Tōkyō, the Imperial Palace . . .

"You have my thanks for coming so quickly."

"Your Majesty, a request from a head-of-state is something not to be treated lightly. Especially since it was you that sent that message to me."

The Emperor of Japan chuckled as he gazed fondly on the twenty-something Western woman with the short-cut dark brown hair and the eyes the shade of a deep clear sky now kneeling across from him and his wife in the private meeting room deep within the palace grounds. "True, you are correct, Dean-san. Would you like some tea?"

A nod. "Please."

A servant immediately got to work preparing the cups of sencha. Once they were served, said servant immediately withdrew from the room. "I was briefed by the Prime Minister concerning your present situation," the Emperor then said. "Is it true that the Jewel you now possess was actually the first one created by the Seekers?"

"That's not exactly correct, sir," the visitor stated as her eyes twinkled with amusement. "All the Jewels were created at the very same time. In essence, they were grown in much the same way fruit grows from a tree. A small dollop of ebony meson to act as the core of each Jewel, then covered by layers of both ruby and diamond meson encasing it in the exact 10-30-60 percent balance each Jewel needs to allow it to gather the maximum level of surrounding life force to grow its own energy in the matter that is needed to give each Jewel Warrior what power she desires." She then pointed to the beautiful necklace around her neck; she was dressed in a very lovely kimono that displayed a mixture of imaginary animals, though chief amongst them were pegasi, the winged horses of Greek myths which served as the central badge of her former military service, the Royal Corps of Canadian Air Cavalry. "The thing about my Jewel is this: The ebony meson in the core was actually the very core of the ball of ebony meson that was employed to make the Jewels. Hence, my Jewel is seen as the 'Keystone Jewel.' The one with the ability to channel energy much more than any other Power Jewel."

"Ah!" the Emperor said, nodding. "And because of that, you've spent the last several decades - since shortly after the end of the Korean War - travelling to different planets to train other such as yourself in the use of their Power Jewels."

"Hai, I have."

Listening to their guest, the Empress - she was the only other person in the room - marvelled at how Japanese the native of southern Ontario and the current resident of northeast British Columbia (when she was on Earth) actually seemed to be. Even if her words and tone of voice were not uttered with the traditional levels of reverence people in Japan often expressed when it came to the Son of Heaven - though the Emperor didn't mind that as this woman was, in a way, an old friend of the family - her Japanese was Tōkyō-standard perfect with no hint of foreign accent whatsoever. Was this from what the Immortal Master had gifted his heir and successor as grandmaster of the School of the Star of Heaven? Was this some translation function the Power Jewel could give her Host? "It's been quite the journey," their visitor added. "I didn't see myself as any sort of racist - after what I discovered in occupied Europe during the Second World War, I could never be like many of my time - but encountering various sentient lifeforms . . . " She smiled. "A lot of which weren't really human . . . " A shrug. "Well, life is life. The Seekers understood that all too well."

"But what would this mean for your duties to protect Earth?" the Emperor asked.

A sigh. "You mean that whole 'Protector of All Life' nonsense?" As her host nodded, she took a deep breath. "Personally, that's just a load of horse manure people made up to heap on my shoulders as a way of trying to curry my favour whenever things go really bad." As his hosts both laughed - it was rather rare for someone visiting them to use such coarse language in their presence - she then added, "From what some of my non-Jewel Warrior students have told me, there've been attempts worldwide at forming cults to worship me as a local version of an arahitogami or an akitsumikami!" As her hosts both scowled on hearing that - for the longest time, the people of Japan had looked on the various Sons of Heaven as living gods descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu; officially, that had been finally done away with in 1946 by the Emperor's father at the insistence of the Allied occupational authorities - she added, "Despite all my power, Your Majesty, I'm just a normal woman underneath it all. A woman who was born in the Victorian Era, forced to grow up on the very frontiers of her home society, made to literally become immortal and weld the power equal to the great gods of any of the pantheons of Europe combined when I found this trinket . . . " - she pointed to the Power Jewel nestled right over the manubrium of her breastbone - " . . . and then had to find a way to best use that power for all those she took an oath to protect."

"Which means there are times that you often get fatigued of being the hero," the Son of Heaven then stated, nodding in understanding.

A tired smile. "Hai, I do. Though I'd never really call myself a 'hero.' I've always seen myself as a soldier first and foremost. Unlike almost all of the members of the spandex brigade that started appearing just before the Second World War, I'm not so shy about taking lives when it's ultimately necessary." A shrug. "And when I'm given clearance to do something like that by the government back in Ottawa, of course. Or when I'm dealing with ruling authorities on other planets," she added.

