Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Saturday Night- Aftermath ( Chapter 25 )

[ 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. I don’t own ‘em, I just like ‘em. Time to shift gears after the action of the last chapter. Be aware, this chapter will have a more than fair amount of WAFF and maybe an implied thing or two- nothing overt, mind you. There, warning out of the way. Enjoy.]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 25: Saturday Night- Aftermath

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Shampoo stirred. She breathed in slowly, wincing a little as her ribs decided to complain to her. A low moan escaped her lips, a lethargic and almost lifeless moan- which mirrored the way she was feeling. She felt drained. Physically and spiritually drained… but something at the back of her mind told her that she wasn’t feeling the pain she should have been. After the beating she had received, she expected her body to feel like an open wound, but it didn’t. Her mind, on the other hand, felt like it had been raked and toyed with by clawed hands- especially as the memories began to return. Memories of losing control. Memories of a nameless force, desiring only to be the best, the strongest, the girl for her airen… and memories of a fight she didn’t want to initiate, but stood back and watched as something within forced her hand.

No… oh, no… what Shampoo done now? I go against great-grandmother’s orders… break word given to Ranma and Akane… how could Shampoo lose control? Her chest tightened as she stifled a sob. I try be strong, but voice too great, too convincing… no… Shampoo weak… break promise, hurt Mousse and try to… try to kill… Her eyes fluttered and she grew more aware of her surroundings.

She felt a mattress and pillow beneath her, a sheet covering her. She stirred again and, as the haze of sleep left her, became aware of voices nearby.

“Will she be alright? She got hit pretty bad a few times, you know.” Mousse? He sound close by… sound worried… She could feel someone sitting on the edge of the bed next to her and guessed it might be him.

“I don’t think you’ll need to worry; the Naosu Kousen alleviated the worst of it. All she needs right now is some time to recover.” That sound like Ranma’s friend, spear-swinging Hunter… “Looks like she’s coming out of it.”

A smaller weight settled on the bed near her head. “Child? Can you hear me?”

“Mmhh… Great-grandmother… where we…” Her eyelids fluttered open a crack, and for a moment she saw only the blurred outlines of three people nearby.

“Shh… it’s alright, dear,” Cologne said in a soft tone. “You’re home now. The Neko Hanten. It’s all over.” She stroked Shampoo’s hair gently with her right hand “You gave this poor old woman a right scare, young lady,” she added with a light chuckle.

“I…” Shampoo began, then squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away in shame. “I no can ask forgiveness, great-grandmother. Shampoo do too, too bad thing this day… ignore law, open old wound with perv… w-with Akane, I mean… I listen to voice in head, and fall too easily.” She sniffled. “Shampoo not fit to be warrior any longer…”

“Child, stop that,” said Cologne firmly. “You couldn’t have known what the curse was going to do to you, I’m not sure any of us could have known. It isn’t your fault- and don’t start talking nonsense about being an unfit warrior, either.” The Elder’s face softened as she reached over and cupped Shampoo’s face, gently bringing her head back so that she could look her in the eye. “No warrior is invincible, Shampoo. The beast inside you may have made you overlook that fact, then played upon still-lingering feelings in your heart… after all, a few honeyed words can often make it easy to fall into a trap.”

“But Shampoo still break word by going after…”

“Child, it wasn’t your fault. That spirit within pushed you into it; don’t you think I’d know if it was all your own doing? I could feel it almost the moment I saw you.” She let out a long breath. “I found the warding pendant Yamashira gave you lying on the floor; it must have come loose and allowed the spirit to assert itself.”

Shampoo blinked, then looked across the room to where Shingen was standing. “Is true?” He nodded, and a nameless dread suddenly crept into her mind. “Then… will curse come back, or did…”

“It’s alright,” he replied, approaching the bed and adjusting his bandanna. “Fortunately I had a ward prepared in time, so we were able to get the wildcat spirit inside of you isolated.” He cracked his knuckles. “Put up one hell of a fight, but it’s been destroyed. So, no need to worry.”

“He wanted to make sure you were stable, so he helped bring you back once it was all over,” said Cologne. “And if I dare say so myself- that was a most impressive battle indeed.”

Shampoo smiled slightly. “So… Shampoo no longer curse?”

“That’s right. And from what I’ve seen in your aura, the Purge worked perfectly. Not a trace left.” About time the technique did exactly what it was supposed to do, too, he mused. I’ve still got to check Mr. Saotome more thoroughly at some point… maybe I should phone the Tendos from here, just to check on him.

A tear made its way down Shampoo’s cheek. “Th-thank you…”

“Actually, I’m not the only one you should thank,” Shingen interrupted. “Both Ranma and Akane pitched in to fight the beast… and this fella here went above and beyond the call of duty, given what we were up against. Even injured, he got back up and hit that wildcat just hard enough to give us an attack opening.” He pointed in Mousse’s direction; Shampoo shifted her head and blinked, eyes widening as she saw him in focus for the first time since waking up. His clothing was tattered in a few places, and there were definite signs of burns on his face, especially around the eyes… which, to her surprise, were unobscured by glasses and filled with obvious concern.

“Mousse…” she said softly. “What happen to you… and where glasses go?”

He shrugged. “I got hit pretty hard by some sort of a ki blast… can’t really explain what happened after that, all I know is I knew I had to get back up and help out. And my glasses… well, they got kinda broken… but it doesn’t look like I really need them anymore for some reason.”

