Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Tensions Rising ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

[Author’s note: The characters and setting herein- with the exception of one or two O.C.’s of my own design- are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. You’ve heard the spiel before, I know. Now on to what you’re actually here for- the show. Please remember some of my series knowledge is limited; I work with what information I can find. Enjoy.]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 10: Tensions Rising

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That same morning found one resident of the Neko Hanten somewhat less than happy.

“THIS NOT POSSIBLE!!! Great-grandmother, this no can be true!!!” Shampoo screamed in anguish, eyes wide and hands beginning to tremble. “Ranma… Ranma belong to Shampoo, is airen! Is future husband! Is not possible for Ranma to refuse!” she cried, tears beginning to form.

“Child, I’m afraid you will have to accept it,” Cologne admonished, her head bowed as she sat on the countertop. “He has made his choice, and through his actions- which you yourself witnessed, mind you- he has proved the strength of his conviction. Were we to come between him and the Tendo girl now, I seriously doubt we would be able to stand against him. By all rights, he has earned the Right of Refusal.”

Shampoo shook her head viciously. “No! Shampoo no believe this! Ranma cannot choose violent pervert girl; her skills no match for me! She is angry, sexless, ugly kitchen wrecker and Ranma…”

“Has chosen her,” Cologne said sharply, cutting Shampoo off. At that moment, Mousse stuck his head around the corner.

“Did I hear that right, old mummy? Is it true? Saotome is no longer bound to my Shampoo and has chosen another??” he asked, a silly grin on his face.

“Put your glasses back on, stupid,” Cologne sighed, cracking him on the head with her cane. Mousse staggered and pushed his glasses back over his eyes; he had been talking to a potted plant.

“Yes, it is true, I promise you both. I paid a visit to both of them last night and had a long discussion with them, and from what I observed there was no doubt in my mind.” She shuffled over to Shampoo, who was leaning on the counter in shock and shivering. “It’s over, child. Our pursuit of Ranma has to end. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is. The Council has been informed of my decision. I won’t deny that my own heart is heavy because of this, but at the same time I know it is the right thing for us to do.” Mousse’s grin widened another centimeter and he fidgeted, desperately fighting the urge to run out and dance in the streets.

“How you say this so calmly?” Shampoo retorted, slamming her hands on the counter. “Tendo girl has stolen airen! This can no go unanswered; Ranma belong to Shampoo!!!”

“Please, think about what you’re saying, my love,” said Mousse as he stepped closer to her, resting his hand next to hers. “You have to be reasonable about this. Don’t you remember what happened at Phoenix Mountain? Don’t you remember the way he fought Saffron when none of the rest of us could even touch him? Remember the destruction, the pain?” He paused, then gingerly slid his hand on top of hers. “He did that for her sake. For her safety. And if that safety were threatened again…”

Shampoo yanked her hand out from under his, turning her back to him. “Stupid Mousse, Shampoo know this already! Why you think this so painful? You think Shampoo not know this after everything Great-grandmother say?” Her shoulders began to shake as tears flowed down her cheeks. “I try so hard to make Ranma see Amazon virtue, Amazon strength… and he not appreciate it… not even take Shampoo to date…”

Cologne sighed. “I know it’s hard, child. It’s always hard to give up a much-enjoyed pursuit… but if it does continue and Akane gets hurt because of it, it would become disastrous. Ranma could very well snap if she were physically harmed, especially after he fought and killed once for her sake.” Mousse nodded soberly. Shampoo said nothing, staring off at a speck on the wall.

Yes… if Shampoo physically harm pervert girl, Ranma will hate Shampoo. But… if she refuse him herself… if she hate Ranma so much she hurt him, Ranma may come back!!! A sly, almost feline grin crossed her face and she bolted from the restaurant, dashing upstairs to her room.

“Child, what are you doing?” Cologne hollered. “Shampoo, get back down here right now!”

“Just one moment!” she shouted back in a sing-song tone. The sound of a drawer opening and various small metallic objects hitting the floor filtered down the stairs before she came running back down again. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve and plastered a quick smile on her face.

“What were you just doing, granddaughter?” asked Cologne. “Why did you leave so suddenly when I was not done talking with you yet?”

“I sorry, Great-grandmother. Shampoo make too much fuss over this. You right; this stop now. Must apologize and congratulate Tendo girl on victory. Have found gift to make amends.”

