Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Little Angel Lost ❯ Remembrances and Awakenings Part 2 ( Chapter 9 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Little Angel Lost

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Ryo Oki
ryo_oki@pacbell.net

Disclaimer: All characters and places not created by me
are probably owned by someone else.

Authors Note: This story is an alternative universe / crossover story
set roughly 4 months after the wedding. Ranma and Akane are now juniors
in high school.


**********


Chapter 9 Remembrances and Awakenings Part 2

With Ranma and Hinako now being guarded constantly, Dr. Tofu and
Cologne were no longer needed to look after their patients. This allowed
Cologne more time to spend at the cafe and Dr. Tofu to think about how he had
acted towards Kasumi earlier, and how she had responded. It was obvious that she
was disgusted with his behavior and he could not blame her.

For many years, he knew that he had a problem. Even since Kasumi kissed him
in gratitude for healing one of Akane's injuries, he was unable to act normal
around her. Maybe it was guilt for being attracted to such a younger woman. Maybe
it was due to his inexperience around woman in general, or perhaps there was some
sort of biochemical reason. Whatever the answer it was now obvious that that Kasumi
had fallen for Ranma, like so many other woman had before.

The doctor wasn't sure if he should be relieved or annoyed at the situation.
Ranma had a problem of inadvertently leading many woman on, in the doctor's
opinion. He also did not want to see Kasumi dragged into one of Ranma's
battles. She was never a fighter, at least not until recently. Dr. Tofu
had heard the rumors of Kasumi being different now, possible similar to
how Ranma and Hinako appeared to be changing, but he did not have any real
proof. It was obvious that no one liked to even mention Kasumi around him,
partially out of fear, that he may lose control of himself.

Perhaps it was time that he simply moved on and tried to find someone
else. If he did come across another woman who might be interested in him, then
maybe he would be able to act in a sane fashion whenever Kasumi was around, or
even if someone just mentioned her name.

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

It had been a day since Ryoga's attack on Ranma and Hinako. Although they
were alright, many of their friends and relatives could not help but think about
how close Ranma and Hinako had come to death. They were at this moment still
being guarded by Urd and her mother Hild, so the chance of anymore attacks
was practically nil, but many still felt uneasy.

Nabiki and Akane decided that they were both not up to going to school that
day, so while Akane and Akari decided to walk around town, Nabiki stayed home
with Ranko, as he continued to teach her how to cook. Nabiki's cooking while
far superior to her sister's, still had a ways to go.

Early in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. A rare occurrence, actually, since
most of Ranma's 'friends' tended to make their own doors when they visited the
dojo.

As Ranko opened the door, he was surprised to see one of the local
police officers at the door, who in turn was somewhat surprised to speaking to
a catboy of all things.

"Good afternoon constable, is there something I can do for you today?",
Ranko said formally.

"Ahem...Does Soun Tendo live here?", the officer asked, partially
overcoming his surprise at seeing Ranko.

"Just one moment and I shall fetch him.", Ranko replied as he walked
back into the house.

A minute later Soun was at the door, looking somewhat nervous and
wondering if this visit had something to do with the past antics of the
now deceased master or possibly one of Genma's escapades.

"Mr. Tendo, do you have a daughter by the name of Akane?", the
officer asked.

"Why is something wrong? Did something happen to my poor baby
girl?", Soun started to whine as Nabiki and Ranko decided to listen
in and see what was going on.

"Mr. Tendo, earlier today, your daughter and her friend was involved
in an armed robbery at a local convenience store. Your daughter was shot
by one of the robbers.", the officer said.

"Wahhhhhhhhhhh, my baby girl is going to die!", Soun started to, much
to the annoyance of everyone present.

"Sigh, she is not going to die. She was injured, but it was not
serious. She is presently having the bullet removed at Nerima general
hospital. I came here to escort you and your family to the hospital.",
the officer said.

The drive to the hospital seemed to be taking forever. Ranko tried
to contact Kasumi, but her physical presence in the dream world, prevented
his thoughts from reaching her.

"I will have to tell her afterwards.", Ranko thought to himself.

When they arrived at the hospital, Ranko was the first to notice
Akari sitting in the 'post-op' waiting room, along with two older women,
one with long dark green hair, and another with short blond hair. The two
older women seemed shocked about seeing two cat people approaching and
mumbled something about youma, before being chastised by Akari about
insulting her friends.

The surgeon who removed the bullet from Akane came into the room, just
as Nabiki and Soun entered the waiting room as well.

"Is my baby girl going to be alright?", Soun said as he practically
blew the doctor over with his yelling.

"Your daughter will be just fine. It was a minor flesh wound that
needed to be repaired after the bullet was removed.", the surgeon replied.

"How did this happen?", Nabiki asked the doctor

"You will have to ask the young lady over there.", the doctor
stated as he gestured towards Akari, who was crying into the shoulder of
the older woman with the green hair.

As she began to calm down somewhat, Akari introduced her aunt
Michiru and her aunt's 'friend', Haruka to Ranko, Nabiki, and Soun.

"So Akari-san, how did this happen?", Ranko asked, as Nabiki was
trying to get her father to sit still and behave himself, before his
whining disturbed the other patients and their family members in the
waiting room.

"Akane and I did not feel like attending school today, after
hearing about what happened to Ranma and his teacher, so we decided to
walk around town for a while, to clear our heads, so to speak. I was thirsty
so I asked Akane if she wouldn't mind if we stopped off at a small store that
we were walking by.", Akari said, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts.

"I entered the store first and saw a man pointing a gun at the store
clerk, who was working behind the front counter. The man saw me and pointed
the gun in my direction. Akane came it right behind me, and pushed me out of
the way. I heard the gun go off and saw Akane fall to the ground as I
turned around. I picked up a jar and threw at the thief. It hit him on the
head, but it did not knock him out.", Akari continued to speak.

"What happened next?", Ranko asked.

"The thief turned back towards me and began to raise his gun. Akane,
who he thought was unconscious, pulled his feet out from under him, causing
him to fall down, and let go of the gun in the process. She then began to
pound his head into the ground over and over again. She was going to kill
him, but the police arrived and pulled Akane off of the man. A short time
later we were both driven to the hospital.", Akari said to Ranko as
Nabiki sat down next to Akari.

"She could have died because of me. If she hadn't pushed me she
wouldn't have been shot.", Akari said as Nabiki reached over to hug the
distraught girl.

"Then you might have died, Akari. Akane cares for you deeply. By
risking her life for you, I think that it shows that she loves you
deeply.", Nabiki said as Haruka and Michiru look at each other and nod
knowingly.

"I love her as well.", Akari said quietly, while a light blush
began to show on her face.

An hour later Akane woke up to find several people in her
hospital room, staring at her with expectant faces. The doctors did not
originally want so many people in the room, but upon hearing how much
the two girls seemed to care for each other, they decided to make an
exception. Either that or they just did not want to put up with a
whining Soun Tendo and two very annoyed cat people taking up space
in their waiting room. Best to just get everyone away from there so
that their 'normal' patients families could be more comfortable while
waiting to hear news of how their loved ones were doing.

The first person who Akane laid eyes on was Akari, who was
sitting by the side of her bed, holding her hand.

"Are you alright Akari-chan?", Akane asked in a hoarse whisper.

"I should be asking you that. You were the one hurt saving me.",
Akari mock scolded Akane.

"Couldn't let you get hurt, I care.....no, I love you too much to
ever want to see anything happen to you.", Akane said as she managed to
reach over and caress Akari's cheek with her undamaged arm.

Watching this scene take place one would have expected Soun to either
try and glomp onto his daughter and starting crying or complain about his
daughter being so close to another woman. He was prevented from doing both
though by Ranko holding him physically back, and Nabiki holding her hand
over Soun's mouth so that he could not disturb the scene taking place
between the two young lovers.

As everyone was getting ready to leave, Ranko offered to heal over
Akane's wound, so that she could leave the hospital immediately. She refused,
possibly because she still did not trust the catboy yet, or perhaps she just
enjoyed having Akari fuss over her. More than likely though, it was a little
of both.

Ranko and Nabiki left the hospital by themselves, when Nabiki's
father went to visit Genma and Nodoka, to tell them about how Akane was
almost 'killed by bunch of assassins'. As you may have guessed, Soun's
view of reality was still somewhat out of joint because of what had
happened to Akane earlier.

As they walked back to the dojo, Nabiki could not help but notice
the confused expression on Ranko's face. He looked as if he was trying to
come to terms with something that was an alien concept to him.

"What's wrong Ranko-chan?", Nabiki asked with concern in her voice.

"This may sound strange, but I am somewhat surprised that your sister
risked her life to save someone else, instead of just thinking of her own
safety.", Ranko replied.

"Akane may be a selfish at times and is definitely stubborn, but still
tries to help others.", Nabiki said.

"I suppose, but I still find it difficult, even after five years of
traveling with your sister, to think of 'your' Akane, as being different
from the one who not only hurt me, but didn't even seem to care about her
father or her sister as well.", Ranko stated.

"Don't you mean sisters?", Nabiki asked.

"No, in my world, you lived with your father and your sister Akane.
Both your mother and the Kasumi of that world died when they were hit
by a drunk driver, as your mother was walking Kasumi home from elementary
school. I believe she was about 10 when she died.", Ranko said.

"Kasumi was the one who always helped out our father and tried to
control Akane's temper, when she was younger. I don't think I want to
imagine what it would be like if Kasumi died at the same time as our
mother did.", Nabiki said.

"I can tell you the whole story when we return home, but for now I
can say that not only did Kasumi come to my world to rescue me, but she
also came to prevent you from making a horrible mistake.", Ranko said
seriously, as Nabiki felt a chill run down her spine for some reason.

When they arrived back the dojo, Nabiki led Ranko up to her room
and motioned for him to sit on her desk chair as she began to rummage
around in her closet. A few moments later she pulled out a short
half top and a pair of jean shorts, that in Ranko's opinion looked way
too small for Nabiki's now more curvier cat form to wear. He was stunned
and more than a little excited when Nabiki began to pull off her shirt
right in front of him.

"Um... I can leave if you wish to change, Nabiki-chan.", Ranko
managed to squeak out.

"No need, after all you are my boyfriend and it is not as if you
haven't already seen a lot of me.", Nabiki teased as her shirt hit
the floor, followed by her jeans, which Nabiki made a habit of sliding
down her long slender legs as slowly as possible.

"Oh my!", whispered Ranko.

Nabiki walked up to a nervous Ranko, dressed only in her bra and
panties. She gave the glassy-eyed cat boy a gentle kiss on the lips
before turning away from him.

"Would you mind unclasping my bra, Ranko-chan I can't seem to
quite reach it.", Nabiki purred as Ranko managed to undo the clasp
despite how badly his hands were shaking.

"Thank you.", Nabiki purred as she let her bra fall on top of Ranko's
head as she headed back towards her bed and pulled on the top and slowly
slid her shorts up over her rear and pulled her tail through the hole in
the back of the shorts.

"Eep!", Ranko said intelligently.

"My we are shy. I guess I have always been a bit of an exhibitionist,
but somehow I feel more outgoing now that I am in this body.", Nabiki said
as she helped Ranko off of the chair and nibbled him lightly on the neck
before moving away.

(Thud)

"Hmmm, perhaps I overdid it a bit.", Nabiki giggled as she looked
down on the unconscious Ranko on her floor, who appeared to have enjoyed
the attention if the silly smile on his face was any indication.

Ranko awoke, finding himself on Nabiki's bed, with Nabiki laying on
her side right next to him.

"Finally awake I see. I guess I am just too stunning to see.", Nabiki
teased Ranko.

"I fainted? How unusual. Normally the sight of a naked girl doesn't
bother me at all.", Ranko said while noticing the frown on Nabiki's face.

"Been around a lot of naked girls have you?", Nabiki asked.

"Well I was the only male member at Ukyo's school. Technically the
girls were supposed to leave me alone, when I used the shower, but some
were a little less shy than others. I just became used to them walking in
and trying to shock me.", Ranko replied.

"Then why did you faint?", Nabiki asked.

"I believe, it might be due to the fact that I consider you far more
charming and beautiful than the others, so your figure had more of an effect
on me.", Ranko stated to a somewhat, but not completely mollified Nabiki.

Now I have to ask you, why were you being so forward, not that I mind
of course, but I thought your new form would have settled down already.",
Ranko stated to Nabiki.

It's not that I do not find you attractive, but the reason I teased you
was not because of my 'runaway' hormones. I suppose I just needed to get rid
of some stress, and flirting seemed like the best way to do it.", Nabiki said.

"You seemed quite calm earlier, even before we went to visit your sister.
Is the reason that you are stressed related to Akane's injury.", Ranko asked.

"It's not that it's just.....Sigh....I shouldn't even be mentioning
this.", Nabiki stated.

"What do you mean Nabiki-chan?", Ranko said as he sat up and stretched
his shoulders.

"When mother died, so long ago, it affected all of us in a different
way. Father fell apart, Kasumi tried to be a second mother, and Akane lost
herself in frustration and anger over something that she could not control.
I ended up being the one to support the family. I have told you as much
earlier.", Nabiki said as she began to lean against Ranko.

"In order to make the money that we needed to survive I had to put
forth an image as a cold heartless mercenary. After all no one would be
intimidated by a girl, who desperately, just wanted to break down and cry
on someone's shoulder.", Nabiki said as Ranko noticed some sadness
beginning to creep into her voice.

"Since I couldn't let anyone see me express any emotion such as
sadness or anger, I either handled stress by being sarcastic, or in your
case by flirting. I didn't want to appear weak, but when I heard Akane
was shot, I had to fight very hard, to prevent myself from having
flashbacks, to when mother died. I am sorry if I hurt or offended you
by acting like such a 'desperate' woman.", Nabiki choked out as Ranko
pulled her close.

"You don't have to apologize to me Nabiki-chan. I won't think
anything bad of you just because you show some emotion. There were
plenty of times during our journeys that both Kasumi and I were
quite sad about some things. We were even mad at each other, and even
insulted one another at times. None of us are perfect, but I hope that
you come talk to me if you are upset. I won't insult you or take advantage
of you, just because you are sad or angry.", Ranko stated.

"Someone has to be strong though, with Kasumi away temporarily, and
father incapable of being mature, I have to help keep things together.",
Nabiki sighed.

"Kasumi will only be gone for a couple more days and Akane will
not be home until tomorrow at the earliest. Only your father will probably
be back tonight and he is old enough to take care of himself. The best thing
that you could do tonight is relax. We could have something delivered,
since I doubt that anyone feels like cooking. After I could you about
the other Nabiki that Kasumi helped out. She was a lot like you. After seeing
her I could not wait to meet you in person.", Ranko said while winking at
Nabiki.

"We are not going to share any of the food with daddy?", Nabiki asked.

"Nope, besides he will probably be out drinking with Ranma's father, if
I were to hazard a guess. I could call and have Shampoo deliver something.",
Ranko said.

