After being led to Ranma's room, Ukyou took a minute to put the man in his
bed, and then another to tuck him in. After that, the okonomiyaki-chef tried
to stifle a yawn and sat back against a nearby wall, watching over him.

"Are you tired?" Motoko asked, taking a position up by the door, where she
could see her teacher easily and still hear anyone coming down the hall.

Ukyou flinched, blinking and turning to look at Motoko in surprise. "Forgot
you were there," she mumbled. "Yeah. Kinda. I haven't slept all night, and I
spent most of the evening trying to find Minami."

"I can show you to the teashop if you'd like to rest," the kendoka offered.

"I can just sleep here," Ukyou murmured, eyes drifting shut.

"It would be unseemly for me to let another woman sleep with my sensei,"
Motoko protested. "Please, Kuonji-san-"

"Oh, no," Ukyou groaned, shaking her head without opening her eyes. "You,
too?"

* * *

# Diamonds in the Rough -- Chapter Seventeen -- Home and Away

## Disclaimer: Paints in this story are from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz (Ranma
1/2), TV Tokyo and Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina), and Tatsuya Egawa (Goldenboy).
The easel is mine. That's all.

* * *

Motoko fought down the blush she could feel coloring her cheeks. "What's that
supposed to mean?" she asked tersely.

"You're jealous," Ukyou surmised, opening her eyes and fixing the girl with an
accusatory stare. "You don't want to leave me alone with Ranchan."

"T...t...that's preposterous!" Motoko protested, her face now burning. Ukyou
smirked, but before she could follow up, the kendoka added, "And what do you
mean 'too'? Or is there something to validate my concern -- if such exists?"

Ukyou's face colored and she slumped, staring at the floor. "Alright," she
sighed. "Let's let Ranchan rest -- I don't want him to wake up and hear this."

Motoko agreed; shortly the two were in Haruka's teashop, though the woman in
question was occupied with combing through an atlas of Sri Lanka at one end of
the main room. Motoko picked a table in the opposite corner and sat down,
Ukyou quickly following suit.

"So you fell for him too?" Ukyou asked, pouring a cup of tea.

"W...well, he does have a certain rough sort of charm," Motoko admitted,
feeling her face warm up again. "I had thought at one point that I had....
There was.... That it was someone else."

"Hey, I spent ten years chasing him down for revenge, and he got me to fall
for him by saying I was cute, so don't expect me to judge you for that," Ukyou
sighed. "I thought it'd be easy to be upset with him for abandoning me again,
but after hearing what he went through ... and seeing what he's done ... I
can't really...." Ukyou trailed off with a grimace. "Well. It doesn't matter,
I guess."

"Oe-sensei has told me he doesn't care for me," Motoko said quietly. "At least
... not in any sense beyond a student."

"I think that's more than I got," Ukyou said with a sad smile. "I'm just glad
that he seems to be happy for once, though."

After a moment of hesitation, Motoko nodded, admitting, "I must agree with
you. Oe-sensei once asked me to learn from his mistakes. He has not ... told
me all that he wishes me to learn from, but I have endeavored to become close
enough to him to try. It ... is a funny thing, I think, having watched others.
There is ... a couple I know of, who fought constantly. I believe that their
issue was that ... she would not listen to him, and he would not explain
himself well enough."

"Ironically, this sounds very familiar," Ukyou said dryly. "But anyway,
Keitaro and Naru seem to be getting along now, right?"

Motoko twitched. "I had intended to be subtle. How did I betray them to you?"

"You live with Mitsune, and she likes to talk."

"Oh. Right. I suppose there's no point to pretenses, then." A brief grimace
and a headshake punctuated the kendoka's pause. "Regardless, I think it was
because Oe-sensei was here that Keitaro-san learned to explain himself, and
maybe that Narusegawa-san learned to listen. Until he ... was willing to leave
the inn to make me happy, I don't think I learned to listen to Oe-sensei
myself." Motoko chuckled sardonically, glancing quickly to see that Haruka was
still occupied and out of earshot.

Ukyou hid a smirk behind her teacup before asking, "Is that how you fell for
him? He did something stupid and noble?"

"Don't cheapen it so!" Motoko protested, face reddening. "He was willing to
sacrifice his wellbeing for my sake!"

"The ironic part is that you put more value on his wellbeing than he does. I
bet you didn't fall for him then; that's just when you admitted it to
yourself." Ukyou sighed and shook her head. "But he seems to like someone else
so.... Oh well." She rubbed her face briefly and muttered, "I can't believe
I'm letting myself get so sidetracked; Minami's been kidnapped, and here we're
rambling about Ranchan."

"Ah," Motoko managed, resisting the urge to cover her face; the glow would
probably penetrate her hands and the table anyway. "Yes. Let us discuss that.
You are certain she was abducted?"