“You shouldn’t have even been able to get up after a blast like that,” said Shingen, arms folded. “Under normal circumstances those light beams should have destroyed your eyes or burned them beyond repair. Guess it’s a good thing you were wearing those Coke-bottle lenses; they must’ve taken the brunt of the blast for you.”

“Wait… Mousse could have been blinded all way?”

Mousse blinked a few times and looked around the room before smiling to himself. “You know, that possibility didn’t actually cross my mind until now… about the only thing that really did hit me about the whole thing was just… well, just the fact that I was still breathing, and that somehow I could see a lot better, too!” He smiled broadly, then rubbed one of his eyelids. “Still itches some, though…”

Cologne shook her head, slightly amused. “And here I’d been thinking about finding some tribal remedy to make his eyes better, when along comes a demon lady and does the job for me!” She chuckled, and Shingen had to smirk at the irony of it all. Yamaneko tries to burn his eyes out and gives him impromptu corrective surgery instead, he thought to himself. Shampoo smiled slightly, too… but just as quickly frowned and a cloud passed over her eyes.

Mousse risk own eyes in battle… for me? He not care if he blinded, or killed? Just want to ‘get back up and help out’… just like… just like bird-man on floating island, he not care then either… A tear lingered at the corner of her eye. “Great-grandmother, Hunter Shingen… Shampoo need a moment, please…”

Cologne nodded. “Of course, child. You need your rest, anyway.”

“I should be getting back to the warehouse, anyway. Business to attend to… but first I need to make a quick phone call, if you don’t mind, Elder?” said Shingen, straightening his jacket collar.

“I don’t see why not,” Cologne replied, hopping off the bed and escorting the taller man out the door and down the stairs to the restaurant. “I was hoping to ask you a few things before you go, as well… such as what the three of you were doing in the industrial district anyway? And that gymnasium of yours…”

“Well, Elder, it’s really quite simple. You see…” Their voices faded out as they descended the stairs.

Mousse shifted on the bed and started to get up, expecting to be shooed out any second, but Shampoo’s hand on his stopped him. He blinked- partly out of surprise, partly because he was still getting used to seeing things without lenses lodged on his nose. “Uh… Shampoo?”

“Mousse… Shampoo not ask you to go.”

“Oh, uh… well, I figured if you were going to need a moment alone then you wouldn’t want me to bother you, so…”

“I didn’t say I needed a moment alone,” she said softly in her native Mandarin. “I just needed a moment, Muu Tsu. I have to ask you…” The tear in her eye escaped and ran down her cheek. “Why did you risk yourself like that? Did you really… did you really have to fight something that tried to burn your eyes out?”

Mousse stared at her silently for a moment, then nodded, unsure of what her reaction would be. “Xian Pu… it was trying to kill us,” he replied, also in Mandarin. “It could have, if I hadn’t done something; Saotome almost froze up because of its catlike face, and even Yamashira couldn’t hold it off single-handed.” He sighed. “I just didn’t want to let it hurt anyone… especially you…”

“But you could have been blinded worse than before… or crippled, or killed…” Her hand closed tight around his. “You don’t have to do that, you stupid Muu Tsu… especially not for me… wasn’t once enough? Do you have to keep beating yourself up just to try and prove yourself?” Her voice was cracking and it was becoming harder for her to hold back the tears running down her face. Just then she felt a hand under her chin, lifting her face up. She blinked and found herself looking into Mousse’s eyes- eyes that weren’t glazed over from infatuation the way she was used to, but eyes that looked at her with deep caring and warmth.

“I know I’ve made a fool of myself in the past, Xian Pu,” he said gently. “I know I’ve done a lot of stupid things to try and prove myself, but not always. Not this time… and not on Toma’s island either.” He reached over and brushed an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. “I just wanted to help you because I care for you… even if the feeling isn’t returned. I’ve always cared for you, and I always will. If not as one you love… then at least as a friend.”

He paused for a moment, then smirked slightly. “Besides, one good thing did come from fighting that demon- I can actually see now! Wasn’t expecting to, but I’m certainly not going to complain.”

Shampoo blinked, then smiled again as everything he had said settled in her heart, along with more than a few memories of their past and all the things he had done, good and bad. “Mousse…” she said, reverting to Japanese, “you not only one who see now.” Another tear escaped her eye and she leaned forward in her bed, pulling close to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Mousse very nearly lost it and was on the brink of reverting to form, but forced the urge back and gently rested his hands on her shoulders. She nestled into his embrace, resting her head on his lap as he gingerly rocked her back and forth.

Mousse… maybe Shampoo is stupid one after all, she thought silently. Spend so much time focused on stupid law, never even notice that Ranma not interested. Only focus on looks… never on heart…

You always there, even when I treat you too, too bad… maybe worse than Akane used to treat Ranma… always fight for Shampoo, even when too risky. Why I never notice this before, I no know…

She let her arms drop and slowly fell asleep again, her head in Mousse’s lap, his hand brushing through her long violet locks of hair.

Mousse… thank you…

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“Yeah, we weren’t really expecting it either, Shin-kun,” Nabiki drawled into the phone. “He just ups and flops into the koi pond, and boom, Mr. Panda’s back in town.” She took a bite of gyoza dumpling and chewed for a moment. “Thrashing about on the casting circle? Yep, we figured as much… nope, he still changes when you hit him with hot water.” Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and she reached down, tapping a button on a black remote control in front of her. A high-pitched yelp echoed from a few feet away.

