Ranma sighed, holding the phone loosely against her ear with one 
hand as she used her other hand to slowly massage her forehead.  She 
was feeling a headache coming on, and the conversation she was having 
wasn't helping any.  "It'd just be for a couple days," she said.  "Are 
you sure you can't put up with her for that long?"  She paused.  "Yes, 
we'd pay you.  Not a lot, but we'd cover expenses, that sort of thing."

	There was an angry squawking on the other end of the line, and 
Ranma winced.  "No, it's not that, it's just that you're the first 
person I thought of."  She reached forward and grabbed a cup of water 
resting on her desk.  "They'd never find her there, that's why."  
Another pause, and Ranma sighed wearily.  "I know you two have a lot 
of baggage, and that what I'm asking you isn't easy.  It would be for 
the best, though."  She listened again.  "You'd be saving lives, that's 
why!"

	She took a sip of the water, and put it back on the desk.  "A 
couple days- no more.  Weren't you just saying last night that I needed 
to put some of this baggage behind me?  Well, maybe this is an 
opportunity for both of us."  A more quiet response this time.  "If it 
doesn't work out, I'll find somewhere else.  But I would really 
appreciate it if you took them in.  Just for a bit."  She nodded as she 
listened, and smiled.  "Thanks, Ukyo.  I appreciate it."  A pause.  
"Yeah, me too.  I'll bring them over tonight."  Another pause.  
"Great.  See ya then.  Thanks."

	She hung up the phone, and leaned back in her chair.  She closed 
her eyes for a moment, then got up and walked over to a nearby 
conference room that had been converted into a waiting area for the 
Tendos.  She opened the door, and walked in.  "Hey, Akane.  How are you 
doing?"

	Akane looked up from the booklet she was reading.  "I'm fine.  
Dad fell asleep a while ago-" she motioned to where Soun had fallen 
asleep in a nearby chair, "but I wasn't able to."  She put the booklet 
down on the table.  "I was hoping you would let me use a phone.  I 
brought my list of students with me," she reached into her bag and 
rummaged around, "and I'd like to call them and let them know there 
won't be class this evening."

	"Sure," said Ranma.  "I'll have one brought in.  Just don't go 
calling any relatives or anything like that; we don't know yet how far 
the Yakuza's influence might extend, or whose phone lines they might 
have tapped."

	"I understand," she replied.  She pulled the directory out of her 
bag, then put it on the table and looked back at Ranma.  "So, what 
happens next?  Will we just stay here, or will we eventually be going 
somewhere more permanent?"

	"We're waiting for a contact to get in touch with us," answered 
Ranma.  "Once they do, I'll take you somewhere safe- and a little more 
comfortable."

	"I'm glad to hear it," said Akane.  "I appreciate what you've 
done for us and all," she motioned around the room, "but this isn't 
exactly a place I'd like to spend several days in."

	"Sorry about that," said Ranma, fidgeting slightly.  "We're not 
exactly set up to handle guests.  We have holding cells, but this is a 
good sight more comfortable than the cells where the suspects stay."

	Akane grinned.  "I hope I'm never a suspect here, then."

	"Don't worry," Ranma laughed, "you'll be out of here soon.  We've 
got a safehouse ready for you, and you'll be there before too long."

	"Thanks, Ranma."  Akane smiled warmly.  "I appreciate everything 
you've done for us."

	"No problem, Akane."  Ranma returned the smile.  "Just doin' my 
job.  You guys need anything else?  Something to eat, maybe?"

	"No, thanks, I'm not hungry," replied Akane.  "And I'd rather not 
wake Dad.  All I need is the phone and I'll be fine."

	"All right," Ranma said, "sure thing.  And if you need anything 
else, just let me know."

            ------------------------------------------------

	"I think we may have a problem, sir."

	"What is it?"

	"Well, we had to interrupt our surveillance for a few minutes, 
and ever since that brief period I've had a bad feeling.  I think they 
may have escaped, sir."

	"They escaped?  How?  You were supposed to be watching them."

	"There was an incident with a police officer, and we were forced 
to leave the site for a couple of minutes.  I'm not sure they escaped, 
but ever since then, it seems like it's been too quiet."

	"What do you mean, 'too quiet?'"

	"Well, sir, there's been no traffic in and out of the dojo, which 
is odd because the youngest Tendo sister is supposed to teach martial 
arts classes there.  There's been no movement visible in the windows, 
either."

