Akane stormed off, leaving a semi-conscious Ranma to the tender -- or
not so tender -- ministrations of his other fiancÚes.  *He could've at
least tried a bit of the lunch I made for him,* she thought angrily, as
the other girls fought over who would get to (force) feed him a meal. 
Even that psycho Kodachi Kuno had leapt over from wherever she came
from, with food that was probably laced with "artificial ingredients." 
No doubt, Akane's sister Nabiki was watching from somewhere, making book
on which fiancÚe would win.

*What, does that moron _signal_ them when I cook for him?* Akane fumed
as she rounded a corner.  Preoccupied as she was, she totally forgot to
look where she was going.  Akane ran headlong into someone, knocking her
off her feet.

"Oh!  I'm sorry, are you okay?" she said to the startled girl, helping
her up.  After a moment, Akane recognized her as the new transfer
student who had started in her class about a week ago.  What was her
name again?

The new girl got to her feet, brushing herself off.  "Um, it's all
right, I'm okay.  You're . . . Akane, right?"  Akane nodded.  The new
girl grinned, and stuck out a hand.  "Oh, good -- I'm usually horrible
at names.  I'm Anya."  Akane bowed.  Anya's eyes widened, and she
withdrew her hand and bowed in response -- just as Akane put out her
hand.  The girls froze for a second, then laughed together.

As they began picking up Anya's books and papers, Akane saw a necklace
lying on the ground next to them.  There was a large silver pendant with
a green stone embedded in it's center.  Akane held it up and said,
"Anya?  Is this yours too?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks!"  Anya took the necklace from Akane and put it back
on.  "I'd hate to have lost this.  It's sort of a good luck charm -- I
got it from my mom."

"Your mom?"

"Yeah.  Mom passed away awhile ago . . . ."  Anya looked away for a
moment.

Akane, feeling a bit awkward, looked away too.  "I, umm . . . know what
you mean," she said, quietly.

Anya's smile returned.  "Hey, it's okay.  It was a long time ago.  And,
I've still got happy memories," she replied, fingers playing with the
pendant.

"Say, where are you from?" Akane asked, curiously.

Anya gathered the last of her papers and stood.  "Hawaii, originally. 
But we've got lots of relatives who still live here in Japan.  Dad
decided to move back here and get into the family business again."

Akane flinched a bit at the mention of Hawaii.  "Have you met our
principal yet?"

"Um, no, why?"  Anya looked puzzled.

"Never mind."  Change the subject, change the subject . . . "You speak
Japanese very well . . ."

"Years of practice.  Japanese was the language of choice at home.  Hey,
have you had lunch yet?"  She looked at what Akane was carrying with
her.  "Gee, you eat two lunches?  How do you keep your girlish figure?"

Akane's temper flared for a moment, but before she could do something
rash, she realized that Anya was probably joking.  Akane took a deep
breath before replying.  "It's . . . a long story," she mumbled. 
Without intending to, her eyes strayed back to where Shampoo, Ukyo, and
Kodachi were still struggling to be the first to feed Ranma.

"Oh . . . boyfriend troubles?"  Anya was nodding knowingly.

"That idiot!?  He's not my boyfriend!  He can do whatever he wants!" 
Akane yelled, clenching her fists.

"Really?"

"....."

Anya took Akane by the arm and led her over to a shady spot where they
could sit.  "I understand," she said.  "You just tell me all about it."

Akane was a bit surprised by this.  "Uh, actually, there's nothing to
talk about, really."  The sun seemed to shine through the branches of
the trees for a moment, causing Anya's pendant to shimmer and sparkle. 
The light dazzled Akane for a moment.  "I mean, well, he's always got
these other girls hanging off of him . . . ."  Her mind still distracted
from the light of Anya's pendant, Akane completely missed the odd,
predatory look on her face.  Anya's eyes began to glimmer in time with
her necklace.

"Tell me more."  Anya's voice had begun to get a little rougher, too. 
Akane didn't notice this, either.  Without even realizing it, Akane
began to talk to Anya as if they had known each other for years, telling
her all the ways that Ranma had slighted her.

As Akane wound down to the end of the list, Anya had recovered her
composure.  "I'm amazed!  Why do you still hang out with this guy?"

Akane closed her eyes for a moment.  *Because . . . because I . . . .*
"Because our parents engaged us to be married, even before we were
born!"

"Wow."  After a moment, Anya took off her necklace and put it around
Akane's neck.  "Here, you borrow this for a while.  I think you need
some good luck more than I do!"

"Oh, no, I couldn't -- "  Akane fiddled with the pendant for a moment.

"No, don't worry about it."

Akane turned away for a moment.  "You know, sometimes I wish that Ranma
had never come here . . . ."

"DONE."

Anya's voice was suddenly deep and gravelly.  Akane spun in surprise,
and for a moment saw Anya standing there -- but her face had changed,
somehow.  Her skin had gone ashen, her mouth was twisted into a demonic
grimace, and her eyes glowed with an unholy light.  Akane dropped into a
defensive stance . . . .

. . . and then, everything changed.

****