"Well, that's understandable. Still, others like me have professed a concern that your prolonged absence from the scene may have allowed things to get too out of hand," the Emperor then mused. "Now, they don't blame you personally for not being there for things like the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 and the like, but they do realise that having a Jewel Warrior - which is a different class of metahuman than what has normally been appearing across the planet since before World War Two - at one's beck and call would make things a lot easier for national governments."

"I will not be the cause of provoking World War Three, sir."

A chuckle; he was quick to sense what she really meant by that. She would not wish to provoke a "metahuman arms race" among the nations similar to what had happened before World War One concerning the construction of dreadnought battleships, especially between Britain and Germany. "I didn't expect you would do that, Major. Let me give you this and see what you think," the Emperor said before handing a folder over to her.

Setting the tea cup aside, the visitor took the offered document with both hands and a deep bow of the head before she opened it and scanned the top page there. Her eyebrow then arched. "A victim of Zhòuquán-xiāng . . . " she said, speaking of the cursed valley in the mountains of Qīnghǎi with the native Chinese term in lieu of the local transliteration of the characters that went into that name, "Jusenkyō." "So she was created by a magical incense burner Happōsai stole from the Nǚjiézú, then because there was no way to reintegrate her back into her original self's body, she was given a total separate identity. An adopted cousin of the family the original self's supposed to marry into . . . " A shake of the head as she then added in an angry hiss, "Stupid people . . . that's not the way to deal with a curse from that place." A sigh. "Still, it is too late to reintegrate her; she's lived separate for the right amount of time to have her own body naturally develop from the food she eats . . . "

"Due to her being effectively cut out of her old life, she was finally forced to leave home about a week ago," the Emperor stated. "Fortunately for her, a recently deceased relative - her paternal grandmother - made provisions for this in her will; she found out about her new granddaughter just before she passed away. A lawyer who worked for the family in question intercepted her almost within hours of her departing the Tendō home in Nerima and transported her to her grandmother's home in Taitō, where the necessary documentation for her that had been prepared beforehand was finally presented to her." He then smiled. "From what I heard, she was more than pleased to no longer live a life under the name 'Tendō Ranko;' she's accepted her new identity well. But tell me, Major . . . would she qualify as a Jewel Warrior?"

Major (retired) Deannette Antonia Raeburn blinked as she considered that question, and then her eyebrows arched. "That, I can find out for you."

Her hosts were quick to smile. "Please do so," the Emperor said. "This would resolve several issues your apprenticeship with Master Hosan provoked, would it not?"

A smirk. "It would . . . "


The Thunderbolt's Tears
by Fred Herriot

Based on Ranma 1/2, created by Takahashi Rumiko.

Major Raeburn and all related characters and situations are my creation.

Also including characters and situations from the Indiana Jones series, created by George Lucas and Steven Spielburg; Azumanga Daioh, created by Azuma Kiyohiko; Urusei Yatsura, created by Takahashi Rumiko; Kōtetsu Tenshi Kurumi, created by Kaisahku (Ōta Hitoshi and Shichinohe Terumasa); the Jack Ryan novels, written by Tom Clancy; plus various characters and situations as appearing in publications of DC Entertainment and Marvel Publishing, Inc.

Also based on the events and situations depicted in the fan fiction stories Misuteru, written by R.J. Drozd; Wanderers, written by Fred Herriot; and the fan fiction series The Senior Year, created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot.


WRITER'S INTRODUCTION: This plot bunny's been munching on my brain-cells for some time now, ever since I've begun to read "split-and-abandon" fics such as the above-mentioned Misuteru and some of the other fics that came in its wake such as its quasi-sequel, The Ghost of Curses Past by J.P. Buckner. For those not familiar with Mr. Drozd's work, Misuteru is a letter from the female Ranma ("Ranko" if you wish) to Kasumi, which she wrote sometime after she was split away from her male side thanks to one of Happōsai's devices and found her life stolen from her because she felt she was unwanted by everyone she had once associated with when she was actually part of Ranma. This story, put into the continuity of Misuteru, takes place immediately after that story.

This also will be the first true "test story" where I will actually have Major Raeburn (whom I've mentioned in many of my works, including Wanderers) appear.

Ranma's and Kanami's family relations are the same as what appeared in Phoenix From the Ashes, which was partially inspired by MadHat886's fanfic Suikoden One Half.

