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All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.

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Coutuva.




Goodbye Is Not Forever - Part Eight
------------------------------------------------------------------




        Akane sighed at her inability to concentrate on the
television, and cast yet another gaze out to the silent, darkened
yard.
	In amoung the shadows, she could see the piles of new and
scrap lumber, the sawhorses, and the stacked bags of concrete mix.
It all reminded her of how the Dojo was well on its way to being
ready -- the forms were even in place to patch the garden wall.
	Given the rapid progress she'd helped attain, she wondered
why the sight was making her feel sad.
	After a moment, she rose from the couch and wandered to
the door, there to sit and lean against the frame.  Her gaze found
the skeletal structure of the Dojo, and as it did, she felt her
heart sink a bit further.
	The house behind her was silent, save for the racket of the
television.  Kasumi, her father and Mr. Saotome had already gone
to bed.
	She had to wonder how all of them could take the situation
so lightly.
	Ranma and Nabiki were still gone - together - and no one
had heard anything from either of them.
	It was almost like a silent blessing.
	Another sigh escaped her as her eyes moved to the blanket
of stars covering the city, which for some reason, only depressed
her further.
	A frown darkening her face, she rose, looked at the
disheveled yard once more - and closed the sliding door.




	Ranma flashed a smile as she looked down into Himiko's
dirt-streaked face, partially lit by the small fire nearby.
        "That will hurt like hell for a while, but I didn't feel
any major damage - it should be okay."
	"Hai..." the woman groaned, returning as much a smile as
she could manage.  "And thanks for setting it before I woke up.
I'm not very good with pain, and I wouldn't have wanted to go
anywhere near one of your hospitals," she added, with a roll of
her eyes.
	"Huh?  What's wrong with them?"
	She smirked.  "Compared to what we have, they're barbaric."
	"Maybe -- but I've never had a problem, and I've spent
enough time in them to know."
	"So I understand - and usually because of a certain
someone named Akane, right?"
	"Hai," she sighed back, with a weary nod.
	"You certainly are well informed, aren't you?" Nabiki
dropped in, as she settled beside Ranma.
	"I tried to be - like I said, I can't risk a paradox.  I
say the wrong thing to the wrong person, and what happens over
your daughter could be academic."
	"Yeah," Ranma huffed, shaking her head sadly.  "My
daughter," she repeated, then fell silent.
	Himiko bit her lip.  "Gomen...  I didn't mean to..."
	Ranma shook her head.  "Iya...  I gotta deal with it."
	"And just how are we going to do that?  She survived your
best shot, and for all we know, she could be on her way back here
to try again."
	Himiko tried to roll up on her good arm.  "Uhhnn...  I...
Don't think she'll be back for a while.  That attack really hurt
her...  Otherwise, she probably would have went after you as soon
as she recovered."
	"Which means what, in plain Japanese?"
	"That depends on how badly she was affected.  She'll need
time to regenerate, but since she's usually capable of doing it
quickly..."
        "Uh-huh.  Runs in the family," Ranma dropped in, her
voice flat.  Just as she finished speaking, however, she felt a
warm hand settle on her leg.  She looked up to see Nabiki flash
her an assuring look.
	"I just thought of something.  Does she need sleep?" the 
the girl asked, returning her attention to Himiko.
	"Definitely.  Even if she was a clone, they're still
physiologically human.  I imagine she needs it just as bad as we
would - probably more."
	Ranma nodded.  "Once I go down, I'll probably crash for
a good twelve.  And she kicked out a hell of a lot more powerful
energy than I did."
	"That adds up.  She took a long time to find us
today -- that might be part of why," Himiko noted, nodding.
	"I noticed that, too.  Damn, I wish I knew where she
went - I could probably take her out while she's sleeping, and
then we could get her to Tofuu..."
	"Sure, Ranma...  You'll just walk up to her and 'bop',
she's out," Nabiki huffed, rolling her eyes.  "I'd like to know 
where you get your drugs."
	Ranma shot her a look.  "No, I ain't thinking that.  But
it'll be easier than taking her on again," she frowned, her tone
ominous.  She was all too well aware of the fact that had she
not had the break she did, she wouldn't have lasted much longer.
	"Well, I could try using the detector - but it's not
very accurate.  It was just barely developed in time for my
trip," Himiko suggested, settling to her back.  "There wasn't
even time for any kind of testing."
	Nabiki huffed. "Oh, right...  And how are you going to
do anything with that busted wing?  And isn't that the hand you
fly the car with?"
	"Hai...  But that doesn't matter.  If I can't manage, I
know someone who can," Himiko grinned, turning to look directly
at her.
	"Why does everybody always look at me when this comes
up?" she groaned in response, while Ranma tried to stifle her
snicker.
	"So what do you think, Himiko-san?  You up to giving it
a try?" she redirected, inwardly crossing her fingers.
	"What?  You mean now?" Nabiki sputtered, incredulous.
	"Hai.  Have to make our move when she's not expecting it.
It's the only chance we got."
	Nabiki threw her hands in the air.  "Sure...  Why not?"
	Touched by the concern hidden in Nabiki's voice, she
reached over and set a hand on her leg.  "Don't worry, Nabs...
I'll watch my ass."
	Nabiki's expression fell into a lewd smirk.  "Iya.  You
be careful - I'll watch your ass."
	Himiko chuckled.




