Fruits Basket Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Neko's Healing ❯ Amazons ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: Still don't own Fruits Basket or Ranma 1/2. Ain't rich enough to buy `em, either.

 

Gee, my biggest chapter yet...I usually try to end `em between 3,200-3,800 story words, but they've been getting a tad longer lately. This one's over 5,000!

 

Enjoy!

11- Amazons

 

Kho Lon, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, or Chinese Amazons, sighed with regret as she stirred the ramen she was making preparatory for the evening rush. She'd known for a while now that her great-granddaughter was not going to be able to snare one Saotome Ranma's heart; that he wasn't going to be coming back to the village with them as her husband. Xian Pu hadn't quite seemed to realize it, though...and there was still hope that Ranma would come up with some miracle way to salvage the girl's honor. Kho Lon knew the boy had at least an idea of the punishment her great-granddaughter faced, going home without him; and she well knew he would do almost anything to help someone he considered a friend.

 

He just--couldn't marry Xian Pu, more's the pity.

 

Actually, she'd first realized Ranma would never marry Xian Pu right after the Phoenix Pill incident, when Ranma first demonstrated the Neko-ken. She'd known then that the boy had a rarely seen amount of willpower and courage, as well as his phenomenal martial arts potential. If they had ever succeeded in tricking him back to the village, the potential trouble an unhappy Saotome Ranma could cause the Amazons would have far outweighed any benefit he brought to the village.

 

She no longer wanted to even consider the trouble an outright angry Saotome Ranma could visit on them. That would be outright destruction, not mere trouble!

 

As time had gone by and Xian Pu's more and more desperate schemes failed one after the other, Kho Lon had become concerned that the boy might actually turn on them. Everyone had a snapping point, after all--even the impossibly forgiving Saotome Ranma. She had finally forbidden Xian Pu from ever again trying to use any of her spices on the boy, as well as any magics the girl might discover.

 

The Matriarch had been relieved beyond words when her great-granddaughter had agreed with her; and saddened by the grief she could see in the girl's red eyes. Xian Pu truly loved Ranma, now, and had come to want him for herself, even more than for her tribe. The suspicion of her complete failure cast a bleak cloud around the normally bouncy young woman that she couldn't quite hide from one who knew her well.

 

The jingle of the bell signaling early customers interrupted her musings. She listened as Mu Tse started to greet whoever it was.

 

The Matriarch frowned slightly when she heard the boy say Tendo Akane's name. She quickly secured the cooking area, turning burners down to simmer, moving and covering things as needed; then pogoed on her staff out to the main room. The Tendo girl had been missing, along with Ranma, for the entire last week, their location skillfully hidden by Tendo Nabiki. Kho Lon had been depressingly certain that a wedding had been underway, one that no one was going to be allowed to crash. Much as those two tried to deny it, the love between Ranma and Akane was obvious to anyone with eyes in their heads...much as various parties might try to deny what they were seeing, for their various reasons.

 

She wasn't particularly surprised, then, to see one Saotome Ranma standing beside his chosen mate. The small group of strangers with him, however, caused her eyebrows to rise. Three of them weren't really worthy of notice, at least as martial artists. The brown-haired girl of about Ranma's age, and the dark-haired young man who might be in his late twenties, wouldn't be able to give even a Joketsuzoku toddler a decent spar. The gray-haired teenage boy next to the girl looked like he might at least know the basics; enough that he should be able to attend Furinkan High School without getting himself killed, anyway.

 

The tall, gray-haired man, the one with an air of serenity that reminded her greatly of Tendo Kasumi, was another matter. He had the feel of a martial arts Master about him; he was of an age for it, if barely--late thirties to early forties. She gazed at him in speculation for a couple seconds, lips trying to twitch into a small smile. There was untapped potential to this one, and she so dearly loved drawing out a martial artist's untapped potential!

 

Then her eyes landed on the boy with the oddly orange hair.

 

Kho Lon gasped, her eyes going impossibly wide as eyes of a deeper, bloodier red than her great-granddaughter's moved to meet hers in a direct, fearless--and decidedly feral-touched--stare. She stopped where she was, balancing motionless on her staff, staring at this new young man in unconcealed amazement. The way he moved--the controlled power, the quite carefully masked predatory air about him--! She was certain no one other than herself, Happosai, or Ranma would be able to even sense it, when that youth chose otherwise.

