"Ow!  It hurts, Mistress."

	"I know it does.  Now hush."

	Chun-Mae and eight masked guards were slowly making their way through the
jungle.  She and one of the guards were helping a herem girl walk--she had
sprained her ankle and her left leg was scraped where she had fallen against
a tree.  Another guard was in the forefront, hacking a crude trail with his
swords.  The others were spread out behind and to the side, making sure no
one was folowing.

	The harem girl whimpered, "I can't go on, Mistress."

	The Empress gave her a stern glance.  "You will keep going even if I have
to drag you myself."  All the guards noticed that their queen was being
awefully kind and generous to the girl--moreso than she'd ever been with them.

	The man in the forefront suddenly halted his progress and made a gesture
for everyone to stop.  The Empress, knowing full-well that he knew more
about jungle-survival than she did, nodded and everyone came to a halt.  Not
far in the distance, off to the party's right, they could hear muffled
crying--more than one person by the sound of it.

	The Empress ordered the party to changed its course in that direction.
They proceeded more carefully--and slowly--at the pointman's advisement.
The Empress was now carrying most of the harem girl's weight, and she
refused offers from the other guards to carry her.  The cries got closer,
but quieter.

	The pointman stopped again, and everyone else stopped as well.  All the
guards looked at each other, wondering what was going on--the leader did not
signal for them to wait, and he seemed to be staring at something. The
Empress heard frightened whimpers ahead off them.  She absently shoved the
harem girl to another guard and rushed to the head of the group.  She
called, "Komiki?" and shoved past the pointman, who made no motion to stop her.

	She gasped.  All the harem girls from the palace were huddled around
several trees at the edge of a clearing like frightened children, many of
them holding onto each other as if they'd die if separated. (CHEF'S VOICE:
Isn't that what they usually do?) (NOTE: Shutup.) (CHEF'S VOICE: Hey,
sorry.) They all seemed to be in shock, either nervously twitching and
staring sightlessly or shivering violently and hiding their heads.  Komiki
was kneeling in the middle of the clearing holding an unconscious girl in
her lap.  Upon hearing her mistress's voice, she looked up and tried to
force her quivering lips into a smile.  Her eyes were so full of tears that
she could hardly see.  "*faulter* M-Mistress... Chun-Mae....  You've got to
help us.  We-we can't suvive on our own."

	The Empress rushed to Komiki's side, tears immediately forming in her eyes.
She fell to her knees and draped an arm around her shoulder, placing the
other hand on the unconscious girl's forehead.  The girl felt like ice and
she didn't appear to be breathing, but her skin constantly but faintly
trembled to prove she was alive--but not for long if they didn't something soon.

	Komiki gently nestled her head against Chun-Mae's shoulder.  "What will
happen to us now?"

	The Empress glanced at the mass of frightened girls, then at the guard
still watching them from the foliage (CHEF'S NOTE: Pervert.).  She turned to
Komiki and wiped the tears from the girl's cheek.

	Komiki asked weakly, "Are we going to die?"

	Chun-Mae closed her eyes.  She, too, had nowhere else to go, and she'd
prefer to be in the company of the harem rather than her so-called husband.
She muttered assuredly, "I won't let anything happen to you or the others."

	"Thank you."  Komiki kissed Chun-Mae lightly on the lips, then snuggled
back into her shoulder.

	Just outside the clearing, all of the guards looked confused, not knowing
what was going on--all except the one in the front.  The harem girl stared
at the guard holding her, who just stared back.  Finally, she turned to the
pointman and asked, "Is something wrong?"

	The pointman mumbled, "Define wrong."

		

	Miko could feel a warm body beneath hers, a body that she gently and
lovingly gripped.  She blinked her eyes open and risked destroying the
comfort and absolute serenity she felt, but she had to know if it was true.
She took her time gathering the strength to move, savoring her peace for a
while longer, then she slowly pushed herself up.

	It was true.  Ranma, in his original, masculine, form, was sleeping soundly
beneath her.  He was wearing the same red-and-black, sleeveless Chinese
outfit she was wearing, the same one that he (in female form at the time)
was wearing when they met--now, in her mind, they successfully represented
each other: two guardians protecting each other.

	They were lying in the middle of a wide, grassy meadow dotted with
wildflowers here and there.  The mid-morning sun cast warm rays downward in
a comfortable mixture with the coolness of the dewdrops that still lingered
on the ground and in the air.  A duo of birds twittered and sang on a nearby
tree, reflecting the happiness she felt.

