They Are My Noble Masters Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Virtua Fighter Fan Fiction ❯ Nodoka 2/1 ❯ Chapter 13 - The Art of Gaming ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Nodoka 2/1
The Chroma Series
Act 1 Part 03

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

DISC LAIMER
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events are also fiction. I own few of the assets for this story. I have nothing. Please don't sue me! This is just for fun, and practice.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
AUTHOR'S NOTES

-Thank you to everyone who read and/or commented.

"Speech"
'Thought' {And other emphasized items}
/Mandarin/
\Cantonese\
-English-
{Author's Notes & *Translations* Feel free to skip these}

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

GLOSSARY (from the last chapter)

Itte Mairimasu/Itte Kimasu = I am leaving, but I will be back.
Itte Irasshai = Please go (and come back).
Tadaima = I'm/We're home.
Okaerinasai/Okaeri = Welcome Home.

Konnyaku = A gelatin, similar to tofu, but made from a type of potato, instead of beans.

Shujin {Your Husband} and Goshujin {My Husband}, as all of you should know by now, also mean 'master'.
Danna {(1) master (of a house, shop, etc.); (2) husband (informal); (3) sir; boss; master; governor; word used to address a male patron, customer, or person of high status; (4) patron of a mistress, geisha, bar or nightclub hostess; sugar daddy; (5) (Buddha) alms (san:); almsgiving; almsgiver;} is occasionally used for 'my husband'.
Oku(san) {My Wife}, is spelled with the kanji meaning {interior; back, rear; inside the house; one's heart, true feelings}.
Kanai {(hum) (my) wife; inside the home; one's family}, has the same problems.
Kamoji {Mother;Wife} This is an archaic term.
Keisai (Humble) {My Wife}
Tsuma {(archaic) my dear; dear; honey; garnish (esp. one served with sashimi); embellishment; Spouse, Consort} This can be used to address either partner.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Chapter 13
The Art of Gaming  

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Ranma was making love and his partner was thrashing about, thoroughly enjoying herself. Between moans, heavy breaths, and 'squeals of delight', she managed to get out things that resembled words. Luckily for her, Ranma was well versed in the 'joy sob' dialect. "Oh Ranma-kun! This is ...AHHH-MAZING! You are ...SOooo GOOD, I ...am ...sooo ...proud! ...even better ...than I ....ever dreamed."

 They had been through the first forty-eight positions of the shijuhatte, and were about to switch sides and finish all ninety-six positions, when the panting woman had a thought that made her giggle. "Ranma-kun, for ...back half ...of shi...juhatte, please ...do 'my' back half."
{*Shijuhatte = The Japanese Kamasutra.*}

Ranma was busy rubbing erogenous zones, and leaving trails of kisses down her back, but managed to groan his accession. She had never been so happy in her life, as Ranma prepared to mount her from behind. "Ara, I am SO glad Genma-san left! ...Oh yeeEEEEESSSSSSS! ...Been ...dreaming ...about this, ...for ...so long! Drill your mother's dirty place!!!!! Ooohhhhhh, MY SON is SOOO MAAAANLYYYYYY!!!!!"

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 The feeling was so overwhelming, Nodoka woke herself from the most intense dream she had ever had, once again, drenched in sweat ...and other fluids. Nodoka was quite disappointed, and yet, relieved at the same time. '...It had felt so real.' Despite having climaxed so many times in her dream, she was still frustrated, and reached for something to give her some 'sweet relief'. Tears running down her cheeks, it looked as if she was going to be late to the bath once again. "I need help..."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Nabiki had awoken early, for her, and carefully extracted herself from the crowded bed in her older sister's room, before sneaking off to find the breakfast of champions, coffee! She did not want to run into her over-emotional father, or younger sister, if she even came home the night before, coming out of Kasumi's room again. The last time it had just been the three of them, and they had still had a time explaining why they were carrying their clothing out of Kasumi's room. It was quite a surprise to them as well, not having expected anyone else to be home, or they would have gone to Ranma's old room! She certainly did not want to listen to either one of them that morning ...she had more important things on her mind.

 So it was that Nabiki's quest ended in the empty Saotome's kitchen, where a pot of fresh coffee awaited her. She poured herself a cup, deeply inhaling the aroma, and beginning to perk up a bit. "Good morning, and thank you Hisho-chan. We need to talk, and I would prefer to do it face to face, if you do not mind."

 Within moments, the young kunoichi appeared in the room with a bow. "Of course, Nabiki-sama! What can we do for you?"

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Nabiki was the last of their usual group to join them in the bath, other than Nodoka, who had not been showing up lately, so it did not seem unusual to Nabiki that she was not there on that day either, even if some of them were concerned over the matter. Several of them made a move to get out to help her wash, but she waved them off. "Good morning everyone, I am glad to see you are all up and about after last night. We need to have a 'family meeting', and since most of the involved parties are here, I say it is as good a time as any."

 "Good morning to you as well Nabiki-chan. What did you want to talk about?"

 "Well Ranma-kun, with your father gone, we will need to do something if we want to keep our school going. Fubuki-chan and I spoke about it while you were off playing yesterday, and I spoke with Hisho-chan and Hijo-chan this morning. I believe that the rest of you, especially Kasumi-nee-chan, should have a voice in what we do with it now. I have school and club, as will most of you soon, and Kasumi-nee-chan has work. We have many contracts, both with the school, and other families around the world, and so we cannot easily close the school either, not without a lot of problems arising. I know you are willing to try to teach the classes and do your job here, but we cannot let you do all of that alone, it isn't right, and we do not want you getting burnt out. You mean too much to us.

 "Our father doesn't know the style, and has only supervised free practice sessions, which is something we need to reserve for a last resort. Konatsu, while not formally trained in the style, is a natural and agreed to help. Hisho-chan and Hijo-chan helped us to design many of the techniques we teach, they have agreed to join the school officially, now that they do not need to be kept a secret, and will help as Fubuki's assistant instructors, as will I when I am able, and I assume Kasumi-nee too."

 "Of course I will help!"

 "I will too, I wanted to learn about this style anyway, and if this school bears our family name, we should be involved. We can ALL help out keeping things clean, and if it becomes too much of a problem, with all of these houses, we can always get more help. How about the rest of you? Anyone else want to learn this style?"

 "You know I am always right beside you Ranchama!"

 Pai did not want to admit it, but not only was cleaning really NOT something she wanted to do, but it was also something she was really bad at doing. She had tried to help her mother as a child, but looking back on it she had long ago realized that her 'helping' had caused far more problems than it actually helped, and after her mother died, she never really got over it. Since then she had always chosen training over cleaning, and other 'womanly' pursuits. The fact that they were even considered the "womanly arts" by most people, was actually one of the big reasons she avoided them as well. It was a wise person who could admit when they could not do something, was it not? "I would like to help, but I am having so much trouble with my other training, and now this school thing, I don't know that I can." Although the fact that she had spent so much of her life training made her 'excuse' all the more embarrassing to her. They had all dedicated themselves to the art, but she was so far behind them, that she did not think she would ever be able to catch up.

 "No problem Pai-Pai, it's not required. You know you can come to me anytime you want special help with your training. I am sure we can work through whatever is causing this block you are having."

 Pai flushed thinking about why she hadn't gone for 'special training' very often, and being nude, she could not hide the fact, even under water. The way everyone looked at her made her realize they were not going to let her get away without saying anything on the matter. "I want to, but I just can't, okay?"

 "Why, Pai-Pai? What's wrong? If it is something we need to change, I will do whatever we can."

 "No! It is nothing you are doing wrong, and I don't think I would want you to stop if you could, but I just ...can't think about training when you are that close and we are alone like that!" She had been having this problem even before the first time they had made love, and for some reason, it was getting harder, not easier, to concentrate as time passed. Whenever Ranma would get too close, her mind would 'haze up' and she was unable to think clearly. She knew the signs well now, but she had always assumed that they would get easier to take as time progressed, and her blush intensified the more she thought about it. Ranma had taken her into a hug, and she tried to hide in his chest as the fog rolled in. "I just can't think like this!" Ranma started to let go, as he apologized. Pai did not let him go though, in fact, she wrapped her leg around him as well. "No! I don't want it to stop!"

 "Well, that's two, how about you Kikyo? Would you like to learn?"

"That really is not my forte I am afraid, and I am not sure that I would feel comfortable in the uniform. It would probably not look that good on me anyway, not like Kasumi-dono... However, if you need me for anything, I will help where I am able."

 "You would look so cute in a maid's uniform! ...not that your usual uniform isn't cute too..."

 "I agree, I think you would look adorable too, but no one is going to force you, if you do not want to do it." Ranma eyed Ukyo as he spoke, knowing how his best friend's mind worked. "I will let you know if we need your help though, thank you. Well, that just leaves one other person here right now to ask."

 Shampoo had been listening to most of this, saw where it was going, and had tried to sneak off. Alas, escape was not to be, for she had not gotten far before Ukyo's arm snaked out, wrapping around her own. "Oh no yah don't Shugga. Yer not gonna miss out on all the fun too. Yah've already agreed to play maid, and it just would not do for you to not know what you are doing when you do..." 'I may not be able to play 'dress up' with Kikyo-san ...yet, but since Shan Pu agreed, Ranchama won't stop me ...as long as no one complains.' Ukyo licked her lips in anticipation.

 Shampoo let out a cute sigh. "Yes, Shampoo know. Shampoo help with school too."

 "Well, then I suppose from today until we master this, you three will lead our training sessions. Please take good care of us."

 Kasumi and Fubuki both blushed heavily, loving the idea of taking care of Ranma and the others, even if it was only training in this case. Nabiki leaned in close to Ranma. "I will do what I can to make sure you know it well, and I have absolutely NO problems with as many 'private lessons' as you would like. I am sure no matter what we do or think about, it will truly be a 'learning experience', and leaving me wanting to learn more."

 At one time, Pai might have decked someone for insulting her like that, or at least given them an earful, but those impulses had lessened the longer she spent with Ranma and, at that time, she could think of nothing other than holding onto Ranma tightly. Attributing it to being a girl in love did not help her full body blush fade any sooner.

 Nabiki gave them a smile, trying to keep the mood light. "Now, while you are fixing my hair, I have one more thing I would like to add. The three of us are members of a group that gets together once a week to play a game called Youkai the Façade. It is a role-playing game, where we go on adventures, solve mysteries, fight monsters with super powers, or whatever the case may be, and we were wondering if you guys would care to join us."

 Kasumi was able to feel the confusion and disbelief in the air, and felt she needed to say something. "We know that may not sound very interesting to you, having lived it for real, but we find it fun. It is more about getting together with our friends than anything else."

 Unseen by most, Nabiki rolled her eyes at the 'for real' comment, but otherwise ignored it and just enjoyed the treatment of her hair and scalp.

 "Well, I am sure that if you three enjoy it, then it is worth trying, and I have to admit, I am looking forward to meeting your friends."