"You sure you just don't want to see that pink-haired catgirl again?",
Nabiki teased.

"No one catgirl is all I can handle.", Ranko teased back as he got up
off of Nabiki's bed and went into the hallway to use the phone.

A few minutes later her returned and sat down next to Nabiki.

"Shampoo said that she would deliver the food personally. I believe
that having to be around Mousse and Nuku Nuku is starting to get to her.",
Ranko said to Nabiki.

"I think Shampoo is just having trouble getting used to being
around someone who is even more perky than she is.", Nabiki stated.

"Well that and the fact that I overheard her complaining about
how the 'pink-haired-pest', kept receiving better tips than Shampoo
was receiving.", Ranko replied.

Twenty minutes later the sound of a bicycle bell rang out. Nabiki
unconsciously stiffened and waiting for the explosion. She was surprised
when a few moment later one did not occur, and was even more surprised
to hear the doorbell ring, followed by someone knocking on the front
door.

"Nihou!, mercenary kitty.", Nabiki heard as she opened the front
door for Shampoo who was smiling at her own joke.

"Very funny.", Nabiki deadpanned.

"Shampoo think so too.", Shampoo grinned as she entered the house
with more food than Nabiki thought Ranko had ordered.

"Ah no broken walls I see.", Ranko said as he walked out of the
kitchen, carrying two plate settings.

"Shampoo no can do that too often. Great grandmother have hissy fit,
last time someone sent her bill for wall repairs. She that if it happen
again, Shampoo going to undergo advanced breaking point training.", Shampoo
said to Ranko as she sat the food down on the table.

"I think that you brought more than I ordered Shampoo. Was this a
'gift' that Nuku Nuku packed?", Ranko asked.

"No Shampoo bring extra food, because Shampoo need to get out of
cafe for a while and hoped to share dinner with nice catboy and mercenary
kitty girlfriend.", Shampoo said.

Ranko could tell that Nabiki wasn't too thrilled with the idea of
Shampoo staying over for a while, but Shampoo hadn't really ever caused
him any harm, and he could sympathize with her need to get away from
Nuku Nuku for a while. The girl was just a little too perky for his liking.

"If Nabiki doesn't mind, I guess you can stay for dinner, but you
shouldn't call her 'mercenary kitty', it isn't very polite.", Ranko
said to Shampoo.

"Ok, Shampoo sorry for calling Nabiki, mercenary kitty. So can
Shampoo stay for a while.", Shampoo asked.

"Alright, since you actually left the wall in one piece this time
you can stay for a while.", Nabiki replied.

As they started to eat, Nabiki noticed Shampoo looking around, like
she expected someone else to show up in a moment.

"Something wrong Shampoo?", Nabiki asked.

"Where violent girl and crying father? They not home tonight?",
Shampoo asked Nabiki, who seemed to shiver slightly, a fact that was
noticed by Shampoo.

"Nabiki's father is probably out drinking with Ranma's father, as
for Akane, well she was injured today. Nabiki and I just came from the
hospital.", Ranko said.

"What happen she finally pick on someone who fight back.", Shampoo
joked.

"Dammit, that's not funny, she could have died, then I would have lost
another person close to me!", Nabiki shouted surprising Shampoo with a rare
display of emotion.

"Shampoo, earlier today, Akane was shot, while she and Akari were
at a local store. Akane pushed Akari out of the way, so that she would
not be shot by the thief. Her injuries are not life threatening, but they
have shaken up a lot of people here.", Ranko said, as Shampoo looked down
at the floor with a shamed expression on her face.

"Shampoo sorry, not know it serious. No one ever really get hurt here,
even Ranma. It's strange to here about someone being put in the hospital.",
Shampoo said as she reached over and squeezed one of Nabiki's hands to try
and show that she had some sympathy with what Nabiki might be going through.

"Life has been a little different around here lately.", Nabiki said
quietly.

"Shampoo know what it's like to worry about one you love. Shampoo had
to wait whole month before great grandmother find out what happen to my
mother. Waiting was worse than when Shampoo find out mother died fighting
stupid Musk warriors.", the Amazon girl stated.

"I think all of us has some idea of what it is like to feel alone,
and scared. I was alone for four years, before Kasumi found me, and both
you and Nabiki lost your mothers at a young age.", Ranko said.

"Aren't we all the pathetic group.", Nabiki said.

"No Nabiki-chan, none of us are that. If had just given up on life, and
did nothing but feel sorry for ourselves, then we would be pathetic. It's a
shame that others have not learned that lesson yet.", Ranko said.

Not much was said as they continued to eat. After the food was finished
off, Shampoo was getting ready to leave, but Nabiki invited Shampoo to stay
for a while. Perhaps Shampoo might be interested in the story Ranko was
going to tell her, Nabiki guessed.

Ranko briefly left the two girls in the living room, while he went
up to his room and retrieved what looked like a large round clear
crystal from a locked case. Ranko was amused to notice that the case
has a slight scorch mark and what looked like some sort of black and
white hair on it.

He carried the crystal downstairs and sat it on the dining room
table in front of Nabiki and Shampoo. Before they could ask him what it
was, the crystal began to hum and a series of images began to form in it
complete with sounds.

"I think that this will interest both of you.", Ranko said as he sat
down between the two girls.

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

(Another Time, Another Place.)

Kasumi stood at attention with the rest of her fellow candidates, on
one of Asgard's largest parade grounds. It had been a long five years of
training, but at last she and the others were to receive their goddess
third class licenses. In all this time though, Kasumi was still
uncomfortable around many of her fellow 'students'. She was the only
mortal, so to speak, among them. All of the others had lived quite long
and honorable lives, back on Earth before the entered the goddess
training program. Many felt that Kasumi had received special treatment, and
had voiced their objections to both Kasumi and their teachers on several
occasions. That was in the past though. Hopefully from now on Kasumi hoped
that she might begin to feel some acceptance from her classmates.

This is not to say that Kasumi was completely alone during her training,
it was just that she seemed to attract some of the more unusual students to
her side, such as those nice drow priestesses from Toril, or those darling
Kender from Krynn. Kasumi seemed to be continually amused by their antics.
Kasumi though, was probably the most fond of the two different Ranma's
that made their home in Asgard some of the time. She wasn't allowed to
visit their home worlds yet, but she did enjoy listening to their stories.
One had married a demon, when she rescued him when he was an infant. They
now both lived in Asgard, with Kami-sama's permission. The other had been
horribly treated by both his and the analog of Kasumi's family in that
Ranma's world. He escaped from them and went on to become friends with
the sailor scouts in that world, eventually marrying Sailor Pluto, much
to Kasumi's surprise.

After the ceremony was to be over, she would be given a chance to
work with a partner. During the years of training, the candidates were
only allowed to view other timelines or participate in a timeline, where
only a few minor problems needed to be solved. After today though, the
assignments would become much harder, and even more personal at times.
Before the candidates were not allowed to enter any timeline where their
analogs lived, or used to live. Now though, they might be sent on missions
to help out members of their 'family', so to speak.

As the ceremony began, the new gods and goddesses began to relax. Many
had begun to form up in pairs on their own. Kasumi wondered who she might
end up with, especially given her mother's and 'aunt' Lilith's outlooks on life.
She had decided to be a Daemon, not just a goddess. This would make things
a little more difficult, because many of the beings of Asgard looked down
on the 'half-breeds', but Kasumi was grateful for the help she had received
from both the goddesses and demons that she learned her lessons from.

The fact that Kasumi's mother seemed rather 'close' to the elder
demoness Lilith, caused all sorts of rumors and teasing that Kasumi had to
put up with over the years.

As she reached the podium, where she would formally be inducted in the
ranks of the Daemons, she noticed that no one was waiting to stand next to
her, as the other candidates had.

"Does no one want to be my partner? Does this mean that I have to repeat
some of my training?", Kasumi thought as she nervously stood at the podium and
received her new abilities from Kami-sama himself.

"Do not worry my child, you are not being punished and you will meet
someone, who will share your journeys. In fact you have been selected for a
special mission, due to the recommendation of your trainers.", Kami-sama's
voice echoed in Kasumi's mind and she quietly thanked him and moved off back
into the crowd that was hovering near the podium.

As Kasumi wondered what would be happening next, she felt someone put
their arms around her and hug her from behind. Turning around she saw her
mother smiling at her and looking quite pleased.

"I am very proud of you Kasumi-chan, all of us are.", Kasumi's mother
Kimiko said as Kasumi also noticed Lilith standing by, who was being glared
at by several annoyed gods, much to her amusement.

"You have accepted both sides of your heritage, both goddess, and
demon, very few have chosen that path, and even fewer have stuck with
it. I am sorry my sister could not be here, but she is proud of you, even
if she would never come out and say it out loud.", Lilith said as she
stepped forward and hugged the new Daemon third class.

"I could never have succeeded if were not for all of you.", Kasumi
said, unused to such praise.

"So daughter, are you prepared for your first assignment as a
daemon?", Kimiko said.

"Yes, but why was I chose as a goddess of nature and, (blush),
fertility. I am not exactly experienced in those matters.", Kasumi
said, still somewhat shy about talking about such things around, her
mother.

"Because dear child, many of your future tasks, will involve
bringing together those who need companionship in their lives. Such a
task takes someone with a kind heart and you have the kindest and most
pure heart to come through this program in a long time.", Lilith said to
Kasumi who was smiling shyly.

"There is one very important thing, you must remember from now
on daughter.", Kimiko said.

"What is that mother?", Kasumi asked.

"When you are in a dimension when you are meeting analogs of
yourself or family members, you must not use your true name. Doing
so will only cause confusion and sometimes jealousy in those that meet
you, especially if their lives have not gone as pleasant as yours.",
Kimiko said.

"So I must chose a new name?", Kasumi asked.

"That is correct.", Kimiko said.

"Would the name of Katrina Saotome be alright?", Kasumi asked.

"Taking the name of the one you care about Kasumi-chan?", Lilith
teased Kasumi, who began to twirl her ponytail nervously.

"I would say that is a yes.", Kimiko giggled.

***********

A short while later Kasumi was brought before the goddess Peorth,
who would sending Kasumi on her first mission. As Kasumi neared Peorth's
office she saw an elvish looking blond haired girl walk by, who smiled and
winked at Kasumi, as if she knew her already. Kasumi was about to ask
the girl who she was, but when she turned around to call out after the girl,
she had already disappeared somehow.

Kasumi knocked on the door and entered the office when a voice from
within told her to enter. As she came into the office, Kasumi noticed
that Peorth was sitting on the front of her desk and looking directed at
Kasumi with an amused look on her face.

"So you are to be the new fertility daemon. Strange, considering
the 'girl next store' look you have going for you. Still if this is what
Kami-sama has decided then so be it. At any rate this still should put
Urd's panty's in a bunch, when she finds out someone else is the fertility
and love 'goddess', not her.", Peorth said in amusement.

"I don't want to upset anyone.", Kasumi said.

"Do not worry about such things, you will not be seeing either Urd
or her sisters for quite some time. Now as for your first mission, it
might be somewhat of an emotional strain on you, but I believe that you
shall be able to handle it. Before we discuss that though, I want you to
assume your goddess form , instead of your mortal form.", Peorth said.

Kasumi's form shifted to that of a woman over six feet in height
with longs red hair with silver streaks and two large black and white
wings.

"I want you to put these on Kasumi, or should I say Katrina-chan.",
Peorth said as she handed Kasumi two very ornate earrings.

"What are these Peorth-sama?", Kasumi said.

"These will limit your power for a time being. Admittedly you are
still just a third class goddess, but you are not used to your power yet
and you could injure someone if you are not careful.", Peorth said.

Kasumi put the earrings on and waited for Peorth to tell her about
her first assignment as a new goddess.

Kasumi-chan, two days ago Earth time, your sister Nabiki managed
to have a shared dream with a very special young man, who lives in a
neighboring dimension. Although Kami-sama refuses to say how this could
have happened, it turns out that your sister and this boy are soul mates.",
Peorth said to Kasumi.

"They both have lived quite lonely lives and managed to 'touch' each
other across the dimensions. You are going to retrieve this boy and help
raise him for the next five years. After that the both of you will return
to your home dimension, where Nabiki will meet Ranko for the first time.",
Peorth.

"Could you tell me what this boy is like, Peorth-sama.", Kasumi
asked the older goddess.

"We have no records of the boy until four years ago, when he just
seemed to have appeared on that world. He has led a very hard life since
then Kasumi-chan. As far as anyone can tell he is of species that is not
native to that world.", Peorth replied as images began to form in Kasumi's
mind of what Ranko looked like and how he had managed to survive for, four
years on his own.

Kasumi saw an image of a being that could only be described as a cat boy.
His fur was matted and his clothes looked like they were almost ready to fall
apart on their own. What disturbed Kasumi the most was the expression on the
boy's face. It was one of hopelessness, almost as if he could no longer see
any point in living. Behind that facade was a lonely boy who only wanted to be
accepted by someone.

Kasumi next saw how her sister Nabiki's and Ranko's dreams came
together. She felt the emotions of the two as they seemed to find comfort
in each other's presence. As the dreams ended she noticed the confused
look on her sister's face and how Ranko seemed to gain a willingness to
hang onto life a little longer.

"So they are to become married or engaged?", Kasumi asked Peorth.

"That may or may not happen. They are soul mates, just as Ranma and
yourself are not becoming closely linked, but they are under no compulsion
to marry. They will always feel close and protective of one another, as all
soul mates are, but whether or not they chose to have a permanent
relationship with each other is up to them entirely.", Peorth replied.

"That is good. Although I know that Nabiki is lonely at times, I would
not want to force her into a relationship. One only has to look at what
happened between Ranma and Akane to see how that would turn out.", Kasumi
stated to Peorth.

"There is one other thing that you must be made aware of for now.
Ranko is but one of the reasons that you will be entering his native
dimension. You are also there to help one of your sister Nabiki's
analogs live a better life than the one she is enduring.", Peorth said as
Kasumi began to receive images of what her 'sister's' life is like.

It seems that in this world, not only did her mother die when she
and here sisters were young, but Kasumi's native analog died as well. This
deprived the family of the calming influence that Kasumi seemed to have on
everyone.

Akane, without Kasumi's influence, turned out to be much more violent
to those who angered her. When Kuno made his pledge of having to defeat
Akane in order to date her, Akane not only put Kuno in the hospital, but
several other boys as well. She came very close to having to spend many years
in prison. It was only with a lot of skill and a little luck that her lawyer
managed to convince the jury that Akane was only acting out of self defense
from a bunch of boys that were trying to sexually assault her. This cost the
family almost all of their savings. They were very close to being thrown out
on the street, and no one, except for Nabiki seemed to even care about it.

Nabiki's father was almost comatose most of the time. The death's of
both his wife and daughter, as well as the absence of the pledge to join
the families had left him an empty shell of a man, who was barely aware of
what was going on around him.