"No, just really suspicious," Ukyou admitted. "It's not like her to vanish,
and her little sister was abandoned. I can't think I'd hired someone who would
do that."

"She didn't seem the sort when we met," Motoko agreed. "Well, does the girl
have any enemies?"

Shaking her head, Ukyou said, "I asked Noriko all about that. If Minami does,
Noriko doesn't know about them. And Minami certainly never told me, so...."

"Have you any enemies of your own, then?"

"This isn't Hyatto's style, and I can't think of anyone else." For a moment,
the two contemplated in silence, then Ukyou added, "Though, come to think of
it, Ranchan might."

"You believe that one of them might be behind this?" Motoko asked doubtfully.
"The withered old troll, perhaps?"

"Not the pervert's style, either, and I think Ranchan's pretty much finished
with him. Okay ... so, do you know who Kuno Kodachi is?"

"I have heard of the Kuno name," Motoko hazarded after a moment of thought. "I
believe that Kuno Tatewaki is a kendoka of some renown; my sister has
mentioned him to me in the past."

"That's right -- his sister is Kodachi. Both of them chased Ranchan when he
lived in Nerima. I don't think Tatewaki would kidnap someone -- especially a
girl, but Kodachi might. Then again, I never knew her that well, and that was
years ago. But she's the only person I know of that could be responsible
except...." Ukyou looked away, staring into her teacup thoughtfully.

"Except?" Motoko prompted.

"I'm not sure I can talk about this," Ukyou said quietly. "Now, Ranchan's been
keeping his past to himself, and I respect that. So if this is something he
hasn't talked about before...."

"Do you not have your own past to speak of?" Both broke off from their
conversation before Ukyou could reply, glancing at the teashop entrance as
Mutsumi and Naru walked in.

"Oi," Haruka called, setting her atlas down. "What's up, you two? Just coming
by for tea?"

"Keitaro wanted to ask if you'd seen his sword," Naru replied doubtfully.
"He's tearing apart his room, so I thought I'd come with Mutsumi when she said
she was coming down."

Haruka's gaze swiveled to Mutsumi.

"Oh, I wanted to say thank you for all the drinks you gave us last time,"
Mutsumi said, clapping her hands together softly. "And also to let you know
that I don't think Ranma-kun will be waking up today."

"And how do you know that?" Haruka asked, pulling her cigarette from her mouth
and raising an eyebrow challengingly.

Naru turned to Motoko and said, "Um, just to let you know ... your sister came
by."

"And you left Oe-sensei alone, unconscious, with her?" Motoko asked, rising to
her feet quickly enough to knock her chair over.

"Oh, my, is that a problem?" Mutsumi asked in surprise. "Shinobu and Suu are
talking to her right now."

"Is your sister dangerous?" Ukyou asked cautiously.

"Only to Oe-sensei, and only in the sense that you and I would be," Motoko
admitted, righting her chair and sitting back down. "But if Sensei will not
wake today, you should rest. We can speak later, I'm certain, and you will
want your strength to seek Minami."

"Point," Ukyou acquiesced. "Where's that bed, now?"

* * *

"I deem this a trap," Motoko surmised, staring at where Ranma's tracking
skills had led the group.

Ranma grunted, rising from a crouch and peering across the area, ignoring the
others for the moment. Motoko and Ukyou stood an equal distance away from him,
five paces; the kendoka on the left, the chef on the right.

"I gotta agree, Sugar," Ukyou said, shaking her head.

Seta rested one hand on the hilt his sword. "I'm thinking you're both right.
What shall we do then, Oe-kun?"

"Well," Ranma said slowly, "I can probably track a train better than a boat."

Motoko turned about and surveyed the boarding platform for the train station.
As a hub of traffic in and out of the region, and especially for the Hinata
district, hundreds of trains passed through it each day.

"Tracking won't be so terribly hard," Seta said with a shake of his head. "I'm
sure I can pull some strings with the Guild to check out the security
footage."

"The what?" Ukyou asked, looking at the man sidelong.

"The Archeologists' Guild," Seta clarified.

"Okay, okay," Ranma said, shaking his head and turning his back to the trains.
"So, you all think this is a trap. If that's the case, they're trying to ...
what, get Ucchan away from her restaurant? I don't get why someone would do
this. Did Minami have any enemies?"

Ukyou and Motoko exchanged a glance. "None that we know of," they said
together.

"Then if it's not an enemy of Minami's, who would stand to benefit from
kidnapping her?" Seta asked.

"Well.... She doesn't have much money, and I didn't get a ransom note --
neither did Noriko. There aren't a lot of thugs or anything in our area ...
it's a pretty low-crime district." Ukyou frowned. "So, I figure that someone
knows that I'm friends with Ranchan here."

"Hence my own thoughts that this was a trap; Oe-sensei, regardless of if you
intended it, you have some renown. Happosai has followed you, as did Kuonji-
san. What others might come after us?" Motoko asked.