Cologne’s eyes narrowed. “You seem to be recovering rather fast, child. Almost too fast. Just a moment ago you argued that Ranma could not love her, and now you wish to present her with a gift and make amends?”

“Yes, Great-grandmother. I go now,” she replied, darting to the door.

“Shampoo, stop. You’re not going anywhere until I’m sure you’re telling the truth. I promised that boy there would be no more tricks, and that applies to you as well!” Cologne glanced at Shampoo’s hands, noticing her right hand clenched tight around something, but it was so small she couldn’t see what it was. “What’s that in your hands? What kind of ‘gift’ have you got there?”

Shampoo glanced at the wall clock. “Great-grandmother, Shampoo serious!” she cried, screwing as much sincerity into her voice and eyes as possible. “Look at time, Ranma on way to school now; if I no go quickly then miss him and Tendo girl until afternoon!” Before Cologne could get up from the counter and close the distance, Shampoo slid the door open rapidly with her foot and sprinted out into the morning air.

“CHILD! Get back here this instant!!!” Cologne hollered lividly.

“Granny, what’s going on? What’s she doing?” Mousse asked.

“My guess is she’s about to do something incredibly stupid, possibly most dishonorable,” was Cologne’s reply. “I was afraid of this; she really has grown fond of the boy. And if she does anything untoward to either him or Akane this morning, gods help us all…” She shot a serious glance in Mousse’s direction. “Go after her, Mousse. You’re faster than I am, you’ve got to catch up to her and make sure she doesn’t do something rash.”

“Don’t worry, granny, I won’t let you down!” He adjusted his glasses to make sure they were tightly on his nose, cracked his knuckles and dashed out the door. “Shampoo! Come back! Don’t bother yourself over him, he isn’t worth it! I’m here for you, I always have been…” His words echoed down the street until they were no longer audible. Cologne shook her head, then shuffled across the counter to the telephone and quickly dialed the Tendo dojo.

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“That was a first, we actually had a quiet breakfast for a change.”

“Chalk that up to Pop not bein’ around to swipe everything he can get his paws on,” Ranma said with a laugh. They had made good time getting ready for class and were walking side by side along the canal. “He’s probably gonna be sore next time we see him, ‘specially if Mom kept him on a short leash.”

“You’re probably right,” Akane replied. “He’s most likely grumbling over how you’re ‘getting soft’ because he wasn’t there to play Punt the Panda with you this morning,” she added with a snicker.

“Heh… I like the sound of that, sounds like a carnival game. Punt the Panda, only 500 yen a whack,” Ranma quipped, setting both of them off laughing. “Well, I can live without Pop’s exercises for one morning. I… well, I kinda liked our exercises better.”

Akane smiled. “Yeah, me too.” She glanced around, noting that they were the only two on the street at the moment, then turned on her heel to face Ranma. “Hey, since there’s really nobody watching, you think maybe we could practice a little more?” She nodded her head towards the fence.

“Uh… you really wanna do some more fence running? In your dress?”

“Ranma, if I’m going to get better at the Art I have to practice, you know that.”

“Yeah, of course I know, but… y’know what I said earlier… if the wind picks up or someone comes along…”

“I thought of that, silly,” she said, stepping closer to him and tapping him playfully on the nose. “First, if someone comes along I’ll just jump down. Second, I decided to take your advice before we left the house.”

“Um… what advice?”

“Running shorts,” she said with a wink.

Ranma blinked. “You mean you’re already wearing…” He glanced briefly at her dress then trailed off and looked away, not daring or wanting to say anything that might be considered mallet-worthy.

Akane shrugged. “I figured better safe than sorry. Besides, who’d notice anyway? Now come on, I need you to make sure I don’t fall off or anything.” With a quick hop, she was airborne, her shoes clicking on the top of the fence rail easily. She straightened out, but began wobbling and swaying back and forth before she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders steady her. She took a deep breath and relaxed, slowly willing herself to stand straight up. Don’t think, just do… She opened her eyes, gazed straight ahead and started to walk. Ranma followed close behind her, arms at the ready to brace her if needed.

