WPC  K 3£A)ԡ&ZqZ(z$"cDd Ő-VO!+=ll=G'sdn y\r+ t !J֔b86Nh 3 #'zyPwgŢ}c6zbiQ.%)Ds%2UyIUPYA, TV-J멂o-^B%O%1-r.r 0 f^ w@'4g{[U6(#$K (XKXW XXXXW XXXW  Q_Thisfilecreated19:3928/01/99byClarisHomePageversion2.0U6Mirror multiplied 1-14Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-200e0(  Z6Times New Roman RegularX C:\Corel\Suite8\Template\CUSTOM~1\Web\wp8web.wptC:\Corel\Suite8\Template\Custom WP Templates\Web\wp8web.wpt($ 'dxd(  Z&Times New Roman(,R$XǖXXXXǖXXXzW&  +    EU&V&Backup3|xy Q_Thisfilecreated19:3928/01/99byClarisHomePageversion2.0<rl 9Z+Courier New #!K (XKX1XXXX1XXX1   iXX1,R7i  ,Ri7  ,R7i  ,R|i7  ,R7i  ,Ri7  ,R7i  ,Ri7  _ H& H&  M   B  ԍC   Mo   From:_Skysaber_Ԁ  ЁMirrorsMultiplied́PartOnéby_Jared_Ԁ_Ornstead_́ADisclaimerIstole(Oh,theirony!;-)_Ranma_Ԁ_1/2_Ԁpropertyof_Takahashi_Ԁ_Rumiko_,_Sailormoon_Ԁpropertyof_Takeuchi__Naoko_.́************************************************́Theswirlsofmistpartedandoutsteppedawellbuilt,handsomemalefigureontothestreetsof_Nerima_.Onhiswristalightonabracelet_flickered_Ԁanddied._Ranma_Ԁlookeddownatthepieceofjewelry,atitsdeadlights,then_swiftly_Ԁexaminedtheareaaroundhim."Well,"hesaid,speakingto_himself_."LookslikeI'mstuckhere.Thenextstep,obviously,isto_find_Ԁoutwhat`here'is."Hehaddroppedtoonekneeafterexitingthenowdepartedmists.With_his_Ԁbearingsbackhepulledhimselftohisfeet."Firstpriorityis_information_,"hequoted,andfeltaninwardpang.Withagrimacehesethisstepstowardthe_Tendo_Ԁ_dojo_."Andthatmeans_Nabiki_."́Hoppingacrossrooftops_Ranma_Ԁhadtimetothink.Andhisminddrewhimbacktothatfirstfatefultime,whenheandhisfatherhadstolenthemagicmirrorfrom_Happosai_.Seeing_Akane_Ԁmarriedto_Ryoga_Ԁhadn'tbeenso_bad_Ԁinretrospect,certainlynotafterwhathadfollowed.Thattripto_Jusenkyo_,wheretheyhadpreventedtheirpreviousselves_from_Ԁgettingdroppedinthecursedsprings.Thatcouldhavegonebetter.Certainlybringing_Happosai_Ԁalong,andthenleavinghimthere,hadbeen_a_Ԁbadidea.Howbadhadbecomeexactlyclearwhena*second*pairof_Genma_Ԁandsonhadappearedatthe_Tendo_Ԁ_dojo_._They'dmuggedthelittlefreakafterthat._Ranma_Ԁjustwishedhe'dgottensomeinstructionsbeforehe'dgoneandusedthebracelethe'd _taken_Ԁfromhim.Standingthereinanagonyofembarrassmenthe'dgone 11! _and_Ԁyelledoutawish.Areallycarelesswish. Dawn'srosyfingerswerepartingthehorizonas_Ranma_Ԁjumpeddownbeforethegatesofthe_dojo_.Repeatingthephrasetohimself"Take_nothing_Ԁforgrantedthistime!"Hecheckedthewoodensignoutside._Yup_,itsaidthiswasthe_Tendo_'splace,_dojo_Ԁincluded.Thatwasgood._Ranma_Ԁslippedinsidethegateandknockedonthefrontdoor.Itwasearly,but_Kasumi_Ԁshouldstillbeup,andhe'dfiguredoutwhatseason_it_Ԁwasbylookinginthestorefronts,attheitemstheyhadondisplay.Bythathe'dfiguredthatdawnswerecomingalittlelatethistimeofyearandthiswasn'tlongbeforethe_Tendo_Ԁhouseholdgotmovingin_earnest_.Soitshouldbeok._Kasumi_Ԁansweredthedoorwithhercustomarysmileanda"Hello,canI_help_Ԁyou?"_Ranma_Ԁexhaledabigsighofrelief.Noknifewielding,half-crazed_Kasumi_,itwasjustanormalone.Readingherbodylanguageitwas_obvious_Ԁthatshedidn'tknowhim,yet.Hegatheredhiscourage."Ah,excuseme,miss_Tendo_.ButIwaslookingfor_Nabiki_.DoyouknowifIcanseeher?"Thatseemedneutralenough._Kasumi_Ԁanswered."Oh_my_.She'sjustgettingreadyforschoolnow.Would_you_Ԁcaretowaitintheparlor?"