With Nabiki having to find ways to financially support the family as
well as provide for their basic needs, such as preparing meals and doing
the laundry for example, she has had little time for anything else. Her
grades were suffering, and even though she has tried many legal means of
trying to provide funds for her family, she still found herself shunned, for
being related to her sister. Nobody wanted to get close to Nabiki if it meant
having to be any where near her sister.

This caused Nabiki to spend most of her life by herself, without anyone
to comfort her in times of distress. Like Ranko, Nabiki found it very hard
to justify even waking up in the morning. Would anyone notice or even care
if she were gone.

Kasumi had to resist the urge to just immediately pick up both Ranko
and this Nabiki and try and care for them herself. She was only allowed
to take Ranko with her though. Peorth said that someone would be assisting
her in improving Nabiki's life, but Peorth refused to say who exactly this
person might be.

"So do you see now, why you can not appear in your natural form. If
anyone, especially your sister Nabiki were to see you, she would never let
you leave.", Peorth said.

"Will not my goddess form attract attention though?", Kasumi asked.

"Simply make your wings and aura disappear. Granted you will still
standout somewhat from your average Japanese woman, but at least no one will
think that you are a supernatural being.", Peorth said to Kasumi.

"That would be for the best, although I must admit that it is sometimes
fun to see the shocked expressions on people's faces when I appear in front
of them with any disguise.", Kasumi said to an amused Peorth.

"You have been spending too much time around Lilith Kasumi-chan,
she is starting to rub off on you.", Peorth teased the new daemon.

Kasumi left Peorth's office a few minutes later with directions
on exactly where Ranko to found as well as directions to the home in which
she would be staying with Ranko while she was on that plane of existence.

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

Ranko slowly raised himself back onto his feet, trying to fight off
the pain in his head and the nausea that seemed to come and go far too
often for his liking. He had spent another night in an alley, trying to
hide from society, and in particular that evil little girl who might still
be after him. He wondered if that strange dream he had could ever come true.
Was their someone out their waiting for him. Someone he could love and have
that same love returned to him. Was this girl Nabiki, just some silly
fantasy so that he could find a reason to keep on going. He wish he knew....

It was still dark out. The sun wouldn't rise for another hour. Maybe in
that time he could scrounge up something to eat. Maybe one of the nearby
cafes had something edible in the trashcans out back. He pulled the old blanket
that he had been sleeping on, off of the ground and wrapped it around him,
trying to fight off some of the morning chill.

A flash of light near the back of the alley attracted his attention. A
small sphere of light was hovering in mid air. This sphere began to expand
eventually taking on the form of a girl, no an.........

"Angel?!?", Ranko whispered in awe.

She very tall with long red hair and large black and white wings. She
smiled at him causing Ranko to feel warm all over. He had a feeling that this
person would not harm him or insult him.

"Hello Ranko.", she said in a voice that sounded almost like music
to Ranko.

"You know who I am?", Ranko asked quietly.

"Of course. It would be silly of me not to know the one who I am
here to help.", Kasumi said.

"You are going to help me?", Ranko asked, wondering if this was
some sort of trick. After all why would anyone wish to help him. He
wasn't even normal.

"Do you remember the dream you had last night Ranko? The one where
you met that nice girl Nabiki?", Kasumi said as Ranko stared at her with
a wide eyed expression.

"How did you know?", Ranko asked.

"If you agree to travel with me Ranko, I can guarantee that you
will meet her in a few years. In the mean time I, and others will help
you both an education and the skills that you will need to survive not
only in this world, but in others as well.", Kasumi said to a stunned
Ranko.

"She wasn't dream. Someone is out there waiting for me?", Ranko
mainly said to himself.

Kasumi looked at the confused catboy. She really should have been
more subtle in approaching the boy, but she still had so much left to
accomplish in this world. It seems Peorth really wanted to test the girl,
for after Kasumi was finished with Ranko and Nabiki, Peorth wanted both
she and Ranko to help out another person in this world.

"I know this is quite sudden, but do you wish to travel with me?",
Kasumi asked.

"Before I answer, can you tell me one thing?", Ranko asked.

"What is it that you wish to know?", Kasumi said, trying to sound like
a wise goddess.

"What is your name?", Ranko asked.

(Thud)

Ranko knew it was wrong, but somehow he could not help but giggle at
the sight of an angel face faulting into the ground.

"Oh my, I can not believe I did not even tell you who I am. How
embarrassing.", Kasumi said as she picked herself off the ground and
handed Ranko one of her new business cards.

"Katrina Saotome, daemon third class limited of nature and
fertility.", Ranko read the card out loud.

"That is correct.", Kasumi, (Katrina), said.

"What's fertility mean?", Ranko said as Kasumi resisted the urge
to face fault again.

"I'll explain later. So do you wish to stay with me?", Kasumi
asked Ranko.

"I'll go with you. I don't know if I believe you just yet, but it
beats sleeping in alleys and eating out of garbage cans.", Ranko said
while trying to hide the frustration in his voice.

Kasumi approached Ranko and took his hand in hers, much to Ranko's
embarrassment. A second later they both disappeared from sight.

Ranko felt a little disoriented as the alley way seemed to blur
around him. He immediately found himself to be somewhere else. He was
now standing outside of a rather nice home. He often traveled past
several houses late at night in search of food. Maybe someone here
would feed him

"We will be staying here for a while.", Kasumi said.

"I get to live here?", Ranko asked in awe.

"Yes you will, and you will not have to worry about starving or
wearing those old clothes again.", Kasumi said as Ranko looked
upon the house as if he were looking at Heaven.

"First though we should get you a bath.", Kasumi said.

"I don't like getting wet.", Ranko said.

"Well you certainly can not wear any of your new clothes, while you are
still so dirty, so no arguments young man. You will get clean, either by
washing yourself, or with me helping you do you understand?", Kasumi said
as Ranko turned bright red in embarrassment.

"I can clean myself I guess.", Ranko said sheepishly as Kasumi
could only snicker in response.

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

Meanwhile in another part of Tokyo, two very interesting people
had just entered the city by foot and were heading straight for the
Nerima district. One was a very short old man dressed in the robes
of a Buddhist monk, the other was a young Chinese boy wearing an emerald
green dragon scale vest.

"I can hardly wait to meet some of my fellow students in the art master.
Do you think that they will be able show us some new techniques?", the young
boy asked the elderly man.

"I would not get your hopes up too far my boy. If the rumors I have heard
are true, then I believe my former student has strayed from the proper path
and ended up following a very dark road.", the elderly man said as the boy
began to look quite disappointed.

"Now there is no need to pout, Taro, my son. Even if my former student
does turn out to be a disappointed, there still are quite a few pretty young
ladies in this city for you to meet. After all a boy of your age should be
dating more often and not spending so much time with a boring old man.", the
monk said.

"If you say so master, then I will try to be more social.", Taro said.

"That is all I ask my boy, that is all I ask.", the elderly monk said.

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

Nabiki sighed as she finished ironing her 'uniform'. Technically she was
too young to work, but there were places who liked to hire young girls to
serve drinks to 'honorable' heads of industry. At least the job paid well, and
all she had to do was serve them their drinks and try and act liked she enjoyed
their company. There were places that required their 'waitresses' to do much more
than that.

If only someone else would help, like her father for instance, but no the
pathetic bastard did nothing but feel sorry for himself and try and defend his
little 'princess' Akane every time she got in trouble.

"One more year, then I can leave these fools to their own fate.", Nabiki
growled under her breath.

After all she was smart, despite her lack of time to study. All it would
take was spending some time in 'cram' school, then she could have a life of her
own away from her father and sister.

"Sometimes I wish it was father that had died instead of mother. At least
she would have been able to pull her life together.", Nabiki thought as she
finished her ironing and began to write out a list of what groceries needed to
be bought in order to prepare the day's meals.

A short while later, she left her home, walking towards the local market.
Perhaps she would meet that nice foreign exchange student Mousse, who worked
there as a bag boy. Maybe for once he would even stop talking about his
'perfect' girl Shampoo that lived in the village that he came from.

***********

Ranko came out of the shower, quite wet and very unhappy. It always took
forever for him to dry his fur. Maybe if he was lucky, his new 'mother', would
have one of those electric hair drying things. A half an hour later he was
standing next to Kasumi, who was trying very hard not to laugh. The poor catboy
looked like a giant puffball of fur.

"Told you this was a bad idea.", Ranko mumbled.

"Oh it's not too bad. I can fix it in a moment.", Kasumi said as she
snapped her fingers and Ranko's hair seemed to suddenly lay flat, much to
his surprise.

"That little spell is always useful for removing static clean from
clothing as well.", Kasumi said.

After Ranko was clean and fed, and boy could the catboy eat, Kasumi
tried to explain why she was there to save him and how he was going to
be traveling with her, in more detail than she gave him, when they
met in the alley.

"So you are going to be my mother?", Ranko asked.

"Mother, big sister, and friend. Whatever you will need, Kami-sama
wants me to provide for you, with some limitations of course.", Kasumi
replied

"So when we are alone I can call you Kasumi, but in public I
should call you Katrina?", Ranko asked as Kasumi was telling Ranko why
she had to go by two different names.

"That's right, especially in this world where we might be running
into some of my 'relatives', including a native Nabiki.", Kasumi said as
Ranko seemed to show more interest in Kasumi's speech at the mention of
her sister's name.

"This Nabiki is not the one I met in my dreams, but do you think I
might be able to at least see her at a distance?", Ranko asked.

"I do not believe that would be a problem, but remember we will not
be staying here, and she is going to be meeting someone else if all goes
according to Kami-sama's plan.", Kasumi said to Ranko.

***********

The elderly monk and his student Taro were walking towards the dojo
belonging to the monk's former student when the boy Taro seemed to become
quite distracted as a very beautiful young lady, wearing a pageboy style
hair cut walked past he and his master.

"She's is very preety isn't she?", the old monk asked his distracted
student.

"I guess so.", Taro mumbled.

"You know, you might have time to see the young lady after we visit
my student.", the monk said.

"Perhaps, that is if I see her again.", Taro replied quietly.

Nabiki, having overheard some of what the boy had said as she walked
by, could not but help but feel a little better about herself. Maybe if she
was very lucky she could see the boy again.

Arriving at the dojo of the monk's former student, Taro could not help
but look at the dojo's sign in some confusion.

"Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts? Master why is the name
of your students school different from your own school of the 'Righteous
Fist'?", Taro asked.

"It appears my former student did choose to follow the easy path, by
studying the bastardized version of my school stolen, by his miscreant
friend, Genma Saotome.", the monk said in disgust.

"If that is so then should we challenge his school for their sign,
denying them the right to teach 'their' school to anyone?", Taro asked.

"That remains to be seen. For now though, let us just introduce
ourselves. I am quite curious what my former student may have taught
to others, and what his reaction will be to seeing his master after so
many years.", the monk said.

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

Nabiki approached the large market that had just opened a few
months ago. Most Japanese markets were traditionally smaller family
run affairs, but there was a growing trend in building larger markets
and even larger warehouse style stores these days. It was true that the
food was not as fresh as the food in the small stores, but the prices
were cheaper. This tended to draw people on a budget to the stores, and
Nabiki was definitely on a budget.

Of course, that was not the only reason that Nabiki chose to shop at
this particular store. She would never admit it to anyone else, but she
enjoyed seeing 'him' there, every time she went. The green smocks that the
clerks had to wear, were not exactly stylish, but Nabiki still had trouble
taking her eyes off of Mousse anyway. She was not the only one, either, as
Nabiki spied a group of her classmates boring the poor boy with their
inane chatter.

Nabiki watched as a chain seemed to shoot out of nowhere and grabbed
onto a bottle on a high shelf. Mousse then retracted the chain at a high
speed and handed the product to one of the girls. It was a good trick that
she often thought was magic, but he had said on several times that it was
merely a martial arts technique. Nabiki still preferred to think of it as
magic though. The thought that such things might exist, gave her some hope
that life was not all about drudgery.

Most of his skill though was no doubt due to his incredible eyesight.
Nabiki had seen the boy retrieve a coin from over 200 feet away with one of
his chains, that he hid on his body somewhere. Those same eyes tended to make
poor Nabiki forget what she was doing, or where she was going whenever she
looked at the boy.

Normally, she preferred to do her own shopping as quick as possible, but
today Nabiki felt like being a little brave. Perhaps if she asked Mousse for
help with some product or another, he might begin to notice her.

"Um.... Mousse-san I was wondering if you could help me with something?",
Nabiki asked the exchange student.

"She called him by his first name. How dare she.", one of teenage girls
said.

"As if she would want to have anything with a girl like her.", another
girl said.

"Maybe she is recruiting more customers for where she works.", a third
girl said in disgust.

"What is it that you need help with Nabiki-chan?", Mousse asked with
amusement as he noticed the shocked looks on the annoying girls' faces.

"Maybe that will cause them to leave me alone.", Mousse thought to
himself.

"You know me?", Nabiki asked in shock as her knees began to feel weak
from the smile he was now giving her.

"Now how could I forget one of my favorite, not to mention more frequent
customers.", Mousse teased lightly.

Nabiki tried to say something, but she could only look at the boy in shy
embarrassment.

"If you like I could show you some of today's specials?", Mousse asked
as he began to lead Nabiki towards several places around the store, much to
Nabiki's glee.

"You really don't have to. I don't want to burden you.", Nabiki said.

"Nonsense you are no burden at all. Besides, I am quite grateful, that
you had come into the store when you did.", Mousse said to Nabiki, who now
had stars in her eyes, much to Mousse's discomfort.

"He's grateful to see me? Does that mean that he may like me or
want to spend time with me?", Nabiki thought to herself.

"Oh dear, I believe that I am being too friendly towards the dear girl.
I keep forgetting how lonely she is. Perhaps someday she will find someone,
just as I will someday convince my darling Shampoo that I am the right
man for her.", Mousse thought.

"Mousse-san this Saturday is my sister Akane's 16th birthday, and we
will be having a small party, so I was wondering if perhaps you would like
to go with me.", Nabiki said shyly.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot accompany you to your sister's party.", Mousse
said to Nabiki, whose lower lip began to tremble and a tear began to fall
from her right eye, much to the boy's distress.

"It's not about those rumors is it? I know what everyone says about me,
because of the club I work at. But I am not like that, really.", Nabiki
replied, sounding more than a little desperate, much to her shame.

"Please, Nabiki...-san, do not get upset. I do not believe any of
those rumors. I simply care for someone else. I have told you about
Shampoo before. I may not have been able to get up the courage to approach
her yet, but someday I will. I also, when I first started working here,
decided that I would not fraternize with any of my customers, especially
girls my own age. I did not want to give them the wrong impression. Please
accept my deepest apologies if I lead you on in any fashion", Mousse said.

Nabiki looked around to see many of the shoppers in the store now
looking at her, including those girls that had insulted her earlier. She
could see the looks of disgust and pity on there faces.