Ranma flinched. "Damn it," he grumbled. "I promised I wouldn't bring trouble
with me."

"Don't blame yourself," Ukyou said, shaking her head. "Minami was my employee,
and I should have kept a closer eye on her instead of fee...." She coughed
quietly and cleared her throat. "Anyway, I made a mistake and came to you for
help. It's not your fault."

"Okay," Ranma mumbled, rubbing at his temples. "I'm pretty sure that Tarou
would have sent a note, and we don't fight anymore anyway -- his grudge is
with Happosai, not me."

"Who?" Motoko asked, blinking. "I've never heard of this person."

"From what _I've_ heard, you should be happy," Ukyou said darkly.

"Yes," Seta agreed. "Not a charming lad by any sense, if we're speaking of the
same Tarou."

"Anyway, what about Ryouga?" Ukyou asked with a frown.

"I'd know if it was him," Ranma said tightly. "Shan Pu went back home, so Mu-
Si's got no reason to do this.... So who else is there?"

"Kuno!"

"You're giving him too much credit," Motoko's teacher replied dryly.

"The other Kuno."

"Oh!" Ranma cocked his head to one side and closed his eyes, considering.
"Maybe," he finally allowed. "It could be her, but I'd expect to hear
something from her about it ... and why would she go after Minami, anyway? I'm
sure she'd let me know she was around before she did anything."

"Well, if it were Kasumi's sister, I'd expect Akane to go straight after you.
Unless you've got more enemies I don't know about...." Ukyou trailed off with
a shrug. "Someone wants me to chase after Minami, though."

Ranma flinched and said nothing.

"And I think they want you to take Oe-sensei with you," Motoko added. "I don't
intend to offend you, Kuonji-san, but I think it is him, and not you who is
the target here."

"She was dragged off by a woman," Ranma mumbled. "There wasn't much of a
fight."

"Minami's not much of a fighter," Ukyou sighed.

"Well, she still struggled. Then she was dragged here and put on a train. So
assuming I fall for this trap, what happens? I chase out of the city after
Minami with Ucchan and ... then what?"

"You leave the inn with Noriyasu-san and myself still easily able to defend
it," Motoko surmised. "Obviously then you will find trouble and plenty of it;
the strength of your enemies is not enough to overcome us, so you're led
away."

"You're trying to tell me I need to stay here," Ranma realized. "You don't
want me to go after Minami."

"Hey!" Ukyou protested, rounding on Motoko. "I need help, here! You can't just
keep Ranchan from helping me out when I need it the most!"

"Then take me in his stead," the kendoka offered. "He can stay here and watch
over the inn. I will go with you."

"Motoko-chan," Ranma protested, "I know you've trained a lot, and you've
gotten much better-"

"I realize I'm not an ideal replacement for you," Motoko said, shaking her
head. "But remember that you are the target here, and I am not."

"If there is a trap being set for me, I'm not going to let my best friend and
my best student walk straight into it," Ranma growled.

"I'll go, too," Seta decided. "I think Motoko-chan is right. It seems
reasonable to think that this is a trap for you, and that if she and I go with
Ukyou, we can overwhelm whoever thinks to take advantage of you being away
from the inn."

"B...but," Ranma tried to protest, before Ukyou sighed and stepped closer,
dropping a hand on his shoulder.

"Just let us go, Ranchan," Ukyou said with a weak smile. "I want your help,
but I'll be damned if I'm going to pull you into a trap -- not if I can help
it."

"Yeah, but now I've gotta stay in town with your dad ready to beat the tar out
of me if he even knows I'm around!" Ranma grumbled, crossing his arms over his
chest. "And ... what if something happens? Something that should have happened
to me, but it happens to you instead?"

"Minami's my employee," Ukyou said insistently. "I'm not being left out of
this."

"And this trap is about me, so neither am I!" Ranma said, shaking his head.

"But a challenge to the master is a challenge to the school, and I am nothing
if I am not enough of your student to step in here," Motoko warned. "Did you
not just say I was your best?"

"I think you should probably quit now," Seta said with a wink. "The Guild will
let us track Minami from here, and the longer we wait, the further away she
gets."

"Fine," Ranma sighed. "I'm just ... gonna be real unhappy if anything bad
happens to either of you two. Noriyasu-"

"I promise I'll watch over them for you, Oe," the man said solemnly, before
Ranma could continue. "I give you my word on my family's good name. Now hurry
to the inn, in case this is somehow a diversion. I'll bring both of them back
as long as you can promise me that Haruka's inn is still standing to bring
them back to."

"Fair's fair," Ranma allowed, shaking hands with Seta. "I don't like it, but
... good luck."

"Thank you," Ukyou and Motoko said in tandem.

