Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shinji Saotome ❯ Chapter 6 – One Amazon Is One Too Many ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6 - One Amazon is One Too Many

One day after Shinji's victory

Shinji was walking on top of the fence behind Ranma while Akane and Ryuoga were walking on the sidewalk.

The boy had a grimace on his face, and it was clear that he had great problems following his brother. The reason was pretty simple: Even though Shinji had won his match and was very proud of himself for doing so, his body had taken a lot of abuse that was just now making itself known.

Last night he had hurt all over and since he didn't have the healing ability of his brother…he still hurt. And now, Ranma had promptly ordered him back to his usual training regimen. As Shinji walked behind his brother, every fiber of his body telling him to stop, Shinji could only think one thing.

`This sucks'

Trying to ignore his body, Shinji focused on something else and quickly thought back to the conversation he had with Nabiki.

He did not like the first part of their conversation at all. Nabiki said pictures of him and Ranma in their girl forms would sell for a fortune at school. The reason was simple: he and Ranma had been seen around the school grounds in their female forms a few times because some idiot kept dumping water out of the windows, somehow managing to always hit one of them…or both. Nobody knew about the curses yet and so the perverts at school were begging Nabiki for photos of the `mysterious babes' as they had been dubbed.

Shinji nearly laughed at that. Had somebody told him a few months back he could sometimes be described as a hot babe, he would have laughed in their face. He could almost picture his best friends Kensuke and Toji drooling all over his girls form…not exactly a pleasant thought.

After agreeing to take a few shots, Shinji had managed to convince the girl to keep their curses a secret. While he didn't mind a few people knowing about it, he really didn't need a whole school thinking him a freak.

Then Shinji remembered the second part of their talk, and smirked evilly.

Ranma's hackles rose suddenly and he turned around to find his brother with his rarely shown `evil smile'; the one that clearly indicated that the boy would soon screw somebody over.

Seeing his brother's expression, Ranma turned forward again.

`I really don't wanna know, I don't……but I think I should pity pop.'

On the street Akane also noticed Shinji's expression and blinked, twice.

She was tempted to ask the boy what was on his mind, but decided against it.

`Damn…he's scary like that.'

Ryuoga felt his hackles rise as well, but decided to just ignore the dangerous feeling he got from Shinji. It was probably just a fluke, and if it wasn't…he was not going to stop the young boy unless totally necessary.

Meanwhile Shinji was still smirking.

It had taken them some time to work it out, but Shinji and Nabiki had worked out a plan together that would either end the engagement without anybody losing face….or force two lazy men to get a job. In the end, Shinji had convinced Nabiki to let him handle it, since she already had her hands full getting some money from other sources.

Now Shinji could barely wait to have a little chat with certain persons. Being evil was great!

`This is going to be fun….for me at least'

*****************

At the Tendos both Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo weren't able to ignore the sudden wave of fear that washed over them.

They looked at each other and gulped loudly.

"We're going to die Tendo," Genma said in all seriousness.

"Oh NOOOOOOOOOO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE SAOTOME!" screamed Tendo as he started wailing.

Feeling the tragic moment ruined, Genma shrugged his dread off and quickly rearranged the pieces on the shogi board.

*******************

Another time, another place

All of as sudden, Gendo Ikari felt very proud of his son for scaring the shit out of a bunch of people. How he got that notion, he had no idea.

Then he smirked….if his intuition was right, not all was lost yet

*******************

The same afternoon

Silence permeated the Tendo dojo as two parties studied each other.

On one side sat Shinji, with a calculating look on his face. To his right sat Ranma, who didn't have a clue why his brother had called him out here.

Opposite of the Saotome brothers, Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo sat together, both of them slightly nervous as to what was about to happen.

Now you're probably wondering why they where even there, eh?

Well, lets just say one hint from Shinji that Kasumi might soon stop cooking in the near future if they didn't have a little talk convinced Genma rather quickly. Soun followed his friend like the tame little puppy he was.