“Don’t try to walk too fast, Akane. Take it one step at a time,” Ranma said softly. Akane nodded, settling on a pace which was a little slower, but still making decent time. Her shoe struck a rough spot on the fence and she started to wobble again, flailing her arms out to try and stabilize. Ranma caught her around the waist, supporting her and holding her in place until she was balanced again.

“You’re still thinking about it too much. Don’t pay attention to the rail, keep your eyes forward…” He trailed off as he noticed his hands had slid down to her hips, and he promptly pulled back, expecting the mallet. “Um… if you’d rather I didn’t hold you like that…”

“No, it’s okay, Ranma,” she replied. He couldn’t see her face, but it sounded like she might have been smiling. “Maybe a year ago I might have minded… but that was then. I… I don’t mind so much anymore. I really don’t. And I promise you, I’m not going to hit you for keeping me from falling.” I’ve hit you way too often as it is… no more. Not now, not ever. I won’t make a mistake and drive you away.

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief and they continued walking; this time, Akane picked up the pace a little and Ranma’s smile grew brighter as her wobbles grew few and far between. “There ya go, Akane, you’re doin’ great so far!” he said at length. “Try a little faster; don’t worry ‘bout a thing, I’m right behind you.” Akane nodded, increasing her pace a bit more. She swayed slightly, but a hand on her outstretched forearm kept her from overextending, and soon she had settled into the faster pace with ease.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, a laugh in her voice. “I’m really doing this! And it doesn’t even feel that hard!”

“Exactly,” said Ranma. “Once you stop thinking about it, it gets easier. You just gotta trust in your own skill- but I gotta be honest, not everything we’re gonna go over is a cake walk. It’ll be rough.”

“I know, Ranma. And I’m ready for it. I knew the Art was going to be hard work when I first started learning, and…” Akane trailed off and stopped walking. “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” Ranma asked, halting just behind her.

“Disgruntled Amazon, heading our way,” Akane muttered, jumping off the fence to the ground below. Ranma sighed and followed suit, glancing up in time to see Shampoo skidding to a halt in front of the two of them. It looked like she had just run a marathon; her violet hair was in disarray, she was breathing heavily and her pink Chinese pantsuit was rumpled and looked like it had been slept in. Her hands were clenched loosely and there was a look in her eyes that neither Ranma nor Akane could identify at first. It was a mixture of shock, anger… possibly even fear.

She straightened up, brushing her clothes down and looking at the couple before her as dispassionately as she could. “Nihao… Ranma.” She glanced at Akane, giving her a sour look. “Shampoo wish to ask something, and want only truth.”

“What do you want, Shampoo?” Ranma asked in a tired voice. Better give her a chance, that’s what Cologne asked us to do…

She cleared her throat. “Is… is what great-grandmother say true? Ranma take Right of Refusal, choose violent girl instead of Shampoo?”

“I have a name, you know, and I’m standing right in front of you,” said Akane irritably. “It wouldn’t kill you to say my name once in a while, and I’d really appreciate it if you started now.”

“That goes for me, too,” Ranma added, stepping forward so that he was next to Akane. “And to answer your question… yes. It’s true. The old gh… Cologne offered me the Right, and I accepted it. As little as you may want to believe that, it’s the truth. There is no binding law between us now.” He bowed his head forward slightly. “I… I’m sorry if that hurts you, and I hope you will respect my choice.”

Shampoo stiffened for a moment; her eyes betrayed her calm exterior. “I… I see,” she said in a cold, emotionless voice. “Then is only right that Shampoo accept choice. If Elder has granted Right, must yield. Is Amazon way.” She turned to face Akane, and both noticed she was shaking slightly. “I yield to… to Akane,” she mumbled, almost spitting the name out, then glanced up again.

“Shampoo wish to present former rival with gift.”

Akane blinked. “A… a gift? For me?”

“Token of apology. Wish for brighter future for all,” Shampoo replied. She stepped forward, bringing her right hand up and reaching for the lapel of Akane’s blouse. Ranma had a split second to see a glint of sharpened silver between the Amazon’s fingers and a sly look cross her eyes, and something inside him snapped, screaming DANGER!!!

“Akane! Get back!” he shouted, pushing her to one side and grabbing Shampoo’s wrist with lightning speed. Shampoo gasped, eyes widening as her target stumbled just out of reach; seconds later Ranma spun behind her and wrenched her arm into a submission hold. “Okay, what the hell have you got in your hand? Is this another one of your goddamned tricks? I told Cologne I wasn’t gonna put up with any more crap from you!!!”