* * *

Mitsune awoke shortly after sunrise, staring at the bright lights playing
across the ceiling. "Man," she groaned, sitting up and surveying her room
quickly. She hadn't been too badly off to make it to bed, whatever had
happened. "That was one hell of a bender."

Clothing was gathered as she tried to piece the previous ... evening together.
It was actually more of an afternoon, from what she could recall. She'd met a
woman who'd been jilted by her lover, and then they'd gotten to drinking and
telling stories of men that had gotten away.

Of course, this lead to rather more blathering about Ranma than Mitsune had
intended, in retrospect. As she slid the door open and shuffled to the hall,
she reflected that the other woman hadn't actually drunk much, for all of the
drinks she had bought.

In fact, it was the untouched alcohol which had been offered to her that had
ended her memory with a patchwork of incomplete images, among them Ranma
wreathed in a flaming white nimbus. "I gotta cut down," she mumbled, making
her way to the kitchen without encountering anyone else.

Shinobu was already there as usual, bustling away at the dishes with her
standard efficiency. A plate had been left at the table. "Good morning," the
girl called, not even looking over her shoulder. "Are you feeling better
today, Kitsune?"

"Peachy," the woman replied, sitting before the meal and sampling it. "Thanks,
Shinobu -- delicious as usual. Where's everyone else?"

"Ah...." Shinobu finished the last dish she was working on and then turned
around, a contemplative expression in place. "There's no school today, so
Koara and Sarah are helping Haruka go through all of those old outfits in the
teashop attic. Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi are studying in the front room with
Motoko's sister."

"Motoko's sister again? Then where's Motoko and Oe? Training trip to avoid
her?" Somehow, Mitsune didn't like the idea of Motoko and Ranma being off
alone somewhere. It reminded her far too much of the time the kendoka had run
into her room claiming that the teacher had fallen in love with his student.

"Ah, no...." Shinobu bit her lower lip, then explained, "They're with Ukyou
and Noriyasu-san, trying to find Minami."

"Ah," Mitsune mumbled, nodding. "Minami's a good girl -- where'd she get off
to?"

"Ukyou-san thinks she was kidnapped."

Mitsune blinked. "Sounds like a job for Ranma," she decided, pushing her plate
away from her. "I guess things'll calm down here for a while. Maybe he'll have
a good story when he comes back."

"Well, no more adventures for me," Shinobu said with a frown, shaking her
head. "Not if I can help it."

"Watch what you say," Haruka advised, slipping in through the side-door. "I
think I said the same thing when I was your age."

"Uh-oh," Shinobu said quietly.

Haruka pulled a cigarette from her apron and put it to her lips. "Anyway, I
just came by to drop off the mail."

"Anything for me?" Mitsune asked.

"Nope," Haruka said, sorting through the stack quickly. "Something for
Keitaro, something for Oe, and ... something for Mutsumi from her family."

"Oe?" Mitsune asked. "How long will we wait to read his mail this time?"

"Ah, it's just junk," Haruka said, shaking her head. "From Nerima -- some
family-owned dojo. Probably a job offer or something."

"A dojo?" Ranma asked, slipping through the door. He continued past Haruka,
taking the envelope from her hand in the same smooth motion. For her part, the
woman removed the cigarette from her lips and turned a very cool look on
Ranma.

Mitsune blinked. "You're here!" she blurted out. "So, uh ... found Minami
already?"

"No," he grumbled, sticking the envelope into his notebook without looking at
it. "Ucchan and Motoko sent me back -- said they wanted to go on with Noriyasu
instead because they thought it was a trap for me."

Haruka's cool expression was swiftly replaced with irritation. "That sounds
like Seta," she mumbled. "What did you find out?"

"Not much," he said, shrugging. "Minami was hauled off by a woman, onto a
train. Noriyasu said he'd use his Guild connections to find out more."

The woman sighed, rubbing at her temples. "There he goes, treating it like a
rival archeologist. Well, I did ask him to help. With luck, he'll bring Ukyou
and Motoko back sane. The last time I went on an expedition with him we ended
up fighting against the Magnificent Ten."

Ranma blinked. "Noriyasu said he'd take care of them," he offered. "Who are
the Magnificent Ten?"

"He'd better," Haruka grumbled. "Or else when you're done, I'll take a crack
at him. And the Magnificent Ten are a story for another day." Ranma stared at
Haruka for a moment before she rolled her eyes and said, "If you're going to
take the mail before you talk to me, you might as well take care of this,
too." She flicked the remaining envelopes to Ranma, and he deftly snatched
them out of the air.

"Mutsumi and Keitaro?" he asked, glancing at the names. "No problem." He
turned and trotted down the hall.

"I think he'll be running into Motoko's sister right about ... now," Haruka
predicted, her last word punctuated by a strangled yelp of protest from the
front room.

Shinobu shook her head, producing a tea set from the cupboards. "Would you
like something to drink, Haruka-san?" she offered.