 "...And 'they' are looking forward to meeting 'you', too. Some of them go to our school, so either way, you will get to meet them, but this will allow you to meet all of them, without the distractions of school."

 "Well, oooooookay then... Do we want to ask what that means?"

 "You 'met' our headmaster, what do YOU think?"

 "Point taken..."

 "So, you will go then?"

 Ukyo interjected at this point. "Oh definitely, this just keeps sounding better all the time..."

 Nabiki gave them one of her rare, joyful smiles. "Then, those of you who will be joining us, we should get together this evening after practice, and we can help you make your own characters, and explain how the game works."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Nabiki was finally returning home after a hectic day at school and her club. The word had spread quickly around the school that Ranma would be starting classes on Monday, starting with those who had been in her clubrooms and saw his portraits, especially her friends and club members. By the end of the day even those students who had never even heard of him before, were excited about the new celebrity hunk joining the student body, and all of them had questions for Nabiki. It had seemed to her as if the only person who had NOT come to see her was Akane.

 Nabiki was a bit surprised that the Saotome house was empty, but she heard the sounds of sparring from outside, so she tried feeling out with her ki as Ranma had shown her during their practice. Indeed, her assumption was correct, and she 'felt' the others in the backyard, and she quickly made her way there.

 The first thing she saw was Ranma and company practicing their 'kajiken' style, each using various cleaning tools to battle, and handling themselves quite well for beginners. Looking around, she saw that Pai and Kikyo were each off working on their own training, in their own ways. Nabiki was trying to decide if she wanted to join in, and turned to set her books down.

 "Welcome home ...Nabiki-chan."

 Nabiki looked toward the voice and her jaw dropped. Kasumi and Fubuki, both in their 'training outfits', sitting on the ground, each leaning against the other's back looking completely worn out. "What happened to you two?"

 "Training. We cannot ...keep up."

 "It is good that you are here, Nabiki-sama."

 "Yes, it is your turn now." The two exhausted young women each reached up, and 'tapped' Nabiki's hands, both saying, "You're it." Then they slumped over, having no energy left to move.

 Nabiki could not believe it, both Kasumi and Fubuki had far more stamina than she had herself, she had seen the two of them fight for hours on end and not be the least bit winded, yet here they were, completely tuckered out. And that was 'after' Ranma had been giving them ki treatments, which had boosted their performance considerably. She looked over at the others again, admiring their form, and how they all looked as though they were not tired in the least. "How long...?"

 "Ever since you left this morning. They haven't stopped since we showed them the basics, not even for lunch! It is just amazing to watch, I cannot believe that they are still so intense."

"Just watching Ranma-sama is exhausting."

"I thought with the way we felt from all of the help they have been giving us with our ki flow, that we could go on forever, but they certainly showed us 'our' limits ...and now, it is your turn. Get in there, and show them what a Tendo can do!"

 Nabiki was not so sure about that. Seeing how tired the other two were, she did not think she would last long at all. On the other hand, she had wanted to show off...

 Kasumi and Fubuki watched as Nabiki ran in to show off her skills. "Nabiki-sama is doomed."

 "Nope, does not stand a chance. I guess we should start making dinner."

 "Yes, it is well passed time to begin."

 "After you, Fukibuki."

 "Oh no, after you, Kasumi-sama."

 "Oh no, no, no, I insist, after you..."

 "Together?"

 "Okay, san, ni, ichi..."

 Neither of them moved...

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Ranma had to admit, the ride in the limousine was nice, but he still preferred to travel under his own power, although, the others did provide him with an excellent 'argument' for why they should ride instead. The driver even had the courtesy to raise the divider, so that 'his music would not bother the girls'.

 They adjusted their clothing as they exited the vehicle, before the seasoned players led the 'noobies' into the smaller, rear building that they use for 'game night'.

 Once they were inside the relatively smaller building, the other excited young women greeted the group. All four of them were trying to talk at once, and no one could follow any of it. Nabiki decided someone needed to take control of this mess, and since no one else had done so, she did just that. "Whoa, slow down there, we are not going to get anywhere like this." None of them wanted to deal with a less-than-happy Nabiki, and fell quiet. "Good, now, Ranma-kun and friends, I would like you to meet our friends, and gaming group, Kei, Yume, Natose, and Mii." She pointed to each in turn. "Girls, I would like you all to finally meet, Ranma, Ukyo, Pai, Shampoo, and Kikyo."

 Ranma and the others bowed. "Thank you for inviting us, we look forward to your care."

 Kei stepped forward smiling. "We are thrilled to have you. We have heard so much about you. It is a pleasure to meet you all in person. My name is Keiko Inamura, you can call me 'Kei', and I will be your 'Narrator', or 'Gee Em'. If you have questions about how things work, feel free to ask me anything."

 "The name's Ranma Saotome, but you can call me whatever you would like. They gave us a bit of a rundown on the game, and told us a bit about you four as well." Ranma gave them one of his winning smiles.

 Anastasia looked a bit nervous, worried about what they might have said about her, but calmed a bit with the boy's smile.

 Keiko grinned. "Really, and you came anyway? You are a brave man."

 Ukyo slid up Ranma's side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders before looking directly into the other girl's eyes. "Few can match our Ranchama's bravery, and that's a fact!"

 Keiko and her friends became truly aware of the other four newcomers at that point, having been previously lost in Ranma's chest and eyes. While the beauty and bare skin, looking back at them, made some of them feel inadequate, and overdressed, the looks on their faces left no room to doubt Ranma's bravery in their minds. The outfits their company was wearing, made them not sure if they were cosplayers, or if it would be rude to complement their costumes, so chose to just enjoy the view. They had been of the impression that they had never gamed before, and they had lived on the road, so the odds of them being cosplayers did seem rather low, but one could never be sure.

 Not wanting to inadvertently offend them, Keiko turned to her friends and asked, "Did any of you want to say anything?"

 Anastasia had come better prepared this time, and presented each of them with one of her elaborate 'business' cards. "YaAa, I'm Anastasia Mistina or 'Mii' for short. Call Mii for 'any' reason."

 Natose cheered on from the side. "Don't lose, Yume! Give it your best!"

 Yume hopped forward, winking and smiling brightly. "I am the youngest in my family, Yume! My hobby is ham radio, and my forte is clam digging." Yume looked proud of herself. 'There, now my character is firmly established!'

 Ranma turned to Keiko and pointed to Yume. "What's her problem?"

 "Low self-esteem, inferiority complex, loose grip on reality, take your pick..."

 "Aaaah! I failed again!" Yume looked horrified before she collapsed to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest with a dark cloud hanging over her head.

 Natose was instantly by her side, consoling her.

 Ukyo had stars in her eyes as she ran over and started hugging Yume, squeeing all the way. "OOoooooo, aren't y'all just the cutest thing?"

 Both Yume and Natose perked up with the attention. "Congratulations Yume! I knew you would shine!"

 Seeing that Yume was receiving the attention she desired, Natose stood up straight, before bowing deeply with her hand over her heart. "Thank you, I am Natose. I am head of security, and I cultivate flowers for the Kuonji family, as well as being Yume's personal retainer." The room brightened with her smile, as she seemed to sparkle. "It's a pleasure to meet you all!" An almost dead silence filled the room the moment her sparkles quit tingling. Natose looked embarrassed. "Was it something I said?"

 Ukyo had frozen solid. She spoke slowly, carefully. "What was that? I must have not heard you correctly. What was that name again?"

 Yume was taken back by the change in the previously affectionate girl, and replied cautiously. "Ku-on-ji, spelled with the characters for 'old', 'distant', and 'temple'. ...Why, is that a problem?" Yume barely had time to react before Ukyo was lying in her lap, unconscious.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ukyo awoke from a dream where she was surrounded by family and other loved ones. She saw Ranma looking back at her, smiling, as her eyes fluttered open. "Ohayo, Ranchama." Seeing Ranma first thing when she woke up was always one of her favorite things, but today, He was facing the wrong way for it to be his lap she was feeling under her head, and so she twisted her head around to see Yume, gently holding her. Ukyo scrambled away with a start.

 Ranma went over to calm his oldest friend, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Ucchan, isn't that wonderful? You may have a family!"

 "Ranchama, I already have a family..."

 "I know Ucchan, I know, and you will always be an important part of that family."

 "I don't want another one. You have been a far better family than I ever deserved..."

 "You deserve only the best Ucchan, but just because you are happy with us as your family, does not mean that you cannot have a bigger one. The more the merrier, as they say. There is no need to really worry about it now though, why don't you get to know your potential distant cousin. Maybe you can trace your histories..."

 "Ranchama, even if they are related, you are my only true family! Unlike anyone else, you have always been there for me when I needed you."

 Ranma pulled Ukyo more tightly into his embrace. "And I always will. Don't you worry, even if they are part of your family, you will always be a part of mine. Nothing will 'ever' change that." Ranma looked deep into Ukyo's eyes, giving her an unspoken assurance. "Now, why don't you get to know your possible cousin, I am sure Yume would like to know you better as well, judging by the way the girl helped care for you while you were out." Ranma lowered his voice. "Besides, I think you might have hurt Yume-chan's feelings with your reaction." Sure enough, the girl looked as though she were on the verge of tears again.

 Ukyo saw the look on the slightly younger girl's face as it puffed up, and her heart went out to her. "Aw, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it, I was just surprised. I thought I was the last Kuonji left!" Seeing Yume start to relax caused Ukyo to do the same, and she gave the beginnings of a smile. "My father used to tell me of another branch of the family, but we lost touch so many generations ago. ...I didn't know any of them were still alive."

 Ranma felt he needed to have a talk with Nabiki later, to find out why she had never told them about this, but decided to let the matter drop until later. The look on her face made him think she might have been just as surprised as they had, which seemed odd to Ranma, considering she did work as a detective. Either way, it was not a conversation he wanted to have among this many people.

 Kasumi and Fubuki had refused to let him help them setting up their snacks, but rather insisted that he mingle with the rest of the group. With that, he turned to the nearest one, looked into her eyes, and asked, "So, you are always this 'game master'?"

 It only took Keiko a moment to recover from that look, and she was back to her normal, assertive, self. "Well, no, not always, but we let Yume-chan and Mii-chan each try their hands at running a game, and trust me, you do not want to go there. It was not an experience I would care to repeat, and believe me, you are better off not knowing." Ranma looked curious for a moment, but decided to let it drop. "Since the others don't really care for being in charge of it, it usually falls to me. Nabiki-kun is quite good at it too, and so we take turns sometimes..." She leaned in to whisper softly into Ranma's ear, "But, there is one flaw though, all of the youkai we encounter turn out to be fake ...boooooring. Otherwise, well done." She righted herself, and resumed a normal tone and volume. "So, you said they helped you make characters, and went over the basics with you all, is that right?" She waited for them to nod before continuing. "Do you mind if I look at them before we begin?"

 "Not at all, as a matter of fact, I had something I wanted to talk to you about before we start..." Ranma handed over their four sheets.