“Aiya!! No hurt Shampoo’s arm!”

“Ranma, what’s going on? What’re you doing to her?”

“What were you trying to pin on Akane? Huh? C’mon, drop it!” He grabbed a hold of her wrist, bending it around until her clenched fingers loosened and a cry of pain escaped her throat. With one quick motion, he tore something out of her right hand and pushed her away from him, causing her to collapse awkwardly on the ground in front of him and shake her arm in discomfort. Ranma glanced at the object he’d yanked away from her; a look of surprise crossed his face, followed by a look of pure disgust. “Great Kami, I was hoping I’d never see this damnable thing again,” he growled, flinging the item to the ground. Akane looked down and gasped; lying on the sidewalk was a familiar looking turquoise pendant with a frowning face staring back up at her, though inverted it would appear to be smiling.

Akane stared for a moment, then glared at the Amaxon nearby. “The Reversal Jewel, huh? Is that what you were about to pin on me? That’s your idea of a token of apology?”

“What the hell were you gonna do with that? Pin it on her and watch things fall apart between us or something? Make her hate me? Is that what you were trying to do?” Ranma’s fists were clenched and his face livid; Shampoo glanced up at him and her eyes went wide with fear. “That’s it, isn’t it. This wasn’t some acceptance speech, it was another one of your goddamned plots to get me away from her and possibly into your arms, wasn’t it? WASN’T IT???” His battle aura began to flare around him as he took another step forward, and the Amazon in front of him began to tremble. Reluctantly she nodded her head in affirmation, then slumped forward on her knees, bursting into tears.

“Figures she’d try something like this,” Akane muttered. She picked up the brooch, turning it over in her hands before looking up again. “Cologne warned us this might happen, too.” It was then that Shampoo’s sobs reached her ears in full force, and Akane blinked, taking a step closer as she did so. In all the time they had been rivals, the Amazon had never backed down, had always maintained a stoic and confident exterior, especially in the presence of her or any of the other girls. Akane knew the girl was proud, that she would never dare show weakness to an outsider, least of all an outsider female, yet here she was, on her knees in a complete breakdown. Akane’s expression softened slightly; anger at what had nearly happened was still there, but so too was a speck of sympathy for the Chinese girl.

Ranma’s own expression wavered slightly, but his rage remained tightly controlled. “I swear, Shampoo, if you ever… and I mean, EVER… do anything that harms Akane again…”

“SAOTOME!!!” Everyone except for Shampoo looked up in time to see Mousse drum his feet to a halt in front of them. He lunged forward, grabbing his intended target around the shoulders. “How dare you make my beloved cry like that? You don’t understand, she doesn’t know what she’s doing! She doesn’t realize the mistake she’s making!”

“Mousse, I’m over here,” came Ranma’s voice. Mousse blinked, pulling his glasses back into place before laughing nervously and setting down the trash can he’d been talking to.

“As I was saying, you had no right to make her cry when she doesn’t even realize what kind of mistake she’s making!”

“I think she knew DAMN well what she was doing, Mousse, she just tried to pin that stupid Reverse gem on Akane! And she was passing it off as an apology gift, too! You think I’m just gonna stand by an’ let her get away with something like that?” Ranma paused before letting out a long sigh. “Look, you an’ just about everyone else knows I hate to make anyone cry… but would you rather she keep pulling stunts like this? I’ve had enough. This is the last time. No more second chances, it ends now.”

Mousse looked at the violet-haired girl whose sobs were gradually becoming softer. “Shampoo, is that all true? Were you trying to split them up with that brooch after Elder Cologne told you this had to end?”

She looked up slowly, and everybody could see the shame in her eyes. “Y… yes. Try to make A… Akane h-hate Ranma… then Ranma come back and b-become airen again…” She covered her face with her hands and turned away. “Know it is mistake… b-but… Shampoo l-love Ranma… why Ranma not love back…”

“What’s going on here?” a voice from up the street called; Akane turned to see Shingen running up to the group, straightening out his leather jacket as he did so. “The Amazon Elder just called the dojo, something about impending trouble.”

“Who is this person?” Mousses asked, raising an eyebrow. “And what’s he doing here?”