"Nah. I've been here long enough," the woman said with a sigh. "I'd better get
back to the old tea-mine before Suu and Sarah tear it apart. I'll talk to you
later, Shinobu-chan."

Mitsune smirked, once the older woman had gone, leaving just herself and the
younger girl in the kitchen. "I'm suddenly glad for Naru that she likes
Keitaro instead of Seta, now," she said. "I don't think she'd have a chance
against a woman that devious."

Shinobu blinked, then her eyes widened. "I don't think any of us would," she
surmised. "I'm going to bring Aoyama-san some tea."

"Oooh!" Mitsune enthused. "I forgot all about that! Let's watch the fun."

* * *

Keitaro put his letter down with a frown. Naru was at his side at the front
room's main table, Mutsumi sitting opposite her, and Tsuruko opposite from
himself. "Thank you for..." he began, before trailing off. Ranma had entered
the room, handed over an envelope for the manager, and then another for
Mutsumi.

Somehow, while Keitaro had distracted himself reading through his parent's
congratulations on successfully getting into Toudai, the martial artist had
planted his face in the elder Aoyama's cleavage. From the grip that she had on
him, he wouldn't be getting away anytime soon, and from Tsuruko's smile, she
preferred it that way.

"Oh," Mutsumi sighed with a smile, putting her own letter down. "My family is
proud of me for making it in! Did you get a letter from your brother, Ranma-
kun?"

Tsuruko released Ranma long enough for him to gasp out, "This spin is
rooming," before she attempted to hug him again. This time, however, Mutsumi
managed to snag the man away from her.

"Ranma-kun?" Mutsumi asked, pressing his face into her chest while she hugged
him tightly. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Er.... I think he needs to breathe," Naru offered.

Mutsumi and Tsuruko looked at her in surprise, the college-bound young woman
releasing Ranma to the floor, where he panted out, "It's full of stars,"
before slumping and lying still.

"Oh, dear," the kendoka sighed. "Well, no matter. Ranma-kun, have you seen
your brother lately?"

"It's so beautiful," he slurred, sitting up laboriously. "We should have sent
a poet!"

"You're okay!" Mutsumi cheered, promptly seizing Ranma and smothering him
again.

"Maybe I am a bit too enthusiastic," Tsuruko murmured, when Ranma was able to
breathe properly once more. "But ... no matter. I only came by to ask how your
training of my sister was coming, Ranma-kun. I imagine you'll be very busy
with college soon."

Ranma swallowed, and quickly outlined the situation with Ukyou, incidentally
updating Keitaro and Naru as well. "A trap for you?" Naru asked, incredulous.
"And you let two girls go in your place? Oe...."

"They insisted!" Ranma protested. "So did Noriyasu!"

"I suppose," she relented. "Nothing could go wrong with him to look after
them."

"Haruka said something like that," Mitsune contributed, walking into the room
after Shinobu, who was carefully bearing a heavily laden tea tray.

There was momentary silence until Shinobu had finished presenting everyone
with a teacup and seated herself next to Naru.

"This sounds a fitting test," Tsuruko decided, nodding. "If she passes, then I
think it will be time for her to move back home. A new term will be starting
then, so she should not have to worry about missing classes, and then you'll
be free to study."

"Uh," Ranma began, before he faltered and turned to offer the floor a
stupefied expression.

"W...well, Oe-sensei's still training us," Shinobu offered quickly, when the
man fell silent. "So he wouldn't really have any more time free with Motoko
gone."

"Really?" Tsuruko asked. "Well, I wouldn't want to feel as though my family
was responsible for holding you back, Ranma-kun. I don't think Motoko-han
should be a part of that forever; I want her to learn from you, but it's the
family style she must master ... and eventually, of course, teach."

Ranma flinched, but nodded slightly. "If you think she's done," he said
neutrally. "When ... she gets back, ask her."

"But you are her teacher," the woman pressed, when Shinobu opened her mouth to
speak again. "It is your prerogative to decide if she's ready, Oe."

Ranma rubbed at his forehead. "I think that Motoko's learned all I can teach
her," he said, not looking up. "Unless she wanted to learn Anything Goes, or
the Oe Ryu."

"And there you have it," Tsuruko said, nodding to herself in satisfaction.
"Motoko will return home. Unless something should arise...." Here Ranma did
look up, studying Tsuruko guardedly. "Well, I trust it won't. But Motoko will
want time to say goodbye. I'll expect to see her at the same time you are
attending your opening ceremonies, Ranma-kun. Ah ... sadly, I won't be able to
be there. But I'm certain that all will work out for you. Now, I truly must be
off." She rose, bowed to everyone in the room, and glided out the exit.

"You're letting her get away!" Mitsune protested. "Oe, you can't just give up
Motoko like that! Well, actually, you could. But it wouldn't be you! What's
going on here?"