_Ranma_Ԁnoddedhisthanks."Yes,thankyou.Iwouldbehappyto."́He'dmaybeoverdoneitabitonthethanks,buthe*was*feeling_grateful_.Asshelethim_inside_Ԁhelookedaround.Thisplacewasalmostexactlythesameastheoriginal_Tendo_Ԁhome.Thereliefhefeltwas_almost_Ԁtangible.Beingstuckherewouldn'tbesobadifhecould_actuallymakeitworkthistime.Thistime.Heshudderedabit,rememberingallthetimeshehadn't.Kasumiwentbacktothekitchenandfamiliarscentswaftedoverhimfromtheopendoor.Hebreathedinadeep,doublebreathandsmiledtohimself.Itdidn'tseemtomatterifweirdalienthingswererampaging onthelawnorifitwerehersistersshewascookinginthepot(only 11 thatonce,butthatoncewasbadenough)Kasumi'scookingalwaysmanaged tosmelldelicious.Ranmapulledhismindbacktopriorities.Ifhemessedthisoneuphe'dhavenowhereelsetogo.Hehadtomakeitwork,andthatmeantfindingoutasmuchaspossiblewithoutrevealinganythingabouthimself.Itwasn'tlongbeforeNabiki,inherschoolattire,camedownthestairs.Shepausedatthesightofhim."Oh.Hello,areyouwaitingforsomeone?"Ranmanodded.He'dfoundoutbyhardexperiencethatgettingsurprisedwasabadidea.He'dknownshewascomingdownthestairsbeforeherfirstfoothitthesteps."Whyyes,Nabiki,Iwasactuallywaitingtoseeyou."Sheblink-blinked.Sofarnotsobad,hejustwishedhe'dbeenabletoreadmorefromherreaction.Ranmacontinued."Yah,IwashopingIcouldaskyouafewquestions.Ifyoudon'tmind."Thefamiliarmercenarygleamcametohereyes.Ranmaalmostweptwithjoyatthesightofit.Shenoticedhisreactionanddidadouble-take.Hequicklysmotheredit.Cautiously,shesatbyhimontheveranda."Ok,firstofall,Idon'tdobusinesswithpeopleIdon'tknow.What'syourname?"Ranmagrinnedinreply,judgingherreactions."Youchargeforintroductions,Nabiki.WhyshouldIgiveyouoneforfree?"Sheblinked,thensettledintoamorewaryposeandcountedoutasmallstackofyencoins.Ranmaleftthemwheretheywereonthefloorbetweenthem."TellmewhatyouknowabouttheSaotomes."Heasked.Nabiki'seyeshardened.Shepointedtothecoins."I'vepaidforananswer,andIdon'tliketobekeptwaiting."Ranmasighed,heneededtolearnaboutanypossiblebloodfeudsor anythinggoingonbetweentheirfamiliesbeforerevealinghisname,and 11 hecouldn'taffordtohaveherclamupnow.Withabitofapausehe hauledoutahandfulofcoinandcountedoutasmallstackequaltohers,thenplaceditbesidethefirst,whichhemadenomovetotake."Humorme."Heasked.Hereyesglitteredathimincalculation,thensherelented.Hegroanedinwardly.Herpricesalwayswentupwhenshewasannoyed,andhecouldn'taffordtogeteverythingheneededatinflatedprices.Shepulledupherkneesandwrappedherarmsaroundthem."WhatIknowisthattheyhaveahouseuponthehillneartheKunoestate,addressesareextra,"sheadded."ButotherthanhavinghadatragedyintheirfamilyrecentlyIdon'thavemuchaboutthem.Iusuallyoccupymyselfwithfamilieswhohavekidsinourschool."ThattoldhimalotmorethanNabikithoughtitdid."MynameisRanma."Hesupplied,thenpushedbothstacksofcoinstowardher."Anydetailsonthetragedy?"Shelookedattheyen,butdidn'ttakeit."I'dchargeyouforit,butIreallydon'tknowanythingaboutit.Whyareyousointerested?"Hefoughtforamomentoverwhetherheshouldtellher.Finallyhestoodup,andgrinnedlopsidedlydownather."Ihavetogofindoutif__that_Ԁinformationisforsale.Sorry,_Nabiki_,butIcan'tsetaprice_before_ԀIknowhowmuchi