As it was, Soun was the one to break the silence.

"So son, what was that about Kasumi not being able to cook in the future?"

Shinji gave them a neutral look.

"I will be frank with you. I had a little talk with Nabiki about the Tendos' finances last week.

As it stands, our little talk made one thing clear: This household will be bankrupt before the end of this month, which means we will have to cut down on food as much as possible. That means no more exquisite meals from Kasumi."

Immediately Genma sprang up with tears in his eyes.

"NO! We can't let that happen! Something has to be done to keep my stomach filled…..eh, I mean that we can enjoy Kasumi's meals in the future."

Soun was already having a fit.

"Oh no! My poor babies will have to starve for the rest of their life!!!!!!! I must do something!!"

Shinji rolled his eyes as the two kept crying in front of him.

`I swear, if anybody on this earth is more predictable than these two, I pity him with all my heart.'

"Well, there's an easy solution."

Soun and Genma stopped crying immediately and looked at him hopefully.

"Get a job."

Shinji looked on as their faces changed from hope to abject horror in one moment.

Next to Shinji, Ranma wondered how the boy planned on getting his lazy old man to find a job.

As it was, Genma was the first to recover. With as much dignity as one can have after having a nervous breakdown, he turned into his lecturing mode.

"Now son, you know as well as I do that I can't take a job. That honour falls to Ranma and you. You have to learn how to provide for a family. What better way than starting now? Me supporting the Tendos would only help in softening you two."

At that point, Soun sprang up from his feet and nodded furiously, showing his support for that logic.

Ranma was about to protest loudly, but Shinji held up a hand to stop him.

Then the young boy stood up like Genma had and shook his head.

"I am afraid you do not understand the situation …Father, Mr. Tendo. This isn't just a matter of getting money, though that's part of it. Haven't you made the pact to unite the families because you want to strengthen both?"

Genma blinked, a little put off by the sudden change in topic.

"Ah…yes?"

Shinji nodded.

"Then clearly under the present conditions, the pact is pointless and should therefore be nullified."

"What do you mean by that?!" Screamed both fathers indignantly.

Shinji smirked. This was all too easy.

"Easy. If two members of different families marry, it should always be in everybody's best interest that these two can continue the bloodline. Right now, I cannot see how children of your blood could do that. Seeing how you two stopped working to support a family, it is a safe bet to assume the same thing will happen to all of your children…..it runs in the genes if you will. That means they won't be able to support themselves...or you for that matter. You should also know that our law states that children who can prove their future outlook is endangered by such a union can cancel the engagement at their own will without losing honor. "

Shinji had to use every ounce of willpower to keep from laughing out loud while watching the fathers as they considered what he had said. He wouldn't have said the bunch of bull he had just told these two to any other person he knew in hopes they would buy it, but he was sure these two would. Heck, anybody in their right mind would see the law he stated for what it was: made up. Not that Genma would think he had said anything untrue for even one moment.

Always telling the truth had a lot of advantages if you really needed a convincing lie. It made people less suspicious of your motives.

Next to Shinji, Ranma had great problems holding his mouth in check. The moment Shinji had slighted both families, Ranma wanted to say something…but he knew the devil had something planned…something that would get his father in trouble.

That alone was reason enough to stay silent.

Meanwhile Genma and Soun were mulling over what Shinji had said…..and couldn't see anything wrong with his logic. (Just how dumb does one have to be??????)

Their reactions were different though.

Genma stayed silent, knowing that Shinji had planned something that would land on his shoulders in the end. The boy was skinny….but, as much as he hated to admit it, Shinji could run circles around his own intellect, which often resulted in Genma finding himself in tight situations with now way out but to do as the boy `suggested'.

Soun did not have that experience and spoke up. He would do what was necessary to unite the families! For once, his expression was somber while speaking.

"Indeed. I can see you logic young man. Is there a way to remedy that situation?"

When Genma saw the smirk on Shinji's face, he knew he was doomed.

"Easy. Work."