Also note, all Oriental names are written in "family name-first" order, with Occidental names written in "family name-last" order.

As always, writer's notes will follow at the end of the story text.


Tōkyō, Taitō Ward, near Ueno Park . . .

"This is so weird . . . "

The young woman seated alone in the middle of the living room of the Western-style family home located a couple blocks from Shinobazu Pond could only shake her head as she gazed around, having just finished a sumptuous breakfast that had been prepared for her by one of her late grandmother's friends. She had gladly volunteered to come over three times a day for the next few weeks to make sure the woman now legally known as "Hayashi Kanami" would feel at home and be able to fend for herself during the transition period she would need to undergo in the wake of her hasty departure from the Tendō home. And while her whole life seemed to have hit rock-bottom thanks to what had ultimately happened to her when the incense burner that created her from the living spirit of Saotome Ranma a month ago, it did look like it was going to improve.

But where would she go from here . . .?

Still, she couldn't really complain. When she finally departed the Tendō home in the wake of that stupid incident with the cats that Nodoka had provoked on Ranma - which prompted "Ranko" to smash the dunderheaded, over-honoured idiot into the stone fence of the property, then threaten to destroy her family sword when she moved to have her punished, accusing her of having no honour at all (which was enough to make Nodoka cower) - Kanami was literally left with next to nothing save the clothes on her back, a backpack she had taken from her "brother" with some supplies, plus all the cash she could get her hands on. Two hours later, she met a man named Hashimoto Naoyuki, a lawyer who represented a recently deceased grandmother Kanami never heard of before, who had several informants keep an eye on her as soon as she had literally been "born" and who had picked up on her departure from Nerima almost as soon as it happened.

And what said lawyer had brought with him . . .

A trust fund made in a will; originally intended for Ranma but now fully in my own hands. Enough money to not only live comfortably for the rest of my life - with investments to keep the money coming in - but even to put me through university all the way to a doctorate degree if I want to go that far. Even better, 'Uncle' can't touch a damned yen of it thanks to his being thrown out of the Hayashi Clan the day he finally married 'Auntie.' Remembering what she had been told about the break of relations between the former Hayashi Genma and his parents Shinji and Chiaki, Kanami could only snort. Figures! With the way Oyaji loves to screw up people's lives, it's no wonder Obaba and Ojiji wanted nothing to do with him anymore! When Ofukuro's parents came asked that Oyaji changed names when he married her, Obaba and Ojiji were more than happy to go along to it! Perfect case of making someone muyōkōshi!

She then snickered as she remembered what else Hashimoto had told her. To believe Ofukuro vents out on being 'honourable' like she does when she's bloody part-American of all things! Kanami then hummed. Maybe I should pass it on to Kunō and Kodachi. Let them go to town on everyone for the 'filthy foreign sorcerer' seeking to pollute the 'beautiful Tendō Akane' like he always accused Ranma of doing all the time. She then blinked as something else came to her. Hey! If I'm part-American, I guess that means that I can't be the 'perfect pig-tailed goddess' Kunō's always imagined me of being! That'd be one easy way to get the twerp off my back once and for all! She would have to speak to the lawyer about that when he came by sometime . . .

The doorbell rang. "Hai, just a minute!" she called out as she headed to the genkan, slipped on a pair of outdoor shoes, and then opened the front door to head to the main gate of the property. While not as vast as the Tendō property in Nerima, the Hayashi home in Taitō was still quite large as Japanese family homes came; as they had once been patrons of the famous temple at Kan'ei-ji, the Hayashi of Inari-chō had been allowed by Shōgun Tokugawa Ietsuna to establish a modest family home not so far from the temple grounds located at the north end of the modern Ueno Park. While the family grounds themselves were semi-traditional, the house was thoroughly modern and Western in design; the original Hayashi home had been destroyed in the Battle of Ueno in 1868 and the replacement house had survived both the Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923 and the fire-bombings of Tōkyō in 1945 by the Americans with little lasting damage.

Opening the front gate, Kanami called out, "Hai?"

"Hayashi Kanami, I presume."

Surprised to meet a clearly Western woman - though dressed quite sharp in a lovely kimono - who could speak flawless Japanese, Kanami then nodded. "Hai?"

A hand came out. "Dean Raeburn. Pleased to meet you."

Kanami blinked before her jaw dropped. "Raeburn-shōsa . . .?" she gasped before catching herself and then she waved the other woman in. "Come in! Come in!" she bade before noting that a limousine was now driving off towards the Nakamachi-dōri. "Um . . . aren't they going to be staying here?" she asked, pointing at the departing car.