As she turned to look back at Mousse, Nabiki could not find the
strength to speak. She simply dropped the basket and grocery list,
that she was carrying, at the boy's feet and ran out of the store as
fast as she could.

"I am sorry that I hurt you Nabiki, but it would only hurt worse
if I did not tell you how I felt now.", Mousse thought as he picked
Nabiki's basket and grocery list off the floor.

Nabiki kept running long after the store was no longer visible
behind her. She finally stopped at a large stone bridge in a nearby park.
She often came here to think and try to sort out some of the problems
and frustrations in her life. She looked over the edge of the bridge, to
the water below. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to jump off
and let the water carry her away.

"Stupid girl, how could you possibly go and do something like that.
Of course he would turn you down. It is not like you have much to offer
anyone. Still it would have been nice, just for once, to spend time with
someone who wanted to be with me.", Nabiki thought as she sat down on the
bridge.

An hour went by and she had not yet moved. Nabiki could not go home
without the grocery's for dinner, but she felt too ashamed to go back to
the market to retrieve her basket. She was just staring off into space
when she began to slip off the railing. As she began to fall, she heard a
young man's voice yelling out to her.

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

A little while earlier, at the Tendo Dojo, the elderly monk and his
apprentice Taro had just spend the past five minutes ringing the bell at
the front gate. They could both sense that two people were inside the
building, but for some reason or another, no one was making any effort to
answer the door.

"I can sense one person radiating great anger and other who seems
to be almost pathologically depressed. Do you suppose that they are suffering
from some sort of illness? That would explain their lack of response to our
knocking on their door.", Taro said to the monk.

"I believe I know of one way to attract the attention of my former
student.", the old monk said as he pointed to a sign near the entrance
to the dojo, that mentioned going around to the back door in order to
challenge the master of the dojo.

"Do you wish me to challenge the dojo, master?", Taro asked.

"That won't be necessary my boy. Why don't you take a walk for a
while. I will deal with my student. Maybe if your lucky you will run into
that cute little girl you were looking at earlier.", the monk said.

As Taro walked off, at somewhat of a hurried pace, much to his
master's amusement, the old monk decided to challenge the 'master' of
the dojo.

"Sigh, I really hate to raise my voice, but it cannot be helped.
WHERE IS THE SO-CALLED MASTER OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS. I CHALLENGE
YOU TO APPEAR BEFORE ME.", the old monk yelled.

The front door to the house slammed open and the sounds of someone
stomping towards the gate echoed across the front yard. The gate was soon
flung open and the old monk found himself face to face with an angry
looking teenage girl.

"Well, what do you want?", the girl demanded.

"Such a lack of manners young lady. You should greet visitors with
more respect, but I suppose it cannot be helped considering who was more
than likely responsible for your training.", the old monk sighed.

The young girl tried to slam the gate shut in the old man's face,
but she found it help open by the surprisingly strong old monk.

"Why don't you retrieve your father like a good little girl. It is
for he that I issued a challenge, not a rude little student of his.", the
monk said as he watched anger and pride flash in the girl's aura.

"I have you know, that I am the heir to the school of Anything Goes
Martial arts and the best martial artist in Nerima.", the girl said.

"So you are the daughter of Soun Tendo then?", the old monk asked.

"My name is Akane Tendo. Now who are you?", the girl asked.

"M...Ma...Master Happosai.", a quavering said from the front porch
of the house said, before the monk had a chance to reply to Akane's
question.

"Hello Soun, my student, it has been quite some time. Over ten years
since we last spoke if I recall correctly.

"What brings you here after so long?", Soun asked as Happosai strolled
into the yard, not even acknowledging Akane's presence.

"I had decided to bring my newest student along to pay a visit to an
older student to see how he would fair against one of your own students.
I do not see any students here though, just an angry young girl. Tell me
did you chase away all of your students in the same way that your foolish
old friend Genma Saotome used to.", Happosai said.

"So you are the founder of Anything Goes?", Akane asked, her curiosity
temporarily overcoming her anger at the old man for ignoring her.

"No my dear, I found the school of the Righteous Fist. Your school of
Anything Goes is merely a bastardized version of the school that was created
when your father and a man by the name of Genma Saotome stole some very
important scrolls of mine and abandoned me in the forest one night.",
Happosai said as he glared at Soun.

"It was all Genma's idea, really.", Soun quivered much to Happosai's
shame and Akane's disgust.

"You do not even realize what has become of you. By focusing your art
on negative emotions, you have crippled your self. Your friend was destroyed
by his own greed and perversion, just as your own cowardice will no likely
destroy you as well.

"Did something happen to Genma?", Soun asked.

"A few years ago, a very promising student and I were training near
Mount Fuji when Genma attacked in the middle of the night using a quite
powerful, if not deadly chi technique. He wished to challenge me for the
scrolls that you and he had not managed to steal earlier. Now while his
techniques were quite powerful, as I said, the were very sloppy. A blade
of 'force' hit my student, killing the girl instantly. One tends not live
without ones head for very long.", Happosai said trying to remain calm.

"Genma killed your student?", Soun squeaked out.

"Yes he did, and because of that I was forced, regrettably, to kill
him before he could kill anyone else. The only good that came from such a
tragic event was that I was able to rescue a young man, my present student
from your friend's influence.", Happosai almost hissed as Soun fainted at
the news of Genma's death.

Happosai dragged his student into the house with Akane following
behind him, stunned by news of her father's past history.

***********

Taro casually wandered through Nerima. He was surprised by how quiet
and 'open' the district seemed to be. He had heard how crowded and noisy
Tokyo was supposed to be, but this particular part of the city seemed the
same as the rest of the city might have been before the great war was
fought many decades ago.

He was unsure of how far he should wander. After all he was unfamiliar
with the city and he wouldn't want to inconvenience his master by having the
man come look for him. As he walked pass a local park he felt as if something
was calling him to enter, almost like a premonition of sorts. His master had
often said that such feelings were often messages from the gods. Perhaps it
would be wise to follow up on his feelings.

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

Across the district, Kasumi felt the anguish that her 'sister' was
feeling as well as the presence of a young man that might be able to help.
She was surprised when she had felt Happosai's aura as he had walked by
Ranko's and her home earlier. It was a very rare thing, across the dimensions
to feel the presence of a selfless Happosai.

"Are you ok, big sister?", Ranko asked as he saw the concerned look on
the nice daemon's face.

"I am alright Ranko-chan. I just felt someone who was feeling a great
sadness.", Kasumi said.

"Are you going to help her, like you helped me?", Ranko asked.

"I already have, Ranko-chan, I already have.", Kasumi replied to
Ranko who looked at her with a questioning expression on his face.

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

Taro walked into the park, enjoying the fact that part of nature
existed in a city the size of Tokyo. He came upon a bridge and saw a young
lady sitting on the railing, with her feet hanging over the edge. As he
came closer Taro saw that the young lady in question was the same one that
he and Master Happosai has seen earlier.

Nabiki came out of her daydreaming to find herself falling forward for
some reason. It took less than a second for her to realize that she was going
to tumble off the bridge and into the water below. Maybe she shouldn't have
been day dreaming about jumping off earlier. Somebody had obviously been
listening and decided to grant her 'wish'.

"It figures, the only time I have something granted to me and it will
result in my death. Oh well, at least no one will miss me when I am gone.",
Nabiki thought bitterly to herself.

Taro gasped as the young woman seemed to slide off the railing towards
the water below. Concentrating on a technique, that his master wanted him to
practice, but he had not yet mastered, Taro's body seemed to blur, then
faded from sight, reappearing right next to the girl. He lunged towards her
and grabbed her hand, just as she went over the edge of the bridge.

In panic, the young woman continued to thrash around as Taro tried to pull
her back up onto the bridge.

"Please miss, calm down, I will not let you fall.", Taro said as he
managed to finally yank the girl back up.

They both hit the ground with a thud, the girl ending up on top of a
very embarrassed and red Taro.

"You will be alright now.", Taro said as he sat up trying to get the
young lady to let go of him.

The girl was still shaking as Taro stepped away from her.

"Thank you for helping me. I don't know what happened. I guess I was
just.....", the girl tried to say, but was shaking to bad to finish.

"What you were doing was very dangerous, miss. Your life is far too
precious to have it end during a careless accident.", Taro said, while
trying to not reprimand the girl too harshly, but sometimes people needed to
be reminded that they are not immortal, and they can die from preventable
accidents.

"At least father will not be able to complain about any funeral
expense my death would cause him.", Nabiki joked morbidly, as Taro found
himself temporarily at a lack of words on how to respond to what the
young woman in front of him had just said.

"Miss, if you are depressed, there are places that can help.", Taro said
remembering a time that he and his master helped a young man to find help
for the problems in his life.

"I wonder whatever became of Keitaro?", Taro briefly thought.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself, I was just sitting there, because I was
depressed about.... No....Never mind....It's not really important. I am better now.
Thank you for saving me.", Nabiki said woodenly.

"It was my pleasure miss, but if you do not mind me saying so, you still
appear to be in shock. Is there somewhere that I can take you, perhaps a doctor
or back to your place of residence.", Taro said.

"Do you know where the Tendo dojo is?", Nabiki asked Taro.

"My master and I were going to be staying there. Is the owner of the
dojo your father?", Taro asked.

"Yes he is. My name is Nabiki Tendo. I am his.....daughter.", Nabiki
stated as she drew the word out for some reason.

"My name is Pan......, er Taro...It is a pleasure to meet you
Nabiki-san.", Taro said with a nervous smile.

***********

Nabiki led Taro back to the Tendo Dojo, but stop the boy from entering
when they reached the front gate.

"Before we enter, I should warn you that my 'loving' sister my decide
to attack you if she see you standing close to me.", Nabiki said.

"She is that protective of you?", Taro asked.

"No, she just hates all boy.", Nabiki said as Taro raised an eyebrow
in a Vulcan-like fashion at Nabiki's declaration.

"I will try to not offend your sister. After all I am supposed to be
a guest here, if your father agrees, so I would not want to offend him
or members of his family.", Taro said.

As they were going to enter Nabiki heard the sound of her sister
screaming, followed by a loud splash. This was shortly followed by the
sound of her father yelling, and the sound of another splash following
that.

Nabiki and Taro rushed into the yard to see Nabiki's father and her
sister Akane pulling themselves out of the koi pond. They were evidently
tossed there by the strange little monk that Nabiki saw standing on the
back porch of her house.

"Master what is going on here? Did they try and attack you for some
reason?", Taro asked Happosai.

"There is nothing to worry about Taro my boy. I just had to discipline
a couple of unruly students.", Happosai said.

"I will never be your student.", Akane growled.

"Then you will never be allowed to practice your "Anything Goes", style
again, for it was from my original art that it was stolen from.", Happosai
said in chilling voice devoid of emotion.

"So you are the 'dreaded master' that father spoke about once before.",
Nabiki said as Taro and Happosai looked at her with questioning looks on
their faces.

"Dreaded master? Now there is something I do not recall having even been
called before.", Happosai stated.

"That fool Genma Saotome, deserves the title of 'dreaded' more than anyone
I can think of.", Taro said, while causing Akane to notice him for the first
time, especially since Nabiki seemed to now standing quite close to him.

"What are you doing with my sister, you.....boy.", Akane said the last
word as if it were a curse.

"Why yes I am male. How very perceptive of you to notice.", Taro said
as Nabiki tried unsuccessfully to hold back a giggle.

"Akane stop acting like a brat. Taro-san has done nothing wrong. If
it were not for him, I might not be here now.", Nabiki said the last
part quietly.

"What! What did you do to my daughter?", Soun yelled at Taro, before
he was knocked back onto his rear by Happosai.

"Honestly, it is quite obvious where your daughter gets her temper
and lack of maturity from. Why don't you let them explain what happened
before jumping to conclusions.", Happosai replied in disgust.

Taro led Nabiki into the house as she started to rub her arm. It was
beginning to hurt due to the strain of Taro having to almost yank her up
back onto the bridge. From her spot on the couch, where she sat next
to Taro and smiled at him, much to the boy's nervousness, she began to
tell her family about how she had met Taro and why she was in the park in
the first place.

From their small home, Kasumi was showing Ranko what was going on in
the Tendo Dojo by the means of a small viewing crystal. Kasumi hoped that the
Happosai of their world would continue to keep Soun in his place. It was obvious
that her 'father' of this dimension needed to be disciplined more than the Soun
Tendo of Kasumi's native world.

*********

"So Miss Tendo, how did you meet my young apprentice?", Happosai asked
Nabiki as he watch in amusement as she stole a quick glace at Taro.

"I was in the park, sitting a the bridge railing. Not a very smart thing
to do, as I look back upon it ,but I was thinking of other things at the time.
I guess I must have been too involved in my thoughts, for I felt myself begin
to slide off the railing. Taro-san seemed to appear out of no where, and he
caught me as I began to fall towards the water below.", Nabiki said.

"Why were you in the park anyway, I thought you were going to the
market?", Akane asked.

"I was at the market, for a while, but something happened and I...",
Nabiki's voice trailed off.

"It was that gaijin Mousse wasn't it? Did that perverted boy do
something?", Akane growled.

"He is not a pervert. Mousse-chan would never do anything to me, it
was some of the other girls in my class. They stated saying things about me,
because of my work. I got embarrassed and ran out.", Nabiki said in shame.

"You wouldn't have to be embarrassed if you didn't work in that sleazy
bar. Honestly, what were you thinking when you applied there.", Akane said
in a disgusted tone of voice.

"What choice do I have. Neither you or father do anything around here. I am
'lucky' that the manager didn't care about my age or we would be out on the
street.", Nabiki said angrily.

"Am I to understand it, that you are in charge of supporting this
family, Nabiki-san.", Happosai asked.

"Yes, father hasn't worked for many years. I have to work at this
'gentleman's club' in order for us to not be thrown out on the street.",
Nabiki replied, as a tear fell from her eye.

"It is worse than I thought. It appears that you have become almost
as much of a miscreant as your friend Genma was, Soun. I have half a mind to
remove your presence from this world as I did him.", Happosai said to Soun,
who's skin was now almost pure white as he cowered in a corner of the
living room.

"Please don't, I have already lost two of my family I do not wish to lose
any more.", Nabiki said in a pleading tone of voice.

"Alright my dear, I will withhold any punishment against your father for
now. It is obvious that you lead quite a difficult life, and I would not want
add to your problems.", Happosai said.

"Master Happosai, if we are to be staying here, I believe that we should
help contribute to the running of this household. I am old enough now to work
without anyone's permission, and I believe that you could work with your
old student to help open the dojo to new students again.", Taro said.

"That idea does have merit my boy, but before that can happen, I, or
rather we, would have to spend some time on training my student and his
daughter on the proper way to work with others.", Happosai said.

"I don't need anyone's help.", Akane snorted.

"If that was true my dear then when did it take this 'old man' less
than one tenth of a second to defeat you.", Happosai said.