"Huh?" was Soun's intelligent answer

"I said work. It is rather simple. If you find yourself a job, you can show that your children can do the same when they're your age, which means they will be able to support themselves and the families can be united. I suggest you start by opening the dojo again. We can advertise it a school…and poof, you will have your first students. How does that sound Tendo-san?"

Soun tilted his head.

"I don't know…I haven't taught in a long time" Suddenly a determined light shone behind his eyes "BUT to unite the families I will do it. And Saotome here will help me set all this up! Right Saotome?"

Genma could only nod weakly as Soun's gaze turned on him. His friend's eyes hadn't shone like that since his wife had died.

The next moment Genma found himself being dragged by Soun out the door.

"Come on Saotome, we have a lot of work to do. We need to outline the training program…and I have to ask Shingo from the council if he can print us some flyers. Just you wait; we'll have this running by the end of this week."

As the door close behind the middle-aged men, Shinji felt a tension he wasn't aware of leaving his body and his face was split by a huge grin.

"I did it…."

Ranma watched his brother in curious wonder. He had to admit having been insulted had been worth the results. Never in his whole life would he have believed that his old man would get work. It seemed his brother had once again done the impossible simply by laying out facts in the right order. Now only one question remained.

"Where the hell did you dig up that law Shinji?"

Shinji stopped his happy dance to facefault painfully.

After dragging himself up he looked at Ranma incredulously.

"What do you think? It's made up, of course!"

Ranma's jaw hung loose.

`Okay, maybe he wasn't just laying out facts this time around.'

"Then…you lied?!"

Shinji shrugged his shoulders and his smile dimmed a little bit.

"Yeah, I lied. It's not that I like doing that, but I have a feeling this will do these two a world of good…..and our budget as well. By the way, even if these two start working. Nabiki said we will need another source of income till then."

Ranma peered at him.

"And what is that?"

"Well, you know the few times our female forms have been seen at Furinkan have left a lasting impression."

"So, what's you point?"

"Nabiki said all those perverts at Furinkan would pay ridiculous amounts of money to get some photos of our girl forms. She wants to do a little photo shooting get good pictures. Of course, it's your choice if you want to."

Ignoring his urge to protest loudly, Ranma thought it over. The thought of a bunch of perverts jerking off while thinking of his girl side wasn't very appealing, that was for sure. Then again, what did it matter to him what they thought? He would be useful for once by getting in some money. Besides, Shinji said it was their choice and he was doing it. That implied it couldn't be all that bad.

"All right. I'll do it. One condition though: I'm not gonna walk around naked"

Shinji smiled. He hadn't been sure if Ranma would agree, but it seemed if you gave him the chance to make a choice, he made the right one.

"Thanks bro. Nabiki will sure be happy to hear that. I'll go and tell her."

Shinji was already in the door as Ranma's voice rang out.

"Now Shinji, I'm sure that can wait until later. Why don't we spar a little since we're already here? You didn't think I would forget, did you?"

Shinji groaned. Even with his back to Ranma, he _knew_ his older brother was smiling.

His whole body was still weary and aching all over, but nooooooooo he wouldn't get a break!

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, he whirled around to face his grinning brother.

"Oh all right. We'll spar…you damned slave driver."

Ranma's smile only widened as he rushed forward……

************************

Two days later

Shinji, now in significantly less pain then two days prior, walked into Dr. Tofu's clinic to give back a book Tofu had lent to Kasumi.

When she had announced she would go to the market and bring over the book, Shinji had jumped at the chance to do it for her.

He would do anything as long as he could get away from Ranma's training for at least one day. Somehow his older brother couldn't comprehend that Shinji's body actually needed time to recover and that he wasn't superhuman like Ranma.

After a little convincing, she had accepted his offer and here he was now.

"Hello there, Shinji."

"AAAHHHHHH!" Shinji once again rammed his head into the ceiling in shock.

Once he was down on the ground again, he glared at the grinning doctor.