Dean shook her head. "Nah. I just got brought here from the Kōkyo; the Emperor kinda insisted on giving me a ride over here."

Silence.

"The . . . Emperor . . .?" Kanami squeaked.

Dean smirked. The kid was right now totally off-kilter - unlike other "mystery men" and "superheroes," the long-retired Canadian Army air cavalry major-turned-specialised warfare operative didn't have much of a "fan base," but it was still there, mostly concentrated among martial arts practitioners drawing their knowledge from the ancient martial ways that had ruled Japan for centuries - but that was more than understandable, especially after what she had just been through the last week or so. "He's an old friend of mine, as is his wife. Stand easy, kid; I won't bite."

Kanami blinked several times, and then she breathed out. "Don't tell me this is something Obaba or Ojiji arranged. Is it?" she asked, scratching the back of her head.

"No, it's not. And I'm sorry that you're practically living on your own now that your grandparents are gone. Believe me, I know what being an orphan's about."

Hearing that, Kanami stared at the older woman - even if Dean looked to be in her mid-twenties, it was known that she had been born in the summer of 1867; when she gained the use of the Power Jewel in the spring of 1892, her aging process had been stopped cold, making her quasi-immortal - and then she gave her a wary look. "Don't tell me this is something Oyaji or Ofukuro did," she then said as she crossed her arms. "Hashimoto-san said when he brought me here that I was clear of all that."

"Yes, you are clear of everything those people in Nerima did to you," Dean said. "As far as I can tell, but I don't know the whole story. Give me a moment . . . "

And with that, the glistening silver crystal with the darkish red-and-black core under her jaw began to glow. The dress kimono then disappeared in a shower of energy, being replaced by a rather plain white martial arts gi top with a black pair of hakama trousers, her feet now covered by standard tabi socks and a pair of zōri sandals. One that was done, the Canadian relaxed. "Okay, can we go inside now?" she asked.

Kanami stared at her, and then she shrugged, waving her inside . . .


Nerima, the Tendō home . . .

"Is there any chance to bring Kanami-chan back?"

Hearing that pained question from her older sister, Nabiki tried not to wince. While she didn't care too much about the whole engagement nonsense and found it quite hard these days to feel anything for the other elements of her family, she did still have a heart when it came to her older sister. And it was understandable after all; Kasumi had been the rock by which the remainder of the family had held onto in the wake of the death of their mother Kimiko from breast cancer many years ago. While Nabiki hoped that her sister would finally get it into her head that it was time to let go of her promise to keep the house intact and go live her life, she doubted it would happen anytime soon. Since Akane seemed unwilling to learn anything about keeping house and all that despite her practically spending whole days at the Saotome residence under Nodoka's tutelage - given his upbringing, Ranma wasn't encouraged to care for such "girly" things - the chances of Kasumi getting her own life were slim to zero.

"No," Nabiki then declared. "The wills written by both of Oji-chan's parents are pretty airtight. Technically, the Hayashi lawyers would be within their rights to legally sever all bonds between Ranma-kun and his parents too because of the promise they made when they got married." Thinking of that contract - which (unlike a certain seppuku agreement that had haunted their sister's fiancé until the incense burner had effectively dealt with the problem of Jusenkyō) had been properly registered and fully notarised with the Taitō ward offices - Nabiki could only smile at the sheer genius of Hayashi Shinji and his wife Chiaki. To leave a lurking time bomb like that ready to be unleashed whenever it was needed had been just poetic, especially when it came to the matter of the woman originally called "Tendō Ranko" and living currently under the name "Hayashi Kanami." "I can guess why Oji-chan and Oba-chan act as if they're walking on eggshells now. Ranma-kun may not be book-smart and may not understand everything about what civil society is all about, but he's still quite bright and he catches onto things real quick. Once he realises he can get rid of almost all the engagements just like that . . .!" She snapped her fingers in emphasis. "He'll do it without hesitation."

Kasumi blinked, and then she sighed. "What if he does do that?"

"That depends on Kanami's good graces," Nabiki replied. Everyone in the Tendō and Saotome families had been served warning that if they did ANYTHING to try to press anything on the new heiress of the Hayashi Clan, the full weight of the law would come down on their heads. And given the actions of certain members of both families, that was to be avoided like the plague. Effectively, it meant none of them could travel to Taitō Ward to even visit Kanami; her lawyer made it quite clear that a potential spell in a prison cell would await anyone who dared go over to violate her private space. For Nabiki, that had spelt the total end of all picture trading when it came to the redhead; all the people at school had been made aware of the same situation and had quietly buried all visible pictures of "Ranma-chan" they possessed. The only violator of that was Kunō Tatewaki, but there were other ways to keep that fellow chained down.