“He’s a friend,” Akane answered, before turning back to Shingen. “Apparently Shampoo isn’t taking things too well, she tried to stick this on me before Ranma stopped her.”

She held out the brooch; Shingen took it in one hand and narrowed his eyes, shifting his perception. “It feels like this gem is saturated with some pretty powerful alteration magic; where did she get something like this?”

“It’s an ancient Amazon treasure, one that caused a lot of trouble a few months ago,” Mousse interjected. “And I ask again, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help,” Shingen replied coolly. “And I’m also the one who witnessed the Elder grant our mutual friend Ranma the Right of Refusal, in case there’s any question about that.”

“Help? Help with what?” Mousse asked.

“I won’t go into all the details now, but first we need to calm her down,” Shingen said, gesturing at Shampoo who was crying harder and was pressing her hands to her temples. He concentrated again, focusing on her aura.

Hmm. The disruption’s there, just like Ranma’s… only hers is starting to spike a little, and that’s not good. Now what about the other… yep, just like the Elder said, he’s disrupted too. But it looks like his is more stable, possibly because he’s calmer, or maybe his will is stronger. Still, best to be safe until their wards are ready. “Excuse me, miss, are you alright?” he asked gently, kneeling next to Shampoo who glared daggers at him. “No, Shampoo not alright, strange man!” she shot back. “Airen is lost, great-grandmother will be upset, and now Shampoo’s arm and head hurt!” She bit back another sob, rubbing her temples; Mousse kneeled next to her and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. She flinched at first, but then relaxed, too absorbed in herself to shout at him.

“Look, I can understand you’re feeling very conflicted right now…”

“What you know about conflicted? What business of yours what Shampoo feel?” she retorted.

“Your Elder asked me to make sure you and the others were okay, that makes it my business,” Shingen replied. “I’m not at liberty to explain it all just yet, but right now you have to calm yourself. It’s important.”

“Shampoo no listen; you are outsider! How Great-grandmother know you, or trust you? How you expect that I believe this all be true?” She swung a hand weakly towards him, trying to claw at his face but missing completely.

Shingen sighed. “Alright, you don’t have to believe me for the time being, but I promise you I did have a long talk with your Elder last night; it enlightened both of us on a few things we didn’t know. She’ll tell you more about that later, but since you obviously won’t listen to me now, maybe you’ll listen to someone else.” He turned to face Ranma. “I can’t do much if she isn’t going to cooperate with me,” he said in a low voice. “The most we can do is try and reason with her, tell her what’s done is done, then maybe she’ll listen at a later time.”

“Reason with her?” Ranma almost laughed. “I tried to explain that outdated law when she first showed up, what makes you think she’ll listen now?” Just then he felt a gentle squeeze on his arm and looked up at Akane.

“Maybe we should try talking once more. Clear the air and all. Remember, Cologne asked us not to be too hard on her; look at the state she’s in. I’ve never seen her fall apart this badly. Can’t we just try?” she asked.

“Akane, she was just about to play some major head games with you! You really wanna try talkin’ after she pulled that stunt? She never listens!”

She nodded, a serious look in her eyes. “I won’t deny I’m still mad at her, but you were willing to talk things out and forgive Shingen, so… I don’t know. I guess I just don’t want to hurt someone who looks like she’s hurting enough already.” She looked again at Shampoo, who was almost on the brink of tears again. “We might as well clear things up, even if she doesn’t like hearing it. You’re right about one thing- this needs to end.”

Ranma looked at the miserable Amazon long and hard. Eventually he shook his head and sighed, “Alright. I know she’s not gonna like hearin’ what I got to say, though.” He took a few steps forward, then turned back briefly. “I’d rather be the one to break this to her, if that’s okay with ya.” Akane nodded slightly, and he turned to face Shampoo again, kneeling and gritting his teeth as he did so. “Shampoo… I know this is hard for you to hear, but the plain truth of the matter is I’ve tried ta make you see how I feel almost since day one,” he said, forcing gentleness into his voice. “You have to listen to me, because I’m not gonna say it again.