	"I see... keep up your surveillance for now; if you still don't 
see signs of activity after a few hours let me know."

	"Yes, sir."

	*CLICK*

	Aosaki snapped shut the cellular phone and pocketed it.  Fuchida 
turned to him.  "Are you sure that was such a good idea?"

	"We made a mistake," said Aosaki.  "Well, actually, it was you 
who made the mistake, but we won't go into that."

	He continued before the younger man could interrupt.  "I do know 
this, though.  The bosses don't appreciate people keeping things from 
them.  Especially if you make a mistake.  Trust me, kid," he said as he 
leaned back in his seat, "it's a lot less painful this way.  For both 
of us."

            ------------------------------------------------

	Ranma tried to concentrate on the work in front of her, but found 
it increasingly hard to do so.  She kept glancing at the clock on the 
wall, watching the hands tick toward the point that would mark twelve 
hours since they had first received the letter from the unknown 
informant.  She still suspected Nabiki was the author, but with nothing 
but a hunch to back her up, then for all practical purposes the 
informant was completely anonymous.

	That point aside, though, with the Tendos safely in police 
custody, then if the informant was true to his or her word, there 
should be some sort of response should be showing up anytime now.

	"Ma'am?"

	Her nervousness gave way to annoyance; she hated it when people 
called her that.  Looking up from her desk in irritation, she saw one 
of the younger Special Ops officers standing on the other side.  "What 
is it?"

	"A man's showed up at the front desk.  Claims he has a delivery 
for you, but we don't know who he is."

	She was out of her chair in an instant.  "Is it a letter?"

	"Yes, ma'am," said the officer, causing Ranma to suppress another 
wince.  "In a plain, unmarked envelope.  It's being checked right now 
for both traps and fingerprints."

	"Great," she replied.  "Hiroshi!" she called across the room to 
where her partner was sitting.  "It's here!"

     They followed the officer to the front lobby of Special Ops, where 
a young, frightened-looking man stood in handcuffs.  Ranma walked over, 
studying the man.  There didn't seem to be anything remarkable about 
him; just a young man in his twenties.  "Who sent you?" she asked.

	The man looked at his feet, shifting them back and forth in an 
agitated manner as he talked.  "Some lady came up to me on the street; 
said she'd pay me to deliver a letter here," he said.  "I didn't have 
anything better to do, and it was a lot of money, so I said yes." He 
looked back up at her, swallowing nervously.  "I didn't do anything 
wrong!"

	The panic was evident in his voice- clearly, this hadn't been 
quite what he had in mind when he agreed to take the letter.  "Don't 
worry," Hiroshi assured him, "everything's being cleared up.  We're 
just gonna ask you a few questions, and then you'll be free to go.  All 
right?"

	"If everything's all right, why do you have me in handcuffs?!"  
The man struggled fruitlessly to move his arms apart.

	"Just a precaution," answered Ranma.  "The lady who gave you the 
letter- what did she look like?"

	"Well," he fidgeted, "she was several centimeters shorter than I 
am.  She had black hair that came down to the middle of her back, and 
she was dressed in a dark blue suit and skirt.  She looked like a 
fairly typical businesswoman.  She was carrying a brown briefcase, and-"

	"That's enough," said Ranma, cutting him off.  She walked away, 
motioning for Hiroshi to follow her.  "Nabiki is tall and has short 
brown hair," she whispered.  "It wasn't her."

	"If she's worried about being discovered, though, she might not 
want to risk being seen.  If may have been one of her associates."

	"Excuse me, ma'am."

	Ranma's fists clenched involuntarily.  "Yes?"

	"The letter was checked, sir.  It's clean."  The officer handed 
it to her.

	"Thanks," said Ranma.  She read the letter, then handed it to 
Hiroshi, who read it over quickly before handing it back to her.  "Two 
days from now, at an abandoned warehouse by the docks," she muttered.  
"Sounds like the perfect setting for a 'B' movie."  

	"I think I know where it is," he replied, "or at least the 
general setting it's in.  It shouldn't be too hard to set up the bust."

	Ranma thought about what would have to do be done over the two 
days before the operation could go through.  "The first thing we need 
to do is get final authorization from Kusaka.  Other than that, there's 
not much we can do until the morning."