"She can not be that bad can she?", Taro accidentally said out loud.

As Akane was about to tell Taro what she thinks his statement about her,
the doorbell rings and Nabiki gets up to answer the door at of habit, despite
the fact that her father and sister were sitting closer to the door.

As Nabiki opened the front door she saw a very familiar face.

"Mousse-ch... -san, what brings you here.", Nabiki said nervously.

"I am sorry to disturb you at your home, but I was worried when you
ran out of the store so sudden and left your basket. I also took the liberty
of bringing the items on your list with me. Do not worry about paying for them
quite yet. The manager said he can add it to your bill the next time you
shop at the market.", Mousse said.

"You were worried about me?", Nabiki asked with little hearts in her
eyes.

"Oh dear I did it again.", Mousse thought to himself.

"Of course I was worried, you always seemed like a nice girl and
everyone at the store considers you one of their favorite customers.",
Mousse said as the gleam began to fade from Nabiki's eyes.

"I see.", Nabiki said quietly.

Taro was watching as Nabiki was speaking to Mousse and decided that
maybe he should have a talk with the boy. After all it was quite obvious
that the girl had feelings for the boy. Perhaps he could see if they would
be willing to see each other. The fact that he might be developing some
feelings for the girl, were irrelevant at the moment. What mattered most
was that Nabiki should be happy, especially considering what she had to put
up with in her everyday life.

Mousse set the groceries in the kitchen and even helped Nabiki put
them away, much to the girl's delight. As he was leaving the house, Taro walked
outside the door right behind him.

"Mousse-san I wonder if I might speak to you for a moment?", Taro said.

"I have a few minutes, but I really return to the market as soon as I
can, since we are somewhat short-handed today.", Mousse said.

"Then allow me accompany you back to the market. I am presently looking
for work, and we can discuss the 'problem' that I wished to speak to you about
on the way.", Taro said.

"So what is this 'problem' that you wished to speak of.", Mousse said
to Taro as they both left the dojo.

"This might be none of my business, but I feel that you should know how
much Nabiki Tendo seems to care about you. She was quite upset about something
that happened today when she saw you, and her distress almost cost her life.",
Taro said.

"What happened?", Mousse asked in concern.

Taro explained how he came across Nabiki, but left out the part about
how she was almost injured. He had a feeling that she would be somewhat
annoyed about having others know too much about her life.

"I knew that she was interested in me. I seem to have that affect on
woman, but I do not wish to lead anyone on. Nabiki does not realize how many
young men and more than a few older ones are interested in her, especially
those that know what her family life is like.", Mousse said.

"She has talked to you about her life?", Taro asked.

"We have had a couple classes together at school, since I arrived
here last year. I sympathize with her. May own life back in my village
was far from perfect, but I do not have the same feelings for her that
she has shown towards me.", Mousse said.

"Is there someone else, perhaps back in your village, that you are
interested in?", Taro asked.

"Yes there is. Her name is Shampoo and she is one of the best warriors
in the village, while I admittedly need a little more practice.", Mousse
said quietly.

"Does Nabiki and the other girls who are interested in you know of
your interest in this girl, Shampoo?", Taro replied.

"They do, but since she is not here, many of the girls want to prevent
me from becoming 'lonely'. Normally I could just ignore this, but lately they
have become quite cruel towards each other, especially Nabiki, because of how
she has to support her family.", Mousse said with some bitterness in his voice.

"I have heard a little about what she does, but I have spent most of my
life traveling from dojo to dojo. Nabiki is not placing herself in too much
danger is she?", Taro asked, as Mousse noted the concern in his voice.

"I am familiar with the area in which she works. It is not the safest
area of the city in which to live. I have to live there do to the prices
of apartments in this city, but I would not, if I had a choice in the
matter. Fortunately, the manager of the club, in which Nabiki works, seems
to look out after the girls who work there.", Mousse said.

"That is good to know.", Taro said as Mousse looked at him with an
raised eyebrow.

"You seem to be quite interested in Nabiki's life. Do you have some feelings
for her.", Mousse asked.

"I just met her today, but I must admit that there is something about her
that makes me want to spend as much time around her as possible.", Taro said
while looking at the ground in embarrassment.

"She tends to have that effect on people. If you do plan to pursue a
relationship with her, treat her with kindness and respect. As I said there
are a lot of people around here, who care about her and would not want to
see her hurt in anyway.", Mousse said.

"I understand, but you have nothing to worry about. My master always
stressed on how one should treat women with nothing but respect.", Taro
replied to Mousse.

"That is good, now let me introduce you to the manager of the market
and we will see if he has any open positions.", Mousse said as he and Taro
walked into the front entrance of the market in which Mousse worked.

Two hours later, Taro walked out of the market, having managed to
secure a position of 'bag boy'. It was hardly a difficult job to fulfill. In
fact it was one that was usually assigned to high school students, but since
Taro did not have a written work record, the manager started him off at the
'bottom' so to speak.

Many of the workers there seemed surprised that he would be living with
Nabiki. They almost seemed jealous. With so many people being interested in
the girl, Taro wondered why she seemed to be lonely. Taro guessed that Nabiki
was just one of those people who refused to believe that other people could
or would care about them. Perhaps if she could spend more time away from the
house and with people her own age, she would have a better image of herself.
The question was, how to go about doing this.

When Taro arrived back at the dojo, he was surprised to find Nabiki
waiting at the door, looking at him, as if he had done something to anger the
girl.

"Why did you want to speak to Mousse?", Nabiki said.

"Well for two reasons. The first being that since the master and I
will more than likely be staying here, I decided to ask Mousse-san whether or
not his workplace was hiring, and fortunately for me they were.", Taro said.

"What was the second reason?", Nabiki said.

"I....ahem....wanted to speak to him about you.", Taro whispered.

"You wanted to what?!?", Nabiki glared at him.

"Well I was concerned about you and asked him about you, since he seems
to know you, and thinks of you as a friend, so I mentioned about how badly you
felt when you ran out of the market.", Taro said as Nabiki was looking at him
with a fearful look.

"You didn't tell him about me slipping off the bridge did you?", Nabiki
asked quietly.

"No Nabiki-san, I would never mention something like that without your
permission.", Taro said as Nabiki breathed a sigh of relief.

"He does know about where you work and has even watched out for you
from time to time. He also asked me to tell you that if you wish, he could
walk you back from your job if he is not working.", Taro said.

"He said that.", Nabiki said in glee, rapidly changing from her
previous sad state of mind.

"Yes he did. I could also accompany at times when he is unavailable,
but since I will now be helping out, perhaps you could find a safer job. No
offense Nabiki-san, but a young woman your age should not be doing such
things.", Taro said.

"It is not for you to decide what I can and can not do. I am not a
helpless little girl, who needs protecting. I have spent years helping this
family on my own.", Nabiki said angrily.

"Please Nabiki-san I did not mean to offend you, I simply want to help.
It was the way Master Happosai raised me.", Taro tried to explain.

"If you want to help someone, help out my spoiled brat sister.
Kami-sama knows that girl needs all the help she could get.", Nabiki said
as she walked off into the hair, leaving Taro standing in the door wondering
what had just happened.

Taro wandered of into the house, searching for Master Happosai, perhaps
he would be able to explain why Nabiki seems to be mad at him.

"Master Happosai, may I speak to you for a moment?", Taro asked as he
found Happosai setting up their meager belongs in one of the dojo's spare
bedrooms.

"What is wrong, Taro my boy, you seem to be distressed about
something.", Happosai asked Taro.

Taro explained about what had just happened during his conversation
with Nabiki and how confused he was about how angry she seemed to be with
him at the moment.

"It appears the young lady thinks that you are implying that she is
incapable of running her own life, possibly that she needs someone to
protect her from life. Now I know that you did not mean to imply such a
thing, but you have to understand that, from what I have found out from
questioning my worthless former student, is that Nabiki-chan is solely
responsible for supporting this family. She has done this for many years
and possibly feels threatened by someone who wants to take her place.",
Happosai said.

"So should I go upstairs and apologize to her.", Taro asked.

"That is a difficult question to answer. She may accept your apology
or she may feel that you are being condescending towards her. I would wait
for a while, then see how she is feeling. Meanwhile you can assist me in
starting the training session for Soun and Akane.

Taro's heart was not on his work. He really didn't need to
concentrate all that hard to avoid any attacks from Akane as he
trained her, but it was rude to not pay full attention to one's student.
Still what happened with Nabiki bothered him greatly. Taro hated to have
anyone angry or sad because of something that he did. He had enough of
that when he was 'training' under that bastard Genma Saotome, may his
corpse rot in hell for all eternity.

Ever since Master Happosai agreed to help train him, Taro had done
his best to make up for the crimes Genma tricked him into committing, so
seeing Nabiki upset because of something he said, hurt Taro more than he
wanted to admit.

As Taro and Happosai continued to train Soun and Akane, neither gave any
indication of noticing a young woman, with a pageboy haircut, looking in to
the dojo through a partially opened door.

Nabiki watched, amazed at how much better Taro seemed to be that her
younger sister, the so-called 'best martial artist in Nerima'. Right, as if
she was anywhere near, 'her' Mousse's level, as she often watched the boy
practice during his lunch hour at work.

Taro was quite skilled, perhaps even with Mousse's skill level. Perhaps
he would not mind training her. She was loathed to admit it, but her martial
arts skills were somewhat lacking, and being more proficient in the art
would allow her to feel safer when she had to walk home from work.

That decided, Nabiki opened the door to the dojo, stepped in and
approached Taro in the hopes of getting him to train her. If she had to
swallow a little pride in order to do so, then so be it.

That evening Happosai offered to prepare dinner, much to Soun's
shock. After all he believed that cooking was 'woman's work'. Why would any
male wish to do such as thing. He did have the presence of mind to not
mention this out loud though.

"I wonder if Master Happosai knows how to prepare octopus or
squid.", Nabiki thought out loud as Taro convulsed slightly at the
mention of eating such a thing.

"You do not like squid?", Nabiki asked Taro.

"I prefer to avoid eating such things. The only thing that was worse,
was when this Scottish woman served us cow's tongue when we were traveling
through her homeland.", Taro replied.

"You did not care for the taste of it?", Nabiki asked.

"Let us just say that I prefer to avoid tasting things that can taste
me back.", Taro said.

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

Across town a young red haired woman in her early 30's was exiting
from one of Tokyo's larger courthouses. She had just been informed
recently that her husband had died. Strange though, how the time of
death was several years ago. She wondered why it had taken so long for
her to be notified. He did die in a rather remote area of China, so it
was not too hard to imagine someone not finding him or more that likely
not caring about him. He tended to have that affect on people.

He had left her many years ago, when he found out that they were
incapable of having children, or rather, he was incapable, a fact that he
had blamed her for. Still it was with great relief that Nodoka Meiou,
formerly, Nodoka Saotome stepped out of the courthouse wondering what she
should do with the rest of her life, now that she knew for a fact that
her husband was dead.

The next morning, Taro watched as Akane and Nabiki walked to school.
He was 19 now, and had already graduated with the help of private tutors
that his master had hired over the years. Still, he would not mind being
able to attend school. It would give him the opportunity to spend some time
with people near his own age. He would also be able to look out for
Nabiki. Mousse had told him how another student by the name of Kuno, used
to harass Nabiki and challenge her for dates. Not being a fighter, Nabiki
tried her best to ignore the boy while hoping that he never forced
himself on her.

That all ended when Mousse started school there and defeated the
True Blunder of Furinkan high without any effort. Mousse told Taro
earlier, that it might have been this instance that led Nabiki to have a
crush on him. Perhaps she looked up to him as her savior of a sorts.

Taro sighed, wishing that he had more experience with girls. What
could he do to show Nabiki that he was interested without appearing to
be desperate or lecherous. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure what
couples did on dates. The few daughters of the dojo masters that he had met
always seemed so forward. This was not surprising considering how
intimidated the male students seemed to be of the master's daughter. After
all you did not want to offend her if you valued your health. This usually
resulted though in a very lonely young woman acting far more enthusiastic
towards various boys than they should act.

Perhaps simply helping her out with her chores would be a good
start. He could try and talk to her then and perhaps get to know a little
more about her.

Across the city, Kasumi decided that since she and Ranko would be
staying in town for a weeks to look after Nabiki and others, that it would
be best if Ranko was enrolled in the local junior high school. He was not
thrilled to hear that. He was worried that the students would try and hurt
him, the way Akane tried to do so earlier. The principal of the school
though assured Kasumi that he would be well taken care of. and that the
school was used to dealing with unusual students and their problems, such
as the time when a young Succubus by the name of Lilith was attacked by
a young girl with a strange club, claiming that she was only trying to
capture something called a 'Devil Card'. The poor confused girl did have
to be disciplined for that, but no more similar instances have happened
since then.

Kasumi seemed satisfied with the man's truthfulness. She did wish
though that so many of the students and teachers were not staring at her
though. She knew her disguised goddess form was attractive, but it was still
somewhat disturbing to see grown men begin to drool as she walked by.

Ranko didn't seem to have this problem though. Most of the girls in
the school seemed somewhat intimidated by his appearance at first. The only
girl who paid attention to him, was a cute long haired brunette, who
kept following the boy around while shooting movies of him with a hand held
video camera.

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

Meanwhile back in Kasumi's home world, the image in the viewing crystal
began to fade, much to Nabiki's and Shampoo's disappoint.

"Sorry about the show ending so abruptly, but the crystal can only
display images for only a set amount of time each day.", Ranko said to
everyone present.

"Amazing, a universe in which Happosai is actually helping other
people instead of stealing their underwear.", Nabiki said.

"Well in most universes, he is usually a pervert, a human one, not
a demon like he was here, but you are right Nabiki-chan an altruistic
Happosai is not exactly common across the dimensions.", Ranko replied.

"Shampoo surprised to Mousse not acting like love struck idiot. He
almost seem normal.", Shampoo said.

"I didn't really get to meet Mousse in that world, but from little
Kasumi-chan told me about him, he left the village so that he could
improve his martial skills and his education in order to impress your
native self. Kasumi said that the native you was impressed with both
skill and intelligence and that she was not impressed by how dull-witted
the boys of her village seemed.", Ranko said.

"If Mousse more like that here, Shampoo have no need to always punish
him for being so annoying.", Shampoo stated.

"Did I, er... I mean the Nabiki of that world end up with Mousse or
Taro. It looked like she could have ended up with either one.", Nabiki
asked Ranko.

"I will show you more of her life later. I think that you will find it
much more satisfying than just having me speak about it.", Ranko said to
Nabiki, who seemed somewhat disappointed by that answer.

"Shampoo notice monster boy seemed, normal, but still have funny
name, he almost let slip when he first speak to mercenary girl there.",
Shampoo said as Nabiki frowned at the mention of her nickname.