“I… I don’t love you, Shampoo. I have never felt that way about you. You tried to kill me when you thought I was a girl, then tried to beg or coerce me to marry you when you found out otherwise. Whether it was offering a ‘cure’ for my curse or holding somethin’ over my head, it’s always been the same- your feelings first, and whatever I felt or anyone else felt didn’t count. After all your tricks, traps, magic and gods know what else you came up with, do you really think there’s anything that could change how I feel?” He paused, letting his words sink in. “I’m not someone who can be forced ta love anyone, and I don’t like bein’ used. If you think force is the only way to get a husband, think again. That’s not love, that’s just plain sick. Please understand, I’m not the man for you. And if you keep this kind of attitude, I won’t even be a friend. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is.”

Shampoo sniffled, fresh tears beginning to fall across her cheeks. “B-but tribal law say…”

“Tribal law be damned,” Ranma replied, a tad harsher than he intended. “You can’t use that as an excuse to care about someone. Have I ever even given you cause to care for me, besides the fact I beat you in an impromptu match? Even if I hadn’t been exempted by Cologne last night, that law could never make me care about you the way I care about Akane.” He paused again as her eyes widened. “Yes, you heard what I said. I’m not hidin’ my feelings anymore, especially after the way you an’ the others wrecked our wedding. You knew damn well what I had gone up against and still saw fit to interfere. I’m going to make it absolutely clear right now- love is not a friggin’ dog collar, like you seem to think. It’s something you give, not something you take by force.

“I know Akane and I’ve had some pretty bad fights in the past, but that was then and this is now. I made a bunch of mistakes when I first met her, wasn’t sure if I really knew her- but I know her now. I’d do anything for her… even though she’d never want me to, I’d die for her. An’ you know I already killed once for her…” he said, trailing off with a catch in his throat. “You’ll just have to find someone else who can feel that way for you, because I’m not the one.”

Akane stood off to one side, slightly overwhelmed by all that Ranma had said. He must’ve been holding all that in for a long time; I don’t think I’ve heard him say something like that before, except for what he told me through my door that night. Sometimes I think I really underestimate you, Ranma…

Shampoo wiped her eyes with a shaky hand and looked up at him. “Ranma… would truly die for Akane?”

He nodded slowly. “If it came down to it, yes, I would. But… I’d rather live for her.” An’ I never woulda thought of saying that openly a few weeks ago, either, in case it got me or her clobbered. But I gotta drive my point home, and I ain’t gonna lie about how I feel.

The Amazon before him nodded sadly. “Then Shampoo make too, too big mistake today… and will not bother anymore.” She stood up, almost woodenly. “I go now. Restaurant not run itself…” She looked at Akane, and slowly nodded to her, then turned to face Ranma again with vacant eyes. “Goodbye, Ranma… I… sorry…” She sniffled once, turned to walk away, and promptly fainted into Mousse’s arms.

“Shampoo!” he cried, cradling her as she collapsed to the ground. “It’s okay, my dearest… I’ve got you. It’s going to be alright… I’ll take you home.” He brushed her hair away from her eyes gently, then looked up at the others. “Saotome…”

“Don’t even start with me, Mousse,” Ranma groaned. “I’m in no mood to hear you tell me that I hurt her, ‘cause I already knew I was going to when I started talkin’. Ya think I really wanted to see her in tears? Ya think I wanted anyone ta get hurt?”

Mousse shook his head slowly. “No… I know you didn’t want that. I didn’t, either, but if this is what it takes for this chaos to end…” He adjusted his glasses to get a better look at the others. “I’m just glad you didn’t do anything violent towards her after she tried to trick the both of you.”

Ranma nodded. “It wasn’t easy holding back, I promise you.”

Akane nodded as well. “That goes for me too; at first I wanted to clobber her for trying to pull another dumb stunt on us. But now…” She looked at the unconscious girl in Mousse’s arms. “Crazy as it sounds, I guess I feel a little sorry for her.”

Mousse stood up, holding Shampoo close to his chest as he did so without once breaking into a grin. “Desperation makes us do crazy things sometimes,” he said softly. “I’d best take her home and have Elder Cologne take a look at her. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her before she intruded upon you both.” He bowed his head lightly in their direction. “May our next meeting be under happier circumstances, Saotome.”

Ranma nodded, smiling lightly. “I’d like that.”

“Me too,” Akane added.

“Here, before you go, you’d best be taking these with you,” Shingen interjected just as Mousse was about to turn and leave. He stepped forward, clutching a pair of hematite pendants in his right hand and a folded piece of paper.