Shinji had been here two times after his first visit; once because of his challenge and another time because Akane hit Ranma a little too hard. Somehow the good doctor always managed to scare him to death

"Would you please stop doing that? If this keeps happening I'll get a concussion someday."

Dr. Tofu shook his head.

"I don't think so, not until you become a little more relaxed. From the way you're jumping, one would think you fear for your life." He smirks. "Besides, it's fun…"

Shinji slumped his shoulders. In a way the man was right. He knew that he was way too tense all the time, but piloting a multi-billion-yen killing-machine while trying to save the human race tends to leave its mark on a person. His time with Ranma had calmed him down somewhat, but Shinji was far from relaxed.

"All right, if you like it so much, you might as well continue."

"So Shinji, what brings you here this time of the day? Another wound?"

Shinji shook his head.

"No. I'm just bringing back this book here. Kasumi said it was yours and I should bring it back."

The moment the doctor's glasses fogged up, Shinji knew something was wrong.

When Dr. Tofu started blabbering something about Kasumi and how nice she looked, Shinji wondered if he had lost it.

"Dr. Tofu? Are you all right?"

That was the wrong thing to say, as the crazy man now focused his attentions on Shinji.

"You're not all right mister? Here, let me help you!"

The next moment Shinji found himself being hugged, with Dr. Tofu's fingers dancing wildly all over his body.

His left arm became numb when a pressure point was tapped.

`Uh Oh, this isn't good!'

"DR. TOFU! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief as Tofu's glasses became clear instantly.

The man looked at Shinji confused.

"Oh, hello there Shinji. Did you need anything else or why are you still here?"

"Ah no. I'll be going now! Have a nice day!"

Tofu smiled.

"You too. Drop by again sometime!"

Once out in the open Shinji breathed a sigh of relief.

`And I thought piloting EVA was dangerous!'

Shinji was surprised to find that he meant what he thought. Indeed since coming to Nerima, he found people who had even more problems to work through than him: Soun with his emotional imbalance, Kuno with his delusions of grandeur, Akane with her fiery temper and the list goes.

Ranma had told him he should help those who couldn't help themselves and while Shinji knew that Ranma was meaning the physical aspect, Shinji couldn't help but apply this to life in general. The only problem was, that he could not help everyone…he just wasn't tough enough for that, not to mention that he had his own problems to deal with.

Shrugging off thoughts of how crazy this world was, Shinji walked down the street to get to the market. He could think about Dr. Tofu's little episode later on, when he had a clearer head.

While walking away Shinji noted that he could move his left pinkie again, if he was lucky his arm was going to be okay when he reached the market.

********************

Shinji was walking back from the market, both arms full of groceries, when he noticed the commotion further down a side street he was passing.

Curiosity getting the better of him for once, he left his path and headed down the street.

From afar it looked like somebody was moving in somewhere, but when Shinji was only a mere 60 feet away he caught a glimpse of lavender inside one of the windows.

He also noticed two black-haired girls about his age that looked like twins. They were making it quite clear to the full-grown workers who were moving various stuff inside that they were not fast enough.

From the way the workers were running, they seemed to listen too.

Maybe the menacing looking swords the girls were carrying had something to do with that?

That indicated something strange was going on and Shinji felt the impending sense of doom once again approach. That was one thing that seemed to happen on a regular basis here.

When the glimpse of lavender revealed itself to be the hair of a stunning female teenager, Shinji nearly swallowed his tongue. He knew that face and he did not like what her being here implied.

"Are you finished ogling my great-granddaughter now?"

Shinji `s head whipped to the left, bringing him face to face with the wrinkled face of Ku Lon, who was standing on the compound wall next to the sidewalk.

Tensing up, Shinji regarded her curiously.

"What are you doing in Nerima, elder Cologne?"

Cologne smirked.

"You should relax a little bit sonny-boy. All that tension can't be good for you. We're only setting up a base here because we thought it necessary to widen the horizons of our tribe."

Shinji cocked his head to the right.