 "Oh, and what is that?"

 "Well, I wanted to use my background points for other things, and so I did not use any for resources. So, I need to earn some yen for some better gear, and I wanted to ask you if this would work..." Ranma whispered into her ear.

 Keiko's eyes went wide, before she looked over the sheets carefully. "Well, this was not what I expected. Judging by the stories we have heard of you, I expected something a bit different..."

 "Well, if I understand the phrase 'Role Playing' correctly, that is the point, is it not?"

 Keiko smiled, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Right you are! Few people take it that far on a first character though, I am impressed. As for your other question, the way it works is, if a situation arises, and you wish to act, you must say so at the time. We may need to roll some dice to see if you succeed, and if you wish to keep it from the other players, just pass me a note, and I will reply in kind. If necessary, I will do the roll in secret."

 "That sounds reasonable. So, what kinds of youkai do we fight in this game? We have had a bit of experience with several kinds over the years..."

 Kasumi and Fubuki had finished laying out the food and drinks they had brought, and Nabiki had finished setting up their books, dice, and other equipment as they rejoined the group. "Oh, you and your 'monsters'."

 Ranma turned to Nabiki. "What? We proved magic is real, but you don't believe in monsters?"

 Keiko looked rather skeptical. "You can do magic?"

 "No, not really. ...Oh hell, you are probably going to find out eventually. Since you are friends of the family, I will trust you to keep this to yourselves. Several of us are 'suffering' under a curse, though some of us are 'suffering' more than others."

 Ranma noted that he was the only male, and removed his coat for the demonstration. "This will make things easier, it is harder to deny this way. You can even put your hand on my chest if you would like. I do not want there to be any doubt." When he said this, Ranma looked at Nabiki who had the decency to look a bit sheepish. He waited as the four eager young women each put a hand on his chest as he had instructed.

 After splashing himself with the glass of water Fubuki had provided him, Ranma waited for the obligatory squeezings to end, and the hands to be removed. Anastasia was the last to remove her hand, thoroughly enjoying the situation ...even if she would prefer to be the one being manhandled. The bespectacled girl looked up at Ranma, utter amazement in her eyes, without removing her hand. Ranma gave the girl groping him a quizzical look. "Are you done?"

 "Oooo, your cold stare! It's piercing me! Oooo, I'm cumming! To make it up to you, please punish me for the offence, or you can grope me back, or maybe give this bad girl a spanking? You can do whatever you want!" The thought of being spanked was too much for the cyan-haired girl, who started groping herself! The noise this made drew the attention of anyone left who had not already been watching.

 Keiko started kicking the girl, who fell to the ground, moaning in pleasure. "Sorry about Mii, the girl is weird, but harmless."

 Ukyo was becoming aroused watching the way the foreign girl was playing with herself. "Come on Ranchama, the girl wants a spanking from you, what are you waiting for? You know the rules..."

Nabiki looked up, curious. "What 'rules' would these be?"

"The rules we were raised by."

 "Ofukuro-chan gave us many rules to live by, the one Ucchan is talking about there, is rule number twenty-three, 'To refuse to eat, when the dinner-table is set, is a grave insult'. It ties into a few of the others as well, such as rules four and five, but that is not really important."

 Nabiki looked curious, and made a mental note to ask Ukyo more about it, later.

 "Well Ranchama? Put the girl on your lap, pull down those panties, and spank away. You have done it to us enough times! I know I want to see it, how about you all?"

 Many of the girls raised their hands, including Keiko and Anastasia, who had stopped their diversion when it seemed as though no one was overly uncomfortable with her friend's actions. Anastasia could not believe that there was someone else who might help her with her fun. She had completely stopped for a moment, listening intently to every word.

 Keiko was shocked. They had finally met someone who she would not have to 'save from Mii's attentions'. With this guy around, she would not be the only one to have to 'distract' the girl. Nabiki helped her sometimes, but she had known Mii the longest, and she felt the most responsible. Neither one of them could really give the masochist what she truly wanted though. Bisexual as she was, Anastasia was not terribly picky, Keiko has seen the girl get turned on by the slightest discomfort, even the heat of the sun or a cold stare, but most of the boys avoided her, thinking she was too strange. Even if her friend did not show it, she knew it hurt her, sometimes badly, and not in a way that she enjoyed. Hopefully, having more people around who were not put off by her antics would help the girl feel better about herself. Keiko certainly hoped as much, nice people deserved to find happiness ...even the weird ones.

 Ranma looked down at the girl playing with herself on the floor. "Is that 'really' what you want my dear?"

 Anastasia started to squeeze her breasts again, even harder this time as she writhed on the ground and nodded vigorously. "YES! OH PLEASE, SO MANY TIMES YES! Spank me, pinch me, hit me, hurt me! Hit me as hard as you can!"

 "Okay, fine, but would someone please get me some hot water first?"

 He sat in a chair, thanked Fubuki for the water, splashed himself to change back, picked the girl up by her waistband, and placed her across his lap. She felt lumpy in places that should have had no lumps. When Ranma lifted her skirt and pulled down her panties, he saw why. Under her clothing, she was tightly tied up with rope, and it was a reasonable example of Japanese rope bondage, a skill he had mastered quite young. "There is no way I could hit you as hard as I can though, I would likely shatter every bone in your body and knock down the house, or worse, you could be paste..."

"Even most youkai don't deserve Ranchama hitting them at full strength..."

 "I 'will' make sure you can feel it, if that is what you like." He twinkled as he winked at the girl, who looked more excited than even the Tendo girls did when they had arrived home. "Your knot-work is not bad, if you would like, I could give you a few lessons."

 Anastasia nodded vigorously again, squirming in anticipation, blushing at the compliment, and smiling broadly. "Oh, yes please, -master-! Teach me! Punish this bad girl! Show Mii what I am doing wrong!"

 Ranma began the spanking, not augmenting his strength in any way and starting very lightly, not wanting to overdo it. He slowly increased the force of his blows, carefully gauging how much force her bottom could take without doing any real damage, as she kept yelling "Spank me more! Harder!" Even if he could heal any damage, he didn't want to break anything.

 "OOOOH! I've been waiting. I've been waiting for this, all this time, for you, -my master-. Your Ana-chan has been a naughty girl. Please punish Mii until everything breaks, -master-!"

 As the spanking grew harder, Anastasia tried to bury her face in Ranma's lap as best she was able, moaning and yelling in pleasure. Wanting to return the pleasure she was feeling, she undid the ties on Ranma's pants and started licking what she found there, being careful not to bite it, or her tongue ...too hard. She did not mind biting her tongue most of the time, but with the force of her spanking and occasional screams, she was really afraid she would actually bite it off, and while that fear was a turn on to her, she did not want to lose the ability to speak.

 The rest of the young women, even those who would protest liking this sort of play, were getting very turned on by watching the exchange. A few of them were even jealous of not being in Anastasia's place when they saw the look of utter rapture they could occasionally see on the strange girl's face. It really made some of them wonder what they were missing.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Some time later, most of the group was seated around the table, playing the game. They had all grown bored with watching the 'show', and Ranma had used the 'Touch of Heaven' technique, mostly in hopes that they could get on with the game, and partially just to see if it would work on the odd girl who enjoyed pain. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she responded just as well to pleasure as she had to pain, which made him feel a bit better about this latest twist in his life. While refusing a request from a beautiful woman went against his nature, he did not like hurting people without a good reason. He knew that a bit of pain in the heat of the moment could feel really nice, but this girl took that much further. Either that, or she was 'in heat' during every moment.

 True to his word, Ranma had shown Anastasia some rope tying tricks, and she was now naked, tied up, and hanging from the ceiling. She was low enough to see what was going on with the game, but had to get Ranma to roll her dice and make notes on her paper. The only thing she could move was her head, and despite the way it seemed, it was surprisingly comfortable. Which both thrilled and disappointed her, she could not believe she had found a man this skilled. On the other hand, more discomfort would be nice too. Her disappointment was further alleviated by the fact that Ranma, and occasionally some of the others, would reach up and give her a pinch, or a slap on the rump. Anastasia had to admit, that it was the most pleasurable game she had ever been involved with, and that included actual sex games. Never in her life had she felt so alive, and she wanted to repeat it again, as soon as possible.

 Nabiki's character was not having as much fun. "Kaneda! How could you DO that to me?"

 "What, you have a problem with nude photos?"

 "Not at all, but I would never 'SELL' them! ...those are for my personal collection..."

 "What was that?"

 "Nothing! Er, 'evidence', yeah, they are evidence, that's it!"

 "Exactly! It is the proof that you are alive, and dare I say, pleasing to the eye... And I wink. They are the evidence that there is beauty in this world! All I did was let others share in that beauty! ...Is it so wrong that I made a little profit on the side?"

 Keiko tried to hide her expression behind her book. "Okay, Ranma-kun, roll Manipulation and Subterfuge, and Nabiki-kun, roll Perception and Alertness."

 "I got a ten, two nines, an eight, and a seven." Ranma was still trying to figure out how the system worked, but he was pretty sure that he had gotten a good roll.

 Nabiki smiled, having eight dice to roll for this, until she saw how they landed and heard Ranma's roll. "Aw, aw, oh, now that is not fair! I got a seven, three threes, a two, and three ones!"

 "Oh, that is too bad Nabiki-kun. That is a fumble. Epifani, not only did not see through Kaneda's ploy, but fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. You are not only, not mad, but are now willing to pose for any further 'material'."

 "Aw!" Nabiki hung her head for a moment, before perking up and looking, longingly, at Ranma. "Well, I guess it's okay, just ask next time, so I can make myself more presentable..."

 "Aw, but that is the tantalizing aspect, you going about your normal affairs, that is the real selling point. If you know about the camera, it loses ...artistic value."

 "...Well Kei? I can't argue the point, can I?"

 Keiko laughed. "Nope. Sorry."

 "You are just loving this aren't you?"

 "Yes, yes I am." Keiko continued to laugh.

 "Fine, fine, I can see I have little choice." Nabiki shifted her gaze back toward Ranma. "I suppose, if you really think it is better that way..."

 "Oh, it is! When you act naturally, unaware of the camera, your true beauty really shines through! It makes you appear even more attractive." Ranma finished with a patented smile.

 Nabiki turned back toward Keiko. "I can't say that 'acting naturally' would include punching Kaneda in the face can I?"

 "No, not at the moment anyway. You cannot find it in yourself to get upset, quite the opposite in fact. You are blushing, and loving every moment of the attention and praise."

 "Okay, okay, fine." Nabiki returned her focus back toward Ranma, who was still smiling. She tried to act as cute and shy as she could. "Teehee. I suppose it is fine then." She even blushed, mostly from being embarrassed about saying 'teehee', but the effect worked nonetheless. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

 "Oh well done! Nabiki-kun, give your character a point in 'Moe'." Nabiki looked surprised, but marked it down on her sheet. There was a first time for everything.

 Ranma got a devious look on his face. "Well, I am pretty sure I left my money somewhere ...it's probably in your wallet. Let me check."