“Huh? No, don’t worry about that. Just something on TV. So how’s my kid sister and Ranma doing, anyway?” Another dumpling bite or two, followed by her eyes widening and the dumpling getting lodged in an uncomfortable place; Nabiki thumped her chest twice and downed some tea before she could cough and resume talking. “You’re kidding… you’re saying she improvised her own attack and actually CLOBBERED that Chinese twit?” A motion caught her eye again and she slapped the remote again, followed by another animal-like yelp. “Hey, she’s not gonna wind up gettin’ the Kiss of… she isn’t? The ol’ crone says so? Well, that’s a relief… sounds like this little training trip of yours must be paying off if she could hold her own against that girl.” Another pause, followed by eyes widening. “No kidding… damn, wish I had a video camera for that… so, you guys coming back any time soon?”

“Sounds to me like Akane’s making some real progress,” said Kasumi quietly as she sipped her own cup of tea. “Though that last bit did sound a bit worrisome- I hope she’s not getting into real trouble with this training regimen.”

Soun sniffed, trying to hold back a flood of panicky tears. “Please don’t say such things, Kasumi… I’m worried enough about my baby girl as it is! Off who knows where, doing heaven knows what… no, mustn’t worry. This is what she wanted, I can’t worry about her all my life, and besides, she’s not alone. Of course she‘s alright… but… but… she’s my baby girl!” The tears burst loose, prompting a fresh supply of tissues from Kasumi.

“Father, please… we’re all concerned about Akane, it’s only natural. Especially when she’s on a training trip… but like you said, she wanted this. She’s growing up, Father; eventually you will have to accept that fact and let go. Besides, Ranma and Shingen are both with her; I don’t think there’s really anything for you to worry about.”

Soun sniffled. “I… I know, Kasumi… but still…”

“Geez Dad, chill out already,” Nabiki sighed as she hung up the phone. “From what Shingen says she’s already been able to handle a couple interlopers already; didn’t you hear what I was saying? She knocked the stuffing out of that purple-haired bimbo today- apparently the girl’s neko side decided to take over and made her go nuts.” She snagged another bite of her dinner and chewed slowly. “Fact that Akane faced her down pretty much tells me we got nothin’ to worry about.” Another motion caught her eye and she slapped the remote again. “Ah, ah, ah, Mr. Saotome. You keep it up and I keep hitting the buzzer,” she said icily as another pained growf echoed through the room.

“I still think you’re going a little overboard with this, Nabiki,” said Kasumi, shaking her head.

“It’s not just business, oneechan. It’s personal too… besides, Auntie Nodoka said it was okay with her, and we wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. Would we?” Nabiki replied, shooting a certain panda a look that could kill.

Genma-panda was seated at the far end of the table, fur standing on end as another electric shock jolted his system. He was more than a little despondent when he had learned Nabiki had wired up a remote control for the shock collar on his leg, but the current situation was almost more than he could bear. The other household members each had one of Kasumi’s culinary masterpieces before them, and he had a big plate of bamboo. Every time he tried to reach for some of the gyoza or even some rice, Nabiki promptly hit the button until he returned to the bamboo. This made him miserable to no end, for while as a panda he could survive on bamboo, he did not relish the taste.

PLEASE? he signed with a pathetic, begging whine. Nabiki shook her head. “You know the rules, bub. You’ve been doing a little too much freeloading off of us for the past year, so you’ll just have to make do with what you’ve got. Of course, you could always pay the bill sitting next to the plate…”

Genma blanched; the bill for food and lodging Nabiki had drawn up and set by his plate looked more like a UPS dispatch number than a bill.

“And in case you’re wondering, I put some more boundary wire around the kitchen this afternoon. And the pantry. So don’t think about trying to sneak a midnight snack, either, unless you want more shocks.” Nabiki took a bite of her meal and made several exaggerated chews, with a few hmms and yums thrown in. The panda was practically drooling by now and tried to make a lightning-fast grab for Soun’s plate…

…and found out the hard way Nabiki’s fingers could be even faster. A few seconds later, she released the button and smiled charmingly at a newly smoldering panda. “We could always talk payment via installment plan…”

Genma hung his head. I’m doomed.

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Ranma sat on the edge of his bunk while Akane was finishing off a set of cool-down stretches. He turned the Sagara wakizashi in his hand, letting light dance along the length of its gleaming untarnished blade. His eyes traveled along the cutting edge and rested briefly on the pentagram sigil etched into the metal, just above the tsuba. A sigh escaped his lips and he turned the blade over, looking dispassionately at the additional runes adorning the spine of the blade.

Well, no turning back now, he thought, fingering the horse motif of the tsuba. You’ve killed again. Spilled the blood of a bona fide demon. Took up the blade of an ancestor ya never knew… and killed with one clean sweep. He picked up the saya that lay beside him and sheathed the wakizashi, then lay it across his lap and just looked at it.

Didn’t even think twice about it, either. Just drew the blade… boom. No hesitation, no fear. Just action. Like the blade was wakin’ up something inside me, telling me what to do. And the rush of power… so much power…

He brushed his hand over the sheathed sword. An’ the weird thing is… I wasn’t worried like I usually get in fights like this. I mean, I coulda hurt Akane or someone else by mistake if I’d made one slip-up… but I didn’t even think about that. It’s like… like somethin’ was telling me not to worry. That I had full control. Strike now, strike fast and eliminate that thing before it caused more suffering. Ranma blinked, remembering a phrase in the Hunter’s Code that Shingen had mentioned to them earlier that day.