 

She wrenched her eyes away from him to stare at Ranma, who was seated right next to this intriguing new young man. There was a sense of deep camaraderie between the two that amazed her; she'd have thought they'd be bitter rivals, knowing Ranma's large, but ultimately fragile ego. She couldn't recall ever sensing that deep a sense of friendship out of Ranma, not even with the Kuonji girl! At the very least, she'd have thought that Ranma would be uneasy about the powerful sense of neko that was all but screaming off that other boy...

 

...who was, if her senses had not completely failed her in her old age, a true, living, and quite possibly sane Master of the Neko-ken.

 

She shook her head and hopped over to their table. Her eyebrows hit her hairline when, before she even said a word, Saotome Ranma actually greeted her--with due courtesy!--even going so far as to use her title as Matriarch...and the true pronunciation of her name. It took a deal of effort on her part to keep her jaw from clanging on the floor from the shock; she nearly missed the names of his guests, she was so surprised. She hadn't even been sure he knew how to properly pronounce her name!

 

“Matriarch Kho Lon of the Joketsuzoku, I'd like to introduce some friends of mine.” He nodded his head towards each as he spoke their names. “This is Sohma Kazuma-sensei, Sohma Shigure, Sohma Yuki, and Honda Tohru; and this,” he tilted his head at the so-interesting boy next to him, “is Sohma Kyo. He's the reason we're here.” Determined blue eyes held the Matriarch's for a moment. Then she cocked her head quizzically, and proceeded to openly study the orange-haired young man with a great deal of curiosity.

 

“Sohma Kyo. I didn't know there was a living Master of the Neko-ken.”

 

There was absolute quiet about the table. Kyo nodded slightly to her in acknowledgement, never breaking eye contact. Then Ranma dropped the bombshell on her.

 

“He's here to challenge Xian Pu.”

 

Kho Lon couldn't help but blink in startlement. She was rather proud of herself for managing to not perform a full face-fault from the shock; she had her dignity as Matriarch to maintain, after all. She stared at Ranma, eyes narrowing, trying to mask the sudden and intense feeling of hope in her heart. Had Ranma fulfilled her faith in him, and found the way to save Xian Pu's honor?!

 

“Challenge, eh, Son-In-Law?”

 

Ranma smirked. “Yeah. For her hand in marriage.”

 

Kho Lon almost absently knocked Mu Tse unconscious with her staff before he could quite get over his shock enough to attack anyone, never taking her eyes off Ranma. Everyone but Ranma, Akane, and Kyo showed various signs of shock or surprise at her action--both the action itself, and the impossibility of hitting someone with such speed that she didn't drop to the ground before her staff was back under her again. Kyo leaned to the side and said in a dry-toned, soft voice to the others, “That--was Mousse.”

 

The looks turned slightly more understanding, though the new girl--Honda Tohru--still glanced several times in concern between the unconscious Amazon boy and the others, wringing her hands in distress. Everyone settled in their seats, the adults trading faintly worried looks, as Kho Lon quickly hopped to the front window and back, turning the sign to Closed.

 

It wouldn't do to be interrupted during this discussion!

 

“A Neko-ken Master would certainly be able to defeat my great-granddaughter; but you, also, know the technique...and you would have to lose to him, for this boy to become Xian Pu's new Airen.” The Matriarch stared hard into Ranma's eyes, puzzled when she found neither anger nor resentment in those blue depths. Instead, she saw--acceptance? And a good deal of--

 

Contentment!? She blinked, then blinked again.

 

In-ter-es-ting!

 

She looked to Tendo Akane, suddenly noting just how those two children were sitting. They were considerably closer than was normally their wont, their bodies leaning slightly so their shoulders were just barely touching. Their body language clearly told her that whatever had happened while they were missing, they must certainly have confessed their feelings to each other; whether they were now married, or not.

 

Either way--it was now official. Xian Pu stood no chance at all with Ranma as more than simply a friend.

 

Kho Lon turned back to studying this Sohma Kyo. He stared back at her, unafraid but wary. After a few minutes of intent observation of his ki, she nodded, satisfied with her initial estimation of him. It was time for some questions.

 

“So, sonny-boy--just why are you after my great-granddaughter's hand in marriage?”

 

Sudden tension from the others drew her attention. She glanced at each of them, noting a great deal of worry and concern directed at the boy. His sigh brought her eyes back to him.

 

His face was shadowed with some emotion she couldn't quite seem to read. He spoke with unexpected seriousness. “Matriarch, what I'm about to tell you--is a generations-old Sohma family secret. I ask that you tell no one what I'm about to say. I swear, on my honor, that I won't challenge your great-granddaughter without your permission.” His deep, red eyes were clear and steady as he held her gaze; something not many could do, even among her own people.

