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        Years had passed.
        A promise lost but not forgotten, awaiting its freedom.
        It took time.
        Precious time.
        Then it was found, hidden in the undergrowth.
        A promise tarnished by the years of neglect.
        She would get home.

        The small red head huffed as she doused the small fire. "What? Are you trying to get us killed?"
        "Grawr!" was all the large panda said before shrugging his shoulders and heading toward the tent.
        ‘Great,’ Ranma-chan thought. ‘Just great. Not like he really cares. It’s only my life on the line, not his.’ The cursed neo-girl shook her head. ‘Should ’a let ‘em have him.’
        ‘Too bad. A little fire would ‘a been nice,’ she forlornly thought as the night wind blew chills up her back. ‘Not to mention the chance to sleep as a man again.’ Softly she sighed.
        They had been running for about a week, and still the girl didn’t seem to want to give up. They hadn’t even had a chance to change back since they ran out of that village. She didn’t want to die a girl. She really didn’t want to die.
        Of course, why she shouldn’t just give up was beyond her. She had lost everything in that one terrible moment. No one could understand what she had lost. Not even her lazy excuse for a father.
        Her eyes shut tightly, trying to keep all of her fathers words out, but it was useless. ‘Women are weak,’ ‘Are you a man or a woman,’ ‘Even a girl could do that.’ Over and over, 10 years worth of careless remarks began hammering into her head. But that was nothing compared to that look in her fathers eyes, when she first got out of the pool. Everything was over in that instant. Men were martial artists, not little crybaby girls.
        She didn’t remember much after that. Just that she had chased the old panda all over the area. Lucky for the panda, they found out it could be reversed. Not that that helped in what must have been the wettest place on earth.
        "Girls are weak," she mumbled. After being chased half way across China by one that didn’t know the meaning of the word, she didn’t really believe that. The panda certainly seemed to develop a sudden healthy fear of them when they had to run off. She had seen enough women in their travels that were plenty tough, even if pops had put them down behind their backs. But she was new at being a girl. She didn’t know the first thing about being one. Not that she wanted to know anything about being one. But that not knowing had almost cost her that match. Not that she was sure that was a good thing any more.
        She looked up at the tent. ‘No, he may be a poor excuse for a panda, but he’s still my pops.’ There was no way, she could allow them to serve him as dinner.
        If they didn’t find a way to lose that girl soon, she would have to face her again. If she where male, there was little doubt she would be able to beat her again. Then again, that was what started this whole mess. Maybe if she had tried talking things out first? She was too tired to think on that anymore.
        With one last heavy sigh, she climbed into the tent and her bedroll. She would have thanked the kami for it not raining on them for the past few days, she had grown to hate the smell of wet panda, but she figured with her luck, it would probably just remind them.

        As quietly as she could, the young warrior cut the front flap open. Reversing her hold on the knife, she slipped into the tent.
        Inside she found two lumps, one small, one large. The small one was obviously the girl, as she was only laying on her bed roll, open to the warm night air. The larger one had to be the panda. ‘The girl slept with the panda in her tent?!’
        She shook her thoughts then moved stealthily over the smaller lump to position herself, no since waking up her pet.
        She moved to place her hand over the girls mouth to quiet her if she screamed, only to have it batted away when the girl rolled on her side. ‘How dare she!’
        Setting her knees to either side of the girls hips, she leaned over intending to gag her with the one hand while holding the knife against her throat with the other.
        Mir Or blinked. Or she thought she did.
        The girl had rolled completely over on her stomach. At the same time she knocked both Mir Or’s hands away, somehow made her drop her knife, and managed to flop on top of her. She was now more than ready to kill this girl. She had to be awake and just playing with her!

        Ranma-chan awoke, when her danger sense went off blaring in her head. It took her a moment to orient herself and reach out with her senses to find the danger.
        She was laying on it?
        Jerking her eyes fully open, She found herself staring into two of the softest brown eyes locked with her own. ‘Cute,’ ran through her mind. A hand press up against her mouth. It was soft and warm. She could feel the attached arm flex against her arm where they had tangled. The touch of warm bare skin slid up along her thighs and pressed urgently against her. The other arm wrapped under her right shoulder and up across her back, pressing the two of them together. Feeling her breasts pressed up against the other girl’s cut down rapidly on her ability to reason. Then she felt the tip of a blade held by that hand against her neck. This was the girl that wanted to kill her. ‘Okay, maybe cute isn’t the word.’ The word ‘tomboy’ flashed through her mind followed by several attempts to picture how they were positioned so she could try to get away, but these failed.
        "Shush," the girl commanded. Ranma nodded his head. "Listen, not want kill you."
        ‘Great!’ Ranma thought, ‘I don’t want to die!’
        "But will, unless get out of China." Ranma gulped. "Once you leave, stop chasing you. But if turn back, have to kill. Understand?" Ranma nodded. "Good. Now run!" she hissed loudly, letting go at the same time.
        Ranma didn’t need to be told a second time. Absently, she hoped pop would be okay, but with the sound of that girl chasing her, she was not about to turn around and go check.

        From up in a tree, several yards away, a girl with long purple hair grinned. At first when Mir Or had entered the tent, she thought she was actually going to do it. But she took far too long and the girl some how managed to escape. She couldn’t prove anything yet, but it was just a matter of time.
        She may have fooled the elders, but Shan Pu had seen the look in Mir Or’s eyes after the girl ran from the kiss of death. She hadn’t understood anything that she had said to the girl, they both spoke the same barbarian tongue. You couldn’t trust outsiders. ‘They should never have made that slut an Amazon. She lies, cheats, and steals all the boys for her own attention.’
        Shan Pu had been even more infuriated when Mir Or’s win hadn’t been tossed out. With that ki attack, it was obvious she had been cheating. Using techniques that weren’t allowed. No one would admit to teaching her though. They had even pointed out that it was too rough to have been taught, that she had to have developed it herself, therefore was legal in the tournament.
        She had wanted to scream.
        All she had to do now was wait until she showed her true colors, then the elders would listen and great-grandmother would see the ungrateful little slave for what she really was.

        A week and a half later found a boy and his father aboard a ship bound for Japan. His father had wanted to swim across again, but the boy pointed out that the girl, less burdened, might catch up to them if they attempted to swim, and that she had specified that they take a boat or she wouldn’t stop. She hadn’t really said that last bit, but his father didn’t know that. Once across the Sea of Japan was more than enough for the boy.
        Finally Ranma had been able to change back into his male form and stay that way for longer than a few hours. He smirked to himself as he looked out across the dark waters and star filled sky. Being able to see the stars like this always made his troubles seem like they were far away and insignificant. He took in a deep breath, tasting the open sea-air. ‘Kami-sama is in his home, all is right with the world.’
        "Is clear night." A soft, almost musical voice started him out of his revelry.
        "Yea…" He started, turning around. He suddenly found his heart halfway up his throat, as the girl that was trying to kill him stood between him and the rest of the boat.