation of flesh on flesh
that he.... (CUTE VOICE: Hey!)  Wait a minute.

	Ranma snapped his eyes open and drew back a bit to stare into Miko's serene
face--she was soundly asleep and dangerously close.  He gulped and, feeling
terribly uncomfortable, quickly but gently unwrapped her arm from around him
and backed away. (CHEF'S VOICE: You'd better!)

	He sat on his legs and turned away from her, blushing.  Diverting his mind,
he studied the dimly-lit room he was in, and it didn't take long for him to
realize that it was HIS room--the guest room back at the dojo.  But there
was no oversized panda sleeping in the adjacent mat--there was no an
adjacent mat.  Everything was unnaturally quiet--not even an insect buzzing.
A pale moonlight washed through the windows, duller than he expected.  He
traced the path of the light across the floor, casually neglecting Miko's
direction for the moment, until he traced it onto his chest--his MANLY chest.

	He was not wearing a shirt, but he was wearing his favorite pair of black
trousers--much to his relief.  He brought his hands up and touched his chest
to confirm that he was indeed male at the moment.  But something felt
strange about the form he was in.  His body didn't carry itself right and he
could almost feel two lumps where his own breasts would be (ghost breasts).

	He heard a feminine moan of discomfort coming from behind, and he winced,
suddenly feeling like kicking himself.  He needed to check on Miko to see if
she was hurt!  This was no time to get embarrassed and shy away.

	He turned around and instantly froze when he saw her.  She was topless, as
he had felt not too long ago, and she was also wearing a black pair of
trousers like his, baggy as they always were in his girl form.  Since he had
moved away from her, she had rolled onto her back and spread herself wide
across his mat in a pose Kunou would kill himself thirty-times over to see,
one arm out and one over her head, her head tilted slightly upward and to
the side....  Ranma's mouth gaped. (CHEF'S NOTE AND CUTE VOICE: PERVERT!)
She was absolutely stunning.  _Is THAT really what I look like when I sleep
in girl form?_  It was much more revealing than any picture Nabiki could
ever take.  She was....  Ranma closed his eyes and groaned.  _Just remember
who you're lookin at, you pervert!_

	Miko groaned and turned her head to the side with a disgusted look on her
face.  Ramna hurried to her side (it's more like teleportation than
crawling) and touched a point on her arm to make sure her pulse was steady;
he hovered the other hand close to her mouth to check her breathing.  He
started to whisper her name, but then he noticed something wrong--something
out of place.

	"Ok.  Whose back there?  Is that you, Ryouga?"  He tried to keep his voice
as low as possible.  A few seconds later, a shadow that shouldn't have been
there stated moving forward.  Ranma moved around to put himself between it
and Miko, but he didn't leave her side.

	"A very touching scene, would not you agree?"  Into the hazy light stepped
a man wearing a long, black robe that twinkled with points of light, like a
piece of a starry, midnight sky had been cut out and woven into a garment.
His head was turned slightly to a crow on his left shoulder, whom he seemed
to be speaking to.

	"And just who the heck are you and what are you doing in here?"  Ranma
raised his hands into a light defensive posture.

	The dark man waved his hand in dismissal and glanced around the room, then
at the topless girl he was protecting.  "So this is what you were dreaming
about before I arrived."  He sounded mockingly surprised.

	Ranma's face drew up in confusion.  "Huh?"  He WAS dreaming about something
before he awoke, wasn't he.  His mind quickly wandered around to retrive the
data he needed.  He scratched the side of his head with a finger and
muttered, "Really?  I could've swore I was dreaming about a mile-high mound
of catnip and and a ball of yarn."  He shrugged. (CUTE VOICE: Ooohh!  Me too!)

	The dark man groaned. (CUTE VOICE: Well, can't win em all.) The crow
chuckled.  The dark man glanced coldly at it and it broke into a comical,
un-crowlike grin, then hopped down to the ground.

	Ranma kept an eye on the crow as it hobbled closer.  When it was close
enough, he smashed his foot into it to halt its progress, then returned his
attention to the dark man and waited for an answer.