 "Oh come ON! I can't possibly fall for that!"

 "Okay, I will give you a Willpower check, since it is so obvious, but difficulty eight, since you are already under the effects of your last botched roll."

 "But that's only a four! Can't I use ...no, I guess not."

 "You could spend a Willpower point..."

 "Not worth it, I don't have that many left." Nabiki rolled her four dice and her face dropped. "Well, it was worth a try. Seven, three, two, and five. I hand over my purse."

 "I go through it, looking for anything interesting, as I 'collect' the money I 'left in there'."

 Anastasia looked down from her position. "You can check mine anytime!"

 "But, your character is wearing nothing but fur and a collar... You are not carrying anything right now."

 "So, I still have plenty of 'pockets' you can search! Oh why couldn't I have been born a Kangaroo-girl or some other marsupial?"

 "That's okay, bunnies are cuter."

 "Well, koalas are pretty cute..."

 Several of the new players all said at once, "NO!"

 Nabiki looked over with an eyebrow raised. "Do we want to ask...?"

 "No, you REALLY don't." Ranma saw the looks they were getting, and tried to explain. "Um, well, squirrels are cute, or maybe a 'Sugar Glider', but let's just say 'we have had bad experiences with koalas', and leave it at that..."

 "Um, okay, but does that mean you will search Miina too? You can act it out if you want..." Anastasia was happy to get back to their other topic, and her broad grin put more than one person present on edge and forget about wanting to ask more on the subject.

 Happy not to have to go into more detail, Ranma answered quickly. "Sure! Okay, I will search the bunny too. What do I find?"

 Keiko looked over their sheets, made a note, and passed it to Ranma. "You found more than you expected." Ranma looked the note over, made a few of his own, and passed it back. After a moment, Keiko handed the two character sheets back to their owners, a few items lighter.

 "Aw..." Nabiki looked over her character sheet, trying to take note of what items were missing from her inventory, not sure if she should be impressed or offended. "You took 'that'?" The money and embarrassment were not real, but the cleverness and creativity certainly were, and she realized that she was tending to favor 'impressed'. On the other hand, she had a reputation to maintain, even if it had been dealt a few blows this evening, the worst of which being the possibility that Yume might be related to Ukyo. She had never even considered the idea, having not really used Ukyo's family name before. The odds of such a coincidence just boggled the mind. She needed to find a way to make that mistake up to Ukyo, but that would have to wait for later, for now she needed to keep from being outmaneuvered and see if she could make Ranma regret trying that tactic on her. No one made a fool out of Nabiki Tendo and got away with it! She looked over at Ranma, with a loving look on her face. "Oh Kaneda-kun, did you find everything you need? I think I lost something too... I lean in close, sticking my hand in Kaneda's pants."

 "It seems that you did, I found this earlier. I pull out the 'butterfly' I found in the purse. Did you need to use it now, or would you prefer one of the ones I found in the bunny's 'pockets'. I pull out the two vibrators I 'found'."

 Not deterred, Nabiki continued. "Oh no, that wasn't what was missing at all. Plastic and metal are not enough for me. Ah, here is what I was looking for... I say as I pull down those pants."

 Ukyo piped up. "Oh no you don't. If there is any seducing going on, I will be the one doing it! I join in playing with Kaneda's manhood."

 Kikyo's eyes slowly returned to their less-wide state. "Well, this is not what I expected from this game, but I suppose it has its appeal as well. What do you think Hikaru-sama? Should we join in their fun as well?"

 Kasumi looked embarrassed. "Oh my, I ...uh, believe we have other things we should be doing right now... Isn't that right, Misaki-chan?"

 Kikyo and Fubuki both looked a bit distracted for a moment. "Oh, I don't know, this seems kind of fun too... Um, oh sorry, yes, I do not believe the orphans can wait too terribly much longer..."

 "Kei, did some'bunny' enjoy being 'searched' so thoroughly?"

 Keiko rolled some dice. "Oh my, um, yes, yes you did, VERY much. Almost as much as the real you enjoyed the pre-game warm-up..."

 Anastasia's eyes lit up. "Then Miina would like to perform the ceremony of acceptance. That might help with the mission after all."

 "I guess I should not be surprised, I was kind of expecting that anyway. That will take you a moment, if you can get close enough."

 "Wait, what's going on? Were you not just saying we were in a hurry?"

 "Miina hops over to Kaneda and company." Keiko rolls a handful of dice. "You push both of the other women out of the way, as you throw your arms around Kaneda's neck and bestow your kiss. Ranma, when the bunny-girl kisses you on the lips, there is a flash of light, and you feel a connection, along with a surge of power. When the light fades back into the collar around Miina's neck, you have a chain in your hand that is connected to that collar. The rest of you do not see the chain. Ranma, if you wouldn't mind, please add one point to Mii's Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina."

 "Oh, is like Kiss of Life!"

 "I drop the chain! What's going on? What just happened?"

 "The chain does not go anywhere, but you can no longer feel its weight."

 After filling in the bubbles on Anastasia's character sheet as he was asked, he looked up at the young woman hanging above his head. "What did you just do?"

 "As of this moment, my body and soul, to the last hair, belong to you, -my master-. I will always stay by your side. Day or night, sweet or sour, pure or impure, living or dead, this humble slave will always be yours."

 "Um, I repeat, 'what just happened?' ...and did you just get stronger?"

 "This lowly slave recovered the power it lost due to being without a -master- for so long. If this slave still has not the power -master- needs, then -master-, and only -master-, may remove its inhibitor collar, and allow it to give it its all. If it remains off for too long, its worthless body will give out, and -master- will need a new slave. Please remove it for any reason, for as long as it is useful to you, -my master-"

 "But, I..."

 "Epifani squeezes back in, and I wrap my arms around Kaneda. So, I am not good enough for you. Now you need to take on slaves as well? What, did you only want me for my body? Oh how cruel!"

 Using the distraction to get back into character, Ranma deadpans. "No, just your money really. Well, the money I can make selling your nude photos to the tabloids."

 Nabiki looked at their Game Master. "Can I get mad about that?"

 Keiko rolled a handful of dice behind her screen, and laughed. "Nope, as a matter of fact, you find that you like the abuse. No one had ever dared to treat you like this, take away your control, and you find it ...exciting."

 "Oh for the love of..."

 "So, if you are going to be working for me, what sort of skills do you have?"

 "Well, I can tie a sakuranbo stem into a butterfly knot with my tongue," Anastasia smiled. "...and not just in the game."
{*Sakuranbo(u) = Cherry (the fruit)*}

 Ukyo felt a bit left out, but found a place to interject herself. "I can do that too, in fact I know several knots!"

 Anastasia and Nabiki both looked impressed. "Miina would ask that you teach that to it, to better please the -master-!"

 "I am not sure how that will help us in this situation, but 'noted'."

 "Um, orphans, in trouble, we really should hurry..."

 Ranma looked over at a less-than-calm Kasumi. "Okay, I think I have a plan..."

 Nabiki looked surprised. "YOU have a plan?"

 "Yes, yes I do. Use what we have..."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 "I just cannot believe that worked..."

 "Yes, onee-chan, sex sells. It works in most situations. Even the hint of it is enough to distract most people ...especially most men."

 "Well, Kyoshi-sensei could certainly give you an earful on that topic. As for what we did, the same basic idea worked on some bandits we faced a while back, so I figured with a few adjustments, it would work here as well."

 "Yes, but I would not have guessed two girls dancing would be enough of a distraction for Ranma-kun's character to sneak those children out of there..."

 Ukyo looked up from where she was helping to pack up their things. "Miina and I are 'very' good dancers." She then stuck out her tongue.

 "I was more surprised at the way you jumped up and kissed Ranma-kun after Kaneda got those kids out..."

 Kasumi blushed. "Well, I was just happy that the children were safe... I was worried about them."

 The room filled with giggles. Ranma put his arm around her shoulders with a smile. "That's our Kasumi-nee-chan!"

 "I know they are not real, but is it wrong to be happy they are safe?"

 "Not at all, the fact that you care so much is one of the reasons we love you."

 "Yes, nice girl is too too nice." Shampoo gave Kasumi a warm smile.

 Pai had a wicked grin on her face. "I am just glad I finally got to release the Sword of my Soul on those fiends! Trying to take over the city is bad enough, but to take those orphans hostage! They are lucky all we did was banish them!"

 Ranma turned and bowed to Keiko. "As you can see, it seems we all enjoyed ourselves, thank you for having us. It was fun." Ranma's normal cocky smile returned and Keiko was sure she saw a sparkle when it did.

 "We are glad you were willing to join us, and hope you consider doing so again, regularly."

 "I do believe we will. As a matter of fact, I was thinking that next time you guys could come to our house to play. We have plenty of room and food, and there would be less travel time, so we could have more time to play."

 Natose's face lit up at the mention of food, and Keiko had to admit to herself that she wanted to see where this boy lived. "Well, that sounds like a plan. If there is a problem, you can call me, or talk to us at school. Nabiki-kun said you were starting classes this week, so I am sure we will see a lot more of you very soon. Do you know what class you will be in?"

 "Well, we are not sure about all of them, but at least we are all in Nabiki-chan's homeroom."

 "Really? I didn't know you were older..."

 Not wanting to hear about how she was 'older' than most of the others, Nabiki took this chance to pull Yume aside. She wanted to talk to her and then Ukyo before they left.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 "Ukyo-chan, I have done you a disservice. I have been kicking myself all evening for not having figured this out sooner, it's just ...you guys never really used your family name in your letters! All I ever heard or read was 'Ucchan' this, and 'Ucchan' that, so I never put it together. I feel just awful that this was dropped on you like this, I should have been able to warn you. I am sorry." Nabiki bowed deeply to show her remorse.

 Ukyo was surprised at the strength of feeling coming off of Nabiki, it seemed as though she was taking it harder than Ukyo herself. Sure, the shock of it really caught her off guard, but after she thought about the family history, it seemed likely. "It's okay. It's not yer fault! There was a split in our family many generations ago, one side decided ta give up on the family traditions, and become industrialists or something, while we maintained our history. Now, I am the last, but I am sure you know the rest."

 "Well, I would like to try to make it up to you-"

 "There is nothing to make up for, there was no offence."

 "Well, 'I' was offended at myself, so allow me to make it up to myself at least. I have spoken with Yume-chan, who has agreed to let me go through their family registrar, if that would be agreeable to you. I can also, if you would like, go through your own for you, so that we can compare them, and see if we have a match..."

 "I do not actually have it here. I would need to make a short road trip to one of our other homes..."

 "You have more houses?"

 "We have several, actually. Between us, we have at least four that I know you have not seen yet, though most are not really impressive. The one I am talking about here though is my ancestral home, our training ground. Most of my family's artifacts are there. The others belong to the Saotomes. We bought a few on the trip, got a really good deal on them, but they are on the other side of Tokyo."