            ------------------------------------------------

	"Good work, both of you."  Kusaka looked up from reading the 
letter, nodding curtly to both the police officers standing in front of 
his desk.  "I don't like to trust anonymous tipsters on a matter of 
this importance, but this isn't something we can afford to ignore."

	He leaned forward, handing the letter back to Ranma, then folded 
his arms on his desk and sighed, thinking for a moment before he looked 
back up and the two officers.  "So," he continued, "this is obviously 
going to be an operation of some magnitude.  You'll want SWAT team 
backup, obviously."

	"Definitely," agreed Ranma.  "If these Yakuza are as dangerous as 
we think they are, we'll need all the help we can get."

	"I wonder if SWAT teams will be enough," Hiroshi wondered aloud.  
"If any of that weaponry they'll have with them is operational, we may 
need military commandos to take them out."

	"True," replied Kusaka, "however, using the military is an option 
we do not have.  They are not authorized to operate domestically; 
that's our job.  Instead, we'll have to rely on surprise rather than 
brute strength to counter the threat of their armaments.  This 
operation will need to be set up as discreetly as possible, and when 
the time comes we'll have to strike hard, but most importantly, strike 
fast.  Anything less could mean disaster."  He paused, frowning 
slightly as he continued.  "I'll act as a liaison between the 
departments, but I'm going to leave it up to you two to plan out the 
details.  You've both done this sort of thing before, right?"

	"Yes, sir," they replied.

	"Then you will remember we are not commandos," Kusaka glared at 
them, "we are police officers.  We cannot afford to get into a 
firefight against military-grade weapons and explosives, so ideally 
this will succeed without a single shot fired.  What we want here is a 
quick, clean, surgical strike that paralyzes them without a fight.  Do 
I make myself clear?"

	"Yes, sir."

	"Good.  I expect regular progress reports.  If any problems come 
up, let me know immediately."  He paused.  "By the way, Saotome, do you 
have a safehouse arranged for that Tendo girl and her father?"

	"Yes, sir," answered Ranma.  "It's at a restaurant operated by a 
good friend of mine.  It's the safest place I could think of.  The 
Yakuza would never have a reason to suspect it."

	"All right," Kusaka leaned back in his chair, "I'll trust your 
judgement on this one.  You'll be taking her there personally, I 
assume?"

	"As soon as I'm done here, sir."

	"Good.  Anything else?"

	"No, sir," they responded.

	"Good," said Kusaka.  "Dismissed."

            ------------------------------------------------

	Ranma drove the car through the busy streets of Tokyo, enjoying 
the silence in the car as a welcome contrast from the hectic atmosphere 
of the police station.  Akane was sitting next to her, and Soun was in 
the back seat.  Akane's father seemed to have become even more detached 
from the real world in the past few hours, and Ranma guessed that it 
was simply his way of coping with everything that was going on.  The 
man was obviously sick, and Ranma worried what all this extra stress 
would do to him.  She wondered how Akane felt about it all, and if the 
woman sitting next to her was as worried as she was.

	Akane had been silent ever since Ranma had told her their 
destination.  Now whether she was not speaking to her on purpose, or 
simply nervous about seeing Ukyo again, Ranma didn't know.  She was 
content to leave Akane to her thoughts, though, and had almost 
forgotten there were passengers in the car when Akane finally broke 
the silence.   "Ranma?  Why Ukyo's place?"

	They approached a street light, and Ranma pulled the car to a 
stop.  The light turned green, and she gently pressed the accelerator 
as she answered.  "We keep in touch occasionally.  Of all the places I 
could think of, it seemed like the safest place to put you."

	"I suppose," Akane sighed as she looked out the window at the 
brightly lit streets of the nighttime city.

	"Does it really make you that uncomfortable?" asked Ranma as she 
made a right turn onto a side street.

	"I don't know," said Akane softly.  "It just caught me by 
surprise, that's all.  I haven't talked to Ukyo since you left."

	"Really?" asked Ranma, surprised.  "You two never talked about 
what happened or anything?"

	"No," Akane shook her head.  "We had a few short conversations, 
but we never tried to console each other or anything.  That was mostly 
my doing," she explained, "because I didn't want her to be mad at me.  
I already blamed myself for what happened, and I didn't want anybody 
else to find out what happened and blame me, too."  She shrugged.  
"Still, I always got the feeling she knew more than she was letting on."

	"Ukyo's smart," said Ranma.  "I only talked to her once in the 
couple of years just after the accident, but I think she may have 
figured a lot of what happened from just that one conversation."