"Somehow I have a feeling that's not the only reason you're here, is it?"

"Of course not. We came here searching for husbands."

Shinji's eyes narrowed.

"You should know that you won't get Ranma!"

Cologne cackled.

"Oh, you shouldn't worry so much about your brother. He's not the only one we're hunting. On that note, let me introduce you to some of your greatest fans. SPICE, PEPPER!"

Shinji nearly dropped his groceries in shock when the meaning of Cologne's words finally sank in.

`This has to be a joke!'

Then he noticed that the girls whom he had watched earlier were looking at him strangely.

It was a look that made him very uneasy. Both girls drew their swords and started running towards him. "I'll make you mine!"

Shinji's eyes bugged out

"Uh OH!"

The next moment he was running down the street at full speed, his new admirers hot on his heels. There was no way he could fight these two since his victory would result in him marrying him and his loss…..he did not want to think about it right now.

Instead Shinji found himself making a slight modification to his old mantra.

`I must run away! I must run away! I must run away, VERY FAST!'

Cologne watched the trio vanish in the distance and smiled wistfully.

The youth was always so energetic.

Then her smile changed to a thoughtful expression. The boy, Shinji, was certainly something else. Since she had seen him the last time, his aura had nearly tripled in size. Never in her life had she seen anybody improve his power level so much in such a short time. Frankly, she was a little puzzled. From the way Shinji was moving, his skills had improved as well, but not nearly enough to warrant such a change in power levels. This bore looking into….

********************

Meanwhile, Shinji was making good use of his newly built strength by running away from two sword-wielding admirers. The bags of groceries he was carrying didn't help in increasing his speed, yet he didn't want to throw them away.

The solution to his problem came in form of Akane, who was just now leaving an ice-cream parlor with her friends Yuka and Sayuri.

One moment Akane was talking to her friend, the next Shinji came to a full stop before her.

"Hi Akane, Sayuri, Yuka! Could you please bring this to Kasumi?"

Akane found two grocery bags trust in her arms

"Thanks guys. Bye!" Then Shinji was gone.

Yuka blinked.

"What was that all about?"

Two black-haired girls wielding swords several sizes too big for them rushed past them screaming. `I will make you mine!'

Sayuri gestured in the direction the girls vanished.

"I would venture it was about these two. Say Akane, are these kinds of things happening all the time with your guests?"

Akane nodded her head dumbly.

"Yeah, I think they're born to cause trouble or something. I better hurry home to tell Ranma about this. Those swords looked awfully sharp."

"We'll walk with you!"

`This is so exciting!' Thought Yuka and Sayuri at the same time.

****************

The girls found Ranma sparring with Ryuoga in the yard.

Immediately Yuka and Sayuri reverted to ogling mode while watching and Akane could only roll her eyes.

`I swear these two can be bigger perverts then any guy I know. Although Ranma is looking good like that'

Eyes widening, Akane shook her head. Now Ranma had managed to make her a pervert as well!

Deciding that beating Ranma for making her a pervert could wait, Akane got to the point.

"RANMA!"

"What is it Akane?" said Ranma without stopping the fight.

"Shinji's in trouble. Two girls with swords were chasing after him a while ago. They looked really dangerous too. "

"Did they say they wanted to kill him?" asked Ranma still unconcerned.

At that point, Yuka decided to interject.

"No, I think they said something about making him theirs"

"That's not so bad, is it?" asked Ryuoga

Akane sputtered

"But…but, you have to help him! He may be in real danger!"

Ranma and Ryuoga stopped for a moment with thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Should we help him?"

A moment of silence.

"Naw…that's what he gets for skipping our training!"

With that out of the way, Ranma and Ryuoga once again started trading blows

The three girls were left standing with mouths agape. Ranma and Ryuoga didn't seem very concerned for Shinji's health.

Then Akane shrugged.

"If these two aren't concerned about Shinji, why should we? He'll probably get through this one alone."

Yuka and Sayuri nodded as they followed Akane into the house, both of them wondering if getting involved with Akane's guests was such a good idea.

