----- * * * * * -----

 Night came quickly to the Tendo Dojo, as was important to the telling of
this story.  Everything was quiet.  Moonlight, light from streetlamps, and
the light from inside the house cast a misleading aura of ambient peace
over the area.  A dog barked in the distance and a few crickets started
chirping.
 "Oh, Akane.  Where are you going this late at night?"
 The front door slid open and in the doorway appeared Akane wearing her
yellow gi.  She looked back over her shoulder and, not able to lie to her
oldest sister, chimed in all normality, "I'm just on my way to a duel with
Ukyou.  Don't wait up."
 "Ok.  Be careful, and good luck."
 "I will!"  Akane ran down the walkway and out the gate.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 (From a nearby, darkened alleyway.)
 "Okay.  There she is.  Let's follow her."
 "But what about Ranma?  He still inside."
 "Patience, Parsley.  Ranma is not our only objective.  C'mon.  I have a
feeling this may be of use to us.  And no doubt Thyme will be following
close behind."
 "*growl* Right."
 Two cloak-like shadows darted from the alleyway and ran down a vacant
street parallel to Akane's route.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 Several blocks away, Cologne was racing down a street with Rosemary and
Thyme trailing behind.  She called back, "Hurry up you two!  Sage is on the
move!  His aura is strong!" (CUTE VOICE: *cheering* Way to annonce
presence, Great-grandmother!)
 She stopped after a few more blocks and waited at the intersection,
peeking around the corner and looking slightly disturbed.  Her two
companions soon caught up with her, Thyme looking a bit confused as he
looked at his billowy sleeves.
 Cologne glanced at the tiger woman and stated coolly, "Sage is very close,
and we must assume he knows we are following him.  Are you well enough to
go on?"
 Rose was jogging in place and breathing deeply, looking more energetic
than Shampoo on her best days; her cheeks were somewhat rosy and her fur
glistened as if she had just been oiled, glowing even in the darkness.  She
sputtered, "Never felt better.  Just lead the way."
 Cologne thoughfully hummed, "I see," then turned to Thyme, who was busy
pulling various items out of his sleeve and studying them with fascination
before stuffing them back in.
 Cologne sighed.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 *knock knock* "Ranma.  Everyone's worried about you."
 Ranma-onna sat lotus-style on her sleeping mat (facing away from the door)
and sighed distantly as she gazed out the window into the starry night sky,
disregarding the voice that had called her name.
 The door slid open to reveal Nabiki carrying a bowl of Kasumi's special
stir-fry in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other.  She took a
hesitant step into the room and slid the door shut with her foot, then
leaned back against it and sighed deeply.  When Ranma didn't acknowledge
her, she stated wryly, "You look really pathetic, y'know."
 Without turning around, Ranma asked, "What do you want, Nabiki?"
 Nabiki smirked as she strutted over to the sulking girl, then knelt down
to lean on the redhead's shoulder in a semi-seductive way, chuckling, "From
what I understand, you haven't eaten a thing all day.  That's why I brought
this."  She held the bowl of food in front of Ranma's face, then stood up
and walked around in front of her, continuing, "You've been acting strange
all day, and we all know you have a terrible poker face, so there's no way
you can be faking this."  She crouched down a few feet in front of him,
setting the bowl on the floor and pinching Ranma's nose with the
chopsticks.  "How 'bout it, Saotome.  What's up?"