“Purely evil demonic forces are beyond redemption and can never be swayed from their dark path. Only one who is partially of human descent or blood is capable of learning; for all others, there is only Swift Death to Evil.”

That’s right… kill or be killed. And I didn’t really have a problem with it. He shook his head. Still… that rush of power scares me a bit…

“Ranma? You okay?” said Akane as she finished her stretches and crossed the bunk room, sitting next to him on the bed. “You’ve been staring at that sword for the last five minutes now. Something wrong?”

“Oh… uh…” He blinked, then set the sword down on the floor next to his backpack with a sheepish look. “Guess I got a little lost in thought there.”

“Really,” Akane replied, crossing her arms over her knees. “Anything in particular, or just general brooding?”

Ranma shrugged. “I dunno… just thinking’ about what just happened, that’s all. The Purge, the fight… taking that demon out…” He rested his chin on his hand. “Kinda a lot to take in at the moment, you know?”

Akane nodded slowly. “Yeah, I do. Not exactly the day I’d expected it to be, but then again I have learned to expect the unexpected. Especially when it comes to you,” she finished with a smirk.

“Oh, ha ha,” Ranma replied, sticking his tongue out at her. She returned the gesture in kind, with a giggle thrown in as well. “I’m just saying, is all,” he continued, “I guess I’m just a little surprised at how certain things wound up happening. Or…” He paused. “Or… how it might feel to do certain things.”

“You’re talking about when you cut that yamaneko down, aren’t you.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Ya know, I almost expected to feel guilty about what happened out there… about taking that thing’s life. But the weird thing is… I don’t. I don’t feel anything bad about what I did. At all.”

Akane blinked. “Well… that’s a good thing, isn’t it? I mean, you felt that thing’s aura when we fought it, right? It’s what we’re supposed to be learning how to do, so there’s really no reason to feel bad about it, is there?”

“Acchan, the power I felt when I used that sword was unbelievable… so much that it scared me.” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t have any compunction against slicing that thing up like teriyaki steak… but… but what if… what if I wound up using that against…”

Akane’s hand rested on Ranma’s. He looked up and saw her give him a look that pushed all his other thoughts right out the door. “Ranma, if you finish that sentence with the words ‘using that against you or someone we care about’, I’ll slap you,” she said in a firm tone. “I know you a lot better than that, you dummy; I know what kind of control you have over your own abilities, and I know how much you hate the idea of losing that control! You really think you can lose it at the drop of a hat and start hurting people at random?”

“What about the Neko-ken? You think I’ve got that kind of control when I lapse into that? Hell, I coulda fallen into that when we were fighting that damn demon; how do you think that mighta turned out?”

Akane faltered and her shoulders slumped. “Oh… I hadn’t thought about that… but, even so, you never killed anybody when you went neko, either. You just, I don’t know, get a little more feral in the way you handle things, but I don’t think the way you feel about people changes much.” She noticed a glum look on his face and pulled a little closer. “Besides… I don’t know if you noticed it during the fight, but once you picked that sword up, your nervousness dropped even more than it did when you put the blindfold on.”

Ranma’s eyes widened and he turned to look at her. “Hey… now that you mention it… but how’d you know?”

Call it my women’s intuition, Ranma, she thought to him with a smirk as she opened a brief Astral Link with him. He blinked, then snickered at the obviousness of it all; of course she would have noticed since she had acted as his indirect eyes during the battle. Akane giggled at his reaction, then gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Look, I’m not saying don’t worry about it- you’re right, in fact this whole thing’s starting to get a little overwhelming for me, too,” she continued. “It kinda threw me earlier when I hit Shampoo with that punch combo… wasn’t expecting it to do all that it did. But if I hadn’t done it when I did, she might have gotten a lot worse.” She laced her fingers together with his. “Ranma… I guess all I’m really trying to say is…”

“That I’m thinking about it more than I oughta, right?” he replied, a small smile emerging on his face.

Akane shrugged. “You’re the one who told me, ‘don’t think, just do’, remember?” she asked, returning the smile.

“I… I guess I just got so thrown at the idea of cutting a demon down without a thought…” Ranma shook his head. “Guess it got me wondering if I could feel that way about doing it to anyone else. An’ I don’t want to.”

“I know you don’t,” said Akane gently. “And knowing you the way I do, you won’t.”

For a moment, Ranma said nothing but sat on the bed, looking into Akane’s eyes while she held his hand. Gradually, his smile grew wider and he pulled her closer, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders.

“So… where did you come up with that move again? That was pretty damn impressive, that ‘Ryouko Tsume Ken’ or whatever it was.”

Akane flushed slightly. “Actually… that was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, I was kinda surprised the way that turned out.” She lifted her head and looked up somewhat sheepishly. “Truth is… I sorta borrowed the idea from a video game I used to play with Yuka ages ago; she’s a real big Street Fighter fan and keeps on playing this ‘Ryu’ character, so…”

“You’re tellin’ me you taught yerself a ki punch based off a video game?” Ranma’s eyes were wide and a smirk rapidly spreading across his face.

“Well, at least it worked; that’s the important thing, right?” She was trying to look irked, but was starting to giggle.

“Didn’t think you were really that big on those kinda games… tomboy.” He chuckled.

