Ranma crouched behind a low concrete wall, listening for his enemy's 
approach. He heard nothing but the sound of rushing water. 
    He'd made it as far as Mikado Dam, and he was sure Tatsunada Fushin would 
be able to track him there. Ranma's plan was that if he couldn't find a way to 
beat his opponent in a straight fight, maybe he could find a way to force him 
over the dam and hopefully out to sea, and out of their hair. The floodgates 
were closed, but Ranma could work around that problem if the need arose. 
    Now, if he'd just hurry up and GET HERE... Ranma thought angrily. Geez, 
that guy's as bad as Ryoga! 
    As if his thoughts gave birth to reality, the concrete wall behind Ranma 
suddenly shattered outward in a way that could only be caused by Ryoga's 
'breaking point' technique. Ranma rolled to safety and turned to face a figure 
who, except for an outstretched finger, was obscured by a cloud of dust. 
    To Ranma's amazement, the dust cloud parted and revealed the figure to be 
Tatsunada Fushin. He turned and smiled at Ranma, his snake-like eyes narrowed 
to slits. 
    "Hello, Saotome. What, were you expecting someone else?" 
    Ranma wiped the look of astonishment off his face, replacing it with one of 
determination. "I just didn't know you knew that trick, that's all." 
    Fushin laughed. "You'd be surprised at the number of 'tricks' you can pick 
up, Ranma, when you literally have all the time in the world. I could match you 
blow for blow, no matter what you tried." He smirked. "There's really only one 
way this fight can end. Surely you realize that by now." He looked back up at 
Ranma. "Come on, Saotome. You saw what I did to your little friend back there. 
The old crone was lying; she's dead." His eyes narrowed. "I've had dozens of 
chances to do the same to you, but I really hate to waste such raw talent. I'm 
sure you know by now that I've just been toying with you." 
    For Ranma it was like taking a knife in the chest but, remembering his 
shoulder, he was forced to admit that it was true. 
    Fushin continued. "However, in all my travels -- and I've circled the globe 
many times -- I have to tell you that I've never met anyone quite like you." 
His grin would have been almost amiable, if it weren't for his eyes... "Yes, 
it's true. You really are exceptional, and it's a very refreshing thing to 
find. So many of many of my opponents really didn't know what they were doing. 
They didn't understand what it was all about. But, you ... it's in your very 
blood! It's a part of you, just like eating and sleeping! Maybe even more so!" 
He lowered his gaze and shook his head. "Not even Happosai was this good! It 
would be so easy to teach you what I've learned ... you might even teach me a 
few things as well! I really don't want to have to kill you, Ranma." 
    Then he stopped, and slowly looked back up to meet Ranma's eyes. "But if 
you insist on fighting me, I will. I will kill you. Because I couldn't allow 
you to stay alive, if you refused to join me." 
    Ranma eased into a fighting stance. "Well, then," he drawled, "I guess 
you're just gonna hafta come over here and do it." 
    Fushin scowled. "So be it, then ... farewell, Ranma Saotome." 
    He took a step forward... 
    ...And vanished. 
    "Huh? What the..." Ranma looked around in confusion. 
    And suddenly Fushin was only a foot away, his fist racing toward Ranma's 
ribs. Surprising himself with his own speed, Ranma turned the blow aside and at 
the same time swung an elbow at his enemy's head. It was stopped by his 
forearm, and the two stood frozen for a moment, each having cancelled the 
other's attack. 
    Fushin smiled. "Well met ... but time will tell." 
    They broke, and now Fushin took the offensive. He launched a flurry of 
punches at Ranma, who dodged or deflected them all. He then countered with a 
crescent kick, but Fushin caught his heel and threw him on his face. Ranma 
threw himself backwards as soon as he hit the ground and Fushin's axe kick 
cracked the concrete where his head had been an instant before. The two 
combatants backed off and sized each other up, pausing briefly in their furious 
battle. They realized they had moved out onto the dam itself. 
    As they did so, the air was split by the sound of piercing laughter. 
    "Aww, geez," Ranma groaned, rubbing his head. "Just when I was thinkin' 
there was no way this could get any worse..." 
    Kodachi Kuno stood pirched atop a nearby signpost, sporting her usual 
leotard and ribbon. A cascade of black rose petals seemed to whirl around her 
as she laughed maniacally. 
    "You, there!" she pointed at Fushin. "Who are you to be threatening my 
darling Ranma?! Answer me, or you will face the fury of Kodachi, the Black Rose 
of St. Hebereke!" 