	"What did you tell her, exactly?  How much does she know?"

	"Back then, I tried not to tell her anything."  Ranma paused as 
she made another turn.  "Now, she knows everything.  I don't think 
she's mad at you, though; she wouldn't hold a grudge through all these 
years."

	"Excuse me?" Akane asked incredulously.  "Are you forgetting?  
She's already done it.  She spent her entire childhood learning martial 
arts and hunting you down.  Her ability to hold grudges is what's 
making me nervous."

	Ranma was silent for a long moment.  "People change, Akane.  
People change."

	      ------------------------------------------------

	It was well past sunset, and Ukyo's restaurant was just closing 
when Ranma pulled the car up to the curb in front of the Ucchan's.  She 
got out and walked around, noticing that Akane hesitated for several 
seconds before climbing out of the car.  She then opened the back door 
and helped her father climb out of the car.  The three of stepped past 
some people leaving the restaurant, and Ranma went inside, followed by 
Akane and her father.

	The scene was quiet, with only two customers left who were 
preparing to leave.  Ukyo was wiping down the grill, which hissed 
softly under the warm wet cloth.  She looked up at the sound of their 
entering, and smiled when she saw who it was.  "Heya, Ranma."  She 
paused for a second, though her smile never left her face.  "Hey, 
Akane.  Hello, Mr. Tendo."

	"Hello, Ukyo," said Akane.  She turned to whisper to her father, 
and Ranma walked up to the counter.

	"Thanks for doing this," she said to Ukyo.  "I appreciate it."

	Ukyo sighed, turning to rinse the cloth in a nearby sink.  "I 
know, Ranma.  I'm glad I can help you, it's just... it scares me."

	"What scares you?" asked Ranma as Akane and her father finished 
talking and walked to the counter.

	Ukyo looked up.  "This whole situation, really.  Digging up 
skeletons I've long since buried, and wondering what will come of it 
all."

	"Maybe we can all finally put some skeletons to rest," answered 
Ranma, loud enough for only Ukyo to hear.

	Akane came up behind her.  "So... what now?"

	Ranma turned to face her.  "Ukyo will house you for the next few 
days.  I'll keep in touch with you, but only by phone.  If I'm seen 
coming here, it would be very bad, to put it lightly.  You-" she 
pointed at Akane, "and your father should also stay out of sight.  
Tokyo is a big city, but you shouldn't take any chances on being seen 
by the wrong people."

	"I understand," replied Akane.

	"Well," Ranma looked at her watch, "I'd better be going.  If you 
have any questions, Ukyo knows where to reach me."

	Akane turned to Ranma.  "Are you leaving already?" she asked, a 
hint of nervousness in her voice.  "I thought you would probably stay 
for a while."

	"Sorry," said Ranma, "I can't stay.  I've got a busy day 
tomorrow; gotta set up a bust on some Yakuza and hopefully get all our 
lives back to normal."  She smiled.  "I'll see ya later.  Ukyo, 
remember- don't call my apartment, only call the department number I 
gave you.  They'll contact me if it's an emergency."

	"Gotcha, Ranma," said Ukyo.  "Don't worry, Akane, you're in good 
hands."  She smiled.  "You and your father will be staying upstairs, so 
I'll go ahead and show you to your room."

	Ranma walked toward the door, smiling as she looked back over her 
shoulder and saw Ukyo and the Tendos leave the room.  She couldn't 
understand why, but for some reason she found the scene strangely 
humorous; it certainly wasn't something she'd ever thought she'd see 
again.  She smiled and shook her head, then pulled her coat tighter 
around her shoulders as she opened the door and walked out into the 
brisk Tokyo night air.

            ------------------------------------------------

	Early the next morning, a young man dressed in the brown uniform 
of a deliveryman walked through the gate of the Tendo Dojo and up to 
the front door.  Shifting the package nestled under his arm, he reached 
forward and knocked on the door.

	After waiting a minute, the man reached forward and gripped the 
handle of the door.  He tried to open it, but found it was locked.  
"Damn," he muttered.  Setting the package on the ground, he pulled 
several tools out of his pocket and quickly went to work on the lock.  
After a few seconds of tinkering, the lock clicked, allowing the door 
to slide open easily.  The man stepped inside, greeted only by the 
silence of an empty house.