 

He certainly had spunk; and anyone who could master the Neko-ken had martial arts potential that she wanted for her people. It remained to be seen if the mind and soul that went with that handsome package was worth claiming...as well as what baggage came with him.

 

These Sohmas absolutely stank of magic, after all. If they weren't cursed in some way, she'd eat her staff!

 

Kho Lon slowly nodded after a few moments of careful thought, acknowledging that his bargain was fair. Neither she nor her great-granddaughter would be obligated to anything that would harm them, or their tribe. Besides, the chance that Xian Pu's honor could be kept intact, in spite of her not winning Ranma, was too precious to be refused without at least hearing the boy out. “Then I swear that I will tell no one what you are about to tell me, without your permission.” She hopped onto the table in front of him, and settled herself comfortably to hear his tale.

 

Kyo took a breath, accepting her careful wording, and proceeded to tell her of the Jyuunishi curse upon the Sohma family. He held nothing back, not even the spirits of the previous Neko-cursed Sohmas inhabiting his mind; he was basically trading himself for her help in breaking the curse, after all. She would need to know everything; both what she was getting in him, and the details of how the curse worked. So he exerted an unheard-of amount of patience, for him; and listed his own faults with an impartiality that his family would never have believed him capable of, if they weren't hearing it with their own ears.

 

Sohma Shigure added a word or two now and then, when he thought Kyo was too vague, or seemed uncertain of an answer to some question from the Matriarch. Yuki broke in whenever he felt Kyo was denigrating himself; causing interesting reactions of surprise from his family and Honda-san. Kho Lon felt there was a story there; possibly an old and bitter rivalry, recently resolved?

 

The Matriarch went stiff with shocked outrage, though she kept her face carefully blank, when Kyo told her in a carefully expressionless voice about what the Sohma Clan Head had planned for him, after he graduated High School. If Sohma Akito had been in the room just then--if he had been anywhere in Nerima, for that matter!--Kho Lon would have likely paid him an immediate visit, with a specific lesson plan in mind that involved a great deal of pain for the apparently insane Clan Head. Lock away a boy with such great potential?! That would be a sin against the kamis!

 

Sohma Akito had very nearly managed to supplant Saotome Genma's top place on her personal list of All-Time Scum Masquerading as a Human Being!

 

She no longer had any question about where this unexpected suit for Xian Pu came from. If it wasn't for the looming threat of Sohma Kyo being locked up, she doubted Ranma would have suggested trying to shift his still unconsummated marriage to her great-granddaughter over to the Neko-cursed boy; not after all the trouble he'd gone through because of the Amazons. Kyo needed help, though; powerful help, that could save him from a fate she herself considered much worse than simple death.

 

Everyone was tense, all eyes on Kho Lon, when Kyo finished. She cocked her head at him, intrigued by this Jyuunishi curse; so similar--yet so different--from the magic of Jusenkyo. “Might this old woman have a demonstration of this curse?” Her eyes twinkled with amusement when Kyo glanced nervously at Ranma, who swallowed hard, blue eyes dilating.

 

Shigure then snickered, drawing all eyes to him. He turned to Tohru and asked, “Tohru, my little flower, would you be so kind as to give this poor writer a good hug? I think it's safer for me to transform around Ranma-kun, than for Kyo-kun to do it...”

 

Murderous glares from Sohma Yuki and Kyo caused Kho Lon to stifle a snicker. She had already pegged Shigure as cut from the same mold as Happi; obviously, the two boys were the girl's self-appointed protectors from the family letch.

 

She hoped, for the sake of her great-granddaughter's future happiness, that Sohma Kyo's feelings for Honda Tohru were more brotherly than romantic. Xian Pu had certainly had enough experience of an Airen who pined for another to last for the rest of her lifetime, kamis grant it to be as long as Kho Lon's own...

 

The characteristic <poof!> of gray smoke raised her eyebrows a bit. The Matriarch hopped down off her staff to stare directly into the sleek-limbed, black-haired inu's eyes after his transformation. She was amazed when he proved able to speak in his animal form--Jusenkyo's animal curses did not allow it. The irregular length of time the transformation lasted could prove annoying, though the human form's special affinity and influence with the true versions of the curse animal had a great deal of potential.