“Baka,” she replied with a laugh, and for a few moments the two of them just sat there, holding each other and laughing off a good deal of the pent-up stress of the afternoon’s encounter. After a minute or two, their laughs died down and they looked at each other once again. Their arms were still around one another, and there were no other sounds save the dull hum of the fluorescent lights of the bunkroom.

Akane blinked and felt a strange feeling begin to wash over her. Part of it was déjà vu- once more they were alone, in each other’s arms, as they had been so many times before. A small part of her was almost expecting something to come crashing through at any moment- a suitor, a rival, or just general insanity- and break the two of them apart once again. It had happened so often, she was almost conditioned to it.

But an interruption was not forthcoming, and a pair of subsequent emotions were shooting her heart rate up to new heights. One was confusion- not being sure of what to do. They had practically never been in this situation before, and the few times they had had real time alone over the past week had still been interrupted- but Shingen and the others were out, and he likely wouldn’t be back for a while yet. Nobody else- in particular their families- knew where the warehouse was, to her knowledge, and that was causing the second emotion to flare up even more- an emotion she had been hiding from Ranma for months, not knowing if he cared or not. One that had shot her adrenaline through the roof when the yamaneko had teased about taking Ranma away as a chew toy- or when he had held her close during their ki exercises.

“Akane… are you okay?”

She blinked and looked up into his eyes, reflecting his concern, and nodded ever so slightly. “I’m fine, Ranma… I’m fine…” she said softly.

She let the second emotion guide her as she brought her face closer to his. They kissed, gingerly at first, then again with a more resolute aura. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as his hands traveled down her back, feeling the sweat-stained fabric of her gi and pulling her closer still. A fire was starting to travel through Akane’s veins as their kisses became more passionate… and suddenly she pushed back from him, allowing them both to catch their breath.

“Ranma…” she breathed.

“Uh… yeah?”

She swallowed hard… sniffed slightly and gave him a half-hearted smile. “You know… we both pretty much stink.”

Ranma’s eyes widened for a second, then the tension lifted and he chuckled slightly. “Oh… uh… sorry ‘bout that…”

Nice going, Akane… you dummy! said Akane to herself, even as she laughed with him. “It’s not that big a deal, really… j-just overexerted ourselves, that’s all,” she said, blushing. She looked up again and found the second emotion beginning to overwhelm her again.

Do something already! she shouted to herself. You know what it is you want, so DO something about it! She took a deep breath and swallowed hard, then took hold of Ranma’s hand again. “Well… since we both worked up kind of a sweat today… we could use a bath.” She got up, pulling him up with her and started for the door of the washroom; part of her mind was singing with nervousness, but the strength of the second emotion and leftover adrenaline from the fight were overruling it for the moment.

She had made it to the changing room when Ranma’s shock wore off and he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide. “Wait a sec… Akane, what are you doing?”

She stopped as well; her blush was covering her head to toe now. “I just told you. The bath’s right through there, might as well use it, right?” she said, a slight nervous lilt to her voice.

“But… I figured we were gonna take turns, like this morning, or…” He stopped, noticing the look on her face and the way she was shifting on her feet. “You mean… both of us? The s-same time?”

“I… I know it’s out of the blue… but there’s only the one bath. It’d save time if we went together… and b-besides… we are engaged, and it’s not like we haven’t s-seen each other before…”

Ranma was boggled. The Akane from a year ago would have malleted him to the moon before even thinking of something like this… and he was starting to pick up something through a subconscious Link she didn’t know she had created with him. It felt like she had more on her mind than just a bath…

“Acchan…” he started slowly. “Are you… I mean… geez, this is really outta nowhere… I… are you sure about this?”

“I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I wasn’t,” she replied, loosening her gi belt. “I know it’s not like me… well, not like the old me, anyway… you may not believe it, but the truth is I’ve thought about this on and off for a long time, even those times I acted like… like a b-bitch on wheels to you…” An errant tear escaped her eye and she smiled, taking a step closer to him. “Ranma, we haven’t really had that many chances to just be alone. I… well… I really want to make this chance count. I love you… I know you love me… what else is there?”

Ranma swallowed hard. His resistance and his shock were rapidly crumbling under her words. She’s right… we haven’t had that many chances to be together, but I didn’t think that she’d… I mean, I ain’t denyin’ I’ve felt the same way myself, but I didn’t wanna force the issue. Didn’t think she felt the same way about me up till last week… didn’t want to make her think I was a REAL pervert, but… but now this?

He stood silent for a moment or two in thought… then took a few steps forward and put his hands on her shoulders. Akane’s smile brightened slightly.

“You really don’t mind… about this?”

She shook her head. “I don’t mind… if you don’t mind.”

“Well… truth is… I d-don’t mind either… I just didn’t wanna hurt you, or make you feel…”

“Ranma, do yourself a favor?” she interrupted, cupping his face in her hands.

“Uh… yeah?”

“Shut up,” she whispered with a giggle as she pulled his head down for her fiercest, most passionate kiss ever. He quickly returned the favor, pulling her into a tight embrace as she raised her left foot, kicking the changing room door closed.

And for the first time in their lives, they weren’t interrupted once.