"She could welcome him into the family. She could go so far as to charge Oji-chan and Oba-chan with child abuse; the laws are a little unclear in that respect. She could even go so far as to humiliate Oba-chan by revealing who her grandfather happens to be to the general public." That little titbit of information - which wouldn't be truly effective as Genma and Sōun were both well aware of Nodoka's relationship to one Professor Henry W. "Indiana" Jones Jr. - was being held in reserve in case Ranma's mother decided to force her will on her future in-laws more than what was permitted for her position. "Or she could say that he deserves everything he has to deal with and deny him a chance to change his name and clear up his own honour by that route."

Kasumi blinked. "You don't think she'll go that far, will she?"

"She actually might. After all, in effect, her whole life was stolen when she was forced to become 'Tendō Ranko.' And what's worse, Kanami's whole life was stolen by none other than Ranma-kun himself. It wasn't bad enough that Oji-chan and Otō-chan effectively stopped her from improving her own skills - not to mention Oba-chan riding her all the time to be 'ladylike' - but all her friends effectively decided she just wasn't worth knowing anymore. Or in the case of a pair of arrogant fools from China, she was just an open target deserving to be destroyed once and for all time."

A sigh. "Not to mention other things, too," Nabiki added as a particular point of a certain letter echoed once more in her mind: All the heartless bitch has ever seen in me is a cash-cow, one she can milk for all her heart's content . . . not that anyone else in your house ever gave a shit about what I was going through. Pity she won't be able to do it anymore. And it's no wonder that she has no friends. To Nabiki, people are just suckers waiting to be fleeced. Remembering that statement about her, Nabiki tried not to wince again. Ranma had always been forgiving in his own oafish way when it came to whatever she did to earn money for herself. To have Kanami come out and say it so publicly had hurt more than Nabiki thought was possible.

"Do Shampoo-chan and Mousse-kun know where she lives now?" Kasumi asked.

A shake of the head. "No. And I doubt that anyone here will say anything to either of them if they asked," Nabiki answered. And while the Tendō sisters and Ranma were all guilt-ridden in their own way over what their actions during the previous month had done to a totally innocent soul, the adults in the house had reasons other than guilt to keep them silent. To Nodoka, Genma and Sōun, it was no doubt fear over what might happen if Kanami decided to exercise her rights - as given to her by her late grandparents - to yank Ranma clear of their grasp and put a total end to the "union of the schools" and the "union of the families" they wanted. As for Happōsai, while he was personally quite upset that his "sweet Ranko-chan" was no longer in the house for him to "comfort" anymore, he wouldn't do anything to put her in danger; after all, she was a very pretty girl. Pretty girls needed to be kept safe, after all.

A sigh. "That's good . . . "

Nabiki's cell-phone then rang. "Tendō," she called into it.

"It's me," a male voice called back.

"What is it?"

"You wouldn't believe what's happening now with Kanami-chan, Boss."

"What?"

"I just spotted a strange Western woman in a kimono be driven up to her house in a limousine. A limousine with Imperial Palace license plates! And when she was brought inside, the clothes actually changed to a simple gi-and-hakama setup!"

Nabiki's eyes widened as her mind nearly overloaded from the information that had just been dumped on her. "Did you get pictures?"

Kasumi gasped, instantly sensing what her sister was talking about. "Nabiki!"

The middle daughter waved her older sister down. "Got two," her caller then announced. "Just sent them by e-mail to you right now."

"Good work. I'll contact you back."

"Right."

The connection was cut. "Nabiki!" Kasumi gasped again.

"Quiet," Nabiki said as she turned on her computer.

"If Kanami-chan finds out you're spying on her . . .!"

"I'm not spying on her," Nabiki evenly stated as the Windows program came up and she waited for her home screen to appear. "I'm just making sure things are alright with her now that's she got a home to call her own. After all, we may be stopped from going after her personally, but that doesn't stop the other dolts from going after her. And what's to stop her from coming after us with both barrels if she thinks we were responsible for something like that?" As soon as the home screen appeared, she took the mouse and clicked on her web browser, bookmarked to her private e-mail service. "That letter she left us had a pretty ugly undertone to it. In her eyes, you were nice to her, but you were never really her friend. She felt betrayed by you telling her not to make noise about what she really was, remember? You know her attitudes about me. Who knows what she'll think of Akane now. Given that she hooked up with the lawyers right after she left us, who knows what could be going through her mind these days."