“What is that supposed to be?” Mousse asked, looking at Shingen quizzically. “And for that matter, you still haven’t explained much of anything about yourself or why you’re here. Or what you meant when you said you’re here to help.”

“Your Elder knows what I mean,” Shingen replied. “Give her that paper, it contains information she requested when she phoned the dojo, including a note or two about the pendants.” He handed Mousse the items, who accepted them with a blank look on his face. “You and the girl had best put the pendants on once you get back; your Elder will explain why.”

“Why can’t you explain now?”

“I have business to attend to back at the dojo, and your Elder is expecting you back as soon as possible; her words, not mine,” Shingen replied. “Trust me, it’s important you give her that note and listen to everything she has to say.”

Mousse looked at him for a moment skeptically, then sighed and nodded once in agreement. “Alright, I’ll take this back to her, but if I don’t get an explanation…”

“Trust me, you’ll know all you need soon enough,” Shingen said as Mousse turned and started off for the Neko Hanten. “Probably more than you bargained for.”

“Shingen, why didn’t you just tell him?” Akane asked. “He has every right to know.”

“He doesn’t know me yet, Akane-chan,” Shingen answered. “It’ll be better if they both hear it from the Elder, she can break it to them a bit easier. Besides, the girl needs time to recover first, and more importantly she should put that pendant on. The disruption in her aura was spiking; if I’d told her she could have started losing control.”

Akane paled. “Does that mean she’s getting worse?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully the pendants I gave them and the instructions should give the Elder a chance to settle her nerves and buy us some time.” Shingen glanced at his watch. “Speaking of which, you should get going or else you’re going to miss the school bell.”

“Ah, crap!” Ranma groaned.

“That’s just the last thing we needed,” Akane growled. “C’mon, Ranma, we’d better pick up the pace.” She slung her bag over her back and started to run when she felt Ranma grab her wrist.

“Not that way, ‘kane,” he said with a smile. “We’d better take a shortcut. That is, if ya don’t mind a little more refresher training?” he added, nodding his head towards a low stone wall and a series of distant rooftops. “Think ya can handle a rooftop bypass?”

Akane grinned. “I wouldn’t mind in the least… and as for the thinking part, I thought you said that was off the checklist. Let‘s just do it!!” She bolted for the wall, jumping to the top and starting for the rooftops with Ranma hot on her heels. Within seconds, they were airborne and weaving an erratic route across the Nerima skyline, laughing as they did so.

Shingen chuckled quietly to himself for a moment. Looks like his aura is stable for the moment. That’s good; it’ll give me the time I need to prepare one treatment and start work on another ward. I’d better head back and inform the others. He turned to go, but stopped as he heard a faint sound from a nearby alleyway.

What was that? That sounds like somebody crying or… He peered into the dimly lit alley just in time to see a person abruptly turn and run away. From his vantage point he couldn’t make out facial features, but the figure was vaguely female, about medium height. Shingen squinted and could almost make out that the figure wore slacks and a sort of short-sleeved vest, and had long dark hair pulled back and held by a white ribbon. The strange thing about the figure, though, was the object carried on its back; it looked to be the size of a traditional polearm, but didn’t resemble any he had ever trained with. It looked much like a large paddle… possibly even an oversized spatula.

Hmm. Curious indeed… who was that? And for that matter, why was she in the alley? She may have been suppressing her aura, else I might have noticed her beforehand… but it doesn’t feel like a demonic presence, at least. He stroked his chin in thought. A spy, maybe? Or someone else from Ranma’s past?

Shingen stood standing for a few minutes in thought before shoving his hands in his jeans and heading back towards the Tendo dojo. Well, whoever that was isn’t really worth my time. I’ll have to ask Ranma about it once he gets out of school for the day… but in the meantime, I’ve got more important things to worry about.

He let out a breath of air and started to jog. “Time to get ready.”

To Be Continued…

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[Author’s note: Hey, I actually got a review now! I'm still posting primarily on ff.net; the story will be emerging here as I get the chance. To Tsuyujimo, thank you for your kind words and I hope this latest chapter is to your liking. I would still like more reviews; judging by the counters somebody's interested in this story. Let me know what you're thinking, please! I've got this story pretty well mapped out at this point, and though it will take a lot of time I'm going to finish it if it kills me. Until next time.

-Neon Ronin
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