"Yeah," Naru chimed in, nodding earnestly. "You two always talk about Motoko
like she can't make her own decisions -- at least, to each other."

"Hey, neither of you tried to stop her," Ranma grumbled. "And Tsuruko is
right; I don't have anything else to teach Motoko-chan. Not really. I've
opened her eyes, but she's ... got her own heritage to take care of. She
doesn't need ... mine."

"M...maybe I can talk to Tsuruko," Keitaro offered. "Convince her to-"

"Forget it," Ranma overrode him. "She can give any order she likes. It's
really up to Motoko-chan if she's going to do what her sister says."

Keitaro blinked, digesting that. "Do you think that Motoko would disobey her
older sister?" he asked cautiously.

"Didn't she run away from Tsuruko-chan to come here?" Mutsumi asked
cheerfully.

"She did!" Mitsune agreed. "Who told you?"

"Good girl's exercise number one."

"Some day, I think you'll need to explain that to me, Turtle-girl."

"I disagree," Mutsumi said politely, offering a bright smile. "Anyway, I think
Tsuruko-chan was giving a warning that she expected Motoko-chan to go back
home."

"I don't think she wants to, though," Mitsune said, frowning. "Why do you say
'warning'?"

"Because she expects Ranma-kun to tell Motoko to leave."

"So it wasn't really a warning for Motoko at all!" Keitaro finished brightly.
"It was a warning for Ranma!"

"Yes," the man said dryly. "I'd noticed. Thank you, Keitaro."

The manager winced. "I did it again," he muttered. "Er ... sorry, Ranma."

"But now that we've come this far ... what are you going to do?" Naru asked.

"Not worry about it," he said dismissively. "There's nothing I can really do
now anyway -- it's Motoko's choice."

* * *

"You're sure she's in Hokkaido?" Ukyou asked, glancing out the windows at the
swiftly passing scenery.

"Positive," Seta affirmed, rummaging through a bag set on the seat next to him
until he could produce a large map of the island, which was quickly unfolded
to occupy the majority of the space in the cabin.

"The footage was quite clear," Motoko said from somewhere behind the map.
"Even if Minami's assailant was well concealed."

"If Ranchan didn't say it was a woman, I'd be able to tell that much," Ukyou
offered, frustrated, "but that's about it."

"She knows some basic martial arts," Seta offered.

"Well, of course," Ukyou and Motoko replied in tandem, before the kendoka cut
herself off.

"But we all noticed that," the okonomiyaki chef finished.

"She also dresses inconspicuously in a trench-coat and fedora," Motoko
continued, while Seta meticulously folded the map down into a single meter-
wide section. She straightened out her uwagi and shot the folded paper a
baleful glare. "But while there was no sound on that image ... Minami did not
appear to be protesting aloud."

"So you think Minami might be part of this, just playing along?" Ukyou asked,
frowning. "That doesn't seem like her."

"I didn't mean to suggest that," Motoko said, shaking her head.

"It does mean that our kidnapper figured out some way to get Minami to be
quiet, though," Seta said with a frown.

"They could have threatened her," Ukyou reasoned. "Or her sister."

"Reasonable enough," Motoko sighed, looking out the window. "When will we
reach the Tsugaru Strait?"

"About an hour from now," Seta said, studying the map. "We'll get off at the
same station her train expressed to and check the security footage there."

* * *

The winter chill was carried on the breezes, making the rooftop inhospitable.
Because of that, Keitaro stayed inside and admired the season through the
window.

Tsuruko had not long ago vanished from sight, presumably towards the train
station. Since then, the manager had mulled the situation over, wondering what
would come of Motoko's situation.

These ruminations were interrupted by the phone. He answered it quickly,
greeting, "Thank you for calling Hinata-Sou, this is Urashima Keitaro, how can
I help you?"

"Sempai?" the voice on the other end asked through a crackle of static. "This
is Motoko."

"Ah!" Keitaro looked around frantically; Ranma had gone down to Haruka's shop
to speak with her about something or another. "Ranma's not here, I can go-"

"There's little time," Motoko interrupted, just before all sound was cut off
in a squeal of shrieking noise. When it faded, her voice cut in, suggesting to
Keitaro that she couldn't hear him at all. "...the pass. We're headed there
now, and should be back within a few days, but we may get stuck in the snow.
Noriyasu assures us that all will be fine, and...." Then another burst of
static sounded, followed by nothing.

"Motoko-chan?" Keitaro hazarded to the silence. "Hello?" Only a buzzing
disconnect tone sounded in reply, and he hung up with a grimace. A glance
showed the source of the call as 'unlisted'. "Well, Seta-san has a cell," he
murmured, checking the listing near the inn's communal phone.

A moment later he reached the archeologist's voice-mail and left a message
asking him to call back. That done, he set the phone down again and turned to
the task at hand: Giving what he'd gotten of the message to Ranma.