    "Another interruption..." Fushin growled angrily, but then he seemed to 
realize something and suddenly laughed. "Tell me, Ranma, exactly why are those 
Tendo girls so important to you? I've only known you a few hours, and it seems 
to me that every female in Nerima is lining up for your attention." 
    "I don't just use people like you do, okay?!" Ranma snapped angrily. "Go 
ahead and think whatever you want to, but I ain't that kinda guy!" 
    Fushin raised his eyebrows. "Well, well ... I've touched a nerve." 
    "SHUT UP!!!" Ranma shouted, lunging forward. But then Kodachi landed 
between them, and he stopped short. 
    "You there!" she repeated, pointing a gym club at Fushin. "Cretin, do you 
dare ignore me?! You do so at your peril!" 
    "Kodachi!! Get away from him!" Ranma yelled. "That guy's dangerous!" 
    Kodachi answered with an ear-splitting laugh. "Dangerous, Ranma darling? 
How utterly ridiculous! Surely you can't mean..." 
    She turned back to Tatsunada Fushin, who was suddenly only inches away from 
her. His flat, hypnotic eyes stared directly into hers. 
    "I'm feeling charitable at this particular moment," he whispered, "So if 
you disappear right now, I'll let you live for the rest of the day." 
    "How ... how frightening!" Kodachi whimpered. "But ... but, Sir, I only 
meant to give you this..." she twirled a black rose in front of him. 
    Fushin's brow arched quizically, and then a black mist sprayed from the 
rose, as Ranma had known it would. Cursing, Fushin covered his face while he 
drew back his free hand to punch Kodachi. As he did so, a chain swung out from 
behind him and wrapped around it, jerking him backwards. Ranma took this 
opportunity to dive forward and push Kodachi to the side, out of the immediate 
line of fire. She fell in the water next to them and disappeared. Straightening 
up, Ranma watched Fushin struggle with the chain, the end of which was held by 
Mousse. 
    "You! What've you done to my beautiful Shampoo?!!" Mousse demanded as he 
hauled back on the chain. Fushin braced himself against his pull, then suddenly 
changed tactics and grabbed the chain, pulling himself quickly toward Mousse. 
Ranma realized he'd been temporarily forgotten, and was not about to let the 
opportunity go to waste. 
    As Fushin rushed toward Mousse, pulling the chain tight, Ranma leaped 
between them. Landing right in front of Fushin, he snapped the chain with a 
kick. At the same time he stopped him short with an elbow to the chin, then 
came around with his free hand. "TENSHIN AMAGOURIKEN!!!" He pummeled Fushin's 
chest with dozens of punches, driving him backwards and almost to the water's 
edge. 
    Fushin staggered slightly, but quickly recovered his balance. Putting a 
hand to his chest, he grinned up at Ranma. 
    "Well, Saotome ... you're very fast. But keep in mind that I only need to 
hit you once, and this fight will be over." 
    Ranma snapped into his best defensive stance. "All right, then, let's see 
you do it!!" 
    Fushin straightened up, but suddenly three small objects shot down and 
stuck in the pavement between them, as if hurled from above. Glancing down, 
Ranma saw that they were spatulas. 
    No sooner had Ranma looked back up than he and Mousse were joined by Ukyo 
and Akane, and two others he didn't recognize -- a girl with straight black 
hair, and another guy that looked a couple years older then himself. 
    "Tatsunada Fushin!" Akane's shout surprised everyone, including the man she 
addressed. Her expression was one of grim resolve -- even courage, Ranma was 
forced to  admit, as she continued. "I'm not just gonna lay down and let you do 
as you please around here! If you're so determined to kill Ranma ... you're 
going to have to kill me too!!" 
    Everyone just stood there for a long moment, staring at Akane in amazement. 
After a long silence, Fushin shrugged. "Suit yourself, Miss Tendo. Apparently 
your sisters don't share your attitude, or they'd be here too. At any rate, it 
makes no difference to me." Without warning, he lunged toward her before the 
others could react. 
    "AKANE!! WATCH OUT!!!" Ranma yelled as he dove in to try to stop the 
attack. Akane seemed to have frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights. 
    As Tatsunada Fushin's hand swept through the air toward Akane, the ground 
abruptly exploded between them. 
    "AKANEEEEEE!!!!!" Amidst an eruption of dirt and concrete, Ryoga exploded 
onto the scene, rising to Akane's defense. 
    And as he stood, the blow Fushin had aimed at Akane struck him full in the 
chest. With a strangled grunt, he fell. 