   ----- * * * * * -----

 Eerie music played as the scene cut to the construction site of a tall
building somewhere across town, a mere skeleton against the lighted
darkness.  The front gate squeaked faintly in the breeze as it stood
half-open, the lock and chain coiled just below the "Danger: Keep Out" sign.
 The flapping of wings penetrated the darkness as a larger-than-average
black bird perched in a nearby tree on a gnarled branch vaguely in the
shape of a hand.  Settling down, it cocked it's head in the direction of
the unfinished structure, then turned to look within the darkness of the
leaves.  Then, turning away as if looking down the street at something in
the distance, it cawed and took wing.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 Ukyou Kuonji, half-silouetted against the moonlight, looked about with
uncertainty, standing with her knees together and her arms pulled close as
a cold feeling crept up her spine.  She glanced over the edge of the wooden
plank floor to the ground six stories below, then turned to her challenger
in concern and asked haltingly, "Uh... Akane... is this really where you
want to hold our duel?  We can barely see each other."
 Standing further in the shadows with her arms folded, Akane beemed almost
evilly at the chef.  With noticeable contempt in her voice, she chided,
"What's wrong Ukyou?  Afraid of the dark?  You can always give up and go
home."
 Ukyou spun about to face Akane and snapped, "No!  Don't be rediculous!
I'm not afraid of the dark!"  But she WAS afraid.  Akane was acting very
unusual tonight.  There was something darker about her.  Could she really
be THAT angry?
 Ukyou cleared her mind of that thought with a wave of her hand.  Glaring
at Akane with daring harshness, she stated, "I can't let you keep bullying
my Ran-chan!  He deserves better!"
 Akane threw her hands down and sputtered, "Oh, so you're sayin you're
better than me?"
 Ukyou's eyes widened.  Could she really be that self-centered?  The chef
smiled.  "Well, we do get along better."
 Akane growled, then snapped into a fighting stance.  "Alright Ukyou, let's
fight already and get this over with!"
 Ukyou nodded.  Akane always was a bit too irrational, but Ukyou wasn't
about to back down from a challenge--even if the situation did feel a bit
awkward.  The okonomiyaki chef pulled her spatula from behind her back and
held it ready.  "Okay.  If I win, then you leave Ran-chan alone while I
spend more time with him."
 Akane waved her hand in violent dismissal.  "I could care less about what
you and that jerk do together!"  Even as she said it, she didn't totally
believe her own words.
 "?"  Ukyou looked confused.  "Then why do you want to fight me, Akane?
And in such a dangerous place?"
 As Akane rushed forward, she screamed, "Because I want to finally be rid
of you!  Die, Ukyou!"
 Ukyou's eyes widened in shock and she turned her weapon just in time to
keep a solid kick from crashing into her sternum.  Ukyou was scared, but
she couldn't think things through while Akane was throwing punches and
kicks in her direction.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 Cologne looked impassive as, down the darkened street at the next
intersection, two robed figures stepped out of the shadows and into the dim
light cast by the lightposts.  Rosemary and Thyme moved to either side of
the old woman, hawk-determination cast across both their faces.
 The taller and darker of the two shadows, Sage, called out with humor in
his voice, his arms linked together under his sleeves, "Now how am I
supposed to get any work done with you three following me around?"
 Stepping forward, Rose responded in the annoyingly philosophical tone Sage
associated with her and her mate, "We are not here for your convenience,
Brother."
 Parsley took a forceful step forward and pointed his finger at her,
yelling, "Be silent!  You have no right to speak, Sister!"  A dog howled as
his voice echoed off the walls down the street.  A couple of house lights
came on.  Cologne's stare darkened with each second.
 Sage clasped a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder.  Parsley
whipped his head around and growled at Sage, but when Sage leaned forward
and whispered something in his ear, Parsley nodded and turned forward
again, smiling sinisterly.  As Sage steadily exited to the right, his hands
linked casually under his sleeves, he called out to the trio again, "As
much as I would like to stay for this touching reunion, I have an important
errand to run.  But don't worry.  Parsley will stay behind to entertain you."
 The trio froze as thet watched Sage walk toward the street corner without
so much as a second glance, shocked that he was just walking away--like
that.  After Sage disappeared from sight, Thyme snapped out of whatever
trance that held him in place and ran forward to chase after him. !BOOM!
Suddenly, a section of concrete erruped in front of him, but he jumped back
to his original position before the debree could touch him.  He glared at
Parsley, who had his left hand raised in the direction of the explosion.
 Parsley roared at Thyme, "If you want to get to Sage, you have to get
through me first, Traitor!"
 Cologne pointed a finger at Parsley and rumbled, "You've got alot of guts,
boy, taking on the three of us by youself."
 Parsley linked his hands together and chuckled, "I love a challenge."
Just then, a crow seemingly materializing out of the night itself and
landed on the wall to Parsley's left, about half-way between him and the
others; it cawwed once, then twisted its head curiously at the trio.