	The dark man motioned toward Miko.  "I just wanted to see why your little
friend is so devoted to you.  She would do anything for you, you know."

	Ranma glanced back at Miko, then back at the stranger.  "Yeah?  Well...
huh?"  Ranma turned to see the crow hopping around on Miko's stomach.  He
carefully shifted his glance from the bird to the dark guy and back to the
bird.  As of yet, the stranger was just standing there.  Ranma finished his
thought: "Well, you could say the feeling's mutual."

	The crow hopped closer and closer to Miko's chest, constantly swivelling
its head sideways to look at her body from all possible angles.  When it
reached her breasts, it started lightly poking at them with his beak.  Miko
grunted in discomfort but did not wake, and Ranma narrowed his eyes.  The
crow stared at one of her nipples like an infinitely strange object, placing
its eye almost directly on top.  It pecked the surface and Miko grunted even
louder, but did not wake.

	Ranma instantly grabbed the curious bird by the throat and hissed, "That
wasn't a very nice thing to do, especially to a girl!"  He tossed the bird
back to the dark stranger, who caught it like a softball and scolded it for
its rudeness.

	He turned back to the dark stranger more fiercely.  "Now you better tell me
who you are and what you're doing here before I get mad!"

	The dark man smiled.  "How strongly do you feel for the girl?  Are you
prepared to die for her?  She is prepared to die for you."

	Ranma's eyes widened in shock, but soon returned to normal.  He chuckled,
"A true martial artist is always ready to lay down his, or her, life for
another."

	The dark man smiled as well. "Is that so.  Miko has already decided to
sacrifice her life for yours this very day."

	Ranma gasped and his eyes widened again.  "What?  What do you mean?"

	The dark man gleemed in approval, having successfully grabbed his
attention.  He folded his arms and started slowly pacing.  "You may call me
what you like--I do not really have a name anymore, or a preference to one.
And I am, I guess you may call me, a messenger of fate.  My masters write
the future like a script for a play and I, in turn, make sure it happens.
It is a very interesting and challenging profession."

	"So what're you tryin to say?"  Ranma sidestepped with each move his
adversary made, making sure he was always between the stranger and his
friend.  "That you can control the future or somethin?"

	The dark man chuckled and started stroking his crow like a cat.  "Or
something."

	"So what're ya doin here?"  Ranma was mildly interested--even though this
was more Cologne's area--but he didn't like the feel of the stranger's cold
presence and wanted him away.

	The dark man stopped and folded his arms, much to the crow's annoyance.  He
said sternly, "You know as well as I, Ranma Saotome, that Miko Lee is fated
to die.  It has already been written."  Ranma almost fell backward in shock,
but he didn't say anything.  "You at least suspected that she was the one
who drowned in the the infamous Cursed Springs."

	Ranma's face drew up in fear.  The crow sort of laughed-gurgled.  Ranma
clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, a tear forming in his eye.  "I...
I'll prevent it from happening!  I'll stick to her like glue for the rest of
her life if necessary!"

	The dark man shook his head slowly.  "You know that you cannot do that.
You have other places to be.  Anyway, she's going to die today, and I assure
you, you will not be able to stop it."

	"I...."  Ranma started to repeat his litany, but he felt less sure of the
words now.  No matter how pigheaded he wanted to be about it, he knew a
prophesy of death was over his head.  He was cursed in the Spring of Drowned
Girl, and Miko seemed to be the unlucky drowned victim.  "But how can she
die now?  The girl and the pig (Niko) weren't supposed to die in the same year!"

	The dark man shugged.  "Mortal error.  You should correct the guide who
told you that."

	Ranma closed his eyes tightly.  _Shit!_  The tear fell down Ranma's cheek,
but he didn't notice.  He muttered hashly, "There's got to be something I
can do!"

	The dark man brightened--he had been waiting for this moment.  "Ah!  But
there is."  Ranma looked up, still with a sour face.  The stranger placed
the crow back on his shoulder and continued pacing.  "My efforts have not
yet been completed.  Fate has not yet been sealed.  I still need one item
for the binding ceremony: the phoenix statue."

	"That goofy thing?"  Ranma almost laughed.