	She looked upon Ranma's handsome face, mouth open and drooling on one side,
and rested a hand on his cheek.  Leaning forward, she brushed her lips
against his, carefully explored the surface with her tongue (CUTE VOICE:
Hey!  You stop that!) (CHEF'S NOTE: I think I'm going to be sick.), then
drew back and watched him sleepily smack his lips and turn his head to the
side.  She sighed ecstatically.

	"You have been waiting for this moment for some time, haven't you?" came a
dull, icy voice from behind.  Miko's eyes widened and she rolled off of her
guardian.  Sitting on a large, smokey rock that somehow seemed out-of-place
for the landscape was the midnight-robed stranger.  His guant face was
visible under the cowl, but it was still eerily cast in shadows.

	Miko gasped, drew her legs to her chest, and glanced back at Ranma,
embarrassed to have kissed him in someone's audience.  With nowhere to go
and noplace to hide, she snapped at the dark man in annoyance, "Hey! What
are you doing here?"

	The dark man looked around and chuckled, dismissing her question, "So this
is what you were dreaming about?"

	Miko looked startled.  She WAS dreaming about this situation only a few
minutes ago, wasn't she, but now something was slightly different.  She
muttered to herself, "But I could have sworn that in my dream, we were
nak--oops."  She started blushing furiously and tried to hide it.

	The dark man grimmaced, having heard her.  "I presumed that you would want
to maintain a bit more of your dignity in my presence."

	Miko gently gripped at the front of her shirt, making sure it was there.
"Thank you."  She paused, then looked at him curiously.  "What are you doing
in my dream?"

	The dark man rubbed his chin and mused, "Well, this is not exactly your
dream... it is a sort of stage I set up for our meeting fashioned to meet
your comforts and... but I am getting ahead of myself....  I tend to ramble
sometimes.  For practical purposes, you may call it a dream."

	Miko looked around at the lush landscape while she tried to think of
something to say.  "It's very beautiful."

	"Hm.  And awefully bright."  The dark man shaded his eyes as he, too,
looked around.  The more he turned toward the light, the darker the shadows
became inside the cowl, as if they were screening his face from the sunlight.

	Miko looked compassionate.  "If the light bothers you so, we can go
somewhere else."  She glanced at Ranma and quickly changed her mind.  "If
you created this place, can't you dim the lights or something?  I won't mind."

	The dark man turned to her and smiled.  "Thank you, my dear.  You are most
kind."  With a wave of his hand, a mass of swirling, dark crimson
stormclouds rolled across the sky, washing out the sun and pushing away
every ounce of cheerful blue, leaving the atmosphere saturated in an
unnatural, reddish glow.  The grass and trees disappeared and were replaced
by barren rock and sand.  Birds' singing was replaced by a low rumble of
thunder.

	Miko gasped and cringed back.  The dark man stretched and sighed, "That
feels much better."

	Miko looked around nervously and shrieked when she noticed that Ranma was
gone--only a smooth blanket of sand remained.  "What did you do with
Guardian Spirit?!"

	The dark man frowned.  "Oh.  Him."  He twitched a finger and Ranma
reappeared by Miko's side, still sleeping soundly in the same position.
(CHEF'S VOICE: Figures.) The dark man looked up at the new sky and took a
deep, refreshing breath.  "I hope the change of scenery is not too...
discomforting."

	Miko hugged Ranma and shivered to think that they would be
separated--again.  She turned to the dark-robed menace and scowled, "What do
you want?  You helped me get into the palace and I got the statue for you.
We're even now!"

	The dark man appeared sincerely offended, but at the same time he seemed to
be mocking her. (NOTE: These dark strangers always tend to be paradoxal,
don't they.) "You wound me, child.  Our bargain was honorably concluded.  I
have come to discuss other matters--of a more personal nature."

	Miko, feeling bad for having snapped at him, no matter who he was, lowered
her head and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry.  What do you want to talk about?"

	"This."  He held out his arms and let four dice slip from his hands.  The
dice nestled themselves squarely in the sand, so there was no mistaking what
picture was meant to go on top: a dove, a crow, a yin/yang, and a skull and
crossbones.  Miko crawled closer and hovered over the dice curiously.

	The dark man folded his arms and glanced upward as if he expected to find
something in that direction.  "I could be severely penalized for what I am
about to do, but you leave me in a very awkward positon."

	Miko was too absorbed in the matter before her to comprehend what her
adversary was saying.  Her eyes soon widened in recognition and she sat back
on her legs.  She gasped, "These are MY dice!"