 

Her interest in Kyo rose another notch as she realized he hadn't had to go through the Pit, to learn the Neko-ken. He might be able to figure out a different way of training the technique, that didn't endanger the trainee's sanity!

 

Amusement brought a chuckle to her lips when the Inu no Jyuunishi transformed back to human. She ran appreciative eyes over the writer's nicely toned, and completely bare body, before he could slip his yukata back on. Sohma Kazuma was the only one to appreciate the rare, markedly full-body blush Shigure sported at her attention. The karate master had hardly ever seen that shade of red even on Kyo's face; not even at his son's most embarrassed! Tohru and Akane had modestly averted their eyes, the three boys also looking uncomfortably elsewhere.

 

Once more properly clothed, the inu gave Kazuma a reproachful look for his quiet snicker, before raising his nose towards the ceiling with a breathy huff. He smoothed his hair with both hands, then crossed his arms with a theatrical flaring of his sleeves and refused to look at anyone, clearly in a bit of a sulk.

 

Kho Lon grinned and hopped back over to Kyo, glancing at the black and white beads about his left wrist. She could easily sense both ki and magic trapped in that seal. A look out the front window confirmed that it was still raining gently outside, as it had been all day. A feeling of tension spread through the restaurant again, everyone silent and watching. Even Mu Tse, who had been feigning unconsciousness on the floor as the Matriarch's not-so-gentle rap on his head had “suggested,” paid close attention, quietly sliding his glasses down over his eyes.

 

She looked back into the Neko-cursed boy's remarkable red eyes, a deeper, richer crimson than her own great-granddaughter's, and slowly raised one brow. She had noticed when he told of his second curse, this `true form' that was supposedly so horrible, that his ki had grown nearly as depressed as Hibiki Ryoga's could get. His face had shown none of the emotion, though; he had decent control. It was obvious to her that this part of his curse had brought the boy nothing but trouble and pain for his entire life, and he would not be happy about showing it to her.

 

Kyo's face went wooden as he immediately understood Kho Lon's unspoken request. He looked at the others as he fingered the beads, silently giving them opportunity to leave if they chose. Stubborn looks--especially from Sohma Yuki--answered him, as all settled themselves to stay. The Matriarch noticed the brief flash of surprised gratitude in the red eyes, before the boy slowly rose from his seat, stepping a little away.

 

“Matriarch. My...true form...” Kho Lon noted the new strain in his voice. He plainly did not relish this transformation in the least; he most likely hated it even more than Ranma said he hated his Jusenkyo curse--which was really saying something! “You...might want to...hold your nose. It...smells.” His face was grim with determination as he took a deep breath and drew off his black t-shirt, folding it and laying it on the table; then stepping out of his tennis shoes and sliding his socks off. In courtesy to his obvious discomfort, Kho Lon refrained from openly admiring his fine physique.

 

Then Kyo hesitantly reached to pull off the bracelet. He cast one more nervous glance at everyone, then jerked it off in one quick motion, tossing it to Sohma Yuki even as the change took him.

 

A part of Kho Lon's mind noted the surprise that flickered across the other Sohmas' faces at Kyo's choice to hold his seal. She filed the information for later questioning. It didn't seem terribly important; just interesting. She found it much more telling that the boy was willing to face something he hated and feared so much, with so much courage. There were many who would have tried to hide the curses until after becoming Xian Pu's Airen; or would have dithered about, insisting on conditions such as time and place and those present, before demonstrating it. This young man did what he needed to do, when it was needful to be done.

 

Plus--he seemed to have much better manners than Saotome Ranma, at least when he deemed it necessary. The more she saw, the more pleased she was. This boy--no; this young man--might very well be the better choice, for her village--and for her great-granddaughter.

 

The difference in this transformation from that Shigure had undergone was immediately clear. For one thing, there was no <poof!> of smoke; for another--there was quite obviously a great deal of physical pain involved. The boy made no sound past a certain strain to his breathing, but Kho Lon could see it in his face, even as his features elongated weirdly...and it was quite clear in his flaring ki.

 

She frowned in concern when it was over. Kyo crouched on all fours in his now admittedly hideously malformed body, panting softly. He had been right; the stench coming off this...bakemono form was enough to put her appetite off for the rest of the day. She couldn't recall ever smelling anything quite that--bad, ever before, in her entire three hundred years of life. Out of respect for Kyo's courage, she made an effort and did not hold her nose shut to block out the--stench.

 

It brought to mind open graves; and three-day-old battlefields, where none had removed the bodies of the fallen. She could almost hear the scavengers calling in the distance of her mind's ear.