	As no one had noticed which way the ball went, Himiko
decided to use a grid system to carry out a search.  Using the
car's barely compatible GPS capability, she was able to mark
their start point, and began a slow, methodic sweep.
	Given the limited range of the detector, and the fact
that their quarry would probably be at a low power output, they
had to cruise at about treetop height.  That made Nabiki very
nervous, as she feared there was a good chance of them being
seen first.
	Ranma was glad to note that as the search wore on, Nabiki
did relax, but the grip she had on her hand remained tight.
	An hour elapsed, then another, and even a third.  Nabiki
fell asleep, Ranma felt herself fighting it, and Himiko was also
yawning.
	Before too much longer, Himiko voiced what Ranma herself
had started to think.
	"Shimata.  She must have gone further than I thought.
It's either that, or she's too muted for the detector to pick up.
Gomen, Ranma -- looks like we'll have to call it off.  I'm
starting to doze up here, and my arm is really, really sore."
	She sighed.  "Hai...  Let's go get some sleep.  Looks like
I'm gonna need my strength," she resigned, slumping back into
the seat.
	"Yeah...  Do you want to go back into orbit?  That would
be the safest place."
	"Might as well.  Could you do me a favor though?  Swing
back over the lake -- I just wanna make sure we got that fire
out."
	"No problem," Himiko responded, and heeled the car into
a turn.  As it leveled off and sped up, Ranma looked over at
Nabiki and sighed, thinking she'd be pleased they were going back
into space.
	Her thoughts were disturbed a few seconds later, however,
as the detector uttered a single, quick beep.
	"Kuso!" Himiko blurted, as the car rapidly decelerated.
	Her heart leapt.  "You got her?"
	"Sort of -- we were moving so fast that I'm not sure
exactly where it was," Himiko fretted, checking her instruments.
"Iyaaa...  I don't have a fix.  This unit won't do that.  Looks
like we'll have to descend, and then back up over our path.
It's awkward, but it might work."
	"Go!  She might catch on and move!"
	"Hai!" the woman answered, and the car began to drop.
        Ranma was on pins and needles as the car ever so slowly
crept backwards, just skimming the tops of the trees.  Her
anxiety was amplified by Himiko's occasional groan or grimace,
which the woman was trying unsuccessfully to hide.
	Five minutes became fifteen, and as twenty passed, she
began to get discouraged.
	"Think it might have been a false alarm?"
	"I don't know, Ranma.  As far as I can recall, this
thing isn't supposed to react to anything but...  Aiy!" she
yelped, as the device emitted a single, slightly stronger beep,
followed by a regular, slow pattern.
	The car jerked to a halt.
	"Open the door!"
	"What?  We're still six meters up!"
	"Just open it!" Ranma shot back, already out of her
belts.
	"Okay..." Himiko relented, then the right-side door
popped and hissed open.
        Ranma was gone before it had moved half a meter.
        As she touched down amid the heavy undergrowth, she
quickly checked around herself.  Once she saw how dark it was,
she immediately took a stance, meshed her hands and closed her
eyes.  Since she couldn't see anything, she knew she would have
to feel for her daughter's presence, and she couldn't do that
with a busy head.
        And she also knew that if she didn't tone down her own
presence, she might as well hang a target on her back.
        Closing her eyes, she called up the 'Soul of Ice', and
when she felt crystals forming in her perspiration-dampened
hair, she knew she was ready.
        Slowly, she reached out with her senses, forming a zone
around her as far as she could stretch.  As she knew the
direction that the car had been traveling in, she opened her
eyes and oriented herself.  Once set, she began to negotiate
the inhospitable terrain in absolute silence, opening and
closing her eyes in time with her steps.
        It took forever to cover even a few meters, but she knew
she couldn't change her pace.  Her daughter's life was at stake.
        Several minutes in, she continued her intense hunt,
despite the toll it was starting to take on her energy.  She was
determined to gain at least another meter before taking a break.
        That was when it happened.
        From ahead of her, and slightly off to her left, she
felt the presence.  Powerful, but not nearly the same as it had
been.  Her eyes opened, and as she turned toward it, she was
dismayed to see a stand of trees between her and her objective.
        In deathly silence, she approached it, and looked for a
way to see through.
        To her surprise, her quarry was very obliging.  She was
just beyond the trees, and actually standing in the open.  Her
head was down, her eyes closed, and her entire body bathed in a
soft yellow glow.
        As she looked the girl over, her chest tightened as she
saw how pretty she really was.  Her sweet face bore the Saotome
chin, and she had her father's nose.  Her tall, youthful form
was well apportioned, and it seemed she'd inherited her mother's
'health'.
        She had to stifle the proud sigh that puffed up her
chest.  As distasteful as it was increasingly becoming, she had
something to do.
        After clearing her head as much as she could, she began
to weave her way through the dense wall of trees.  Unfortunately,
as she cleared them and neared her objective, she noticed that
her control was becoming more and more difficult to maintain.
The emotions that were surging through her were stealing too
much of her concentration.
        She had to make a move - and make it now.
        Focussing her mind, she lined up, released her
control - and sprang.
        Kayoko snapped her head up, looked directly at her, then
the ball erupted and she took to the air.  Ranma corrected her
landing, cursing under her breath.
        The ball swung around, then unleashed a shot.  Ranma
leapt.  Another shot followed, which she acrobatically but
narrowly avoided.  She ricocheted off a tree, aiming for the
stand she'd come through.  The shot that the move attracted
conveniently removed them, and as she headed for touchdown, she
set up to make a break through the hole.  Things were getting
way too hot for her to handle.
        That moment of distraction, however, was her undoing.
        Immediately behind the tree-clearing blast, the ball had
unleashed a second.  By the time she saw it, it was on top of
her.
        She was slammed to the ground hard enough to see stars,
and ended up rolling like a kicked mannequin.
        She didn't get up.
        The ball settled down about two meters away, and
instantly dissipated.  Its passenger looked down at Ranma's
stilled figure, and began to walk toward it.  She raised her arms
to the familiar position, her hands starting to glow and crackle.
        Just as she came to a stop, two thin red beams sliced the
air, one only centimeters from her face, and one off behind her
back.  Without missing a beat, she turned, extended her arms
toward the hovering car and unleashed the blast.
        In a blur, Ranma levered up onto her hands and delivered
a sweeping foot to the side of the girl's head, then pivoted
around to catch her as she fell.
        Her hand automatically in position just in case, she
waited a heartbeat - then sighed as she noted the absence of the
'presence'.  But as she lowered her arm, her heart leapt to her
throat at the sight of the bruise purpling on her daughter's
face.