    "RYOGA!!!" Akane screamed as he collapsed into her arms. "NO!!! Don't die!! 
You can't!!!" 
    A shadow fell across them, and Akane looked up through the tears that 
filled her eyes. Tatsunada Fushin stood over her, about to deliver the blow 
that Ryoga had given his life to protect her from. 
    Akane shut her eyes, unable to face him. 
    And as Fushin reared back for the punch, Ranma's fist crashed into his 
ribs, breaking at least two of them. He got in several hits in rapid succession 
before Fushin regained control and, blocking one of Ranma's kicks, countered 
and threw him into the water behind them. 
    But as soon as Ranma was gone Ukyo was on him, battering him with a fury 
few could match. She bashed Fushin repeatedly with her giant spatula before he 
got his guard back up, and even after that a stray shot got through and 
shattered his left kneecap. Fushin staggered, but this threw Ukyo off balance 
as well and on her next swing, he grabbed her spatula and pulled her toward 
him. He met her on the way in with a stunning head-butt, and Ukyo was knocked 
unconscious. 
    As Ukyo fell to the ground, Fushin turned back to Akane only to have 
another mysterious object land at his feet. Looking down, he saw that it was a 
chicken's egg. 
    Then the egg exploded with the force of a grenade. Fushin leapt out of the 
way in time to avoid most of the blast, but Mousse met him in mid-air and 
slashed his chest with a scimitar he'd produced. The two opponents landed on 
opposite sides of the dam, and turned to face each other. 
    "You hurt Shampoo, you bastard!!" Mousse shouted. "For that, you'll DIE!!!"
    Fushin chuckled. "Time will tell, boy," he replied. 
    The two combatants jumped at each other again, and met in mid-air. Mousse 
viciously slashed at his enemy, but Fushin somehow managed to avoid the blade, 
and then threw Mousse into the water below them. He lost his grip on the 
scimitar as he fell, and it clattered on the pavement near Ryoga's prone form. 
    Fushin landed back on the dam, and looked around to see who was still 
standing. He turned back toward Akane, but was surprised to recieve a heavy 
blow to the face as he did so. 
    Akane stood there, shaking with anger. Her eyes blazed with pure hatred as 
she looked at Fushin. 
    Who only rubbed his chin as he regarded her. "You know, you nearly broke my 
jaw," he told her. 
    "I'll NEVER forgive you for what you've done!!!" she shouted at him. 
"NEVER!!! No matter how long you live!!" 
    "Dear girl," Fushin laughed, "I've heard those words spoken so many times 
that they long ago lost any meaning for me. And you won't live long enough to 
make them any more valid." Akane swung at him again, but he grabbed her wrist. 
Despite herself, she gasped as his fingers wrapped around her cuts from the 
night before. Pulling her close to him, Fushin whispered in her ear, and his 
voice sounded like the hissing of a cobra. 
    "It's really too bad I won't be able to find out what sort of children a 
fiery girl like you would have given me. But, I'm sure your sisters will make 
up for it." 
    "GO TO HELL!!!" Akane screamed, shoving him away. Fushin's eyes narrowed to 
slits and he reached out to end her life, but then something whizzed through 
the air between them, slicing into his arm. 
    Both Akane and Fushin were genuinely surprised to see Ryoga struggling to 
his feet, his eyes burning with rage. "GET ... AWAY ... FROM AKANE!!!" he 
roared at Fushin. 
    "Ryoga!!!" Akane exclaimed, running over behind him. "You're ... I thought 
you were dead!!" 
    "You survived my Shitsume Strike?" Fushin actually sounded impressed. "The 
amount of endurance that would take is absolutely incredible! It seems Ranma 
isn't the only treasure to be found in Nerima!" He chuckled quietly. "I don't 
suppose YOU'D consider joining me..." He obviously didn't expect the answer to 
be in his favor. 
    And the answer Ryoga gave was even more direct. "SHISHI HOKOUDAN!!!" A 
massive green fireball formed in his hands, and blasted toward Fushin ... who 
was ready and waiting for it. 
    "SHISHI HOKOUDAN!!!" Fushin deflected Ryoga's fireball with one of his own, 
and they cancelled each other out. The two combatants were both left panting 
for breath after exerting such tremendous energy, but the silence didn't last. 
    "Tatsunada Fushin!" Yuta's shout interrupted the face-off as everyone 
turned to him, having forgotten he was even present. "You can't be allowed to 
continue using people indiscriminately ... just to alleviate your boredom." 
    Fushin looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about?" he asked 
quietly. "Who are you?" 