	"Hello!" he called out, his loud voice piercing the silence and 
echoing throughout the many rooms of the deserted house.

	He walked through the downstairs, his search quickly confirming 
his suspicions.  He walked out of the house, stopping briefly to pick 
up his package before breaking into a run and leaving the compound 
deserted once again.

            ------------------------------------------------

	Ukyo peeked her head around the doorway.  "Can I come in?"

	Akane looked up from her position on the sofa, and put down the 
book she was reading.  "Of course," she replied.  "It's your place, 
after all."

	"Yeah, I know," said Ukyo as she stepped through, "but everyone 
needs their privacy.  This is your room for now, and I wouldn't want to 
invade it without asking."  She looked around.  "Where's your father?"

	"In the bathroom," said Akane.  "He tends to take a long time 
cleaning up in the mornings; I hope it's not a problem."

	"No," said Ukyo, "I finished in there a while ago."  She leaned 
against the wall, fiddling with a small spatula in one of her hands.  
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna be working all day, so 
I'll leave you and your father to take care of themselves.  If you need 
anything, just let me know."

	Akane nodded, chuckling slightly.  Ukyo raised an eyebrow.  
"What's so funny?"

	"I'm sorry," Akane said as she sat up on the couch, "it's just 
that Ranma made a comment last night about how people change.  You, 
though-" she smiled, "with your spatula and your cook's outfit, you 
look almost exactly like you did back when we were in high school.  It 
doesn't look like you've changed at all."

	Ukyo smiled, looking down at her clothing.  "No, I guess I 
haven't.  I'm still doing what I enjoy, and what I'm best at-" she 
flipped the spatula into the air.  "Maybe just a little bit better than 
before," she caught the spatula again, "and with a little bit more 
experience under my belt."  She looked at Akane.  "You, though..." she 
studied Akane, "I can't tell.  You seem a little wiser, and you seem to 
carry yourself differently, but it's hard to really tell how much 
you've changed."

	"I wish I could answer that question myself," said Akane, 
sighing.  "Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and wonder just 
where that girl from all those years ago has gone, and other times..." 
she shook her head.  "I thought the person I used to be had disappeared 
forever, until Ranma came back.  I lost my temper like I hadn't done in 
years, and for the shortest little while... I fell apart."  She 
hesitated.  "I thought I was past that... I guess I was wrong."

	Ukyo had grown cautious at hearing Akane's story, but when she 
saw the genuine pain in the young woman's face she softened.  "I guess 
we all have some things that still haunt us," she said quietly.

	Akane looked over at Ukyo, smiling sadly.  "It's funny how the 
past catches up with you, sometimes.  Mistakes come to back to haunt 
you," she looked away again, "and so do people you thought you'd never 
see again."

	There was an awkward pause, and Akane's eyes widened.  "Sorry 
about that.  I didn't mean to insult you or anything, it's just-"

	"No, I know what you mean," said Ukyo.  "Maybe it's not as bad 
for me, because I've known Ranma through most of this time, but I still 
know what you mean.  Sometimes I wonder how those people I haven't 
heard about since high school are doing, and how I would react if I met 
them- Shampoo, Ryoga, you until a couple of days ago-"

	"What about Konatsu?" asked Akane.  "You two seemed like you 
might get together, back in the day."

	"Nah," said Ukyo.  "It's a long story, but a few years ago we had 
a falling out.  I just didn't love him, and he couldn't accept it."  
She shook her head.  "What about you?  I had always thought you might 
have ended up with Ryoga or someone, once Ranma left.  I would never 
have imagined that a prize catch like you would still be single."  She 
smiled wryly.

	"Prize catch?"  Akane raised an eyebrow.  "Well, I don't know 
about that.  Still, after Ranma left, I kept in touch with Ryoga for a 
long time.  I came pretty close to marrying him," she said, chuckling 
slightly at the memory.  "In the end, though, things happened, and we 
broke up.  Like you said, though, it's a long story."

	"Well, maybe we'll get a chance to tell them to each other before 
this whole incident is through," Ukyo replied, looking at a clock on 
the wall as she spoke.  "In the meantime, I should be getting the 
restaurant ready to open.  I'm late as it is."

	"Do you need some help?" asked Akane.

	Ukyo looked at her, surprised.  "What?"

	"Well," said Akane, "you've done all this for my father and me, 
helping out would be the least I could do to repay you."  She 
shrugged.  "Besides, I really don't feel like being cooped up here all 
day.  I'd be glad to help if you need it."