* * *

A whistling wind bore another flurry of snow towards them. Ukyou shivered
against the cold and raised her spatula to block off some of the wind. "Did he
get it all?" she called.

"I believe so," Motoko replied, her voice raised to carry as she emerged from
the tiny phone booth. "Is this truly the only means of communication this
village offers?"

"Noriyasu's got no signal on his cell," Ukyou said with a shrug. "Let's get
back indoors -- we've got to cross the mountain tomorrow, and if there's heavy
snow, it's going to be slow going."

Motoko grimaced and nodded. Ukyou smiled, then paused to survey their
surroundings briefly. The phone booth itself was surrounded on three sides by
wooden walls which served as a wind-break, and a roof that didn't keep out the
chill.

The village was so small that there wasn't even power, except for that which
ran on generators. The single phone operated unreliably on a satellite uplink
that had been installed some years ago. According to the villagers, high winds
or thick clouds essentially kept it from working entirely, but they'd needed
to try; the trail had come this far.

According to what Seta had learned from the Archeologist's Guild, Minami had
gotten off the train and been met by a pair of burly men and a woman in a
kimono. She had known to keep a folding fan between her face and any cameras,
while the men wore low, wide-brimmed hats and kept their heads down.

All that could be gleaned was that they were going to a remote location in
Hokkaido -- the kind of place that could only be accessed irregularly in
winter's snow, unless one had a helicopter. Seta had explained that this could
be arranged, but not in the current weather. Ukyou didn't want to wait, and
especially didn't want to give Ranma enough time to decide to catch up. Even
if his tracking skills would certainly make things easier.

There were a few tiny cottages that weren't occupied, one of which Seta had
rented. Motoko and Ukyou went there when they had finished enjoying the chill,
and opened the door, pleased to see that the man had started a fire and the
generator. He had spread out an alarming volume of papers across the room's
single table, and was poring through them.

"So?" Ukyou asked, when Motoko went straight to the fire to warm her hands.

"It's one of those two," he said with a shrug. "Either she's gone to an
exclusive hot-springs resort hidden in the heart of Hokkaido, or she's been
captured by a band of ruthless thugs that are a part of a rival expedition.
Or, I suppose, something I haven't thought of yet." He shrugged again,
offering an apologetic smile.

"Minami wasn't struggling," Ukyou offered. "But somehow, I don't think she'd
abandon her sister to go to a resort."

"Is there anything else around here?" Motoko asked. "Hokkaido's core is
desolate."

"Which is why the Guild figures that someone's out here," Seta warned. "We
don't know who, but there has been evidence of people out in the mountains.
From surveys, we can guess where. But all of the records I'm going through for
the area ... I'm sorry. There's just nothing more to go on."

"Well, Minami's not on vacation. We'll find out whoever thinks they can take
her away, and what they want with Ranchan," Ukyou decided. "Tomorrow's going
to be busy, so I'm going to get some rest."

"I wish that Oe-sensei could advise us," Motoko murmured quietly, bowing her
head slightly.

"Sometimes we must learn to walk on our own," Seta said. "And you did ask him
to stay behind, didn't you?"

"W...well.... Yes," Motoko admitted.

Ukyou shook her head and opened the door to the room she was sharing with
Motoko. "Don't worry about it too much," she advised the girl. "I'd like
Ranchan to be here, too, but if they want to try and hurt us, then it's time
for some indiscriminate beatdown. No time to worry about him; he's going to
watch over everyone else, remember." She paused, then licked her lips and
looked away, into the darkened room. "And ... Mutsumi can watch over him."

"Yes," Motoko murmured. "Of course."

* * *

Whistling to himself, Ranma ambled up the stairs from the teashop to the inn,
sparing a backwards glance at a cry from Suu. "Mail!" the girl called, waving
an envelope and charging up towards him, Sarah a half step behind.

He nodded, turning around in time to block a leaping kick at his torso from
the little girl before she rebounded to land on both feet, envelope extended
towards him. Sarah stopped short of launching an attack, merely looking at him
curiously.

"Thanks," he said, taking the envelope from her and examining it. "Ah, a
letter from Aniki."

"Neat! Is he coming again?" Suu asked, while Ranma produced his notebook and
flipped through it.

"Not sure." Ranma paused when he came to another envelope, stuck between two
pages and forgotten. Forcing away an uneasy recollection of the first letter
he had sent Keitaro, he quickly jotted down a new note: 'Always read your mail
as soon as you get it; it could be important.'

After that, he scanned over the return address on the previously forgotten
letter, and felt his heart skip a beat. "The Tendo Dojo," he murmured.

"...okay, Ranma? Hmm. I guess letters can make Ranmas go catatonic. It just
takes two letters to overload his buffer. Neat!"