The e-mail soon came up and Nabiki clicked on the latest message that was there. Soon enough, she got both pictures downloaded. Bringing up her image viewer, she then blinked on seeing the older woman standing in front of Kanami on the front lawn of the Hayashi home. "Who the hell is she . . .?" she wondered. "Pretty ritzy kimono . . . "

"Oh, my!"

Nabiki turned, unfazed that Kasumi was now leaning over her shoulder. "You recognise her?" she then asked as she looked back at the picture.

"Bring up the other picture," Kasumi asked.

Nabiki did so, and then she blinked. "Damn!"

"Oh, MY!" Kasumi then gasped, quick to notice the sudden change of clothes, and then she leaned up, quickly noting the time-index written at the bottom right corner of each picture. "Can you blow up the area around that woman's neck?"

"Just a sec' . . . "

The pictures were loaded into a graphics program, and then Nabiki called it up to magnify the area of the photos that had caught her sister's attention. Fortunately, the image had been taken from a digital camera and not a camera mounted in a cell-phone; the clarity was truly something to behold. On seeing that intricate necklace, Nabiki then gaped. "Oh, ye gods! I don't believe it . . .!" she breathed out.

"That's Raeburn-shōsa . . .!" Kasumi declared.

"What the hell is she doing there?"

The two women exchanged looks . . .


Taitō, the Hayashi home . . .

"So that's the whole story."

Dean Raeburn gazed at her, and then took a deep breath before lifting the lit cigar to her lips and taking a deep pull of the soothing tobacco fumes. Fortunately for her host, the Jewel had long been conditioned to create a special air-bubble around the head and upper body of its Host so that second-hand smoke wouldn't be a problem for anyone close to her; whatever tobacco and nicotine fumes that were taken into the lungs were automatically broken down into basic hydrocarbon molecules that fell harmlessly to the ground. Watching her do this, Kanami could only grin; Major Raeburn had always said that "you have to have at least one good vice in your life to make you truly human in the long run!" . . . and she had lived it every moment of her nearly century-and-a-half of life. "Well, I will admit that you had every right to walk out of that place if they were treating you like that," she then stated as she set aside the cigar stub in an ashtray Kanami provided, then calling up a little bit of energy to disintegrate what was left. "Now I understand why Indy seemed so sad whenever people spoke of Japan to him. To believe your great-great-grandparents did THAT to the poor man!"

Kanami gaped. "You know Hiijii-chan?"

A nod. "Didn't meet him until the war. He was a colonel in the Office of Strategic Services at the time, helping out with archaeological matters for the Allies. He got the Medal of Honour for helping rescue some of the monks - and their more priceless relics - from the abbey on Monte Cassino in '44 before Fifth Army blew it all to hell and back as they were moving in on Rome." She smiled. "He's a good man deep down. I honestly didn't believe there was a woman out there other than Marian Ravenwood that had caught his eye, but from those pictures of your great-grandma you showed me, she was a pretty lady." Dean relaxed. "Have you contacted him yet?"

The younger woman nodded. "Yeah. Day after the judge here in Taitō officially declared me forever free of Oyaji and Ofukuro. He told me about where the so-called 'honour sword' came from." As the Canadian's eyebrow arched, her host smirked. "It was a bridal gift to the Saotome Clan when Hiijii-chan sought permission to marry Hiibā-chan. He got it specially forged from a descendant of Norishige Saeki himself! And when he found out about Ojii-chan being born before Hiibā-chan died in '45, he came here to get Ojii-chan out of Japan - per Hiibā-chan's deathbed wishes! - and he was chased off the property by her parents at the end of the sword he had given them six years earlier!" A snort. "So why the hell should I care for a family like THAT?"

"Don't blame you," Dean noted. "My uncle arranged for my parents and my sister to be killed in a fire back in 1882. I was lucky to be visiting a friend in Queenston when it happened. Fortunately for me, the fire marshal discovered it was arson right away, so my friends got me on the first train out of Toronto west before Uncle realised I was still alive and could put a rock into his hopes of getting the family fortune. Believe me, I know about crazy relatives wanting to hurt you for their own purposes."

Kanami gaped. "What happened to your uncle?"

A wink. "Something called 'World War Two' eventually happened. That was the first war where metahumans were fighters. It didn't take me long to let it leak out that dear Uncle Edward was secretly supporting research into creating more metahumans."