 Nabiki was impressed, four other homes, three near Tokyo even, despite what Ukyo said, they had to be worth a small fortune! Little did they realize that since Ryoga had been away permanently, and his mother almost never being home, the property values had been going back up, and they were almost worth what they should be again. People's memories were short after all. This family seemed to really have it together, a lot more than her impressions of Genma had allowed and, she hated to admit it, far more than her own family. So, despite all of the weirdness that came along with them, her estimation of them, and her desire to stay in their good graces kept going up. "You will have to show me one day, but for now, we have more important matters. Unless you do not want to, we should get this cleared up as soon as possible. True or not, it is better to know for sure right away, so you have no confusion."

 Ukyo could not argue the logic, and she had to admit, she was curious. If any of the others were like Yume and Natose, then they would certainly be worth getting to know. She was not really opposed to the idea, and did not want to carry her father's prejudices forward another generation. There were so few of them left, they needed to work together to preserve their history! Family was important! "Well, while I agree, it is not exactly close. It's about five hundred kilometers away or so. At our top speed, it would take us a while to run there and back..."

 "Well, I had something a bit more relaxing in mind for travel than running. Yume, do you think the colonel would take us?"

 "Yume might have a better idea..."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 At last Ranma let Anastasia down, and she begged him to tie her back up in a way that allowed her to still walk, so she could make it home.

 After he had finished, she dug through her pile of discarded clothing, pulled out another card, and tried to hand it to Ranma. "-Thank you, master-, Please, call Mii anytime. Mii will drop anything and come to you if you call. Please play with Mii again, anytime, anyplace. You can do anything you want to Mii, anywhere, anyway. Mii will do aaaaaaaanything you want, if you play with Mii again! Call Mii!"

 Ranma declined the card, already having one in his pocket. "Don't worry, I won't lose the one you gave me already, they look costly."

 "The cost isn't important, all that matters is that you call!"

 "You all are welcome to visit us whenever you want, as well. Feel free to stop by anytime you'd like."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

The ride home was quite pleasant, everyone was excited about the game, and other events of the evening and they were all in animated conversation. All of a sudden, Kikyo and Ranma stopped talking, and looked at one another. "Ranma-dono, did you feel that too?"

 "Yes, something isn't right." Ranma pressed the button to roll down the divider to the front section of the limousine and asked the driver to pull over somewhere safe. As the car came to a stop, Ranma asked the others to stay safe, and leapt through the moonroof. Kikyo also warned them to stay put, but chose to evacuate through the door of the vehicle.

 Nabiki, Kasumi, and Fubuki were quite confused, made worse when their driver also departed the 'car', and did not come to open their door, but followed Ranma. "What is going on?"

 Ukyo was fighting the urge to follow as well, but knew that Ranma would be angry with her if she did, since her back was still a bit tender. She also knew that Ranma would keep his word and not let her have any fun with them later if she did. "Well, my guess is that an angry youkai is attacking nearby... If I had not been forbidden from doing anything strenuous, I would be out there as well."

 "You have got to be-" Nabiki was about to scoff, until she saw the look of concern on Ukyo's face. She scanned the others and saw a similar look on both of them. "You are 'not' kidding..."

 "No, is true, happen all time. Shampoo go help!" The bubbly girl bounced out of the car, and bounded after the others.

 "Oh, 'this', I have GOT to see..." Nabiki started for the door, but was prevented by Kasumi placing her hand on Nabiki's shoulder.

 Fubuki wanted to help Ranma, and follow his orders, meaning her job was to help keep them safe. "But, Ranma-sama told us to wait here..."

 "No, your 'goshujin-sama' told us to 'stay safe', and 'here' may not necessarily be the 'safe' place to be, and we will not know that until we see what is going on, now, come on." With that, Nabiki got out of the car, and followed the noise now coming from not far away.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 It did not take long to follow the sounds and find the 'action'. After running down a hill, Nabiki saw Ranma, Shampoo, and the 'Colonel' with their backs to each other, being swarmed by a flock of none too happy ...birds? They were firing off various glowing ki attacks while more of the green and blue 'birds' were being stunned by glowing arrows being fired from off in the distance.

 "Birds? Why are they fighting with birds? Am I seeing things? Are you guys seeing this too?"

 "Them fighting birds? Yes, that is what I see as well."

 "But, ...why?"

 "Didn't Ukyo tell you? Those are not normal birds."

 "They look pretty normal to me... other than attacking people that is."

 "Exactly."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ranma and the others were having a difficult time trying to do no more than stun these birds. They had felt an impurity in them. Kikyo had been sure that it was some sort of poison, and wanted to see if she could cure them. The trouble was, that there were so many of them, and the four were limited in how much damage they could dish out. These things might be able to cause a good bit of damage, but they certainly could not take it.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Nabiki had not noticed it, but she had been steadily walking toward the battle, completely lost in thought, and instinctively wanting to get a closer look. She was trying to figure out exactly what was so different about these birds that made the others so sure that they were 'monsters' and not normal birds, even if they were attacking. 'It was not as if such a thing was unheard of, that old movie, The Birds, was based on a true story after all. Now what was it that caused that event...? Did they ever figure that out? I am pretty sure I read something about that not long ago...'

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 "This doesn't seem to be going too quickly, do you have any ideas Nabiki? ...Nabiki?" Pai looked around and saw that Nabiki was not only not with them, but getting awfully close to the battle. She wondered for a moment if the other girl had an idea.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ranma saw that Nabiki was getting closer and was a bit disappointed. He was not the only one to notice this either, a rather large contingent of the birds also saw the warm body approaching. A warm body that was not actively hurling ki objects at them. The tone of the squawking changed as the majority of the annoyed feathered creatures changed their target. Ranma panicked as he saw where they were heading.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Nabiki could not believe her eyes and she saw the flock of birds head in her direction. Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. Her mind was screaming that she should run, or at the very least drop to the ground and protect her vital organs, but she couldn't move a muscle. All of her usual bravado in the face of danger and strange happenings was gone. Her body would not obey any of her commands.

 The flock was close enough that she was able to make out individual feathers, and see all of the colors and they blended together into a hurricane of death. It was quite beautiful if not for the whole 'death' thing.

 Nabiki thought she was as good as dead, happy to not be dying a virgin at least, when she first heard Kikyo yell, "NOOOooooo!" before Ranma yelled, "Jan Ken-po!" and a glowing 'net'-like object filled her vision, collecting the birds together as the flapping, squawking mass fell to the ground with a thump.

 It took a second as Ranma wrestled with the 'bag of birds' before Nabiki processed that she did not, in fact, die and was then able to move again. She started to edge closer to Ranma. "Remind me to thank you again later Ranma-kun..."

 "Don't thank me yet, this is about to get worse!" Ranma was still wrestling with the 'sack' as Kikyo came running up, her hands already glowing as she chanted.

 Unfortunately, before she had been able to get onto her knees and lay her glowing hands upon the collection of foul tempered fowl, a secondary glow began to leak out before the 'pouch' ruptured and huge bird-like creature burst forth. "That is what I was afraid would happen..."

 "Yup, I didn't want to gather them together like that, but I just didn't see any other way, sorry about that."

 "Well, this could work to our advantage, at least like this, it can take more damage. ...GET DOWN!" The Colonel ran up to them, building a charge between his palms, preparing to fire of one his hand beam attacks, but he was too late. The oversized angry youkai was already swooping toward Nabiki, fire building up in its beak, preparing to exhale.

 Ranma jumped up from where he had been thrown, diving to intercept the creature before it could fire, hoping that he would be in time.

 Luckily, Nabiki had been able to heed the command to 'get down' and had dropped just as they heard, "Tin Tong Niu!" shouted from behind Nabiki. The pink Bird of Paradise attack collided with first the monster, and then both of them were struck by Ranma and his desperate dive.

 Normally Ranma would have absorbed the ki attack into himself to avoid most of the damage, but he had other things on his mind, and was unable to react to it in time, not expecting such an attack coming his way. The creature repeatedly squawked and croaked, "Itsudemo! Itsudemo!"
{*Itsudemo = any time (at), always, all the time, at all times*}

Despite being singed, Ranma had been able to maintain his hold on the beast, and started emitting his calming and healing auras. "Not much longer now."

 Once again this evening, Nabiki could not believe her eyes, and was openly staring, mouth wide open. "What in the 'hell' is THAT?!?!?"

 Seeing that Ranma and Kikyo were busy tending to the thing, and Shampoo looked just as confused as Nabiki, the Colonel decided to explain. "That was an itsumaden. It is said that they can come into being when a person starves to death. They will then haunt any that refused to feed it. They can breathe fire, and as you can see, they have a snake-like tail with a barbed tip, and a face that somewhat resembles a human, if you discount the beak..."

 Nabiki blinked twice. "But, really, all of those birds became this?"

 "That is backwards, actually. Most youkai try to blend into the human world in one way or another. Some try to pass as humans, other pass themselves off as other things..." He waved his hand at the large 'bird'. "All of those 'birds' were parts of this one's body."

 "Someone should tell it that those birds were not indigenous to this region then. Well, you are quite knowledgeable about such things, aren't you?"

 "I am simply, one 'hell' of a butler." Taijiri placed his right hand over his heart as he bowed.

 "I see... Well, thank you anyway." Nabiki looked back over at Ranma and Kikyo and she saw the glow subsiding, as the itsumaden fell asleep ...audibly snoring. Nabiki stared momentarily, as she saw the wounds on both the bird-thing, and Ranma slowly fade away, though his hair was still a bit singed. Feeling the tension pass, Nabiki walked over and stared at the 'no longer angry' youkai. "Is it safe now?"

 "More or less. But more importantly, are you okay? You didn't get hurt did you?"

 "I am fine, thank you, how about you? Does it hurt badly?" Nabiki's face drooped a bit further for a moment, knowing that he had gotten hurt while saving her.

 Ranma smiled. "Nah, I will be fine shortly. Kikyo and I are healing me along with our friend here."

 "Can I touch it?"

 "I can't really say I would recommend that... It might be sleeping, and peaceful now, but it seemed to like you, and that might not be the best thing in these cases, it is hard to say how sentient the thing is."

 Nabiki snatched her hand back as quickly as she could. "Ooookay. Well, do we know what happened?"

 Kikyo finally looked up from her work, seeing that both of them were healed as well as she could manage. "Yes, 'we' do. It was ill, some kind of poison it seems..."

 "Poisoned food sources! That's what it was..."

 "You knew?"

 "Oh, no, sorry. This whole thing reminded me of an old movie based on true events, and I was trying to remember what caused that event."

 "Well, then it seems as though history has, once again, repeated itself. Although, this time I, or rather 'we', cured the poison." Kikyo spared a glance at Ranma. "It was not the worst poison I have seen, but I do wonder where it got it from. I do hope this does not happen again. ...At least it was not the miasma."

 Nabiki just kept staring at the creature, as Ranma turned to Taijiri. "So, you fire ki out of your hands in a continuous beam? That's pretty interesting."