	He peered down at them.  "Hm.  Yes, so they are."  He sighed.  "And the
choice you must make is quite clear."

	"Choice?"  Miko looked at the dice suspiciously.  "But this is the same
thing I rolled yesterday and I read nothing about a choice."  She shook her
head, sure he must have been mistaken.  "This says that I and Guardian
Spirit were made for each other."

	The dark man chuckled.  "You have a lot to learn, little one.  While your
interpretation was not completely incorrect, it was heavily flawed."

	Miko looked startled, already having doubts.  "What do you mean?"

	The dark man closed his eyes and his face darkened.  "The white bird, while
you are correct in its meaning of protection, is actually your
protector--your 'guardian spirit'.  The black bird DOES represent a
stranger, but also a messanger--a dark messanger--namely ME."

	Miko backed up next to Ranma, frightened by the haunting tone the
midnight-robed man was taking.  Seeing her reaction, he seemed to lighten up
a bit (which for him, wasn't much of an improvement).

	He continued more dryly, "The yin/yang represents the choice you must
make--the one which I have opted to give you."  He paused to see her react.

	Miko was thoroughly shaken.  She didn't like the way HIS interpretation was
turning out.  His dark overtones suggested something far worse than she
imagined.  She pointed a shaky finger at the skull and crossbones and
stuttered, "A-and th-that?"

	"Death."  Miko braced herself for that answer, but she was appauled by the
dark man's face when he said it--not forbidding or stern or sad or
revelling, but expressionless.  He wasn't even looking at the dice, as if he
waited for her to ask the question she dreaded.

	Miko paled.  "D-d-death?  But... but.. but...."

	The dark man showed a glimmer of concern.  "I am sorry if the truth is
unsettling.  You do not look well."  He waved his hand and the landscape
returned to the warm, grassy meadow of her dream.  "You should warm
yourself.  I will endure."

	Miko grabbed her arms and shivered regardless, though the sun on her back
did make her feel better.  She instinctively looked at Ranma, then back.
"What's going on?  Who's going to die?"

	"That is the choice I must give you."  His face was now completely blacked
out under his cowl and she could not read his expression.  He sighed.  "Many
centuries ago, it was written that on this day, a scarlet-haired girl would
meet a tragic end in this particular region of China."

	Miko shrunk back and peeped, "me?"

	The dark man shrugged.  "It does not have to be.  There is another to take
your place."  He glanced suggestively in Ranma's direction.

	"Wha...?"  Miko quickly followed his gaze and her lip started to quiver.
"Guardian Spirit?  But... but... he's a man!"  The idea was too absurd.
(CUTE VOICE: You telling me.)

	He held up his index finger as if trying to make a point, which he was.
"Ah.  But in cold water, he becomes a scarlet-haired girl.  The contract of
a prophesy may be fulfilled in more ways than one, circumstances pending, of
course." (CHEF'S NOTE: Why you... you... you... NABIKI!!!) He spread his
arms out dramatically.  "Think of it as a twist of fate."  _You do not
realize how much of a twist it actually is._ (CUTE VOICE: Oh, too bad.  You
fall in Spring of Drowned Ranma.  Very tragic legend of young boy who change
into young girl who drowned in spring one thousand five hundred year ago.)

	Miko almost laughed, but the more she thought about it, the more it started
to make sense.  She stared at Ranma, then turned to the dark man with
glistening tears in her eyes.  She tried to say something, but all of her
words stuck in her throat.  She threw herself onto Ranma's chest and started
crying, but Ranma just lay there, still asleep, going through the same
sleepy motions he did when she first woke up in her staged dreamscape.
_He... he's not real!  He's only a dream!_

	The dark man put two fingers to his lips in a hushing gesture.  "I did not
mean to make you cry.  Did I say something wrong?" (CHEF'S NOTE: Ok.  I
can't believe I'm defending the slut, but... THAT JACKASS!)

	Regardless of what the thing under her was, Miko held onto it as if it were
her guardian.  She peeked up at her nemisis and stammered, still choked,
"W... why a... are you doing this to m... me?"

	The dark man folded his arms and seemed slightly annoyed.  "You have bested
me in combat."

	Miko snapped coldly, "So what!  Is that you're reson to torture me?"