 

She slowly stepped towards him, and proceeded to examine that mutated body. Kyo held himself carefully still, though his wiry muscles trembled from the effort; the deep rage that bubbled up from the depths in his mind when in this form difficult to control, as always. Kho Lon's budding respect for the boy was quickly growing as she sensed some of the battle he fought, just to keep control of his own mind. His ki clearly showed the effort it took.

 

Great martial arts potential; courage and loyalty that likely matched Ranma's; the ability to withstand intense pain without crying out or complaint...plus a couple signs of a cutting wit that she thought she could quickly come to enjoy verbally sparring with--plus he was, indeed, quite easy on the eyes. Her great-granddaughter could hardly do better than this Sohma Kyo, even with Ranma! The more she learned of this young man, the more she approved of him.

 

Though it wouldn't do for Ranma to realize that too quickly. She hoped to tease the pig-tailed martial artist for at least a bit longer!

 

The Matriarch finished her examination as quickly as she could, feeling compassion for all the boy's suffering because of that part of his curse. She had seen the deep pain caused by his mother's suicide because of it, even as he mentioned it...and was still cursing the woman in her mind, for doing such a thing to her own child!! That cowardly act was even worse than many of the things Saotome Genma had done to Ranma--and she wasn't thinking mainly of the fat fool's ideas towards martial arts training.

 

That lazy baka had nearly ruined Ranma, with his failure to realize that a well-rounded person would actually go farther in the Art than the kind of single-minded, easily manipulated child-man Genma seemed to have been trying to create! How had he expected the boy to ever get very far with advanced ki techniques, when he couldn't even figure out his own emotions?! Not that Genma himself appeared to have ever experienced real maturity...

 

Kho Lon forced her thoughts away from the detestable panda-of-a-man and hopped over to Yuki, holding her hand out for the beads. He was reluctant to give them to her, until a glance at his cousin brought him a nod of the bakemono's head. She gave the bracelet a thorough examination before handing it to Kyo, who promptly slipped them back over his fingers.

 

She watched as the transformation reversed itself, noting with a slight frown how the magic of the curse seemed to fight the seal. She could see the pain the boy once more withstood as his body gradually melted back into its human shape. Only Yuki knew that this was nowhere near as bad as what Kyo had endured the day before.

 

Yuki spoke up softly as Kyo stood with his hands braced on his knees, panting, before quietly reaching for his shirt and slipping it on. “When the rain stops, it's different--his transformation back to human is much faster, and doesn't seem to be painful...?” He looked questioningly at his cousin, who shook his head.

 

“No--it's--not as bad, then. I think--that's because it's the rain bringing it out, in the first place.” He got his breathing under control, and bent to slip his socks and shoes back on, blushing self-consciously. His pants were now shredded from the knees down; he brushed once at them, sighing softly, before walking slowly back to his seat by Ranma, who gave him a sympathetic look.

 

“Hmmm...” Kho Lon's eyes narrowed in speculation as she watched the orange-haired young man. She noted the tiredness about him, and remembered what he'd told her about how rainy weather made him lethargic. The tightness she could see about his eyes and lips as he sat told her it was probably more than mere tiredness. It did not seem like he would allow it to slow him down very much, though.

 

As he looked back to her, she saw how the spark of hope that had been in those red eyes was slowly fading, while she frowned as she thought about his curses. She quickly lost her frown to a gentle smile, hoping to cheer him in spite of the dubious help she might be able to provide in regards to his curse.

 

“I'm sorry to say I've never seen a curse quite like this one. I cannot guarantee that we can help you, though it is possible. I will have to research our oldest records, I think, for clues to a cure.” A subdued-seeming Kyo nodded to her in thanks, as the rest of his relatives and Honda Tohru tried to contain their hopeful looks. Kho Lon was glad to note that the hope in Kyo's eyes had stopped dimming.

 

“Knowing this, do you still wish to Challenge my great-granddaughter?”

 

Kyo met her gaze without hesitation. “Yes.”

 

The hope was strengthened. Kho Lon realized that simply not being locked away for the rest of his life was enough, for the Neko-cursed young man. She very carefully kept her growing contempt toward that despicable Clan Head of the Sohmas masked, not wanting Kyo to mistake it as directed towards him.

 

Ranma's look at his orange-haired friend was a mix of relief and guilt, with a healthy dose of hope mixed in. Kho Lon stared at her now-former Son-In-Law, noting that guilt, and sighed with regret as she chose to give up future opportunities to needle the pig-tailed martial artist.