	"How bad is it?" Nabiki asked, as she stood beside Himiko
holding a small service light.
	"Uuhnn...  Not as bad as it looks.  It's mostly cosmetic,
but I'll need to fix a few things in the morning.  It's too dark
now, and I'm way too sore," Himiko grimaced, dropping the tool
she held into the kit-box.
	"I'm still just glad you could run that thing remotely.
I wouldn't have wanted to be in it."
	Himiko smirked.  "I'm just glad it worked."
	"Yeah.  Me, too.  But that shot was way too close," Ranma
noted, with a look down at the silent face cradled in her lap.
	"Gomen...  I've never flown it by remote - I was
guessing," she confessed, skritching her head.
	"Now you tell me," Nabiki huffed, at which Himiko
half-shrugged.  Nabiki shook her head, then moved over to kneel
beside Ranma.  "How is she?"
	"Just unconscious.  I pulled it so I wouldn't cave her
skull in, but I still had to...   Make it count..." she trailed
off, fighting the lump in her throat.
	"Yeah - you did.  For all our sakes."
	"I know," she sighed, again resting her hand on her
daughter's forehead.
	"So how about you?  I was sure she nailed you."
	Ranma sobered.  "She did.  I saw it coming and tried to
roll away, but I couldn't do it fast enough.  It slapped me
down pretty hard, even though it turned out to be a weak attack.
Took me a minute to snap out of it."
	"In other words, it was shit luck."
	"Yep."
	"Saotome, I'm beginning to understand why so many people
want to kill you."
	She grinned.  "Nice to know you care."
	"Just stop trying to make me regret it."
	Before Ranma could come up with a suitable response,
Himiko walked up behind them and sighed tiredly.
	"We'd better get going.  We don't know how long she's going
to stay unconscious, and until we get that chip out, she's still
deadly."
	Ranma shook her head.  "I'll make sure she stays out till
we get her to the clinic."
	Nabiki blinked.  "And just how are you going to pull that
off?  You've never studied pressure points."
        Ranma huffed.  "No, never studied, but I been a victim
enough times to know how to work them.  And if that don't work, I
got other ways I can do it."
	"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Himiko sighed, then
turned back toward the car.  "Let's get her loaded up - because
of the damage, this is already going to be a long, slow trip."
        Ranma sobered, then looked down at her daughter's quiet
face.
        "I don't care if I have to carry her."




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END - Goodbye Is Not Forever - Part 8   A Ranma1/2 Fanfic by Coutuva

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