	The dark man looked stunned for an instant, then he wagged his finger.  "No
no no.  You misunderstand."  He folded his arms again and closed his eyes
(again), feeling a bit embarrassed for what he was about to say.  "*sigh*
Long ago, when I had achieved a reasonably high status in the Order, and
being among the more powerful of my brothers, I was urged to take an
apprentice.  Seeing my time as too valuable to waste on a fledgeling who
would almost certainly hinder my affairs, I refused.  However, after many
seasons of badgering from my elders, I relented--but conditionally.  I vowed
that I would only take an apprentice if he, or she, could defeat me in
combat.  They found this acceptable."

	"Wha?"  Miko looked up in surprise and confusion, but she refused to leave
the warmth of her sleeping pseudo-guardian.  She sniffled a few times and
tried to think about what he was telling her.

	The dark man pursed his lips as if he didn't want to continue with the
explanation.  But with a short sigh, he did anyway.  "Not long afterward,
the elders decided that to further keep my knowledge and training in the
Order, I was to take a wife and produce an heir.  Likewise I refused.
Anyway, few available brides were strong enough to keep my bloodline strong
or keep my interest."  At this point he seemed to be musing to himself,
forgetting about Miko's presence.  "*groan* One day... at a celibration I
would have rather not been to, my peers would not leave me alone about my
bachelor status, so... *scowl* in a drunken stupor I made a rediculous vow
that I would only take a wife if she could defeat me in combat." (CHEF'S
NOTE: You jackass!) (CUTE VOICE: Hey!  Vow not that rediculous!)

	Miko panicked.  "WHAT?!"

	The dark man shrugged, acknowledging her once again.  "You are the first to
defeat me in over five hundred years. (CUTE VOICE: You not meet Great
Grandmother.) (DARK VOICE: BLAAK!!!) (CUTE VOICE: Hmph.) (CHEF'S NOTE: Ha
ha!) You qualify for both positions.  Congradulations are in order."

	"WHAT!?"  Miko stared at the dark-robed man in unblinking awe.  Tears
welled in her eyes and her hands started trembling.  "Order?!  Five hundred
years!!!  By the gods, what are you talking about?!  Who are you?!"

	The dark man looked down in disappointment.  "You're father never mentioned
me?  I am hurt.  We were once the best of friends and colleagues."  Miko
held her breath.  He waved his hand in dismissal.  "Telling you who I am
would take far more time than I have at the moment, so we had better leave
that matter for our next discussion."  Miko grabbed her pseudo-guardian
tighter, threatening to squeeze the pseudo-life from his pseudo-body, and
whimpered.  She mouthed the word 'next', but no sound came out.

	The dark man clasped his hands in front of him.  "Consider this as your
first lesson in your new... profession.  The question I must ask of you is:
Who dies?  You..."  He nodded in her direction.  "...or him."  He nodded in
Ranma's direction.

	Miko was too horrorstricken to gasp.  She could barely breath.  She grabbed
pseudo-Ranma's hand and pulled it to her chest.  She squeeked, "I can't make
that kind of decision!  I can't!  I can't!"

	The dark man looked up and to the side.  "Hm.  Very well.  Then I suppose I
will have to make the choice for you."  He grinned, musing to himself
(again).  "I could perverbally kill three birds with one stone.  Not only
would I have a bride and apprentice, but I would rid the world of a future
neusance.  Master Saffron will be so pleased." (NOTE: For those of you that
may not know who Saffron is, find a good summary of volume 38.)

	"Hn?"

	The dark man looked down at Miko, just remembering that she was there.
"Oh.  You must understand.  I don't want you to die.  I may not be able to
find another candidate for quite some time."

	Miko pouted and tried as hard as she could to keep from crying, to stay
strong for her guardian.  She channeled her pain into rage and yelled, "YOU
MONSTER!!!"

	"Hm?"  The dark man drew back, genuinely shocked.

	Miko sat up, not taking her eyes off of her enemy's face, not even to
blink.  "Guardian Spirit is my friend!  The best friend I've ever had in my
entire life!  You can't hurt him!"  She paused to regain her strength and
clench her fists.  Her chest was heaving eratically and her whole body was
trembling uncontrollably.  "I won't let YOU or anyTHING harm Guardian Spirit
in ANY WAY!"

	The dark man looked frantic.  "But you would eventually forget...."

	"SHUT UP!"  Miko's voice was becoming harsher.  "You asked me to make a
choice!  Fine!  I will!  I would gladly die to save Guardian Spirit's life!
Do you hear me?!  I would gladly DIE for him!!!" (CHEF'S VOICE: *sniffle*
you would... really... do that for Ranchan?)