 

“Ranma.”

 

Widening blue eyes immediately whipped to meet hers, surprised. Akane also started at her use of Ranma's name, instead of the perpetual `Son-In-Law.'

 

Kho Lon smiled sadly at the young man, nodding slowly. “Yes--your choice of replacement for Xian Pu's Airen is acceptable.” Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kyo giving a smirking Yuki a suspicious sideways look, as if waiting for a comment. Oh, yes, there was definitely some amusing history there! She'd seen plenty of sibling rivalries in her long lifetime, and the relationship between those two cousins was showing some remarkable similarities to the most entertaining ones she could remember.

 

Ignoring the two boys, she continued, “I am pleased that you took the care to find someone for my great-granddaughter. I have known for some time that Xian Pu was not going to succeed with you; I thank you for not sending her home in disgrace, to face punishment a second time.”

 

Then the Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku bowed low to the pig-tailed martial artist, with deep respect; holding it longer than necessary. When she stood straight again, Ranma had one hand behind his head, playing nervously with his pigtail, a highly uncomfortable look on his face. He and Tendo Akane were both still wide-eyed, and stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

 

She snickered for a moment. “I've grown rather fond of the both of you younglings, you know. I think we'll be staying in Nerima for at least a year or two more; maybe we'll start a branch of the village here!”

 

Her eyes crinkled with mischief as the two teens tried very hard not to look extremely worried at that idea. She wasn't totally joking, though. She briefly wondered it she could convince Ranma and Akane to join a brand new tribe of Japanese Amazons...

 

The discussion then progressed to what Kyo would need to do, for a formal Marriage Challenge. He only balked at one point--he insisted that Xian Pu be given the chance to meet him before he Challenged her; he didn't want to force her into anything. If she flatly refused to even consider having him for her Airen, he would not force her.

 

Kho Lon looked deep into those fascinating, feral-touched eyes the color of fresh blood, finding sincerity and determination dominating the lurking fear of his own fate. She briefly wondered what people saw, who were not ki-adepts... Probably they mistook that feral intensity for anger, especially with the way those eyes made a person's neck-hairs quiver.

 

The Matriarch slowly nodded her agreement. “Xian Pu would be a great fool to refuse you. I did not raise my great-granddaughter to be a fool. I thank you for your consideration of her feelings, though.”

 

As she spoke, Kho Lon firmly decided that if her great-granddaughter did choose to be the fool, she would take great pains to see that another Amazon was introduced to this young man, as quickly as possibly--several, if she had to; as many as it took to find one who would accept him. She didn't even really care whose family line he married into, just as long as he was brought under her tribe's lawful protection.

 

If her entire tribe somehow failed her expectations, then possibly the Phoenix people could be persuaded to claim him...or perhaps Prince Herb of the Musk would be willing take Kyo under his protection. It would pain her greatly to see him go to one of the other tribes, but either of them would be more than capable of protecting him from the Sohma Clan Head.

 

No matter what else happened, Kho Lon absolutely refused to let such a promising young man be locked away for the rest of his life!!

 

-.-.-.-

 

I know many Ranma fans detest the Amazons, while others think Xian Pu is the only fiancée who should get Ranma. I can picture it going either way; but I tend to prefer Shampoo getting somebody else. I think either she or Ranma would have to change too much for them to work as a pair, in the long run...and much as I enjoy reading a good fic about Xian Pu having hidden her `real self' while chasing Ranma, I've never heard a really good reason why she would want to, in the first place. True subtlety doesn't seem to be an Amazon trait; they seem to have the ol' `Bash `em over the head and make `em do what you want, no matter what!' kind of mentality in the canon--especially to an inferior male. Very straightforward gals!

 

I think I've tweaked Kyo's character enough in this one that he might stand a chance with her. There's still major behavioral changes needed, for both of them--but Kyo doesn't have a humongizoid ego like Ranma's messing him up...and let's face it, he's gotta be feeling a bit desperate about his approaching graduation. If this is his only way out, without somebody really getting hurt, I think he'll be determined to make it work. And if Xian Pu hasn't at least suspected Ranma's not gonna pick her, she's not as smart as she needs to be, if she's ever gonna be Kho Lon's successor! If they're both willing to work at it--that's the single most necessary ingredient towards make a relationship work.

 

`Sides, I'm writing this thing--and I wanna see it this way! `=P'''