Parsley glanced at the bird and mused, "Black bird brings me good luck."
 Cologne waved her hand in dismissal and growled, "Don't insult me, boy!
It'll take more than a good luck charm to overcome three hundred years of
Amazon experience!"
 Rose eyed the old woman with worry, a bead of sweat hanging off her
forehead.  _Is my proximity to the old woman affecting her behavior?_
 Thyme eyed the bird with suspicion.  There was something he didn't like
about it.  Something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
 Parsley glowered back at Cologne, "I not much younger than you.  And I age
better."
 "*groan* Enough talk!"  Impatient, Cologne rushed forward to attack.
 Rosemary and Thyme simultaneously whipped their heads toward her as if
just realizing something important--or else just realizing that she was
rushing in without consideration.  They immediately dashed after the old
woman, yelling, "Wait!  There's something you need to know!"  Parsley just
stood and watched them advance.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 "Akane...!" !THUD THUD! Ukyou held her ground, moderate shockwaves running
up her arms as her spatula deflected two fierce kicks aimed at her head.
The okonomiyaki chef had started to plead her adversary to allow her a
momentary "time-out" while she determined what was giving her such an
awkward feeling--the whole fight felt wrong.  But they had made an
honorable challenge for this duel.  Asking for quarter at a time like this
would be a cowardly act.  And she wasn't a coward.
 !THUD THUD THUD! Ukyou gritted her teeth from behind her shield, scolding
herself _C'mon, Ukyou, don't tell me you're getting scared.  Akane's always
like this, remember?  She's just tryin to make up for her lack of speed._
 So, after the violent girl pounded three more kicks to her waist-high
battle spatula, Ukyou threw her insecurity to the back of her mind and
started swiftly weaving from side to side so that her opponent's attacks
lashed out at thin air.  Even though the gloominess of moonlit night made
it difficult to judge movement with her eyes, she could still hear the
other's limbs thrusting through the air--especially since each one was
accompanied by a loud "Hiya!"
 "Hold still Ukyou!"  This manner of evasion was just making Akane angrier,
probably reminecent of Ran-chan's usual training defense.  Akane's assault
became more eratic as she started sweeping her blows outward across Ukyou's
mid-section, a major leap of advanced tactics thought the okonomiyaki chef.
 Ukyou groaned, finding the attack harder to dodge, and jumped back to get
out of range.
 While drifting back through the air, Ukyou noticed that the moonlight was
getting brighter.  "???"  When she landed, she glanced back and gasped when
she realized she had stopped short of falling off the edge of the planking.
 Then, turning forward again, she gasped again when she saw Akane rushing
at her ready to push her off.
 "Ack!"  Panicked, Ukyou raised her weapon.  Akane, in anticipation of a
counterstrike, kicked her foot out--even if Ukyou blocked the blow, she
would be knocked off the edge.  Instead, the chef twisted her upper body to
the side, brought the flat of her weapon up against the inner thigh and
bottom of Akane's extended leg (so that, if sitting upright, she would be
half-sitting on the flat end), and heaved her up and into the darkness;
Akane yelped in surprise, but shouldn't have been too hurt.
 With Akane out of sight, the okonomiyaki chef sighed and wiped her brow,
momentarily closing her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, this
insane fight would turn out to be a dream.  Her uneasiness about the
situation was returning--like a muted voice trying to warn her about
something important.  But she had no time to listen. "?"  Her eyes shot
wide when she heard the rapid footsteps approaching.
 !SMASH!  Ukyou jumped to the side, drawn up on one leg, hands raised in
warding, as Akane smashed a five foot two-by-four THROUGH the plank she was
standing on, obliterating a five square foot section of the ledge and
sending it crashing to the ground.  Akane's battle aura was shining bright
blue and her eyes were squinted, almost in pain.
 "You can't have him!  He's not yours!"  With un-Akane-like reflexes, the
violent girl raised the block of wood in an arc and smashed the area by the
ledge that Ukyou had been standing just a fraction of a second ago,
creating an even bigger gap at the edge.
 Ukyou jumped away from the ledge, landing in a crouch about a dozen feet
away from the berzerker and her club, then quickly drew a trio of throwing
spatulas, holding her giant spatula off to the side.  Then she did
something that was deadly to any fighter in her situation--she hesitated.
Something inside her demanded that she not let loose her volley--was her
conscience trying to get her killed???
 "I've got you now, Ukyou!"  Ukyou gasped, realizing that she was just
standing there like an idiot, frozen like a deer presented with a pair of
blinding headlights, as Akane roared and swung her two-by-four downward.
!SMASH! The chef barely managed to throw herself to the side as the floor
errupted like a geyser.
 She rolled awkwardly into a crouch several feet away and coughed into the
sides of her hand, still holding her throwing spatulas ready.  But before
she could bring her arm out to use them, Akane swung her club in an arc
through the wood and sent a tidal wave of splinters in her direction.
Ukyou yelped and hid behind her battle spatula.  Damn!  What kind of
monster was she fighting?!  She must've pissed Akane off more than she
realized!
 She clenched her teeth as little bits of wooden shrapnel grazed the