 "Hand beams are an integral part of being a butler." Taijiri combed his hair to make sure it was perfect.

 "Are they now? I will have to make sure to keep that in mind for future reference. You know, I have a feeling I may need your assistance in the near future, if that would be all right."

 "As long as it does not interfere with my service to the mistresses, and they do not disapprove, then I would be happy to be of service in any way I can, young master." Taijiri bowed deeply as he finished.

 "Thank you Colonel-san." Ranma returned the bow before he pulled a pile of packaged breads out of his pockets and began to unwrap them.

 The others had made it over to them now, though they still kept their distance, just in case. Kasumi saw Ranma opening the prepackaged breads, and felt a bit of a pain in her chest. "Are you so hungry that you would eat 'that', in a place like this, Ranma-kun?"

 "Oh, no, this isn't for me. It's for this guy. It seemed like the best way to keep it calm and healthy when it wakes up." Ranma pointed to the slumbering creature. Kasumi and Fubuki both let out a sigh of relief. "Why would I eat junk like this, when I have been eating such wonderful food all day, made by two of the best cooks I know? I would have to be a fool to even think about such a thing."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 It was not long, before the beast started to stir. Many of them edged their way back, while others prepared to jump in at the slightest threat to their loved ones. Pai and Shampoo were both humming a soft Chinese tune, and Ranma and Kikyo did their best to keep the thing calm as it awoke, so when it started sniffing the air, hesitating in Nabiki's direction, they upped their effort as Nabiki inched away.

 The efforts were successful, and the itsumaden turned its focus to the breads that were before it. After a few very cautious sniffs and test bites, it gobbled them up. The more it ate, the brighter it glowed, the more vibrant its feathers became, and its mood became visibly improved.

 Once it had finished its impromptu meal, it began to fade, squawking out a horse "Thank you" before it was vanished from sight.

 "The spirit has passed on. This area is clean."

 "Unlike 'some' spirits I won't mention..." Pai joked around with her friend, trying to lighten the mood.

 Kikyo's look grew sullen. "Sometimes I do envy those who get to pass on... I did for a very long time," Kikyo looked over at Ranma and her gaze softened as she kissed him on the cheek. "...but this is no longer one of those times."

 "But, Ranma-kun, how did you know that feeding it would make it pass on?"

 "I didn't, not really, but the legends say they are born when a person dies of starvation. Since it could not talk to us normally, I did not think it was too sentient, and thought maybe if we fed it... Even if it didn't work, I thought maybe it would keep it calm, let us figure something else out, or take it somewhere safe."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 The adrenaline rush from the day had not left the teens by the time the limousine pulled up to the Saotome estate and Taijiri opened the door to let them out. The first they thing they saw as they excitedly exited the vehicle, was that the 'tent' was no longer in place and in its place stood the largest building on the property, their new home. The next thing they noticed after thanking and dismissing the butler, was that their normally hidden, ninja assistant was waiting for them in the yard, wearing a more 'maidly' version of her usual ninja garb.

 "Okaerinasai, Ranma-sama and family. You appear to be doing well." The ninja-maid bowed deeply with her greeting.

 "Well, we certainly could have been doing much worse after that, but all things considered, it was a good day. How about you Hisho-chan?"

 "It was a wonderful day for us as well, for I now have the honor of showing you to your new rooms. If you would all follow me please." Hisho bowed again before leading the way to their newly constructed home. "You are now the first people, other than we who serve the Saotome clan who built it, to see inside."

 "Oh my, 'those who serve the Saotome clan', does that mean you have been inside, Fukibuki?"

 "Oh no, I do not serve the Saotome clan, I only serve Ranma-sama..." She looked dreamily at Ranma before adding, "The rest of you are just a bonus."

 "Well, for the time being, I would like your primary focus to be helping us keep the dojo operating. Contracts are a matter of honor, and we must do everything we can to uphold that, so I appreciate that you are willing to help us with it. It means a lot to me."

 "I am happy to assist you in any way that I am able, Ranma-sama."

 The conversation was interrupted as Hisho opened the front door and led them inside, where slippers already awaited them. Hisho waited for everyone to change shoes before leading them around to show them the new living room, den, and library, but everyone got excited when they came to the kitchen. Their new kitchen was more than double the size of the kitchens in both of the other houses put together! It was easily large enough for all of them to work together without problems, and it was filled with high-quality equipment and utensils. Most of their group were beside themselves with elation, though not everyone. Several of them were mostly glad that their friends were happy, yet were still imagining the various treats that would be made in this room, which caused them to drool a bit.

 Hisho took them upstairs next. "We have built for each of you, a room for you to call your own. We have also taken the liberty to move most of your things into them already." Each of the doors had a nameplate on them, the hand-carved kanji, stained darker to stand out. "If you do not like the way we set them up, just let us know, and we will change whatever you would like."

 The young women were pleasantly surprised by how much they liked their rooms ...although, questions did arise. "Yes, Kasumi-sama?"

 "As lovely as these rooms are, I have noticed that none of them contain a bed..."

 "Yes, that is correct. Only the guest rooms up here contain beds. Your sleeping quarters, as well as Ranma-sama's personal room, are back down stairs, near the bathing facilities. There is also a rest room up here, but the bathing area is located on the main level. If you will follow me."

 Curiosity piqued, they followed their ninja-maid, mumbling until they passed the stairs. "Didn't you say we were going back down?"

 "Yes, but there is a quicker way." Hisho pushed a panel on the wall, inside what seemed like a closet, which opened a hidden door. "Not only is this quicker than the stairs, but it puts us closer to where we are heading." Without another word, Hisho jumped through the opening, sliding down the pole inside. One at a time, they each followed the kunoichi's example. "Don't worry. The secret doors here will all close on their own after a few moments. If you press here, it opens this door, and if you press here, it opens again to let you slide down to the basement below. For your orientation, the kitchen is over there. Now, if you will follow me once again..."

 Hisho led them away from the kitchen, and through a double set of doors. "You can see the master bedroom here." This room was almost as big as their kitchen, and contained the largest bed any of them had ever seen. "We built this bed ourselves ...out of the strongest materials we had available. It should hold up to anything you can throw at it." Hisho beamed with pride as several of those present blushed brightly. "Ranma-sama, your room is through this door here. It also leads to the backyard. Through this door here, we come to your closet." She opened the sliding doors, to reveal a room that was similar to a small locker room, except that even the locker rooms at their school had not been this nice. Mirrors lined the walls, there were rows of dressers set up as if they were lockers, and the walls were lined with alternating closet doors and vanities, with mannequins, other equipment, and storage containers filling the carpeted room.

 "This is almost as big as the locker room at school! How many people do you expect to be changing at once?"

 "We had no idea how many people to expect, but we also wanted to make sure that you had as much room as you could need. Better to be prepared and not need it, than need it and not be prepared."

 Everyone looked at Ranma. "So, exactly how many women DID you plan to move in here?"

 "Well, to be honest, I did not 'plan' for any of you, not at first anyway. I am thrilled that you are all here, and I do not want any of you to leave if you like it here, but never in my life have I gone out looking to bring more people into our family." Ranma looked around at all of the faces looking back at him, though some of them were less than thrilled about his choice of words. "Even though I did not go out looking for a larger family when I started this journey, my only goal had been to train in the art, what I found on that trip was even more powerful. I found you all and more. Friends, family, and lovers, who are willing to come together, and support each other with everything they do, people who, when they work together, can pull off the impossible. I want you all to know, that no matter what happens in the future, whether you live here or not, you will all, 'always' be a part of this family."

 "Face it stud, you just love being surrounded by beautiful women." Nabiki leaned in close with a predatory grin on her face, as she tried to at least feign her usual humor.

 Ranma placed his hand over his heart, and raised the other high as he spoke in a commanding tone. "The only word I deny is 'just'! However, if it is a crime to enjoy being around the most beautiful and talented women in all of Asia, then I am guilty as charged! I counter with this, is it not you who are in fact at fault here, for being too amazing to deny? I am but a weak male, who cannot help, but to be captured by your charms. After all, where would I be, if it were not for the support of strong and beautiful women? Starting with everyone's most important one, ofukuro-chan, to Ucchan, to all of you, none of this would be possible without all of you."

 "I would wager that you would still be an amazing person no matter who you grew up around Ranma-sama, but I for one, could not be happier about the way things have worked out so far."

 "Who would not be happy to have such a master? We may have served your family for most of our lives, but we have heard stories from our elders, of when we served others, and many were not the most pleasant. The way I understand it, you saved our clan from ruination, or worse, corruption, and we will be forever grateful. It truly is, an honor, to serve you." Hisho bowed as deeply as she could, almost bumping her head on her shins in the process. "Now, there is one last place I would like to show you this evening." Hisho opened the fourth and final set of large double, sliding doors to reveal the laundry and changing facilities. She then opened the doors leading into the hallway, and pointed to the one leading to the toilets. "And at last, we come to the furo."

 As she opened the doors, her younger brother Hijo came out. "Welcome aniki, your bath is ready. We will now go prepare your evening meal. Enjoy the bath." He grabbed his sister by the arm and led her out. "You can play later aneki, we have work to do." With a disappointed look from Hisho, they were gone.

 Ranma had to place a hand on both Kasumi and Fubuki's shoulders to prevent them from following the ninja siblings to the kitchen. "Not tonight, you two have done enough cooking for one day. I think after the day we've had, we all deserve the night off." They tried to resist, but gave in when they could not free themselves from Ranma's gentle, yet firm grip. "The food may not be up to your usual standards, but I am sure it will be fine. They seemed confident."

 "Have you eaten their cooking?"

 "No, have you?"

 "No, but I know from personal experience that just because someone exhibits confidence in a skill, does not mean they have the talent to back it up..."

 "Aw, how bad could it be? It isn't like cooking is terribly difficult ...at worst you just follow a recipe ...ne?"

 "You have no idea... and you would not believe me if I told you, no one could." A few of them were a bit nervous, but gave up protesting. Worst case scenario, they could whip something up after they were done, and a bath 'did' sound good.

 After undressing each other, they all filtered into their new furo, and a grand furo it was. Ranma estimated that it was second only to Kyoshi's mini-hot spring. Even though there were more than enough showers for everyone, they all paired up to wash each other before getting in the tub.

 The tub was not only large enough for all of them and then some, but also had a place to sit along the edge, and it was almost large enough to swim in. It was closer to a huge jacuzzi, complete with jets and filtration system. Close to two meters at the deepest point, it was the largest private tub many of them had ever seen, and for most of them, it was a heavenly experience. Only Kikyo and Nabiki missed out on it, both of whom having left after their showers.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Nabiki had been in her 'office' ever since the others had gotten into the bath. She had even skipped out on dinner, not that she was afraid the pair were bad cooks, she just had little appetite. She had just been sitting at her desk, with her head resting in her hands. All of the doubts she had been having over the years, all of the pain she had felt, every accusation she had made in her mind, all magnified by the night's events, and thrown back in her face as guilt. The remorse she felt even overshadowed the fact that her entire worldview had just crashed and rebooted ...again. Maybe she was getting used to it.