Once the girls were gone, Ryuoga gave Ranma a questioning look.

"You sure we shouldn't check up on him?"

Ranma shook his head.

"Nope. They said these girls weren't trying to kill, so it can't be that bad. Besides, I sure as hell ain't gonna try and solve his problems. I've got a hand for making things worse than they already are. Of course, this is probably a good workout for him as well."

Ryuoga shrugged.

"If you say so. But enough of this, let's fight for real now!"

As Ryuoga charged, the topic of Shinji was quickly forgotten….

****************

Shinji peeked out of the alley he was hiding in and breathed a sigh of relief as he found the streets empty.

The sun was already vanishing on the horizon, which indicated that dinner was over for nearly an hour now.

`Dammit! Now I've missed dinner because of those idiotic Amazons!'

His stomach agreed with him as it let off an ominous rumble.

`Oh well, maybe Kasumi has saved me some leftovers.'

Forcing his aching legs to walk in the direction of the dojo, Shinji couldn't help but curse his bad luck. He had gone shopping for Kasumi to get away from Ranma's training for one day and instead got something even worse!

Believe me, running all over the city for nearly 4 hours _is_ exhausting.

Shinji didn't have the slightest idea where they had disappeared to, but he was grateful for it anyway.

He had to admit that hiding in a dumpster to make sure they were gone wasn't the brightest idea he had in his life.

He was reeking like no one's business.

`At least I've managed to lose them without becoming their husband'

That was the only real consolation Shinji had as he started jogging home in hopes of getting there before it was night.

He did not notice the figures following him on the rooftops.

*****************

Cologne looked up from her book as Pepper and Spice entered the main room of their newly decorated restaurant.

"I take it you have located the place the Saotomes are residing at?"

Spice and Pepper nodded energetically.

"Yes elder! We had lots of fun playing with our intended husband."

Cologne raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, is that so?"

Spice snickered

"Yeah. He has a lot of endurance I must say. We chased him a good 4 hours!"

Pepper smirked lecherously.

"Just imagine what he can do with all that endurance in bed!"

Cologne couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.

"Now girls, first you have to make him your husband, then you can think about that. Go to bed now. You'll have to be fit tomorrow!"

The twins nodded and vanished up the stairs.

Once they were gone, Cologne turned back to her book.

Pepper and Spice were her great-granddaughters just like Shampoo, with the difference that their grand-mother had married into another clan, which meant under Amazon law that they weren't really hers. That didn't stop her from loving them. She was happy that these two had found a mate in Shinji. Up to this point she had always feared they wouldn't find the right man because of their brilliant minds. That both of them could already speak flawless Japanese was proof of that. In Shinji, she had seen somebody who had an intelligent, if a little naïve, head on his shoulders. That made him the primary target for these two. That he wasn't such a great fighter wasn't all that bad since Pepper and Spice cared very little for physical strength in a male….not that it wasn't a nice bonus, mind you.

Physical strength…that was Ranma's strength

Shinji's older brother was reserved for her real great-granddaughter, Shampoo, who had always wanted a wild and untamed husband.

Such a prime example of male flesh had to stay in her bloodline; it was already bad enough that Shinji would go to another clan, even if it was to Spice and Pepper.

Then again, nothing was set in stone yet.

What with the other girls she had to take with her after the council had outvoted her.

All in all there were 4 other Amazons(1) here, each one the heir to another village elder.

Nearly all of them had their eyes set on Ranma, which was the only positive point since that meant at least Spice and Pepper would get their man.

Oh well, that could wait another day, couldn't it?

Shrugging of her idle thoughts, Cologne turned back to her book, a dreamy look entering her eyes.

`Tuxedo-mask is soooooo charming!'(2)

Hey! It maybe a stretch but in a way mangas are books too!

*****************

Ranma was walking on the fence as usual, Shinji not far behind him.

School had just let out and there hadn't been any sign of Amazons.