	The dark man was slightly annoyed at the majestic bird's description. (CUTE
VOICE: Please.  It really goofy-looking bird.) "With that statue, I can...
bend the prophesy to allow Miko to live!"  He turned his back in disgust.
"However, it was taken from me soon after I retrieved it, and it will be
difficult, even for me, to repossess in time to save her."

	Ranma growled, "Just tell me where it is and I'll get it myself!"

	The dark man laughed lightly.  "I am sure you would."  He spun back
around--almost joyfully.  "But you need not be so foolish.  Xi Fang and his
court jester now hold the phoenix idol, and they will use it to lure me into
combat.  Today, when the sun nears its zenith, I will challenge the former
emperor for the idol, and his clown will be left to guard the statue.  All
you have to do is take it from him."

	Ranma, teeth still clenced, glanced at Miko.  "Ok.  I'll do it.  For Miko."

	The dark man tickled the crow under its chin and it crooned.  "Did you hear
that?  Such devotion."  He stretched his arms out as if he had been working
hard, the clasped his hands together.  "I have rather grown to admire you,
Saotome--as a fighter and a teacher."

	"Hm?"  Ranma raised his eyebrows.

	"You have done a splendid job of training Miko."  He bowed with a flourish.
"I was her first victory."

	Ranma did a double-take.  "She defeated you in a fight?!"  He looked hard
at Miko.  "But how?"  When he turned back, the dark-robed man was gone.

	He heard the dark man's voice echo through the walls: "You must have more
faith in your abilities, and hers as well."

		

	The midnight-robed man, the avatar, sat in a small, shaded glade with his
legs crossed and arms folded.  His eyes were closed, and he was in a deep
trance.  The black bird resting on his shoulder was also in a deep trance.

	The both steadily recovered at the same rate.  The bird ruffled its
feathers, but the dark man did nothing.

	He glanced at the crow out of the corner of his eye.  "Do you think they
got the message?"

	The bird bobbed its head and squawked.

		

	Ranma and Miko both felt a warm body curled up next to her, a body which
she warmly and lovingly embraced.  Ranma could feel the peculiar sensation
of someone's breasts pressed against hers, separated by cloth, but still....
Wait a minute....  HER OWN BREASTS!  Miko came to the same realization at
the same time.

	Ranma and Miko both blinked their eyes open at the same time to stare into
their own mirror image in wonderment.  They stared at each other a few
seconds, then looked at their chests.  Miko shrieked, "You're a girl!" just
as Ranma shrieked, "I'm a girl!" and they both pushed away quickly.

	Doshin, Reikiba, and Twilight looked up from the spots where they were lying.

	Miko was momentarily startled, sitting dumbly and covering her chest with
her arms, but then she started crawling toward Ranma, deciding that she
still liked the feeling of her guardian's embrace. (CHEF'S NOTE: Oh, crap!
Not you too!) Ranma kept backing away, waving a hand in front of her, and
shouting, "I'm sorry I'm sorry it's not what you think I wasn't trying to...."

	!CRASH!  A hand suddenly punched up from the rubble and grabbed Ranma's
forearm with uncanny strength (I would say wrist, but her wrist is too
small.).  "Waaaaa!!!"  Ranma cried out in pain and fear, then started
pommeling the mysterious hand with a rock.  Miko hurried and did the same.

	The three onlookers sprang up to help, but by that time, Miko started
rapidly stabbing it with her needle and it let go.

	Ranma immediately scooped Miko into her arms and ran for the open field
away from the jungle.  Reikiba immediately scooped Doshin into his arms and
ran INTO the jungle.  Twilight looked right and left, wondering which duo to
follow--and why they were splitting up.

	!BOOM!  The area around the hand exploded and rubble was sent shooting in
all directions.  The shimmercat was sent tumbling toward the jungle and
barely missed a tree.  _The jungle it is._  She dashed into the bushes that
the samurai brushed past.

	As the smoke was settling, a pair of bloodied hands clutched at the far
edge of the newly-formed crater.  Lon pulled himself half-way out of the
hole, threw an elbow onto level ground, then rested while he looked around,
breathing hard.