He shook his head, forcing away the shock. Suu was peering at him intently,
having produced a clipboard from somewhere to jot down notes of her own.
"Sorry," he said, tousling the girl's hair and mussing it horribly. "I gotta
see what this is."

She made an indignant noise as he leapt up the stairs to the courtyard before
the inn, then rebounded to the roof. After slipping through a secret passage,
he quickly made his way to his room and opened the letter, scanning it over:

Ranma,

Minami is fine. She's being kept at a resort and being taken care of well,
which is more than I can say for your treatment of us.

If you want her back, meet me at the address on the other side of this letter
on the seventeenth at 6:15 PM. Come alone, or I can't guarantee her safety.

Regards, Tendo Nabiki

His hand trembled as he lowered the page carefully to the tabletop, fearful of
tearing it before he could copy the address on the reverse into his notebook.
Then he folded the letter away and took a deep breath.

"Damn," he murmured, closing his eyes.

* * *

Keitaro looked up from his study guide, blinking as he saw Ranma marching
towards the door through the front room. Before he could say anything, Mutsumi
asked, "Oh, Ranma-kun, do you have time to study with us?"

"Really, can't right now," Ranma said absently, pulling on his shoes. "Maybe
later." Without another word, he walked out the door.

Naru glanced around the room, though the only other people there were Shinobu,
Sarah, and Suu, who were watching a rerun of Liddo-Kun and Friends. "That
seemed different somehow," she said with a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah," Keitaro agreed. "Ranma hardly even noticed Otohime-chan. That's
weird."

"Yep," Suu said, staring raptly at the screen, prompting Sarah and Shinobu to
glance at her. The silver-haired girl shook her head. "Ranmas inevitably want
to fix things. So something's probably broken that he's trying to take care
of."

Naru stared at the young girl. "What?"

Suu turned to look at Naru, smiling sadly. "There's no wind, and no red moon,
but I can feel fate."

"Oh, my," Mutsumi murmured. "This sounds ominous."

"I don't know what's going on, but after that -- I'm going after Oe," Keitaro
decided, pulling his still-sheathed sword from beneath the table and rising to
his feet.

"You're not going alone," Naru said with determination. "I'm going, too!"

"Is there a party?" Mitsune asked, coming down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"We're following Oe," Keitaro announced.

"Right," Mitsune cheered. "I always wanted to do this! First thing first,
though. Sarah, I need you to run to the teahouse and get us seven yellow
kimonos and four farmer's hats. Hop to it!"

"Okay!" the little girl enthused, running off to follow the orders eagerly.

Surprised, Naru asked, "You've got a plan specifically to take this into
account?"

"Nah," Mitsune said with a shrug. "Just to get rid of her. Let's run after Oe
before she gets back!"

"I'll stay here," Suu decided. "It would be bad for me to be there. And I can
keep Sarah from following. Good luck!"

With that, the remaining residents chased after Ranma, just glimpsed at the
end of the stairway.

"We're lucky he's not on his bike," Keitaro announced, once they'd passed the
teahouse, just managing to keep the martial artist in sight.

The procession followed with cautious deliberation, occasionally ducking into
shops or alleys to avoid glances. Fortunately, Ranma's course was almost
unwavering, save constant pauses to consult with a map.

"I wish we could get closer and see where he was going," Keitaro murmured.

"Why don't we want him to know we're following him?" Shinobu asked curiously.

"Um ... because he didn't tell us where he was going?"

"Looking back on it, that doesn't seem like a good reason to be doing this,"
Naru muttered.

Mitsune waved the complaint away, herding the crowd into another convenience
store when Ranma paused to consult his map again. "It's fun," she said. "And
anyway, we can claim we were just practicing some of his stealth exercises."

"As a group?" Naru asked doubtfully.

"What better way? It's a bigger challenge -- he'll eat up that excuse."

Tamago nodded agreement from Keitaro's head.

"Anyway," she said, peeking out the door, "we-- Oh, no! We lost him! He got
away!"

The crowd spilled back out to the streets to peer around, but just as she had
said, Ranma had vanished.

Shinobu sighed and shook her head. "We should have let him know we wanted to
follow him," she said. "It's not very nice to do it in secret. I think he
noticed and snuck away."

"Could be," Naru agreed. "Anyway, he's lost now, so-"

"Right!" Mitsune slammed one fist into the opposing palm. "Okay, here's what
we do -- Mutsumi, check down that street. Keitaro, I want you to go the
opposite direction, see if he doubled back. Tamago, I need recon from the air.
Naru, follow me -- Shinobu, you wait here as a home base. First person to see
Ranma doubles back and waves to Shinobu. If we see them waving back, we go to
them because Ranma's been spotted. Go!"

"But," Naru protested, before Mitsune grabbed her hand and hauled her down the
street. "Wait!"

Keitaro nodded. It might take all of them, but working together, he felt
certain that they would find Ranma.

* * *