"Like the Super Soldier Project that created Captain America?"

A nod. "The very same. Right after that, my favourite sparring partner from that war sent a couple of people to deal with dear Uncle directly. And terminally, too." Dean shook her head. "Never got what they wanted, but they sure made it easy for me to claim the family fortune when the dust all settled in the end."

Kanami stared at her, and then she laughed. "You set him up!"

"After taking my sister away from me, what do you think I should've done?"

Silence fell as the younger woman considered that, and then she sighed. "Well, if you found out that he was responsible for the deaths of your sister and your parents - you did find that out, did you?" At the Canadian's nod, Kanami shrugged. "Then you did the right thing. Even more, there could be no question of any sort of guilt on your part. Research into the Super Soldier Project and all that was being done by the Allies." A shrug. "All it ended up being was faulty intelligence. From what I heard, the Nazis weren't bright when it came to that sort of thing." She then peered directly at her guest. "What happened to the Nazi metas that went after your uncle?"

"My team and I captured and disarmed them. By the end of the war, they had been fully depowered. They got repatriated to Germany after it was all over." A smirk. "I made sure they got care packages from the Red Cross, of course. Anonymously."

Kanami nodded. "You did the right thing. You couldn't go after the bastard directly, but you still got justice for your parents and your sister. No bad." She took a deep breath. "What would the Emperor want with me, anyway? All I am . . .!"

"You're a victim, Kanami," Dean stated. "A victim of a bunch of people who have their own petty agendas to pursue. People who didn't care a bit about what you wanted. That, in the eyes of His Majesty and the others who want you to work for the government like I did for Ottawa once, is wrong. Now, you have pretty much broken away from your father and his 'school' in Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū. It's a good school despite its current reputation, but I think I can teach you a few tricks beyond what you've learned under your father's, Happy's and Cologne's tutelage. Once I accredit you as a student in the Tensei-ryū, you can strive for your mastery. When you become master, I'll let you take over the dōjō at Watari-shima. In essence, the Tensei-ryū will be in the hands of a Japanese native, which is what His Majesty would desire in the end."

Kanami blinked as she considered that, and then she asked, "They're not angry at you for being made Grandmaster when Master Hosan died, are they?"

A shake of the head. "No. When Papa-sensei killed himself in '37 and allowed me to absorb all his knowledge like he did, he was making a statement against the militarists who were marching this country into a war it couldn't win. Not against the people of Japan as a whole; even if they were buying into the garbage the militarists were selling, he didn't feel it right to overthrow them as they did possess the Shôwa Emperor's favour at the time and he would not be charged with lèse majesté. After it was all over, I had a private audience with the Emperor's father and offered to train someone to take my place as Grandmaster of the school then and there. He asked me to hold off for the time being." A sigh. "The Shōwa Emperor was a sweet man underneath it all, Kanami. Forced to do things he believed was right . . . and his country nearly died for it. He wanted to atone for what happened to all those who had fought and died in his name." A shake of the head. "But the Americans under Harry Truman and Doug MacArthur were afraid that if he was tried like all the others were being tried at the time, it would throw the country into chaos and allow either the Communists or home-grown Nazis to take over, which would have made sure another war would've come right afterward. They didn't want that." Dean shrugged. "So he saw my becoming Grandmaster of the Tensei - and thus denying the militarists the ability to make use of others trained in the Art for their own purposes - as an act of the Kami to punish him and Japan for the hubris that make that war happen like it did. But these days, there's need for people trained in the Tensei-ryū to serve the government - and the Throne - once more. So they want someone rated at least as a master at their beck and call when something weird happens. And they think you're the best person for the job."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"M-m-m-ME?"

Dean nodded. "You're already at what I'd personally consider 'level two' in the Art, Kanami. In normal ninjutsu, you'd be rated as a chūnin, almost on the cusp of becoming a jōnin. If you're willing to take training under me, I'll be more than happy to correct some of the problems you've acquired thanks to your father's training, plus expose you to things you haven't had the chance to experience because your father went and isolated you like he did while you were on the road. When I feel you're ready for it, I'll put you through the Trials and you'll then be rated as a master in the Tensei-ryū. At that point, you will have the right to take on your own students."

Kanami blinked as she considered that, and then she breathed out, "I would really like that," she then confessed. "I thought I would lose all chances of doing the Art when Oyaji told me to stop practicing, especially when Ofukuro wanted to start making me more like a lady . . . but that?" Her eyes then glistened with tears before she started to nod. "Yes, I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll do it . . .!"