"He was not cursed as far as I know. I believe it was Genma who
gave him that name, considering what a pervert Genma was in that world.
At least that is what Happosai told Kasumi, when they met each other. We
can use the crystal later, if you wish to see more of my home world.",
Ranko said.

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

It was the night before Ranma and Hinako were supposed to awake, and
Doctor Tofu's office was already filling up with several visitors, anxious
about what would happen tomorrow morning.

Inside the dreamscape, Kasumi was getting ready to physically leave it
in preparation for the awakening. It wouldn't be prudent to remain in a
person's private dreamscape, when they awoke.

Kasumi called Ranma and Hinako over to her, to explain why she had to
leave the both of them alone for a while.

"Do you have to leave so soon, I am going to miss not being able to
see you.", both Chibi-Ranma and Hinako said to Kasumi.

"I will not be gone for long. When you awaken from your sleep I will
be standing right next to you. We can then spend as much time together as
you want. Well except when you have to be in school. I will leave in
Hinako's hands then. After we can't have acting like a delinquent in school
now can we.", Kasumi teased as Hinako giggled.

"Don't worry Kasumi-chan I will make sure he behaves himself.", Hinako
said in mock seriousness.

"Ranma. remember you will still have to look after Hinako until she
finishes growing, in a few weeks, alright.", Kasumi stated.

"Don't worry Kasumi, I will make sure that nothing happens to
Hina-chan.", Chibi-Ranma said.

"Oh my hero.", Hinako teased while glomping on Ranma's arm, much to
the boy's embarrassment.

"Well now that is settled, I will be leaving, but I will see you
quite soon.", Kasumi said as she faded from sight, leaving Ranma and Hinako
alone in their own private dreamscape.

Back in the doctor's office Hild and Urd watched as a spectral version
of Kasumi seemed to rise out of Ranma and Hinako, with her form solidifying
as Kasumi stepped away from the sleeping pair.

"Did everything proceed smoothly while you were with them?", Hild asked.

"Well Hinako and I had to help Ranma overcome a particularly bad
nightmare, but he should be fine by now.", Kasumi replied as she then told
Urd and Hild about Ranma's dream.

"How that boy turned out as well as he has, with those two as parents
is beyond me.", Urd said in exasperation.

"Did anything else happen?", Hild said, making her question sound more
like a statement.

"There was one little incident. While I was holding him, Ranma seemed
to briefly change from male to female form, then back again.", There was no
other problems associated with this change, but it does seem unusual.",
Kasumi replied to Hild.

"You can thank your 'aunt' Lilith for that Kasumi-chan. She was
originally supposed to give Ranma the ability to control his curse at
will, or remove it entirely if he wished, but she has chosen to do a
little more than that.", Urd said to Kasumi.

"Can you tell me what she did?", Kasumi said in a concerned tone of
voice.

"She refused to say exactly what she did.", Urd said.

"Sounds like she is trying to made improvements, similar to what she
did to 'her little Ko-chan', Hild snorted.

Kasumi sat down across the room from everyone else, suddenly feeling
tired, She thought that immortals didn't get tired, but the emotional strain
to dealing with Ranma's nightmare took more out of her than she was willing
to admit.

Kasumi knew that she now loved Ranma with all her heart. Being away
from him for ten years only strengthened her feelings. To Ranma though, she
had only been gone for a week. In time he might grow to love her, but for
now he viewed her as a friend, Kasumi believed, so she would have to be
patient and not rush him. The last thing she wanted to do was chase the boy
off.

Because of the link she now shared with Ranma, Kasumi also felt herself
growing protective of Hinako as well, almost like a mother. How these feelings
would affect her relationship with them remained to be seen.

Kasumi was 'shaken' out of her melancholy by the feeling of someone
hugging her and picking her, two meter tall daemon, form up into the air.
She was surprised to see that it was Hild that was holding her close. Kasumi
looked at Hild, who was actually smiling at her, in wonder.

"Earlier my sister told me that sometimes trying to comfort others
makes them feel better. It appeared to be true for my daughter, so I decided
to try it out on you as well.", Hild said, sound strangely not as confident
as she usually did to Kasumi.

"Your sister was right, it does make people feel better.", Kasumi said
as she hugged Hild back and laid her head on the taller demon princess's
shoulder.

Hearing the voices of her family and others in the waiting room Kasumi
changed back to her human form and went out to see everyone.

As she entered the room it was apparent that nearly all of Ranma's
friends and relatives were here, even the Kuno siblings, who were both
unconscious in a corner of the room. The large bumps on each of their heads
were more than likely the cause of them presently 'sleeping'.

Kasumi noticed both Shampoo and Mousse acting quite subdued as
Cologne stood next to them with an expression on her face that seemed to
say that she would be most annoyed at the two if they did not behave
themselves while they were here.

Akane and Akari were present, with Akane continually looking towards
the clinic back room with an expectant look on her face. Kasumi was not
quite sure how her youngest sister viewed her former fiancée. Both Akane and
Ranma used to love each other, but they drifted apart over time, with Akane
now finding comfort in Akari's arms. Akane still found Ranma physically
attractive, especially his girl form, but Kasumi did not believe that Akane
loved Ranma in a romantic fashion, sexual yes, but not in terms of wanting
to be married to the boy anymore.

Nabiki was sitting quietly next to Ranko with her head leaning
against his. Both of their tails were in constant motion, showing how
nervous they appeared to be. Kasumi knew that Nabiki was beginning to
feel quite fond of Ranma, after the first and then second failed
marriage attempt between Ranma and Akane. Nabiki was becoming quite
close to Ranko, but Kasumi could almost imagine her sister suddenly
donning a kendo outfit, then grabbing onto Ranko and Ranma, proclaiming,
'That she must have them both.'

Kasumi had to will herself not to glare at both Genma and Nodoka.
Having Ranma tell her about the nightmare in which he died because of the
foolish promise that Ranma's father made to his mother. While she was holding
the distraught Chibi-Ranma in her arms she swore that nothing would even
happen to Ranma as long as she lived.

Ukyo almost appeared to be hiding. She was sitting on one of the
seats nearest the front door, almost hidden by a large fern. Kasumi could
feel the conflicting emotions emanating from the girl. Ranma wanted to just
be her friend, nothing more. He had said that Ukyo had accepted this, but
it appeared to be that she still had feelings for him. This was unfortunate
but even if Kasumi did not wish to be with Ranma, she still did not
consider the obsessed chef a good match for him.

Finally, she saw Dr. Tofu standing across the room, trying to ignore
her. Kasumi fond the doctor's behavior earlier unacceptable. He was
supposed to be a professional. His erratic behavior delayed her as she tried
to get to her...., er rather Ranma and Hinako. She glared at him briefly,
snorted, then turned away, with a look of annoyance on her face, to the
surprise of several people present. Dr. Tofu, for his part, only looked
down in guilt when he saw Kasumi looking at him.

"All of you will be glad to know that Ranma and Hinako are doing
just fine, and there should not be any problems when they awaken
tomorrow.", Kasumi told all those present.

"So everything went smoothly, Kasumi-chan?", Ranko asked.

"There were a couple if issues that needed to be settled, but
they have been dealt with.", Kasumi said while briefly looking at Genma
and Nodoka, then quickly back to Ranko.

"The 'baka' is too stubborn ever to be hurt.", Akane said,
while managing to make the insult sound like a term of affection.

"Daughter, done this mean.....", Soun said in excitement before he
was cut off by an angry glowing Akane.

"No it does not, so stop trying to interfere in my life. Honestly
sometimes it is harder to decide if either you or Kuno are the most dense.
Ranma and I might have had a relationship, if things had gone differently,
and I admit it, that I do care about her, I mean him, but that does not
mean that I wish to get married to Ranma.", Akane yelled at Soun.

Hild saw the aura and felt the anger that Akane was giving off and
briefly wondered if the girl did not have a small amount of demon blood
running through her veins. It would explain her temper and stubbornness,
not to mention how she seemed almost repelled by Ranma's pure heart. Hild
decided that she would have one of her underlings look into this at a later
time. Maybe she was even related to... Well it would be best not to mention
that to anyone yet, it would make the poor girl quite distraught if that
turned out to be true.

Shortly after her outburst, Akane left with Akari, saying that she
would return the next morning, but she wanted to be 'alone' for a while.

As the evening turned into night, Nabiki and Ranko fell asleep
with their tails wrapped around each other's waist. Kasumi conjured up a
blanket to cover up the sleeping couple as Soun grumbled quietly about
how close Nabiki and Ranko were.

Kasumi found herself unable to sleep that night, and I she came out of
the back room, in which she was resting, she noticed that she wasn't the only
one. Shampoo was fidgeting on a couch in the waiting room. From the dullness
in the girl's eyes, it was obvious to Kasumi that Shampoo had been unable
to sleep.

"If you like I can cast a spell to put you to sleep for a while, or we
can go into the doctor's office to talk for a while, if you like.", Kasumi
said to Shampoo in the Mandarin dialect native to Shampoo's village.

"You can speak my own language?", Shampoo asked in surprise.

"I can speak and understand all languages now. You can call it one
of the perks of being immortal now.", Kasumi half joked.

"I wouldn't want to trouble you.", Shampoo said.

"It wouldn't be any trouble, besides it is obvious that you are hurting
and I do not like to see another person in pain.", Kasumi said.

"Even one who caused Ranma so much trouble?", Shampoo asked.

"That doesn't matter anymore, Shampoo. Both Ranma and you are now free
to be with anyone you want to be with.", Kasumi said.

"I was never really allowed to be with anyone in the village. The
'old woman' always had me training from dawn to dusk. The boys that I was
able to talk to for a while ended up being chased away by that idiot Mousse.
When I started to develop, most of the boys lost interested in speaking to
me, they were too busy drooling. Ranma was the first boy who did not spend
all of his time just staring at my breasts.", Shampoo replied.

"If you didn't like the boys treating you as a sex object, why did
you always act so.....uninhibited around Ranma.", Kasumi asked.

"I was acting how an amazon woman was supposed to act. We were
supposed to be the aggressors in a relationship, not the boys. I guess I did
not see myself acting the same way those boy did toward me. I was wrong",
Shampoo said in shame.

"Shampoo I don't believe that I ever told Ranma about how I cured
you, and how you are no longer 'married'. When he wakes up, take some time
to talk to him. If he finds out that he is no longer bound by either the
kiss of death or kiss of marriage, he might begin to feel more relaxed
around you. Perhaps you can even become friends afterwards.", Kasumi
said to Shampoo.

"I still hope that I could find someone to be with, I do not want
to end up an old maid like Sugar and Spice are.", Shampoo said.

"How old are they?", Kasumi asked.

"They are almost 26, such as embarrassment to their family.", Shampoo
said as Kasumi barely resisted the urge to twitch.

"Well, I am sure that you will not have to wait until you are that
'old'.", Kasumi said in a strained tone of voice.

Shampoo managed to fall asleep an hour later and Kasumi walked back
into the examination room and pulled several chocolate bars out of no
where and began to eat in order to recharge herself. Since she was now
a goddess, she could regain her energies through two other ways, besides
sleeping, one was chocolate, and the other was, well..... she was the
Daemon of Fertility after all. It's a shame Ranma was still asleep, for
Kasumi believed that a nice long kiss would probably recharge both of
their 'batteries', so to speak.

***********

As dawn approached, two more visitors teleported into the doctor's
office. Lilith arrived first, looking very pleased with herself for some
reason. The fact though that she would try to hold back a giggle whenever
she looked at Ranma and Hinako seemed to disturb Urd and Kasumi.

Mara was the next to arrive, but she mistimed her teleport and ended
up appearing right on top of Shampoo, who quickly explained that she was not
into that sort of thing and maybe Akane would be a better choice, much to
Mara's embarrassment.

As the sun began to crest the horizon, the energy dome began to
flicker, becoming more transparent. The bluish glow contained in it began
to be drawn into Ranma, and the yellowing glow was drawn into Hinako
leaving a now clear 'bubble' surrounding the two patients.

A low hum began to reverberate throughout the building, attracting
the attention of Cologne and Dr. Tofu, who came in to check on the
patients. See Kasumi, the doctor managed to actually control himself, which
was a relief to those present.

Urd, Hild, and Kasumi placed their hands on the bubble and began to
chant. Wisps of multi-colored energy flowed from them, through the bubble,
and into Ranma, and Hinako. The bubble surrounding them soon faded from
sight with a soft popping noise.

Lilith smiled as she saw two small marks on Ranma's cheeks and one
small mark on his forehead briefly appear, then fade away. Kasumi picked
up Hinako and moved her away from Ranma to her own bed. Both seemed to shiver
slightly when they were separated, but this ended quickly.

About 15 minutes later, both Ranma and Hinako began to awaken and
slowly sat up, while yawning both. Hinako now appeared to be about ten years
old, and both she and Ranma now quite obviously, had silver and red streaks
running though their hair.

"Oh, it is over? Is everything alright?", Ranma asked as he tried to
stand up, but began to feel a little dizzy.

"Don't be in such a hurry to get up. What you went through was very
stressful on your body.", Lilith scolded Ranma, as Kasumi helped to steady
the boy and sat him back down on the bed.

"It feels nice to be held by you Kasumi-chan.", Ranma said sleepily as
Kasumi smiled at him, causing Ranma to feel warm all over.

"Grandma are you here?", Hinako's spoke quietly from the bed next to
Ranma's.

"I'm right here Hina-chan.", Urd said as she helped Ms. Hinako to sit up.

"Is that really you?", Hinako asked, seeing Urd's goddess form, in the
flesh, for the first time.

"I know I look a 'little' different from how you used to see me, but
it is me.", Urd said.

"You look very preety.", Hinako stated, causing Urd to pull her into a
tight hug.

Outside in the waiting room, Mara was looking through the window in
the door separating it from the examination room. She seemed both pleased and
strangely, a little saddened by what she saw taking place inside.

"Well are they awake yet?", several people seemed to ask Mara at once.

"No, not yet.", Mara lied hoping to give the recovering pair a little
more time to spend with the ones they loved the most.

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

Ranma was the first to walk out of the exam room, holding hands and
leaning slightly against Kasumi. Upon seeing them, everyone rushed up to
them at once, but bounced back when they impacted a lightly glowing red
shield that sprung up around Ranma and Kasumi.

"There is no need to rush, besides Ranma still needs some time to
recover.", Kasumi scolded everyone as she lowered the shield surrounding
her and Ranma.

"How are you feeling son.", Nodoka was the first to speak.

"A little tired, but I should better in a few hours.", Ranma said.

"Don't worry dear boy, you will feel better soon, when you are shown
how to recharge your new store of mana.", Lilith said as she walked out of
the exam room and stood next to him.

"Mana?, you mean he is?", Kasumi started to ask, but was cut off by
Lilith.

"Not only that dear, but he has the same recharge methods that you
possess.", Lilith replied with a Cheshire cat grin on her face.

"Oh my!", was all Kasumi could think to say as she looked over at Ranma,
licked her lips and smiled shyly at him.