    Yuta ignored his question, but faced him with a look of determination. "I'm 
willing to do whatever it takes to stop you." 
    Before Fushin could respond, Ranma climbed out of the water behind him and 
flopped onto the dam. Kodachi clung to his back, and immediately began berating 
him loudly. 
    "You devious little tramp! Where have you hidden my darling Ranma?! Answer 
me, or I'll be forced to do something unpleasant!" 
    "Excuse me," Fushin told Yuta and Ryoga, walking over to where Ranma lay. 
"It's time to end this, Saotome. You fought well, but I tire of this game." 
Pushing Kodachi aside, he grabbed Ranma by the collar and pulled him up to face 
him. 
    "What...?" Fushin stopped short when he noticed that the person before him 
wore Ranma's clothes, but was a red-haired girl. And that instant's pause was 
all Ranma could have asked for. 
    "Surprise." He grinned. "KATSU TENSHIN AMAGOURIKEN!!!" 
    Ranma pummeled Fushin with no less than two hundred fifty punches in the 
amount of time most people took for a one-two combo. Spinning around, he 
finished the job with a roundhouse kick that sent his opponent staggering. 
    And as Fushin staggered, Yuta caught him from behind in the strongest grip 
he could muster. "Quick, Mana!" he shouted. "Do it NOW!!" 
    Mana picked up Mousse's scimitar and ran toward Fushin, but Akane grabbed 
her arm just as she pulled back for a lethal swing. 
    "Stop it!!" Akane cried angrily. "Ranma's beaten him! You can't just 
EXECUTE him like that, no matter what he's done to you!" 
    "You don't understand!" Mana argued, but it was too late. 
    Fushin had gotten his second wind, and he immediately used it to hurl Yuta 
to the ground. Mana shoved Akane out of the way and made a desperate slash with 
the scimitar, but Fushin avoided it easily and grabbed her arm. Reversing the 
blade with blinding speed, he drove it through her body. 
    Akane's gasp of shock was nearly as loud as Mana's gasp of pain. As she 
watched in horror, Fushin twisted the blade upward, then hauled up on it, 
lifting Mana completely off the ground. Blood literally poured out at his feet, 
and he threw Mana's twitching body aside like a sack of garbage. 
    As brave as she was, Akane fainted. Ranma and Ryoga were themselves 
transfixed by the grisly scene, and were unable to wrench their eyes from it. 
However, Yuta reacted differently. 
    "You selfish bastard...!" he growled, struggling to his feet. 
    Without a word, Tatsunada Fushin spun around and struck him in the chest. 
Yuta choked, then fell limply to the ground, his body as lifeless as Mana's. 
    Then Fushin turned to face Ranma, and the flat, deadly look in his eyes 
suddenly seemed far more frightening. "This is how I should have treated you 
from the beginning, Ranma Saotome," he told him, his voice low and threatening. 
"So, you've even been to Jusenkyo. How ironic. Quite a unique and interesting 
place, but ultimately very inconveniently located. At any rate, you've provided 
me with the most entertaining morning I've had in decades. And for that I shall 
thank you, by sending you to that place of which I can only dream." He walked 
toward Ranma. "To sweet oblivion. In your absence, I'll try to see that your 
friends and loved ones ... well ... that they endure a minimum amount of 
discomfort." He shrugged. "You realize that my plans are imperative, and I 
can't make any promises. But I WILL try." 
    He stopped directly in front of Ranma, who still hadn't quite shaken off 
the horror of what his enemy had done. He couldn't seem to move, but he was 
aware that he was being spoken to. 
    "...If it's any consolation, I'm sure you won't be lonely in the afterlife 
... whatever that is. Many of your friends, including Miss Akane, will be 
joining you directly. Perhaps you'll all be reincarnated together, hmm?" 
    A shadow fell across Ranma's face... 
    "SHITSUME STRIKE!!" 
    ...And he looked up with a new fury in his eyes. With only an instant to 
act, Ranma seized on the first thing to occur to him. 
    "HIRYU SHIUTEN HA!!!" 
    Fushin's strike was halted as a cyclone erupted around them, and then he 
was flung high into the air. It seemed to take an awfully long time for the 
cyclone to dissipate, and when it finally did, he fell. 
    And fell. 
    And fell. 
    And kept falling, past the dam and into the canal in front of it. Which was 
empty. The concrete below came rushing up to meet him, and when it did, nearly 
every bone in Tatsunada Fushin's body shattered at the impact. 
    As his mangled frame settled to the ground, a sigh escaped his lips. As the 
air left his body, the spark of life followed quickly behind.