	He wasn't going to let this event go lightly.  _THAT DOES IT!  I'LL MAKE
SURE THEY FEEL A LOT OF PAIN BEFORE THEY DIE!!!_  He pounded his fist
against the ground and yelled, "YOU'LL ALL SUFFER FOR THIS!!!"

	"WHA...!"  The small seizmic desturbance of his fist caused him to fall
back in, and the crater collapsed, burying him again.

		

	"Salon?!"

	Salon stumbled out of the foliage and into the harem girls' loose
encampment. (NOTE: And don't you say it, Ukyou!) (CHEF'S NOTE: What?!  I
wasn't gonna say nothin!) She was doubled over, holding one arm across her
ribcage, and she was limping heavily, her left leg stiff and dragging while
she held the other hand against her crotch.

	Most of the harem girls, recognizing the nature of the second wound,
momentarily forgot about their own pain and reflexively placed their hands
protectively over their own crotch (CHEF'S NOTE: And some over other's
crotches.) (NOTE: *sigh*).  Komiki, being the only one up at the moment,
rushed to Salon's side to help her walk.  "Mistress Salon!  What happened?"

	"Out of my way, whelp!"  Salon tried to forcibly shove Komiki away, but
only managed to lose her balance.  She staggered and cried, "Perhaps a
little help!"  Komiki smiled and took Salon's arm, then helped her limp over
to where Chun-Mae was standing smugly with her arms crossed.

	Chun-Mae eyed her sometimes-friend with amusement.  "Run into some trouble
along the way, witchwoman?"

	Salon spit a bit of blood onto the ground and hissed, "Because of that
damned Liu-Sing, I may not be able to have children!" (CHEF'S NOTE: Aaaaw.
Too bad.  That would solve a few of MY problems, though.) (CUTE VOICE: Hey!)

	The former empress looked shocked.  Komiki wobbled and gasped hastily,
"Mistress Chun-Mae!  She's getting heavier!"  Chun-Mae quickly took Salon's
other arm and held her up with surprising strength.  The former-harem-girl
sighed in relief.

	Salon spat, "That clown you so much admire has double-crossed us and taken
the statue for himself!  I tried to follow him through the jungle, but he
suprised me... (CUTE VOICE: Suuuure he did.) and tried to kill me."  Komiki
gasped, unused to violence.

	Chun-Mae scowled.  She had found Liu-Sing full of grace and humor, and she
thought he was different than all the other men she knew.  She had greatly
overestimated him.  She hissed, "Men."  The guards within earshot looked
around with worry.

	Salon looked around the clearing in distaste.  All the girls were huddled
closely together for support, some lightly crying, some sniffling, and some
peacefully holding on to another with her eyes closed.  Several embarrassed
guards, unmasked but still cloaked, were sitting within the mass with two or
three girls each hanging off of them in some way--the guards looked as
though they'd rather be elsewhere.  It looked like one massive group hug. 

	Suddenly, Salon winced in pain and her leg spasmed.  Komiki looked down and
saw that the sorceress tightened her grip around her (own) inner thigh.
Komiki leaned forward to meet Salon's gaze and asked, without shyness, "May
I have a look at your wound?"  Some of the girls looked up and held their
breaths.

	Komiki reached down, but Salon slapped her hand away in disgust.  "I'll
pass."  She shoved away from Chun-Mae and balanced herself.  "Anyway, I have
more important matters to attend to."  Komiki was dismayed.

	Salon started walking and Chun-Mae grabbed her arm.  "Wait!  Where are you
going?"

	Salon yanked her arm away and continued walking away.  "Away from here.  I
have things to do.  Liu-Sing must pay."

	Chun-Mae held out her arm to stop the witchwoman again, but Salon dodged
forward.  "But we need you here!  All of these girls need your expertese to
survive out here!  I do not know enough and the guards I have are barely
adequate!"

	Salon stopped to think about something, but she didn't turn around.

	Komiki, who had been standing like a frightened child, bravely stepped up.
"Please, Mistress Salon!  We'll do anything you say!"

	Salon smiled.