Shinji could practically feel his nerves slowly frying away because of the tension.

Ranma started whistling.

Well, okay…_his_ tension anyway.

When Shinji had told the Tendos and Saotomes of his encounter yesterday, Ranma had only said something about a god being out there to get him. Aside from that, Ranma was his usual upbeat self, something that Shinji couldn't quite comprehend.

The reactions from the others were just as he had suspected.

Akane once again dubbed Ranma as a pervert for `sleeping with that bimbo'. How she got that idea Shinji didn't know.

Nabiki was unreadable as always and Kasumi's smile was just a little strained after the news.

As for the fathers: They had practically ordered Ranma to take the beating the Amazons would dish out and that he was not to defeat any of them. Figures, since that would end the Tendo engagement.

While Soun's demon-head scared the shit out of Ranma and Shinji yesterday, Shinji doubted Ranma would do as he was told.

Meanwhile Ranma was walking in front of his younger brother without a care in the world.

Shinji seemed really stressed out because of these Amazons, but they would be gone as fast as they came once they realized they wouldn't get him or Shinji as husbands.

Now if they would only show up! It was bad enough Shinji had forced him to wait at school just so Akane and Ryuoga could walk ahead so they wouldn't get involved. He didn't want to do that again!

His prayers were answered when his danger sense went off.

Ranma jumped from the fence a split-second before a bonbori impacted the place where he stood before and dented it.

As he landed on the street facing the purple haired girl who had just ruined the fence, he noted that hitting your head on the sidewalk like Shinji did just now hurt a lot.

He should know since it happened to him often enough.

Seeing how the Amazon, Shampoo was her name if he remembered correctly, was currently waiting for him, he turned his attention back to her.

"What?"

"Why you no attack Shampoo?"

Ranma shrugged.

"Well, why should I? What with your laws concerning marriage. Besides, I don't fight girls!"

Shampoo's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, then you need further motivation, yes? Hiya!"

As he started weaving in between Shampoo's strikes, Ranma rolled his eyes…this would take a while.

Shinji was rubbing his head while watching Ranma's `fight' with Shampoo.

He was once again sitting on the fence to have a better view. He was sure those girls from yesterday were very near as well, but hitting the concrete head first from a height of two meters makes that kind of unimportant, you know? Right now Shinji had problems thinking straight, let alone walking or fighting.

Nonetheless, he felt the weight that settled on both of his sides.

"I was starting to wonder when you would show up." He said calmly without looking up.

Pepper and Spice looked at each other a little perplexed when the boy who had been running away from them in terror yesterday didn't move an inch and instead asked them why they took so long to get here…

Shrugging, Pepper gestured for Spice to sit down on the fence and did so herself.

"If you know who we are, why aren't you running like yesterday?"

Taking his eyes off of the fight, which was slowly moving away from his position, Shinji looked over at the girl to his right with a raised eyebrow.

"Would that do me any good?"

Pepper grinned.

"No. We know where you live, so we can always come back!"

"How did you find us?"

This time the other twin spoke up.

"Remember yesterday when you thought you lost us?"

Shinji's eyes widened as he finally put two and two together.

`They must have followed me back to the dojo. But that means they were just toying with me yesterday!'

Shinji's right brow started twitching

`I don't believe it, ever since coming here; every person I meet is a frigging super human. And just how am I going to get out of this if they're that much better then me? Hey wait a moment…'

Shinji's brow stopped twitching.

`If they're so much better then me they can't expect me to beat them. That was probably all just fun and games. Maybe this isn't so bad…'

Ranma narrowly avoided another swing from Shampoo's bonbori.

`…for me at least.'

Satisfied with his logic and coming to the conclusion that these two girls weren't out to get him (3) he relaxed visibly and decided that he had been a little rude up to that point and needed to remedy that.

"We haven't been introduced, have we? I'm Shinji Saotome. Who're you?"

The girl to his left smiled brightly.