 She had decided that it was a good thing she had begun creating manga, because her life kept getting stranger than any she had ever read. At this rate, if she ever wrote a true 'slice of life' manga, it would be considered fantasy. Not that any of that really mattered, it was all of the mistrust, the hateful and sarcastic things she had thought over the years, that were plaguing her mind, so when Ranma came in, looking for her, she wanted to hide. The game her life was becoming flashed through her mind and she could not resist the sarcastic stray thought. '...And Nabiki spends a Willpower point to resist the urge to flee!' With that thought, she fought back, and stood her ground, determined to do what she felt needed to be done.

 "We missed you at dinner, it was good, but there wasn't any left, so ...I made you this, if you are hungry."

 Nabiki shook her head. She was touched by the thought, but only set the tray on the desk. "Ranma-kun, I have a confession to make, and I owe you an apology, several, in fact. I am not much of a fighter anyway, but today, no amount of ability would have helped. I was less than useless. I only made things worse by being there."

 "Look, it doesn't matter, I am just glad you are okay-"

 She cut Ranma off as he tried to console her. "No, it's true, we all know it. I did nothing but get in the way, cause you to get hurt, and just made things worse. We all would have been better off if I had just stayed in the car like you suggested ...and if that wasn't enough, here is the worst part. All of your stories about magic, and monsters ...I never believed you. I have spent most of my life proving such stories were frauds, and I just could not believe. At first, I thought that you were being duped, and at one point ...I thought you might be lying to us. I did not want to think that, but ...I couldn't help it. You don't know how much it hurt to think that one of us did not trust the other enough to be honest, and now I find out that I was that one. I was the one not being honest. I was the one who was not trusting. However, I want you to know, that you have opened my eyes, and all I can do is ask you to forgive me, for ever doubting you, for not being able to trust in you...."

 'Okay, I am going to completely ignore how obvious that fact was, and just pretend it is news.' Ranma did not want to make her feel any worse than she already did, so he tried to give her a reassuring smile as he wiped away some of her tears with a handkerchief he had pulled out of his pocket. "Hey, no sweat 'Biki-chan. How could you? We had never even met. I don't blame you. I was just some strange guy sending you letters. I mean I lived through it, and I barely believe some of the stuff that happened to us myself! So, if you won't hold it against me, I won't hold it against you. Do you trust me now?" Ranma offered his hand in friendship.

 Nabiki decided not to balk at the new nickname, under the circumstances, it could have been worse after all ...she liked it better than Pai's. Her looks were not what she wanted to be known for, and Ranma may not have intended them in this way, but far better to be referred as 'beautiful' than 'boobs'. Pai did not seem to mind it, maybe the girl did not know the reference, Japanese is not her native tongue after all, but Nabiki could not help but think of it as 'ironic'. Although, it was not like her real name sounded any better, pretty much the same thing. However, that thought came and was dismissed in an instant. She ignored the offered hand and jumped into the younger boy's strong arms, knocking a glass of water onto him, and kissing him on the mouth as the change took place. "I do, every word. I will never doubt you, or your word, ever again!" Nabiki paused for a moment, as she started to become aware of the now shorter redhead in her arms, her eyes went wide. "...even if it means I am going crazy."

 "You're not going crazy 'Biki-chan, you're going sane, in a crazy world!" Ranma-onna grinned broadly. "Now, not to change the subject or anything, there was something unrelated I have been wanting to ask you about, if that would be okay..." Ranma pulled a thermos out of his pocket, returning to his natural form.

 Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and what might that be?"

 "Well, we learned a bit about investing on our trip, and have some money put back, from what we have made on the road, but Ucchan and I do not want to be any more of a burden than we have to, especially in light of the extra bills we will have now. I assume the school brings in an income, so we will need to go over the books for that soon as well, but I wanted to make sure we do not ever have to worry about finances. You have done pretty well over the years, with your clubs, and other ventures, and so, it seemed to me, that you would be the best one in the family to talk to about such things."

 Had Nabiki not already gotten back into Ranma's arms after the hot water restored him, she would have likely been on the floor. As it was, she remained upright after her swoon, something she was loathe to admit, was beginning to become a habit. On the other hand, this newest development was something she definitely considered 'swoon-worthy'. Ranma came to her about financial matters. This meant that not only was he interested in the subject, and wanted to have a secure future for himself and his family, but it also meant he trusted her opinion on such matters! Considering that she felt 'trust' was a touchy subject at that time, it meant a lot to her that he did so, and she did NOT want to prove that trust was misplaced!

 "Most of our investing is done by an outside firm, so I do not have experience with much more than property, and not a lot at that. Between school, training, teaching at the dojo, and you girls, that will not leave me a lot of time for a job, and while I do not know how much the dojo makes, I am sure it is not enough to support you lovely ladies in the manner in which you deserve."

 Nabiki did not have to open her eyes nor lift her head off of Ranma's chest to know that his smile was twinkling at her, she could feel it. After the shiver down her spine had run its course, she gathered her wits about her and put them to work. "Well, no matter what you decide to do, this is not something you should rush into. While I would love to say 'trust me' and invest your money in some of the ventures I have going, I have to say that you would be unwise to invest in anything that you either don't know anything about, or that makes you uncomfortable. When you invest in something, you are putting your name on it. You are saying that you believe in that 'product'. So, whatever it is, you want to make sure that it is something that will not only make you money, but also that it is something you can be proud of playing a part in it.

 "What I can do first, is show you what projects we have going, and the ways they make money. I can show you why I chose what I have, how they relate to each other, and where I plan to take them in the future. You can then give me ideas on what you would like to do, and we can start making a long and short-term plan. There are many ways you can make your money work for you, it just depends on how much effort you want to put into it. From starting your own business, to investing in others, either directly or through the market." Talking about investments and making money had always made Nabiki happy, but doing so while being held in Ranma's arms was taking it in a whole new direction, and she was liking it. "Now, while we are discussing this, let me start going through your 'briefs'..."

 "They're 'boxers' actually..."

 "A mere technicality."

 "But first, you really ought to keep your energy up." Ranma began to feed some of the food he had brought to Nabiki, who looked rather sexy as she licked her lips after the bite.

"I will, but I want to try something, if you are willing..."

 Nabiki made a discovery that night; she rather liked eating food off of Ranma's naked body. It was one of the unchecked items she had seen in Ukyo's notebook, and something she wanted to do again... She was glad she had not thought of this sooner, she might have gotten the snack table in the clubroom painted to look like him, and how would she explain that to him if he came to her club? That was something she rather hoped would happen after all.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Br ight and early the following morning, Nabiki and Kasumi had gone to gather the rest of their things from their rooms when they ran into their father, who did not look happy. "I have been noticing that you two have not been sleeping at home often lately. Is there something you would like to tell me?"

 Nabiki looked him right in the eye and asked, "Have you noticed that Akane had not been home in almost a week, ever since almost killing Ukyo-chan?"

 "Of course I noticed that ...WHAT?"

 "That is correct, your favorite child, almost 'accidentally' killed someone in their own bathroom!"

 "Well, there you go, it was an accident..."

 "The only accident, was that the attack his Ukyo, instead of Ranma!"

 "I have noticed that the two of you have been spending an awful lot of time around that boy..."

"Isn't that what you wanted daddy, for the 'schools to be united'...?"

 "Not like that, one of you, preferably Akane, the one trained in our style, was supposed to marry and unite the schools. You were not supposed to go out like this, and possibly create a scandal!"

 "Just what kind of scandal would it have been if Akane had hit Ukyo-chan a bit harder, or if Ranma-kun had not been there to heal the damage? What would the neighbors think if your only student killed someone in cold-blood, in a blind rage? What do you think the Saotomes would do if that had happened? Do you really think they would just let that pass? Do I need to remind you that thanks to that deal you signed they own the land our house is on, which means they own our house, and your precious dojo! The 'schools' are far more 'united' than you even know."

 "They do? ...But, Saotome-kun-"

 "...Is gone! You only have the head, and acting-head of their household to deal with now. You can bet, that if they learn how much leverage they have, they would probably evict the whole household if a member had killed someone the head of the house considers a 'daughter'. I am still not sure what will happen when oba-chan finds out what, exactly, caused that hole in their floor, and why... Speaking of which, onee-chan and I are moving out."

 "WHAT?!?!? You can't leave me!"

 "Why not? Nee-chan becomes a legal adult this year, and I will be graduating high school soon after, so would be going to a university soon anyway. There is not much you can do, especially now, since most of our stuff is already moved, and 'legally' we are still on the same property. You can't stop it, unless you would like to try and physically restrain us, but if you are nice, we might let you visit, and if not ...well, I would hate to have to inform our new landlords of exactly how much control they have over this property of theirs..."

 "But, if you take Kasumi, who will cook for me?!!?!"

 Nabiki gave him a disgusted look. "Well, if you do not wish to learn for yourself, then I am sure Akane-chan will happily cook for you, 'daddy'."

 "Do you really hate your father that much?"

 "Well, perhaps if-"

 Kasumi cut her sister off, in an unusually forceful way. She had been listening to all of this, taking every word with her usual 'spoonful of sugar', but she had finally eaten so much sugar, that she snapped, and everyone else went into sugar shock. "Father! I cannot believe you would say that! Is cooking so horrible that you would rather enslave your daughters or consume poison than to learn for yourself? How could you father? Do you care so little about us and our happiness? Do you want daughters, or a free, live-in maid? Because if all you want is a maid, then I will be happy to hire you one! Did you really only have children to take care of you?"

 "No! Of course not! ...that was why I got 'married'."

 Kasumi gave Soun a look that spoke louder than words ever could, and it said 'How dare you say that about our mother!'

 Soun instantly started tearing up. "Waaaaah! Nabiki, Kasumi's mad at me!!!"

 "Right now, I am none too happy with you either, or did you forget? Honestly, you are horrible! You make me wonder why any woman would ever get married!"

 Kasumi waited for a moment, but with no reaction other than more sobs, she grabbed Nabiki's hand and headed for the door. When she got to the door and changed shoes, she faced her father once again. "Father, if you would like to apologize to us, we will be living in that house over there. If so, then maybe I will ask Ranma-kun if you might be allowed to join us for meals. If not, then maybe auntie Saotome will allow you to have some of Konatsu-chan's cooking, if you ask nicely, or you can join Akane-chan's cooking lessons when Kogarashi-san returns! I will say one more thing, if that is truly all you think of us, as tools, then, the schools will never be united in my name, because I will no longer be a Tendo! Right now, I have never felt more ashamed to call myself anything in my life..." Kasumi gave her father another moment to say something, but not getting any other response, she turned to go. "I think we are done here Nabiki-chan. The Saotomes seem to be willing to let us into 'their' family... At least they appreciate us!"