unshielded parts of her skin-tight pants, but she had no time to worry
about it as Akane rushed around the jagged crevice she created, two-by-four
raised for splattering.
 Okay!  Enough is enough!  Ukyou growled menacingly, then pounced over
Akane; her opponent swung in the air, but apparently had trouble seeing her
clearly in the dark--or else she was just plain too slow--and only managed
to throw herself off-balance.
 The okonomiyaki chef landed cat-like a dozen feet away, her legs still
stinging, and whipped her arm around, releasing her spades in a burst of
rage.  But then her eyes flew wide in disbelief and panic as each spade
sunk into the wooden rod that Akane spun adeptly in defense, not even
flinching.
 Ukyou panicked.  How was this possible?!  How'd she get so good?!  Was she
holding back ever since they met--until now?!
 Akane rushed forward and swung hard.  Ukyou held her ground and swung
equally hard.  Ukyou's weapon forged of stainless steel smashed through
Akane's weapon of poorer quality.  Time seemed to move in slow-motion as
the spatula concluded its swing and half of the two-by-four went flying
into the darkness.
 Then, time returned to normal as Akane threw her broken club away and
grabbed the handle of Ukyou's spatula.  The okonomiyaki chef's face lit up
in rage, as if she had commited a heinous crime by laying a hand on her
livelihood.
 The two girls snarled like animals as each tried to wrest the giant
cooking utinsel from the other's grip, dancing in a forced circle that
created a funnel of heat charged by their raging battle auras.  A light
breeze began twirling around them as if begging them to stop.
 Then, of all the phrases to the effect of "Let go!" Ukyou could have
brought to bear, for some ironic, comical reason she chose to yell, "Get
your own!" as she violently yanked the handle from Akane's grip,
simulaneously buffeting the spatula off of her opponent's face and chest.
Akane threw up her hands as she was sent reeling backwards.  Ukyou suddenly
gasped, suddenly forgetting her anger, when she saw where Akane was headed.
 Her feet bumbled over one another until they met the jagged fringe of the
gap in the ledge.  Ukyou froze until Akane threw her arms out to try and
catch something in the naked air to stop her and she was able to see that
Akane's panicked eyes were staring straight at her.  The chef flew forward,
but it was too late.  He opponent had arched outward and begun her descent.
 Ukyou peered over the edge in helplessness.
 She closed her eyes tightly with realization at what she had done, then
sprang from the ledge and yelled, "Akane!" as a few beads of tears flew
into the night like sparkling crystal.
 She landed on the high branch of a near-by tree a few stories down, then
jumped to the ground, landing as if she were merely hopping down a flight
of steps.  Then she clamped her hand over her mouth and gasped when she saw
Akane lying lifelessly on the ground, her back arched slighly.
 She had landed amid the wooden rubble that had fallen before her.  And
apparently, one of those fragments was still lethal enough to have pierced
her back; Ukyou could see its sharp point protruding from the other's
chest--it must have been propped up by a few other bits of refuse.  Dark
shadows played off of her body, originating from a truck and a few trees
close by, but she could just imagine the blood that must have been there.
 The chef's eyes glazed with panic.  "Oh no!  I really killed her!
Ran-chan will never forgive me!"  She had to mouth the words to herself to
make sure they were real.  A scolding voice deep within her subconscience
echoed those same concerns.  "Ran-chan will... hate me!  I killed someone
he....  I can never face him again!"
 Ukyou started to rush forward to check the corpse in a futile effort that
she might still be alive.  But she stopped and gasped as off in the
distance she heard a siren getting louder.  In the next instant, she was
gone, disappeared into the night, hoping never to be found.
 A second later, one of Akane's eyes blinked purposefully open, looking in
the direction her adversary had fled.  She smiled and chuckled mutely to
herself.  Then her smile turned into a frown as the siren started dying
down and the police car rolled into view at the gate.

   ----- * * * * * -----

 The police officer quickly got out of the car and drew his gun and
flashlight, noticing that the chain on the fence had been forced open.
Before moving forward to investigate, he tapped the siren with his
flashlight in annoyance--it had just suddenly come on by itself and
wouldn't stop until he took the key out (guiding it in on neutral).
 He crept nervously through the gate and padded closer to the construction,
waving his flashlight around, trying to spot something out of place.  He
quickly came upon the decimated remains of the wooden planking, shining his
flashlight suspiciously at each piece.  Finding nothing but broken wood, he
aimed the light upward to see where the debree had broken from.
 "!"  The officer gasped, too startled to scream, as a pair of hands
suddenly grabbed and restrained his wrists over his head and effortlessly
forced him to drop the items in his hand.  The officer glanced over his
shoulder, but could only see a shadow looming over him.
 An icy voice penetrated his skull, sounding amused: "A shame you arrived
so late.  You missed a very entertaining performance."  The voice then
sighed, "Although, I do have to admit that the choreography could have used
a bit of work.

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

 Creepy, ain't it.