	"Well, I could certainly use the help," answered Ukyo, "but Ranma 
said you should stay out of sight."

	"It'll be all right," said Akane.  "I mean, if you don't mind..."

	"Well," said Ukyo, "two extra hands would help me quite a lot."  
She paused, thinking.  "All right."  She looked at her watch.  "Once 
you've got your father settled for the day, come on down and I'll show 
you what to do."

            ------------------------------------------------

	"So," said Fuchida dismally, "what are the chances we'll actually 
survive until tomorrow?"

	"Relax," said Aosaki, steering the car through the busy midday 
traffic as he spoke. "The bosses don't just off people for nothing.  We 
made one mistake, and 'fessed up to it.  They won't kill us for 
something like that.  They'll probably rough us up a bit, but nothing 
worse."

	"I don't know," replied Fuchida from the passenger seat, "our 
mistake was a pretty big one.  And the bosses... they don't exactly 
strike me as the merciful type, you know?"

	"Kid," said Aosaki, "I've been doing this a lot longer than you 
have.  Trust me on this, all right?"

	"Whatever," muttered Fuchida.  "Until I see the boss and live to 
tell about it, I'm going to worry about this."

	"Look," said his partner, "there's really no reason to get so 
worked up about this.  Tell you what-" he looked at his watch.  "We've 
got an hour and a half to kill.  You hungry?  There's a place near here 
that I've been wanting to check out.  Whaddya say?"

	"If you want to eat, feel free," said Fuchida.  "I'm not very 
hungry."

	"From what I've heard," Aosaki made a left turn onto a 
sidestreet, "this place has one of the best chefs around."  He smiled.  
"You may just change your mind."

	A couple of minutes later, Aosaki pulled the car into a small 
parking lot.  The two men got out, and walked around a nearby building 
to the front entrance.  Aosaki pushed the door open, Fuchida following 
behind him.  It was lunch hour, and the place was crowded, but despite 
the noise and the crowd the most noticeable thing was a delightful 
smell drifting from the direction of the grill.

	Fuchida brightened as he sniffed the air.  "Hey, why didn't you 
say it was an okonomyaki place?  I love okonomyaki- I guess I could eat 
something after all."

	"Glad to hear it."  There were two empty stools by the counter, 
and the two men quickly walked forward and sat down.  Looking around, 
Aosaki noticed that the place seemed to be understaffed.  There was 
only one person working behind the grill, and she looked rather 
frazzled.

	"Hey, guys," she said, looking over in their direction.  
"Someone'll be with you a minute, all right?  Hey, Akane!" she shouted 
at a woman taking orders from a nearby table.  "We got some newcomers 
over here!"

	"Right, Ukyo," answered the woman, who was looking fairly 
overworked herself.  She walked around behind the bar, and greeted the 
two men.  "Welcome to Ucchan's, gentlemen.  What can I get you?"

	"I'll have a pork okonomyaki and a glass of water," said Aosaki.  
He turned to his partner.  "What about you?"

	"I'll have the same," said Fuchida quickly.

	"Got it," the girl smiled, "coming up in a minute.  Hey, Ukyo," 
she turned to the chef, "we need two more porks!"

	Fuchida turned to his partner as the serving girl walked away.  
"Does she look familiar from somewhere?  I swear I've seen her 
somewhere before."

	"I don't think so," Aosaki frowned.  "What did the cook say her 
name was?  Akane?"

	The two looked at each other in surprise.  "Tendo?"

	"Nah," whispered Aosaki, "it can't be.  It's too coincidental.  
Why would we bump into her in a restaurant, of all places?  I mean, 
surely this wouldn't just be her job or something."

	They stopped speaking again as the girl brought them two glasses 
of water.  "There you go," she said.

	"Thank you," Fuchida answered as he took a small sip of the water.

	Aosaki studied the girl.  She did look somewhat familiar, now 
that she was up close.  "Is this place always this crowded during 
lunchtime?" he asked her.

	She hesitated.  "I wouldn't know," she answered, smiling weakly.  
"I don't usually work here."

	"Table four," said the chef behind her.

	"Excuse me.  Duty calls," she said, turning and walking away.

	The two men sat there in silence for a moment before turning to 
each other again.  "We need a picture of her," Aosaki got up from his 
seat.  "They're out in the car.  I'll be right back."