"I'm Pepper and that's Spice. We're twins and share everything with each other! So, are you all right now, or does your head still hurt?"

Shinji felt his head and noted with amazement that it was now only throbbing dully, which was unpleasant but bearable.

"Well...my head is only throbbing now, so I'll live."

Suddenly Spice and Pepper jumped up.

"All right" than they switched to mandarin <<we challenge you to a fight of marriage>>

Shinji barely managed to avoid the kick to his head by hopping from the fence.

He narrowed his eyes as he came to a standing position to regard the black-haired twins.

They sure were impulsive, one moment they were talking and now they seemed intent on fighting.

For a moment, Shinji considered running, but discarded the notion. He knew now that both were faster then him, so that wouldn't help.

Oh well, he would give it his best shot and get this over with. If they wanted to beat him up, so be it, as long as he didn't have to marry them.

As both girls came at him, Shinji wondered why Shampoo hadn't announced this fight of marriage like these two. Then he didn't have time to think as he started dodging and blocking blows from all sides. Pepper and Spice were grinning as they battered his defences.

Shinji didn't like that grin…it showed they were toying with him.

Deciding to end the fight fast, Shinji took one of Pepper's kicks to the ribcage and drove his fist into her unprotected gut.

Then his world turned black as Spice's fist slammed into his still throbbing head….

*******************

Ranma dodged to the right and caught a glimpse of silver out of his eyes.

He barely managed to twist his head backwards as a dagger whizzed past its previous location and imbedded itself in the well next to him.

Shampoo didn't seem bothered and kept attacking with even more vigour.

Suddenly his danger sense went haywire and Ranma jumped straight upwards.

Under him, Shampoo clashed with another girl that had tried to sneak up on him.

Glancing around while still in the air; Ranma finally saw the other three Amazons coming towards him from all directions.

`They've got to be kidding me! There's no way I can dodge all of them forever!'

Touching down, Ranma had to roll to his right as Shampoo and the girl who had blindsided him swung at him.

That was the moment he was finally surrounded from all sides.

Shampoo grinned at him.

"You very very good, but Ranma have to fight back or no get out alive of this!"

The girls, Shampoo included, produced rather menacing looking swords out of nowhere and Ranma started sweating.

`Uh oh!'

All of them charged at once and Ranma's face grew determined.

He wasn't going to marry them and he wasn't going to die either.

At the last moment, he moved towards Shampoo, ducked under her horizontal slash and jumped into her with all his might, carrying both of them far away from the circle of Amazons.

Twisting in mid-air, Ranma landed on his feet, Shampoo cradled in his arms….well, that's at least how Ranma had planned it.

Unfortunately the famous Saotome luck was at work once again and he managed to land in a puddle, causing him to slip, which in turn sent Shampoo to the ground headfirst.

Ranma looked on with a sinking heart as the girl didn't move after the landing.

Seeing how the other girls weren't advancing and only shaking their heads, he turned Shampoo over to find her unconscious.

Cradling the girl's head in his lap, Ranma looked heavenwards with a hateful glare.

"Can't you go and screw up someone else's life for once?"

******************

Somewhere else the god of mischief considered sending his pet dragon to teach Ranma a few manners.

The boy was asking that question an awful lot lately.

Didn't he know that it wouldn't change anything?

******************

End chapter 6

(1) Get your mind out of the gutter! I won't make an orgy scene involving these four and our heroes.

(2) Hey, even Cologne has a romantic side! Besides, I just couldn't resist that one. It came to me after I read the scene over and wondered just what Cologne would be reading…that was answer.

(3) Hey, people can be really dense when they need to ignore a problem…especially Shinji

Author's notes:

Sorry I just couldn't resist that last scene. I won't be including any deities in this fic though.

This chapter is surprisingly short…I blame it on my monkeys; they were awfully lazy this month.

Oh, yes, and for all those of you who're thinking: `Oh my god, he's going to turn Shinji into a second Ranma', don't worry. I won't make Shinji too strong; his sudden increase in aura will be explained later on.