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Dearest Father, please try to understand what I’m about to tell you… “No, that’s just not me.” A crumpling sound, followed by a piece of paper being tossed into a nearby garbage can. Hey Dad, here’s something ironic! “Nah. Too dumb.” Another page crumpled, then tossed away, followed by a long pause. Father. Your damn blood feud took my life away from me; I can’t hurt Ranma and I won’t be anything more than a friend to him. He never even knew about the arrangement because of his moron dad. I didn’t want to accept it before, but it’s the truth. I don’t even care if you throw me out of the family anymore- I never had much of one to begin with anyway. Screw you, and I hope you rot in hell.

Ukyo heaved a long sigh. “Dammit, this is harder than I thought it’d be.” She slumped forward on the bench just outside of Ucchan’s and rested her chin on her hand. She could hear the dim sounds of customers inside and silently thanked the Kami that the dinner crowd was lighter than usual. Beside her lay several other ripped and crumpled papers that hadn’t reached the garbage can- remnants of her continued attempts to write to her father.

“I’m not even sure I can go through with mailing this, even if I do get it right,” she grumbled. “Not every day you up and decide to confront your dad with what he did to you.” She looked at the paper in her hands and noticed a few damp spots on the paper. She blinked and wiped at her cheeks; she hadn’t even noticed she’d been crying.

Rough afternoon, Ukyo thought to herself. Rough week, really… didn’t help much seeing how well Ran-chan and Akane worked together during that… whatever the hell it was they were doing with Shampoo. Something about curse removals and demons… She straightened up slightly and wiped her nose. Talk about a skill boost, I don’t think I ever saw Akane fight so well in my life… or… She paused, retracing the events of earlier in her mind. She fumed for a moment over the fact that her combat spatula was wrecked, but kicked that memory to the side as other memories began to flow through her mind. She remembered Ranma and Akane holding hands at one point, but somehow wasn’t as bothered by it anymore. Then there were other things… the striped cat-woman emerging from Shampoo’s body, or Mousse’s attempts to bind the demon in place, or…

Or that Shingen guy. Her eyes widened for a moment, then she shut them tight and shook her head.

“Still didn’t get a chance to say thank you after that fight was over…” she muttered. She let out a long breath, then glanced towards the restaurant door.

“Ah well. Guess I better go back in an’ give Konatsu a break or something.” She took one last look at the letter in her hands and slid it into her vendor’s vest before standing up. I can always try an’ finish this later, she thought as she picked up the remnants of her earlier attempts and tossed them in the trash can.

“Oh, Ukyo… I had no idea you were going through such pain!”

Ukyo’s eyes snapped wide open. No… oh geez, don’t tell me… Her head slowly pivoted, gradually allowing her eyes to rest on the trash can. A trash can with a head sticking out of it, paper sticking to the long red hair. “To have a falling out with one’s own father… oh, my beloved Ukyo, I will gladly comfort you in this time of need!”

Ukyo’s face went from shocked to furious in half a second. “TSUBASA! Why don’t you get a gawddamn clue and GET LOST, JACKASS!!!”

Her right leg snapped out, booting the trash can as if it were a soccer ball and sending the costumed transvestite rocketing down the street. Ukyo glared and suddenly gasped; in its ascension the trash can and its occupant came very close to taking off the head of a man who just happened to be walking towards the restaurant at that moment. She almost screamed out a warning, but the man leaned to the side and easily dodged the incoming can, turning to stare at it as it tumbled end over end down the road. He blinked a few times, then straightened out his leather jacket and turned back to face Ukyo, shifting the weight of the long object wrapped in white silk on his shoulder.

“Uh, I’m really sorry about that, sir. See, I was…” She stopped talking for a second as he took a few steps closer, into the light from the restaurant windows. “Y-Yamashira-san?”

The taller man raised an eyebrow. “Having an argument with the local garbage, are we, Miss Kuonji?”

“Well… in a manner of speaking, yeah,” she stammered. What’s he doing here? Wasn’t he busy doing something with Ran-chan and Akane? She scratched the back of her head nervously. And why the hell am I getting so worked up? He’s just some guy… some guy who just happened to save my ass in a fight and has one hell of a cool fighting style and… Dammit, what the hell is going on with me? Calm down, dummy… She shook her head. “Uh… sorry about that, I wasn’t trying to hit ya or nothing.”

Shingen folded his arms, setting his wrapped naginata down. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. I’ve dealt with a lot worse than that… but I wouldn’t recommend punting trash cans down the road at all hours, you never know who you might whack,” he said with a wry smile.

“I know, I know… it’s just that creep never gets a friggin’ clue, so that’s the only way I can really get rid of him.”

“Him? Excuse me?”

Ukyo sighed. “Some dork named Tsubasa who thinks he’s in love with me. Keeps popping up in outfits like that, tryin’ to get my attention. A few days ago he showed up dressed as a mailbox; I guess he thinks I’ll find it amusing,” she groused.

Shingen glanced back down the street, then back at Ukyo. “I think I can now officially say I’ve seen everything,” he said, an eyebrow quirked. “An admirer who dresses like inanimate objects?”

“Well, not always,” Ukyo replied, rolling her eyes. “Usually he prefers dresses. And never seems to mind being booted; I’m thinking he qualifies as a transvestite masochist with masquerade tendencies.” She paused, then snickered. “Geez, that’s a mouthful…”

Shingen sweatdropped slightly. “Okay… now I’ve seen everything.” I wonder if this is part of the chaos stream, too… He straightened his bandanna. “Anyhow, I was just on my way back; had to check and make sure the Amazon girl was recovering well.”