	"Sure," Fuchida replied, turning back to study the woman named 
Akane.  If they had indeed found the Tendo woman, then they might get 
off the hook for losing her earlier- maybe they'd even get a nice bonus 
from their boss.  Had the police smuggled her out of the residence and 
put her here for protection?  That kind of made sense, although he 
couldn't understand why she'd be out working and not sheltered away 
somewhere safe.

	Then again, Akane was a common name.  Maybe the looks and the 
name were just a coincidence.  That's probably it, he thought.  Tokyo's 
a huge city, and the chances of running into the Tendos by chance are 
virtually nil.  He was probably just getting his hopes up.

	His train of thought was interrupted by his partner returning.  
"It's her," whispered Aosaki, dropping back into the seat next to him.  
"It's definitely the Tendo girl."

	Fuchida leaned in close, whispering.  "So what should we do?"

	"Act naturally," answered Aosaki.  "We'll finish eating, pay, and 
leave, then meet with the boss as we planned and let him know what 
we've found.  We have another mystery, though.  She lived with her 
father, and we have to assume the police got him out, too.  Where is 
he?"

	"He was pretty sick, wasn't he?" whispered Fuchida.  "He may not 
be able to work, so he's probably in the back somewhere."

	"Maybe," replied Aosaki quietly.

	The chef turned to them.  "Two pork okonomyaki, right?"

	"Yeah, that's us," said Aosaki.

	Fuchida dug into his food, finding that he had regained his 
appetite with a vengeance now that fortune had unexpectedly smiled 
upon them.

	Aosaki also ate hungrily, albeit a bit slower and in a more 
dignified manner than his young partner.  This is damn good okonomyaki, 
he thought.  It's too bad, really.  If I know the bosses, this place 
won't even be standing once they're through with it.

            ------------------------------------------------

	Rosuke glared at the two underlings sitting before him.  He 
usually didn't like to have dealings with the men who worked the 
street; it made him too vulnerable.  This was a special case- the news 
was simply too important to let one of his subordinates handle alone.  
He glared at the two men, acutely aware of how much power he held over 
them and knowing that they, too, were very aware of it.

	What mattered to him now, though, was not who they were, but who 
they had found.  "Are you sure it was her?"

	"Yes, sir," said the older-looking of the two.  "We heard the 
chef call her Akane, and we checked her against the picture we were 
given.  It was definitely Akane Tendo."

	"You realize," said Rosuke, rolling a pencil between the fingers 
of his hand, "that you've already screwed up once on this assignment.  
If we were to go into that restaurant and find that the Tendos weren't 
there... I would be rather annoyed."  He snapped the pencil between his 
fingers, causing both the men in front of him to wince.  "Do I make 
myself clear?"

	"Very clear, sir," said the older man again.

	"Good."  Rosuke lay the broken halves of the pencil on his desk, 
and eyed the two men again.  "With that understood, are you sure it was 
Akane Tendo?"

	"Yes, sir.  I'd stake my life on it."

	Rosuke smiled.  "I would expect nothing less.  Now get out of 
here."  The two men got up to leave.  "By the way," he said, "good 
work.  If your lead turns out to be true, and we recover the Tendos, 
there'll be a reward for both of you."

	"Thank you, sir," said the two men simultaneously.

	"Dismissed," he said curtly.

	They left quickly, the door shutting quietly behind them.  As 
soon as they did, a figure emerged from the shadows at the back of the 
room.  "It was those two who lost the Tendos in the first place.  Do 
they really deserve a reward for finding them again?"

	"No," said Rosuke, "they don't.  Little things like that are good 
for the men, though.  Remember, Suichi," he said, "you shouldn't go 
easy on them, but you shouldn't be too hard, either.  It's all part of 
being a good leader.  Just as an occasional punishment will keep them 
respecting you, an occasional favor does wonders for keeping them 
loyal."

	"If you say so, sir," said the other man.  "But what are you 
going to do about the Tendos?  Do you believe what they said?"

	"They know what they saw," answered Rosuke.  "They were willing 
to stake their lives on what they've seen, so I'm willing to believe 
them."  He leaned back in his chair.  "This little incident has already 
put a major crimp in my plans.  Getting the Tendos back in our hands is 
exactly what we need to put everything back on track again."