"Ranma saw Nabiki, in her new catgirl form, looking at him
nervously from her place on one of the waiting room's couches.

"What's new pussycat?", Ranma teased as he walked up to Nabiki.

"You are not scared of how I look?", Nabiki asked nervously.

"No, Kasumi removed the neko-ken curse from me as Hinako and I slept.
Besides, how could I ever be scared of such a beautiful young woman.", Ranma
said as he kissed Nabiki on the cheek, causing her to blush deeply.

"Tsk, tsk, you are such a flirt now.", Kasumi mock scolded Ranma.

"So, how did Kasumi remove the curse?", Nabiki asked Ranma.

"Kasumi removed the cat spirit from me.", Ranma said as he pulled
the little kitten, that used to be his curse, from out of nowhere.

Nabiki took one look at the little kitten and hearts seemed to form
in the catgirl's eyes.

"Oh aren't you just the cutest little thing, yes you are!" Nabiki
said in glee as Ranma, and many others stared at he in surprise.

"You can play with her whenever you want, I am sure that she will
not mind.", Ranma said as he handed the kitten to Nabiki, who began
to coddle it like an infant.

"Look honey isn't she cute. I wonder if our own....", Nabiki started
to say then stopped herself, blushing in embarrassment at how she was
acting.

Soun, meanwhile starting to cry about how his daughter wanted to have
kittens with 'that annoying catboy', earning him a swat upside the head
from Kasumi off all people.

"Father behave yourself. If Nabiki and Ranko-chan choose to get married
and have children one day, I am sure that their children will be quite cute.",
Kasumi said while imagining herself helping to look after a few cute little
catboys and catgirls, as her own children played with their cousins.

Nabiki was convinced to hand the kitten back to Ranma when it became
apparent that the kitten wanted to spend more time with its new 'mother' and
'father' all rolled up in one person.

Ranma let the kitten sit on his shoulder and he spoke to Ranko.

"Take good care of Nabiki-chan. She is a very sweet girl, despite the
hard exterior she sometimes put up.", Ranma said as he turned to address
Ranko.

"You do not have to worry about Nabiki. I will do whatever it takes
to make sure that she is happy.", Ranko replied as he then leaned over and gave
Nabiki a quick kiss on the lips.

Ranma walked over to Shampoo, sat down beside her and said, "Shampoo
there is something that we need to talk about later."

"Sham.., I mean I....think I know what you want to talk about, but we
can speak about that later.", Shampoo said, in a little clearer Japanese
than she usually spoke.

"You have been practicing, I am glad. People were starting to think that
you were dumb, but I know that it not the case.", Ranma said in Shampoo's
native Mandarin dialect.

"How did you learn to speak my language so quick?", Shampoo asked
back in Mandarin.

"It's part of my new abilities I guess. Shampoo I should tell you that
Hinako's grandmother told me that I have changed and am no longer the same
as everyone else, I don't know what that means yet, but I think that Hinako
and I are becoming more like Kasumi.", Ranma said.

Shampoo looked at Ranma sadly, then sat down mumbling something about
finally losing him to another.

Ukyo seemed strangely quiet towards Ranma. She told him that she was
glad that everything was alright, but she seemed rather 'cold' in her
greeting Ranma thought.

"I really hope she still doesn't think of me as fiancee. I want to
be he friend, but I don't want to marry her.", Ranma thought.

The door to the exam room opened and out walked Cologne, Dr. Tofu
Hild, Urd, and Hinako, who was being held in her grandmother's arms.

"So she did get older.", Nabiki said upon seeing Hinako.

"Yes, and grandma says that in a few weeks I will no longer be
a child, with Ranma-chan's help of course.", Hinako said.

"What do I need to do now?", Ranma asked in confusion.

"It appears my esteemed aunt decided to alter the spell surrounding
Ranma and Hinako a 'little'.", Urd said as she glared at Lilith, who only
smiled in return.

"What do you mean?", Ranma asked.

"It would be easier to show you than to tell you. Ranma dear, be
so kind as to hold Hinako's hand would you.", Lilith said as Urd set
Hinako back down on the ground and Hinako walked over to Ranma.

As Ranma held Hinako's hand there was a bright flash, then Ranma
noticed everyone staring at him.

"What's wrong?", Ranma asked in a voice that reminded him of
Hinako's adult form.

Ranma next noticed his reflection in a nearby mirror and his mouth
dropped open in shock.

He was now female with silver hair with red streaks in it. He was
actually taller than Kasumi was in her daemon form, with a figure that
matched Kasumi's. Ranma could deal with this, but the outfit that he was
now wearing was a little much, or rather too little as the case may be.

Ranma was wearing a white one piece body suit over which he wore
a silver mail halter top and a mail skirt that went half way down his, or
rather her thighs at the moment. She was wearing to knee length white
leather boots and golden bracers on her forearms. Ranma was also wearing
two ornate diamond and platinum earrings in each ear with a jewel encrusted
diadem on her head. A silvery blue glowing Katana, in a back sheath,
completed the ensemble.

As Ranma turned away from the mirror in shock, she also noticed two
strange symbols on her cheeks, and one on her forehead.

"Eep......I look like an Amazon Sailor Scout!", Ranma said in shock
as several people were now glaring at Lilith.

"You look beautiful Ranma-chan, just like I did when I was your age.",
Lilith said.

"You never looked that good.", Mara snorted as Lilith stuck her tongue
out at her daughter in response.

"You old demon how dare you turn my son in a weak girl!", Genma
foolishly yelled at Lilith.

Lilith glanced over at Genma, snapped her fingers and Genma
disappeared from the room.

"What happened to Genma?", Nodoka asked.

"Oh, don't worry, he will be back in a few minutes, after he learns
his lesson about the proper way of speaking to a lady.", Lilith said in
amusement.

Stunned by Ranma's new appearance, it took a moment for everyone to
realize that Hinako had changed as well. She was wearing what looked like a
Roman toga, which covered her body down past her knees. Her hair was now the
same color that Ranma's new form had. The biggest surprise though were the
two small white wings behind Hinako's back. They didn't look large enough
for the girl to use for flight, yet, but they might grow as the girl became
older.

"So am I going to be like this forever now.", Ranma asked, while
sounding a little scared.

"You can change back to your male form whenever you wish, but you
will need to be in your new form from time to time in order to help
Hinako grow into her proper age.", Lilith said.

"I don't understand. I didn't have to be a girl before to help her.",
Ranma said.

"That was before we realized what Hinako actually is.", Kasumi said,
as Urd gave Kasumi a surprised look.

"Hinako is an angel", Urd whispered quietly in shock.

"Really daughter you can not be that surprised. After all, think about
what your daughter and her husband were.", Hild said while wondering why her
daughter was so dense at times.

"Yes, and as an angel she will of course need to be with a goddess.",
Lilith said as she looked over at a now stunned Ranma-chan.

Hinako noticed her new form in the mirror that Ranma-chan had been looking
at and couldn't help but smile. She felt that this form was how she was
supposed to have had when she grew up, before that perverted little demon had
injured her so many years ago. Hinako smiled at Ranma and glomped on to Ranma's
arm, felling comfortable and quite content to be near her new goddess.

"Kasumi and Hinako were originally supposed to be joined in that
fashion, but my dear sister, decided that since Hinako seems to be closer
to Ranma, that they would be better off joined.", Hild replied.

"Now as a goddess you will be able to help Hinako regain her true
form. She will need to absorb some of your energies as she did before, until
she reaches maturity. You in turn will need to recharge your mana supply,
since it can not be recovered by just eating a lot, like ki can.",
Lilith said.

"How can I do that?", Ranma asked.

"Kasumi has told you that she is now the Daemon of nature and
fertility, well in order for the both of you to be together it was decided
that you shall be the new Goddess of nature and fertility, thus you shall
now recharge your mana by either specifically eating chocolate and by
being affectionate with someone, when you are in your goddess form, if
you know what I mean.", Lilith teased as Ranma suddenly felt a little
dizzy.

"You mean Kasumi and I have to...", Ranma tried to say.

"All you have to do is kiss her dear boy. Why, did you think I meant
something else?", Lilith grinned evilly.

"Kiss when we are both girls?", Ranma blushed.

"Honestly I do not see the problem. Sigh, young people are so shy
today.", Lilith said as she pushed Kasumi and Ranma together causing
both their bodies and lips to meet.

Kasumi and Ranma stood together in shock till they both began to
feel a warmth deep inside them begin to spread outward. Gently at first
they began to kiss each other lightly on the lips, then the neck. Ranma
began to feel Kasumi's hands begin to head south, and was going to
return the favor despite the fact that they had an audience watching
them, when a dull thud, echoes around the room, shaking Ranma and Kasumi
awake from their passion.

Both Ranma and Kasumi looked incredibly embarrassed by what just
happened especially when they saw Nodoka doing a little happy dance around
the room while waving small flags in the air. This was bad enough, but the
sight of Akane unconscious on the floor with a silly grin on her face and
a nosebleed, was somewhat disturbing to Ranma.

"And she calls me a pervert.", Ranma said as he walked over to pick
Akane off the floor. Kami-sama knows Akari wasn't any help. The girl appeared
to be in a daze as well.

As Ranma leaned over Akane to see if the 'perverted' little girl was
alright he was shock when she suddenly glomped onto him and began to run
her hands over Ranma-chan's rear end.

"Oh, so round, so firm.", Akane said while seeming to be in a daze.

"Ack! Hentai!, Akane no Baka.", Ranma yelled.

(Wham) (Splat)

Everyone was now staring at the squished Akane laying partially
imbedded in the floor, with an angry Ranma-chan standing over her, holding
onto a very large mallet.

The staring, quickly gave way to laughter from a few people,
especially Shampoo, Urd, and Nabiki. Soun looked like he wanted to cry, but
seemed to mentally overloaded to even accomplish that feat at the moment.

The mallet quickly disappeared from Ranma's hand as he stood over the
flattened Akane wondering why Akane tried to glomp him and how he had managed
to squish her with a mallet.

"Don't worry about it Ranma-chan. She will be alright. She was just
reacting to the large amounts of pheromones that you are putting out.",
Lilith said as she looked at the squashed girl, who still had a silly
grin on her face.

Nabiki could 'feel' the amount of pheromones Ranma was putting out and
was trying valiantly to resist the urge to sling Ranko over her shoulder,
carry him back to her bedroom, and do several very naughty things to the
unsuspecting catboy.

Ranma, feeling horribly embarrassed by what he just did, and worrying
that he might be tempted to do much more and enjoy it, concentrated as hard
as he could and managed to return to his male form. He immediately noticed
that he felt less power than he had in his new goddess form, but at least
he could think straight now. Later when things settled down he would
return to his goddess form in order to provide energy for Hinako.

Kasumi also decided to return to her human form in order to help
reduce the lust she was presently feeling towards Ranma.

"Honestly I fail to see why everyone in this country is so sexually
repressed. You would never find such shy people your own age in Europe or
even the America's.", Lilith said while looking at Ranma, Kasumi, Ranko,
and Nabiki.

"Were are not that bad are we?", Ranma asked Lilith.

"My dear boy, the only place where I saw more uptight mortals, was
when I had the displeasure of accidentally teleporting to this little town
somewhere in Pakistan, or was it Afghanistan. I never was that familiar with
the countries in what you call the middle east.

Seeing how Lilith was presently dressed in one of her rather small
silk dresses, Urd could not help but wonder out loud, how people,
especially the men in those countries would react to her.

Lilith, picking up Urd's thoughts, replied:

"They reacted quite poorly. Imagine say that I was an evil slut who would
be responsible for men not being able to control themselves. Honestly how
pathetic does one have to be as to blame others for their lack of hormonal
control. They paid a harsh penalty for their rudeness.", Lilith stated with
a wicked smirk on her face.

"What did you do?", Urd asked.

"I simply turned all those rude little men into women and offered to
turn their wives into men if they so wished. Let's see how they would like
being treated as property, not to mention what it is like to be pregnant. I
can guarantee that the 200+ men who changed will have a new outlook on life
in years to come.", Lilith said.

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

As things began to settle down, Nodoka remembered that her husband
had been taken away and asked what happened to him.

In response, Lilith with an evil grin on her face, snapped her fingers
causing a very interesting sight to appear in the waiting room.

Genma, in his panda form, was tied down to a large rotisserie, with
all of his fur shaved off, as two small imps were glazing him with honey
mustard barbeque sauce.

"Help. I give up. Mercy!", several signs appeared in a rapid succession
from Genma-panda, who had managed to get one had untied.

Lilith snapped her fingers again, and Genma was now back in his human
form with no sign of the barbeque or imps ever being in the waiting room.

"Consider that a sign of things to come Genma Saotome, if you do not
change your ways. Niflheim has many punishments for those who let greed
and selfishness overcome their character. I can guarantee you that when
your time comes and you have not made any effort to reform yourself, you
will be the main coarse at a barbeque every day, and each night your body
will reform, only for you to experience the same thing day after day, until
I or my sister feel that you have learned your lesson.", Lilith said as
Genma decided to do the 'manly' thing in response to this bit of
information.

He fainted of course.

"That punishment was a little more harsh than aunty Lilith usually
gives out.", Kasumi thought to Urd.

"Well the panda fool did call her old. You know how sensitive women her
age can be.", Urd thought back while trying to hold back a grin.

An hour later everyone had left the doctor's office and was heading
back towards their respective homes. It was decided that Hinako, Ranma, and
Kasumi would stay at Hinako's house, until she reached her true age. Staying
there would be far more peaceful than staying at the dojo, considering some
of the 'people' who often showed up there in response for something that
Genma had done in the past.

Akane had asked her father if it was alright for Akari to stay in her
room with her, since Akari's parents did not approve of her choice in mates.
Soun, still being stunned from the day's events, actually agreed without
any argument on his part.

Nabiki and Ranko still decided to sleep in separate rooms, much
to Nabiki's frustration as Ranko's shyness. Still with all the computer and
magical 'junk' that she saw littering his room, there would probably not be
enough space for the two teens to share a room anyway.

A little while later at Hinako's home Kasumi was watching Ranma, in his
goddess form, sitting on the couch with Hinako leaning up against him. Pulses
of energy seemed to flow out of Ranma and into Hinako every few seconds.
Ranma had been 'feeding' Hinako for over an hour and was beginning to look
a little tired. No matter Kasumi would just have to help Ranma recharge his
energy when he done, she thought as she unconsciously licked her lips in
anticipation.

It was going to be a very interesting next few weeks for the three
of them and Kasumi could not wait for what she knew was going to happen
when Hinako reached her true age.

As Kasumi watched over Ranma and Hinako, Ranko was watching over
Nabiki, who seemed to be acting more domestic than he thought she was.
Nabiki had heard that one of the neighbor's cats had kittens several
weeks ago, and she was now in the front yard, by the pond, playing
with a couple of them.