Immediately, she was swept into the older woman's arms. Feeling the comfort that embrace gave her, Kanami shuddered before she broke down and wept . . .


Nerima, the Tendō home . . .

"D-d-d-Deannie is there . . .?"

For Saotome Genma and Tendō Sōun, this was truly a moment in history.

"Hai. She visited Kanami-chan right after a visit to the Imperial Palace."

To see their dreaded, hated master now as white as a ghost and shivering as if he had been caught nude in the middle of the Arctic ice cap.

"You sure it was Raeburn-shōsa, Nabiki?"

At the peak of the last Ice Age.

"Yep. Clothes transformed from a very nice kimono to the same type of gi-and-hakama getup that Kunō-chan likes to wear all the time. All in the space of a second."

A moan escaped the grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū as he passed out. "Oh, my!" Kasumi then gasped. "Ojii-san, are you alright . . .?"

Staring at the slumped heap of aged humanity on the floor, Genma and Sōun then exchanged looks, and then they leapt over to tie Happōsai up on a stake before they marched him out of the living room. The others at the table - Nodoka had totally isolated herself in the Saotome home in the wake of the revelations behind "Tendō Ranko," devastated at the thought that a daughter she could have claimed as her own wanted nothing to do with her anymore - ignored them; given that Happōsai was broken-hearted over the fact that Kanami no longer lived in the house, he wasn't acting up as he used to and his students were taking as much advantage over it as they could.

Gazing at her fiancé, Akane was quick to see the sad look on his face; Ranma had been taking the departure of his "sister" in all but name the hardest of all. "Ranma, you should be happy for her," she said as she moved to gently grasp his hand. "She's got support, a place to live, a name to truly call her own and she has nothing hanging over her anymore. She has the ability to chart her own life now. And you're still free of the curse. We all came out winners here. What's so wrong with that?"

"Then why is it Major Raeburn of all people went to see her?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sure Raeburn-shōsa has her reasons, Ranma-kun," Kasumi stated. "As I recall, she is the Grandmaster of the Tensei-ryū, which is the group that has served the Imperial Throne for over sixteen hundred years. Legend has it that the man who founded the school was immortal, having lived right up to the start of the Greater East Asia War before he allowed himself to die and gave his knowledge to a worthy heir."

"It's true, Kasumi-san."

Eyes locked on Ranma. "How did you know that, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki asked.

He sighed. "When I was travelling with Oyaji on the trip, we visited all sorts of martial arts halls and shrines to learn things. Almost every place I went to during that time, I read scrolls detailing the history of the Tensei-ryū and Master Hosan. We never went to Watari-shima . . . " - that, a tiny island off the coast of the Nemuro Peninsula on the eastern tip of Hokkaidō itself, was the site of the home dōjō of the School of the Star of Heaven - " . . . but we did train up north and I met people who actually managed to get a chance to train there. They told me about Master Hosan and Major Raeburn. How he got so mad at the militarists who got us into that stupid war with the Americans in the first place, then committed seppuku, but found a way to dump all his life's knowledge - all five thousand years of it! - into the major's head back in '37." As the women in the room gasped, he then smirked. "I'd kill for a chance to train under her. She's got Jijii and Elder Cologne beat fifty ways from Sunday! I doubt even this Saikō Jinseijutsu thing I've heard so much about would come close to beating her! But given what I let happen . . . " He shook his head.

The Tendō sisters looked sympathetically at him, and then Akane reached over to squeeze her fiancé's shoulder. "Let's give Kanami a little time to cool off," she then suggested. "She'll get over a lot of it soon enough . . . "

Ranma then perked before he sighed. "'Evening, old ghoul!"

WHACK! "Do you honestly do that on purpose, Son-in-Law?" an aged woman's voice then demanded from the doorway as the others looked over.

He chuckled as he pulled Cologne's cane away from his head and handed it back to her. "Well, when you stop calling me 'son-in-law,' I'll consider it," he said, though Kasumi was quick to sense the touch of mirth in his voice on saying that.

The Nǚjiézú elder laughed on hearing that. "Good evening, Elder," Kasumi then stated. "Would you like some tea?" she then offered.

A nod. "Please, my dear. I just came here from the restaurant after hearing a most surprising story from my great-granddaughter and the part-timer about events that happened here while I was gone back to the village." As Cologne took her place - where Happōsai had been sitting, the others all noticed - she then gazed intently at Ranma. "So tell me everything about your sister, child. How was she created?"

Ranma sighed . . .

To be continued . . .