	His voice took on a hard edge.  "Nabiki Tendo has crossed me for 
the last time, and I will tolerate no more interference from those 
damned police.  Tonight we take care of everything.  We get into that 
restaurant, we seize the Tendos, and we get the cops out of our way.  
For better or worse, everything will be done tonight."

	"What exactly are you planning, sir?"

	"I'm going to leave the restaurant operation to you, Suichi.  
You'll be in charge of getting the Tendos back in our hands- it 
shouldn't be too hard.  Take a few men in, bust the place up, that sort 
of thing.  I'll arrange a hit on that officer- what's her name, 
Saotome."

	"I thought you weren't going to kill her, sir."

	"I changed my mind," snapped Rosuke.  "She's jeopardized this 
operation one too many times.  Besides," he added, "it's quite clear 
that as long as she's alive, she represents a threat.  It'll be easier 
just to kill her and get her out of the way."

	"And then?"

	"Simple," replied Rosuke.  "With the Tendos back in our hands, 
and Saotome out of the way, we'll be free to complete the deal with 
Nabiki."

	"It's pretty obvious that it was Nabiki who went to the police 
last time," Suichi commented.  "What if she goes to the police again?"

	"She won't," said Rosuke.  "We'll make it very clear that the 
survival of her family depends on her cooperation.  And this time 
we'll have her family directly in our custody, so there won't be any 
police to save them."

	He paused for a moment, thinking.  "Oh, and one other thing.  We 
need to teach Nabiki that there's a price to pay when she doesn't keep 
her word."  He smiled evilly.  "The Tendo Dojo has been in their family 
for generations.  Burn it down."

            ------------------------------------------------

	The dinner crowd was beginning to die down when the phone rang.  
"Akane, can you get that?" asked Ukyo, who was busy taking orders from 
a group of newcomers who had just sat down at the grill.

	Akane walked behind the counter to where the phone rested on the 
wall and picked it up.  "Hello?"

	"Hi, Akane, it's Ranma," said the voice on the other end.   "How 
are things going over there?"

	"Just fine," she replied.  "No problems so far."

	"Glad to hear it," said Ranma, "how's your Dad doing?  Handling 
the stress okay?"

	At the mention of her Dad, Akane mentally cursed.  Looking at the 
clock, she realized it had been several hours since she had last 
checked on him.  He was probably sleeping, but still, she needed to be 
sure.  Meanwhile, she needed to tell Ranma something.  "Yeah, he's 
fine," she answered, knowing she was fudging the truth but not wanting 
to tell Ranma that she had been downstairs helping Ukyo in the 
restaurant all day.

	"Well, that's certainly good news.  Listen, could you put Ukyo on 
for a second?"

	"Sure," said Akane.  "Ukyo!" she called.  "Ranma wants to talk to 
you."  The chef walked over, taking the phone.  "Listen, since the 
crowd is dying down a bit, would you mind if I went upstairs and 
checked on my Dad real quick?" Akane asked.

	"Go for it," said Ukyo, cradling the phone between her ear and 
shoulder as she turned her attention back to the grill.

	Akane turned to leave, but when she reached the end of the 
counter she found her path suddenly blocked by a man in a business 
suit.  "Excuse me," she said distractedly as she moved to walk around 
him.

	He held out his arm, blocking her path.  "I think you'd better 
stay right here, Miss Tendo."
           
	      ------------------------------------------------

	At the Tokyo police station, Ranma drummed her fingers on her 
desk in irritation.  "I heard your little conversation there," she 
muttered into the phone.  "Has Akane been helping you in the restaurant 
the whole day?"

	There was a pause on the other end of the line.  "I'm sorry, 
Ranma.  She wanted to help, and it seemed like a harmless request."

	Ranma sighed.  "Well, it probably was.  But I don't want you 
taking any chances.  I want you to make sure she stays out of sight 
from now on, all right?"

	"All right, Ranma.  Sorry about-"

	Suddenly, a loud crack echoed over the phone, and a flurry of 
voices and background noise erupted.  "Ukyo?!"

	"SHIT!" yelled Ukyo, and Ranma heard a clatter, as though the 
phone had suddenly been dropped to the ground.  Two more cracks rang 
out, and Ranma realized they were gunshots as she felt a sudden panic 
overwhelm her.  "Ucchan!!!" she screamed, her face paling as she 
realized what was happening, and that she could do nothing but listen 
to the ensuing chaos, "UCCHAN!!!"