“Oh, yeah… how’s she doing, anyway? That was pretty rough earlier, that ritual-thingy or whatever…”

“She’s doing fine.” He paused, then looked at her more seriously. “What about you? You took a hell of a risk stepping into the fight like that, and without a weapon, too.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ukyo replied a bit sheepishly. “Guess I wasn’t really thinking, but… well… you know Ranma and me had a bit of a past together… I just wanted to help, that’s all.” She sighed. “Guess I didn’t really know what I was getting into, huh.”

“You might say that.” Shingen folded his arms again, and slowly his expression softened. “Still… took a lot of guts to jump into something the way you did. And that’s something I can respect.” He paused, then smirked. “Next time, though, you might want to pair those guts with a little forethought, Kuonji-san.”

She flushed slightly. “It’s Ukyo… and I’ll try and remember that, Yamashira-san.”

He nodded. “Call me Shingen,” he said, turning down the street and picking up his naginata again. “Well… better be on my way; got some work to do. You take care, Ukyo.”

She nodded weakly, then blinked. Dammit, don’t go yet, I didn’t even get a chance to… “Hey, Shingen… wait up.”

He paused, then turned back to face her again. “Something wrong?”

She fidgeted a bit. “Well… you know… I never really got a chance to thank you for… for saving my butt from that snake-thing a few days ago… or that other time this afternoon.” She paused, then looked him in the eye. “Thanks a lot… sugar.”

Shingen chuckled lightly. “No problem. I do this sort of thing all the time.”

She blinked, then gave him a wry smile. “Do what sort of thing? Fight off weirdoes, or protect pretty girls from weirdoes?”

“The fighting. I haven’t protected that many pretty girls.” He paused, then smiled back. “At least until recently.”

“Oh, so now we’ve moved on to flattery, eh?” she retorted with a chuckle before straightening out her vest. “Hey, tell you what… let me fix ya up something, okay? Yer probably pretty starved after a fight like that.”

Shingen blinked. “You really don’t have to do that, there’s food back at the training hall… besides, I’ve got a few things to do.”

“Hey, it’s really not that big a deal; besides, what could you have that could rival an Ucchan’s deluxe? Hell, ya tasted one yourself a few days back when I came to visit the dojo- ya really want to pass that up?” She scratched the back of her head again. “Besides… I figured it’d be a better way to thank you than just a few words.”

Shingen paused. This I wasn’t expecting, he mused. I do have to get back and report to Father about what’s happened, and Ranma and Akane might need some more work before lights out. But on the other hand… He looked up. It does smell good in there. And I am a little hungry… she doesn’t have to do this, I was just doing what’s right. But I shouldn’t refuse, that‘d be rude… “Well, I guess I could spare a few minutes, if you really don’t mind.”

Ukyo beamed, then quickly forced her smile back to a less obvious level. “No trouble at all, Shingen-kun. C’mon in.” She opened the door and took his hand, leading him inside.

Shingen shook his head. Very energetic, this Ukyo, he thought with a smile. Cute, too…

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The sunset’s last flickering lights cast long shadows over the Unryuu estate as a long work day came to a close. Several great specimens of the sumo pig stable were being herded back into their pens by two figures. One, their grand champion and largest of the pigs, Katsunishiki. The other, a young man in his late teens in a beige tank top and yellow bandanna, whom they had come to know in their own porcine tongue as The Brick Wall- a sparring partner none had budged yet.

Ryoga wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the reddish sky. “Another day done,” he said softly. He drew in a long breath, then let it out again. Another day when I didn’t get lost. Not once since we arrived, thank the Kami, he thought to himself. He glanced at the mammoth pig next to him and grinned. “You know, big guy, I think you’re getting tougher. I think you held out for a full twelve seconds ‘fore I pushed you out of the ring.”

The pig gave a resigned grunt and waddled into the pen to join his fellow warriors. Ryoga shoved his hands into his pockets and looked back up again.

This is nice, he thought. For once in my life I’m not getting as lost as I usually do, I haven’t had one of those nightmares since that incident at the dojo… and I didn’t really expect it, but I kinda like the routine around here. He looked at the pens and chuckled. “Haven’t had sparring partners quite like you guys before,” he said to himself. “Then again, same probably goes for you guys, huh?” A chorus of grunts was his reply, and he smirked. Look at me. Working on a farm and loving it. No life-or-death fighting, no secrets, no real craziness… wonder what Ranma would say if he saw me now.

The thought of Ranma sobered his face up slightly, but he soon relaxed and leaned against the pen in thought- something he’d done a lot over the past few days. He was still annoyed at some of the things Ranma had done in the past- the attention-grabbing, ignoring other people’s feelings(especially his)- but something in his mind was clearing up, and had been since the Purge. Yeah, he did do a few things that pissed me off big time… but I can’t really blame him for everything that’s happened to me, Ryoga thought silently. Not his fault I can’t find my way out of a room with one door… and I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to knock me into the Jusenkyo springs, hell if I hadn’t been so hell bent on beating him up over a schoolyard feud I wouldn’t have even been there. He sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. Had more honor than I did, too, despite what I’ve said. He kept quiet about my curse- mostly- and I used it against him. Tried to break those two apart. Tried to…

He shook his head. “Ranma, you and me are going to have to have another match soon. One last time, for old times’ sake.” He paused, then laughed bitterly. “Maybe it’ll finally knock some sense into my thick skull.” He looked down and idly kicked a stone away. That’s it. No more revenge fights. I’m sick of it all… sick of fighting someone who could’ve been my best friend, and sick of being confused over one thing or another. Ryoga Hibiki is not gonna get lost like that any more!