	Chun-Mae gulped when she thought of the possible implications of Komiki's
promise.  _*sigh* What's done is done._  She straightened herself up and,
when the witchwoman didn't move for a long time, she said, "Now would you
get back here and let Komiki look at that wound."  She smiled.  "Trust me, I
know from personal experience that Komiki's touch can be... miraculously
soothing." (CUTE VOICE AND CHEF'S NOTE: PERVERT!)

	Salon rolled her eyes and groaned.

		

	Former Emperor Xi Fang, still wearing nothing more than dark gray pants,
was sitting in the usual meditative position atop a grassy hill.  The sun,
still rising in the west, shone on him with warm waves, unhindered by trees
or shrubbery.  He smiled as he felt all of his energy steadily returning
through the vibrant rays.

	Liu-Sing stood a few feet away, facing away from the sun, and juggled three
red balls and the phoenix statue.  Two guards stood silently in the shade of
a tree.  The jester asked after a period of unnerving silence, "Should I go
and check the remains of the palace for survivors?"

	Xi Fang answered calmly, "That is not necessary.  They all survived."

	Liu-Sing looked surprised but didn't lose his concentration.  He shrugged.
"What about the 'Dark One'?"

	Fang smiled.  "He will come to me now that I have the idol."  Liu-Sing
shrugged again.  Fang added, "He will bring another.  I trust you can deal
with him."

	Liu-Sing smiled and started juggling behind his back.

		

	Ranma stopped running after she realized two things: 1) Lon was way the
hell back there, and 2) She had absolutely no idea where they were.  She
fell to his knees in the middle of a lush meadow and set Miko down, then
backed away.

	She held out his hands pleadingly.  "Look, Miko, I don't know what happened
back there!  I don't even know how we got in that position--I can't
remember!  One minute I'm in the palace, and then I musta blacked out or
something, so don't go gettin the wrong...."

	"Shut up."

	Ranma stopped and looked at Miko more carefully.  She was holding her arms
as if she were cold, and tears were streaking down her face from her big,
beautiful, glittery eyes.  She bit her lower lip.  Ranma reached out a hand,
but was afraid to touch her lest she fall to pieces.  Ranma settled down and
asked, "Why are you crying?"

	Miko stared at her guardian for several seconds and pouted, her condition
only deteriorating, until finally, she rushed forward, tightly embraced her
friend, and started crying into her shoulder.

	After Ranma overcame the sudden shock, she steadily closed her arms around
Miko.  She asked again, more softly, "Why are you crying?  What's wrong?"
She was answered with sobs.  For a long while, they just held each other
with nothing said.

	Miko loosened her grip and her stomach started rumbling.  She slowly
started laughing tears instead of shedding them and chimed, "Guardian
Spirit, can we go get something to eat?"  Ranma's face contorted in confusion.

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

	Ok ok.  So this is another long one.  I tried to keep it short-- HONESTLY!
Again, I hope it was worth the effort.

	I've been thinking a lot about Miko. (CHEF'S NOTE: Yeah.  In the bedroom,
in the bathroom....) Shutup.  You're getting just as bad as Happousai!
(CHEF'S NOTE: Eeew!  Take it back!  Take it back!) (CUTE VOICE: Hmph.  And
everyone think Shampoo bad.) Anyway, the more I write about Miko, the more I
like her.  I....  Well, I'll just say that you'll be seeing her again in the
future.

	I was kind of stuck after I blew up the palace. (CHEF'S NOTE: HA!  You only
WISH you had that kind of power.) Anyway, blowing up the palace seemed to be
the climax of the story, but I still had some more material to cover.  I
wasn't expecting to have to resort to dream sequences, but it does achieve
what I wanted and it does lead to the final battle--the story's just gotten
a lot more affectionate, and so has Ranma (but I guess without abuse from
Akane or tug-of-war among his other fiancees, he would open up a bit more).

	Anyway, I hope it all works out.  THE NEXT CHAPTER: (CHEF'S VOICE: Drumroll
please! *drumroll*) THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY! (CUTE VOICE: Oooh.  Aaaaah.
Impressive.)

	Shie shen.