"Strange, Minako never showed such interest in children, even
when she was still hormonally imbalanced thanks to me biting her. I wonder
if Nabiki realizes how she is acting. Admittedly Minako was more outgoing
and a little self-absorbed at times, still I guess Nabiki is just acting
on instincts she had been suppressing for a while. Maybe she actually
wants to be a mother, even if she had never mentioned it before. Something
to think about in the future I believe.", Ranko pondered as he continued
to watch Nabiki.

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

The next day was yet another school day, Ranko was quite curious
anxious about attending. He still was not a student, but he could not help
contain his curiosity about how the students there would handle Ranma's and
Hinako's new form. It also gave him a perfect excuse to see Nabiki. After all
he certainly was not going to spend the entire day around the house with only
Soun for company.

Furinkan high had seen many strange events over the years in this
generation and in the past. The had seen a Hawaiian obsessed principle, a
Samurai obsessed kendo player, a tomboy who seemed to enjoy beating up the
male population of the school. They had even seen a certain aquatransexual
martial artist and the battles he brought to the school. One would think
that the student boy would be quite jaded by now, concerning the strange or
the supernatural.

The sight though of a tall amazon looking Sailor Scout?, flying into
the school, with a small silver haired angel stunned half the student body,
and those that were left, almost lost it completely when the two beings
morphed into Ranma and Ms. Hinako. If Kuno had been present that day everyone
was sure that he would have been ranting about 'his' newest love that he would
have to 'rescue' from that 'fiend Saotome'.

Shampoo was still under orders from Cologne to help out Ms. Hinako if she
needed help, but quite frankly she was starting to feel unnecessary. If Ranma
was now a goddess, half the time and Hinako an angel, what help could she
possibly be. He cherished her skills almost as she cherished her former
airen, but if he was gone and her skills were no longer necessary, what would
or could she do with her life. She could return to the village and try to
live as the other warriors did, but somehow that did not appeal to her
anymore. She had seen to much of the world outside of the village.

The stories, that she had heard from the catboy, caused her to want to
go out and explore different worlds and places. Maybe she should ask Kasumi to
send her to that world where Mousse was normal or maybe to one where Amazons
were not stuck in some long forgotten valley suffering from delusions about how
powerful they were compared to the rest of the world.

Shampoo watched as all of the students seemed to crowd around Ranma,
completely ignoring her for once. Well at least she did not have to put up
with any foolish boys trying to 'date' her like they did Akane.

She would have to tell Ranma soon about the deal that she and her
great grandmother had made with Kasumi.

"I wonder if he will even care that we are no longer to be married.
After all he has a goddess, what do I have to offer?", Shampoo thought
in an uncharacteristic melancholy mood.

Ranma and Hinako, even amongst all of the students that were surrounding
them, felt the sadness rolling off of Shampoo.

"Ranma, I think that you should speak to her soon.", Hinako said.

Seeing Shampoo standing under the shadow of a large tree, looking
almost despondent reminding him of how Nabiki looked before he gave her
those green roses for the first time.

"She already looks sad. What will happen when she finds out that I
do not want to be with her, ever?", Ranma replied to Hinako.

"I can't say, but you can't let things go on as they are. Maybe she
would be willing to let you go.", Hinako said as she and Ranma were
unaware that Ranma was already 'free' of Shampoo so to speak.

After Ranma escorted Hinako to her classroom she quickly leapt out of
the windows and bounded over to Shampoo, who showed little reaction to her
former airen suddenly appearing in front of her.

"Shampoo we need to talk.", Ranma said in a tone of voice that told
Shampoo that she would probably not enjoy what Ranma was going to tell her.

"Shampoo need to talk to air... I mean Ranma too. Have to say something
very important.", Shampoo said as she looked at her airen, no Ranma is his
new goddess form.

"We can speak in Mandarin if you like.", Ranma replied.

"Shampoo know, but Sham.. I mean I need to practice speaking Japanese,
at least while I am still here.", Shampoo stated.

"Still here?", Ranma asked

"Ranma not know this, but while you and little teacher were 'sleeping',
nice girl Kasumi make Shampoo and old elder an offer.", Shampoo said.

"What sort of offer?", Ranma asked in confusion.

"Kasumi offer to cure Shampoo of Jusenkyo curse if Shampoo give up on
wanting to marry Ranma. She say that Shampoo have to try and win Ranma's
love, not just try treating Ranma as husband already. Shampoo know now that
Ranma care very much about Kasumi, maybe not enough to marry soon, but maybe
be quite close in future. Ranma also have little teacher as angel. I...don't
know what that means, but I think that Ranma become very close to little
teacher as well as she get older, so Shampoo give up on Ranma completely. Now
I am alone.", Shampoo said as she looked at the ground, refusing to look
Ranma in the face.

"You are not alone. You were starting to talk to other people here. I
heard that you had even spent time with Nabiki and Ranko.", Ranma stated.

"True, but they is couple. They no need, how you say, 'third wheel'
hanging around them. I don't feel right, bothering them.", Shampoo sighed.

"I don't think that they feel that you are a 'third wheel'.", Ranma
said.

"Still I am not that comfortable around them. I wanted to be with
someone of my own, but that not going to happen now. Ranma was only person
to not treat Shampoo, like I was just an object to 'play' with like stupid
Amazon boys thought.", Shampoo said, while now looking at Ranma with a
wide eyed expression, tears just beginning to fall.

"I wanted to talk to you, because I thought that we were not right for
each other, and because there was someone else....You know..", Ranma said as
Shampoo nodded slowly.

"You do not have to be alone though. I, and others will be your friends.
That is probably not what you want right now, but at least you will not be
alone.", Ranma said as he surprised Shampoo by holding the Amazon close to his
new form.

Being held so close to Ranma made Shampoo feel safe, something an Amazon
was not to supposed to need. An Amazon was supposed to be self-sufficient, not
to look for a shoulder to cry on. She didn't know what to believe now, so she
gave into the sadness and frustration that she had been feeling and cried long
and hard in to Ranma's chest.

Several students were just staring at this display of emotion, including
Ranko and Nabiki, who had just arrived.

"I guess that Ranma finally told Shampoo how he feels about her.",
Nabiki said.

"I would suppose so. Shampoo is certainly acting different from the
times that Kasumi and I ran into her analogs on occasion.", Ranko said as
he saw Ranma try and comfort Shampoo. It reminded him of the two worlds in
which he saw Ranma and Shampoo end up together. One happy ending and one sad
ending.

Through their link to Ranma, Kasumi and Hinako could feel the emotions
that Ranma was putting out in an effort to comfort Shampoo. Hinako felt sorry
for the girl. She knew what it was like to lose something or someone that you
care deeply about. Kasumi was giving serious consideration to taking Shampoo
along on her next world hopping trip. It might takes the girl's mind off her
problems, and she might even meet someone. Something to consider for a later
time.

"I know something that might make you feel a little better.", Ranma
said to Shampoo.

"What is it?", Shampoo sniffled.

"Well we still have half an hour until class starts. I could take you
for a short flight.", Ranma replied at Shampoo stared at her.

"Really?", Shampoo said as she imagined herself being held close as
they flew through the air.

"I even promise not to drop you.", Ranma teased, causing Shampoo's
frown to lessen somewhat.

Everyone watched in awe as Ranma scooped Shampoo up in her arms and shot
straight up, faster than any plane they ever saw. Shampoo, stunned at first,
began to relax then to giggle at the experience. The fact that she was also
being held by the one that she loved didn't hurt either. If only he would feel
the same.

"He is doing the same thing that Kasumi used to do to me when I was
sad.", Ranko said to Nabiki.

"You went flying with Kasumi?", Nabiki asked.

"Well she flew, I just held on tight. But it was a wonderful experience
to sour amongst the clouds, leaving all of your trials and tribulations on
the ground far below.", Ranko said.

"That sound nice.", Nabiki said, sounding a little jealous.

"You could always ask Kasumi or Ranma.", Ranko said noticing Nabiki
beginning to blush a little.

"I suppose I could ask Kasumi.", Nabiki said not wanting to even
think about being held in Ranma's arms. After all it was not like she wanted
both of them to be with her. Nope that wasn't it. She was a good kitty
after all.

"Stupid feline hormones.", Nabiki thought to herself as she and Ranko
entered the school building, leaving Ranma and Shampoo outside, still
flying around.

Ranma landed about 20 minutes later, still holding on to Shampoo, who
seemed quite reluctant to let go of the new goddess.

"Shampoo we have to go to class now.", Ranma said.

"I want to stay where I am for now.", Shampoo said in Mandarin.

"Would you let go if I fly you home later?", Ranma said wondering if
he could managed to hold on to both Hinako and Shampoo.

"I want something else.", Shampoo said.

"What is it?", Ranma asked warily.

"I want you to kiss me?", Shampoo purred in Ranma-chan's ear.

"I don't think that is a good idea.", Ranma said, not liking where this
conversation was going.

"I gave up a lot for you. At least let me know what it would be like to
kiss you just once.", Shampoo said.

Ranma was unsure of how to respond. On one hand he did not love Shampoo
in that way, so kissing her might just give her the wrong impression. On the
other hand, he did owe her something and his goddess form did need to recharge
from after the flying lesson he gave Shampoo.

"Damn horny goddess form.", Ranma mumbled as he leaned over and gave
Shampoo a quick kiss on the lips.

Shampoo, not being satisfied with that, pulled the larger and now
surprised goddess down to her and gave Ranma such kiss that Ranma-chan's
hair was now 'toinged' out in all directions. Ranma felt herself beginning
to respond sexually to Shampoo's attention. She did manage to pull away
Shampoo just as she was starting to slide her hands under Shampoo's dress
and down the back of her panties.

"I think we shouldn't do that anymore.", Ranma said, breathing quite
heavily.

Shampoo didn't say anything at first, she just started walking back
towards the cafe, away from the school.

"Where are you going? The school is in the opposite direction.",
Ranma asked Shampoo.

"Shampoo may come later, but right now Shampoo have to go home and
take six, maybe seven cold showers.", Shampoo replied in her usual
broken Japanese.

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

Ranma spent most of the day in his male form. The few boys who
'accidentally' splashed him were disappointed that this trick no longer
worked. They wanted to see the new 'goddess'. Their disappointment soon
changed to screaming as Ranma demonstrated how displeased he was with
Furinkan's assortment of stubborn little perverts.

The only time during the day that he assumed his new form was during the
lunch period, when he was 'recharging' Hinako as she sat on his lap. Poor
Ranma did not realize though that he was putting out too much energy that
was 'leaking' out into the courtyard and interacting with the libido's of
everyone present. Or to put it another way, the new goddess of fertility
was making everyone quite excited by the energy she was putting out, just as
Ranma had accidentally done when he had first awoken in the doctor's office.

Most of the martial artists, having stronger wills than the average
student, did not seem to be affected that much, but several other couples
were seen wandering off to the more secluded parts of the campus, not that
Ranma noticed, but Hinako felt and Ranko, who was experienced in magic
could feel something strange in the air, so to speak. Well that, and the
fact that Nabiki had wrapped herself around him and was purring loudly.

Ukyo was surprised when several of the boys in the school tried to
flirt with her. Usually no one paid any attention to the chef, who some
thought was still a boy. She wasn't really interested but since it was
obvious that Ranma did not care for her in any romantic fashion and the
'energy' that he was now putting out, Ukyo found herself trying to flirt
back, not that she had a lot of experience in doing such things.

Shampoo was not outwardly affected, but she was thinking of some very
interesting things she could do for Ranma, if he ever let her sit in his
lap instead of Hinako, who was now almost falling asleep due to the energy
flowing into her.

"I'll take Hinako back to her classroom. She seems a little too
relaxed out here.", Ranma said as he walked back into the building carrying
Hinako in his male form once again.

Once Ranma left, shifting forms as he went most of the students seemed
to snap out of whatever daze that they were in, causing a lot of blushing
and embarrassed students apologizing to each other for how 'open' they
seemed to be acting. Strangely though, no one seemed to be offended. Several
of the boys expected to flattened by mallets from outraged females, the
typical punishment when any girl, right or wrong, seemed to think that a boy
was being perverted. Instead the girls either apologized as well, or just
smiled shyly and said that they didn't mind what had happened.

Ranma would have to learn to control the amount of energy he let out
or his old high school, would become a much more friendlier place in the
future. Fortunately Kasumi could feel what was going on thanks to the link
that she shared with Ranma and Hinako and decided to have a talk with Ranma
about what had almost happened, After all its one thing to have a lot of
students decide to suddenly start 'making out' with one another, but it would
be problematic if things went further next time.

"Akane was affected in a similar way when Ranma first changed
to his new form. The poor girl was so embarrassed by how she acted, she still
could not even look at Ranma.", Kasumi thought out loud as she went about setting
up her room at Hinako's house after feeling Ranma kiss Shampoo. Kasumi felt a
little jealous about Ranma kissing Shampoo, before she scolded herself for
such childish behavior.

Back at the high school, Akane was giving some thought to how she had acted.
She was embarrassed and more than a little angry. At whom she wasn't sure, but
it had to be someone's fault for how she acted. She wasn't interested in a three
some. She knew that the first time Akari had 'joked' about it when Ranma caught
them together in the girl's locker room. She briefly entertained a brief, but
silly fantasy, of calling Ranma a 'foul sorcerer' who clouded her mind away from
the fair Akari. Perhaps she was just confused, or she had just been exposed to
far too many perverts and it was starting to have an effect on her.

Akane had already apologized to Akari for her behavior, but she wasn't
sure when, or even if, she should say anything to Ranma at all. After all ,she
didn't really do anything to him, but he chose to hit her, with a mallet of all
things. Akane didn't think that Ranma even knew of the concept of irony, so
maybe he just acted without thinking. He didn't really mean to punish her, even
if she was a bad girl, who sometimes deserved it.

Akane quickly tried to forget that line of thinking. It was far too
perverted, and she wasn't a boy, so she could not possibly be a pervert. Yes,
it had to be Ranma's fault for making feel so...... She had a feeling that it
would be very difficult to get any sleep the upcoming night. Maybe if she spent
the night with Akari again, she could hold off some of her more vivid dreams
about certain 'things'.


Author's Note:


Well another chapter done with a little something for everyone. We have
a kind Akane risking her life for a friend. A norm...er I mean psychotic Akane
not caring about anyone except herself. We even have a kind and wise Happosai
making an appearance. That has to be a first, at least in the small amount of
fanfics that I have read.

This chapter also marks a turning point in the fact that I can now
actually see the end of this story in sight. There are still a few chapters left
to write, especially concerning certain past event that I have neglected for far
to long, but the main story is drawing to a close. Before that I might chose
to write one or two side stories first, and of course there will be a book two
to this particular Ranma universe, that will deal with what happened to Urd's
husband and daughter and how a couple Ranma characters will play a role in
rescuing them from their fates. That is still a little ways off though.

Hope you liked this chapter. If you wish to send me an email you can
contact me at ryo_oki@pacbell.net