A voice lilted through the air from the main house. “Sweetie? Dinner’s ready; come on inside before it gets cold!”

Ryoga perked up and smiled. If there was one thing he had learned in the past few days, it was the difference between infatuation and truly caring for someone. He was still stumbling around the issue of love and how to react to it; being away from his own family for so long had stunted his growth in that area, but he just hadn’t realized it. Nor had he known until recently the magnitude of Akari’s understanding and patience as each day she coaxed him a little further out of his shell. He had thought he was in love with Akane once, but that was all long past. Little by little, he was growing up.

“I’ll be right there,” he called back before starting for the front door- and walking right into the pig pens. Thankfully, it only took him two more tries to find his way to the dining room, a sheepish grin on his face.

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That same night found a diminutive and irate martial artist sneaking aboard a boat in Pusan harbor, South Korea. He was fuming not merely because of the manner of his arrival in the country, but also because of what had happened after his arrival. Ranma’s kick had been so powerful it had done exactly what he had joked about- sent the pint-sized grandmaster sailing to Seoul. At first he had calmed himself, thinking of all the Korean lovelies he could chase, or exotic ‘silky darlings’ to add to his collection. What he hadn’t counted on was several things happening in succession.

One, he hadn’t expected to crash-land through the window of a Seoul retirement home. Two, he hadn’t expected a box he had been hiding in his gi to slip loose and break open, scattering its contents in the faces of no less than twenty-five ancient Korean grandmothers.

Three, the box’s contents just happened to be his personal stash of Lust Dust.

He had spent a day being chased around Seoul, first by a bevy of suddenly oversexed Cologne clones, then by an army of angry health care workers threatening to have him arrested for trespassing, indecent assault and possession of illicit drugs, among other things. At one point, he had found sanctuary in one of the seedier areas of Seoul, but quickly got chased out of there by several bar hostesses and their resident gorilla-like bouncers. This promptly brought him back into the line of sight of both the health care workers and the ancient ladies afflicted by the Lust Dust…

The experience had rattled him beyond anything he had gone through, and he had spent the rest of the week scrambling across Korea to find a way home. He would have preferred stowing away on a plane, but an unexpected airline strike coupled with a few more angry mob incidents scuttled that plan. And so he had found his way to the shipyards in Pusan, finally locating a cargo vessel heading for Japan. By the time he had finally settled in next to some packing crates, he was tired, hungry, and angry as hell.

“Rrrraaaaaannnmmma m’boy, you’re going to pay for this one! NEVER before have I endured so much at the hands of ONE student! I’ll teach you to pay me the respect I deserve if it’s the last thing I do!!!” growled Happosai as he opened his burglar bag and began stuffing his face with food he had managed to swipe from several restaurants along the way.

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In a distant place of darkness, a pair of violet eyes opened.

I feel it. Another bond has been broken- though I would have preferred it had not been by the felling of another of our kin. Still, what’s done is done; no use mourning the passing of Sumire for long. And of all those bearing the mark, I felt sure she was the most promising to do her own host in, not the other way around.

It wasn’t terribly surprising that Ogui was dispatched with ease. Stupid Immovable. But Sumire- I had such hopes for that feisty wildcat. Then again, I had hopes for Akureiko as well… and from all reports, the scions are still drawing close to one another.

I mustn’t rely wholly on what you have told me; you and your brothers cannot be everywhere at once.

Still… all is not lost. Only one bond remains, and whether it falls by human blood or demon blood is of no consequence. Then all will be brought to a head.

Perhaps now would be the time to bring other players back into the game. I feel it through your eyes; one is already stirring, ready to make a move.

See to it. Let the pawn make his move.

The green-eyed imp bowed low and disappeared into the darkness.

To Be Continued…

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Author’s Note 8/14/05: First off, one reason for the slight delay of this chapter arose due to a hardware problem- thunderstorms and motherboards don’t mix. An emergency data recovery coupled with a replacement computer was the highlight of the past week and a half; fortunately I didn’t lose much.

And now, I know you’re all asking it. Did they or didn’t they? What happened when the washroom door closed? Well, quite simply, I’m not going to tell you, but I will ask you to consider the following about Akane and Ranma. Two teens who have known each other over a year and started things off when they saw each other in the buff by accident on their first meeting. Over that year they’ve been pushed together by their approving parents, been through countless life-or-death situations, and though they vehemently denied it, began to develop very strong feelings for one another. (It has been evidenced on at least one occasion that Akane has had dreams about Ranma, including mumbling his name in her sleep. Furthermore, she was often the first to think he was thinking something perverted, when he often wasn’t or didn’t intend to. Perhaps she was the one having such thoughts, thinking that he was thinking them- food for thought, eh?) So, here we have two 17-year olds who by now have admitted their feelings for each other, are coming down off an adrenaline rush after fighting a demon, no interrupting third parties around… what with all the sexual tension already established in the Ranmaverse, I leave it to you to decide what happened when the changing room door closed.

(Just try to keep it clean, folks- this is a PG-13 piece after all.)

As always, I’ll try to get something up in 2-3 weeks, but if a delay occurs, forgive me. Next chapter- a bout of on-the-job training as a local kendoist does something very stupid- and you thought the Phoenix egg would have taught him his lesson! Until next time.

-Neon Ronin