 After they were outside, and well away from the house, Nabiki finally spoke. "Kasumi-nee-chan, are you all right? I don't think I have EVER seen you get that upset before..."

 Kasumi gave her a cheerful smile, her usual mood appearing to return. "Do not worry Nabiki-chan, onee-chan is fine. I had always wondered why our father could be friends with someone like Saotome-san, and now we have the answer to that question, do we not? Or rather, we will soon. This is a good thing, it is high time our father learned some independence, but for now, let us get back to the rest of our 'family'. If memory serves, you have a trip planned this afternoon. I can go through the tunnels and collect our things later, if necessary."

 Nabiki could not believe it, this was so unlike her elder sister. She had expected to have to handle the emotional mess that their father tended to become in stressful times, always expecting others to be the rock in the face of his torrent, but Kasumi, of all people, had really put him in his place. "Before we go inside, I want to tell you that I could not be more proud of having you for my onee-chan. You were so strong in there. It was good to see you standing up for yourself. You deserve better things in life than to be daddy's replacement housewife. Know that no matter what happens, no matter what you want to do, you will have my support."

 Kasumi took her younger sister into a hug. "The same goes for me, Nabiki-chan. I will always be there for you, if you need me. Tell me, do you really plan to try and talk the Saotomes into kicking father and Akane-chan out?"

 "Of course not, but daddy doesn't need to know that."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Sometime earlier, Fubuki was cleaning up after breakfast, when she heard the doorbell. Since the door was not locked, she knew it was not the Tendo girls, who had gone to collect more of their things, so it must be a visitor! It was the first visitor to their new home, so Fubuki had excitedly ran to answer the door for the first time. Fubuki opened the door with a bow, not even looking to see who was there first. "Ohayo-gozaimasu, and welcome to the Saotome estate! How may I assist you?"

 "Yo, Fubuki, ohayo! -Master- is home, yes?" Anastasia bowed in return, though her hands being tied together made it slightly difficult.

 Fubuki smiled at her friend and let her in. "Certainly." Fubuki waited until she had changed shoes, an impressive feat to be sure. She would have offered to assist, but she knew the girl loved the struggle. "If you will follow me." Fubuki led her to the den before running to get Ranma.

 "Goshujin-sama, Anastasia Mistina-chan is in the den, to see you. Would you like me to bring Mii back here, shall you go to the den, or something else?" Fubuki tried to resist openly staring at Ranma's shirtless form as he worked out, but mostly failed.

 "There isn't much more I can do here right now, so I will be right there." Ranma finished the move he was practicing, and went to rinse off with the warm water shower they had installed. "At least, until you are ready to begin our lessons, that is, Sensei." Fubuki blushed as she grabbed a towel so that she could dry him off personally before leading the way to the den.

 "Mii-san, may I present Ranma Saotome-sama."

 "Oh, you may! -Master-!" Anastasia tried to jump up, but since her feet were also now tied, all she managed to do was fall on her face. She moaned as she crawled over toward Ranma, as if she were an inchworm.

 Ranma met her part of the way, bending down to help her to her feet. "Um, let me see, you said you wanted me to call you, 'Ana'-chan, is that correct?"

 "Oh yes! I will be your 'ana' anytime!"
{*Ana = hole*}

 Ranma blushed, taken off guard by the pun. "Um, okay, but what are you doing here, how did you even know we were in this house? I didn't think we had told anyone yet."

 Anastasia fumbled through her pockets, and pulled out an old card with a small drawing of a pony in the corner, and showed it to Ranma. "-Mother- said you were here, sent Mii. You said to come anytime, so Mii came for lesson. If you don't have time, just hang Mii somewhere." She extended her hands, still bound together.

 Ranma looked at the 'Chaos Pony' business card, and got an idea. This was something that needed to be investigated! "I will tell you what, I have a bit of time right now, so if you will loan that card to me, I will show you a new technique."

 "Okay! I do want it back though, it is important to Mii." Handing the card to Ranma, Anastasia lost her usual lustful appearance, and took on a shy one.

 Ranma sarcastically took on an evil grin. "Well, I suppose you will just have to hang around until I am done with it then, won't you?" Ranma grinned as he saw Anastasia's blissful look return.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ranma had finished tying Anastasia up, showing her a new position, when he sensed Nabiki and Kasumi returning home. He gently hung Anastasia from a showerhead, making sure she was in a safe position. "That's my cue, will you be all right here, or would you like me to let you down, or untie you?"

 "HERE! This is fine!" '-Maybe someone else will play with me while the master is gone!-'

 "Okay then, have fun, I will be back soon."

 "Thank you -master-, please come back and play with Mii soon!"

 Ranma left the furo, pulled a sheet of paper and a marker out of his pocket, and made a sign that he taped to the door. Ranma then ran off to catch the Tendos before they got far.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ranma caught up to the two Tendo sisters just after they had changed shoes. "Welcome home. How did it go?"

 Nabiki looked up and paused for a moment seeing Ranma's bare chest. "Uh, not really well, but I suppose the mission was accomplished."

 "Are you guys okay? Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything I can do?"

 "You already have. It is thanks to you we saw something we should have seen much sooner, and it is thanks to you that we now have a safe place to be." Kasumi leaned in and kissed Ranma on the cheek. "I am fine, but I do want to get cleaned up before Fukibuki and I give you today's lessons. I will be back soon. You two play nice while I am gone." The kiss she received in return, made an 'honest' woman out of her, because afterward, she truly felt happier than she had all morning.

 Nabiki and Ranma watched as Kasumi strolled to their room to gather her things. "Now, how about you, 'Biki-chan, are you okay? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

 Nabiki licked her lips. "I can think of a few things, stud. I am a bit, more, disillusioned, but no, I am fine, really."

 "Well, if you want to talk about it, I am always here for you. Know that you are loved in this house."

 "I ...love you too!" Nabiki blushed, being the first time she had said those words to anyone in person, other than Kasumi, since her mother died. She threw her arms around Ranma as her voice became hushed. "I don't know what I would have done without you in my life."

 "As long as you need, I will be here for you."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

N ot long before, Shampoo was walking down the hall when she noticed a sheet of paper taped to the rest room door. "What this? 'Play with toy inside'? What that mean?" Shampoo walked inside, looking for anything out of the ordinary, after a few moments she ran across Anastasia hanging from a showerhead. "Um, is you 'toy'?" She nodded her head vigorously, unable to move anything else. "And you want Shampoo play with you?" Again, her question was met with more nodding. Shampoo got a wicked grin on her face. "Shampoo get 'game', you wait here. Shampoo show you how womans of Nujie Zu play..."

 Shampoo ran to the 'toy box' and grabbed a double headed strap-on, and several other 'games' for them to play, before returning to Anastasia, already writhing in anticipation.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Nabiki had calmed down, and her tears were drying. "Thank you Ranma-kun. I am sorry for dumping on you, I don't know why, but I always seem to get emotional around you when we are alone. It is so unlike me. But, I guess it is nice to have someone I can let down all of my barriers around. While I trust nee-chan and Fubuki-chan, they have always depended on me to be the pillar of our group, the same at school, so many people to depend on me, everyone expecting me to be strong ...but, you are different. Whenever I am around you, I can feel my shell cracking. It is scary, and yet, strangely satisfying at the same time. Thank you for being there."

 Ranma flinched at the 'shell cracking' line, but did his best to ignore it. "Glad to be of help. It is not good to keep your emotions bottled up, so if I can help you in any way, then I am glad. You can lean on me any time you need to, and I hope you will let me lean on you when I need it as well."

 "Feel free to say no, as it is an important decision, and I would not want any of you to be bored, but if you do not mind, would you consider joining my club? While I have Kaede-chan as our advisor, so we do not have to worry about being shut down due to lack of members, but it is not a very popular club, so we have trouble getting much done. You are such a talented painter, I thought maybe drawing would come naturally to you, and you have been on so many adventures, so I am sure you have a lot of stories to tell. I think you would be a natural for it. That is, if you do not consider manga and anime below you. Though as a third year, this school does not require you to join a club, and you might want to spend more time with teaching at the school or studying for entrance exams."

 "Well, I do love to paint, and I want to help you, but I have never actually drawn anything in my life. So, I don't know how much help I will be, but I would be happy to try. We will make the school work, one way, or another, and if I decide to go to a university, then I will likely put just as much effort into studying for them as I did for these. ...Which is to say, none."

 "You did that well ...without studying?!?!? You continue to amaze me all the time..."

 "Well, we were on the road ...and in a parade, what time would there be? The amazing one is ofukuro-chan. I don't want to think of where I would be without all of that tutoring."

 "Well, either way, I am impressed. You have a pretty sexy brain in that head of yours, almost as sexy as the packaging..." Nabiki pulled herself up to kiss Ranma. "Wait-a-minute ...what 'parade' was that?"

 "Ofukuro-chan thought we should get some good old fashioned Japanese culture before we got back here, so we were in the Kanamara festival procession-"

 "So that was YOU?!? Now it all makes sense! The miko, and the dancers ...and that float! Now I 'really' AM sorry I missed it. We heard stories, but..."

 "Well, we have pictures, and video, and I think Ucchan kept the casting ...for 'some' reason. I think Kyoshi-sensei kept the float, so if you want to see it in person, we can always go visit one of these days..."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Kasumi had gathered her uniform, and headed to the furo. She used the entrance the bedroom, so missed the sign, but she did hear noises coming from within as she removed her clothing. Upon entering the furo, she immediately saw Shampoo 'playing' with Anastasia. "Oh my!"

 "Ah, Kasumi-aneki, you come help Shampoo, yes?"

 "What are you doing there?"

 "Be good host, make first guest too too happy! You make guest happy too, yes? Bring 'cat with nine tails'..."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
< br> "For anything else, you will have to talk to Ucchan. Who I am sure would be thrilled to show you all of her memorabilia." Ranma smiled. "But, before you do, I have something I would like to ask you about as well."

 "Oh?"

 Ranma pulled out her old business card and showed it to her. "Care to explain this?"

 Nabiki blushed a bit, remembering how she named her stuffed pony after Ranma, and drew its picture for her logo. "Where did you get that?"

 "Ana-chan came by, showed it to me, I thought it was interesting, and wanted to ask you about it."

 "Mii is here?" Nabiki looked around.

 "Tied up in the furo for now."

 Nabiki relaxed a bit. "Is it a problem? Do you not like my drawing?"

 "No, just a curiosity. I didn't expect such a 'cute' logo from you, and to be honest, the name, took me by surprise. It seems to contain the characters from my name..."

 "...it does."

 "Is there something you would like to tell me about that?"

 "Not really..." Nabiki hung her head. "Look, it's just embarrassing, that's all, I am sorry. When you sent us those stuffed animals you had won, I named mine after you, Rankoma, or 'Chaos Pony'. So when I went to start my detective stand, I could not think of anything I liked better, and I named the business after that pony, as well as used it for my logo. So, I guess, technically, it IS named after you, so I am sorry. You aren't offended, are you?" Nabiki looked hopefully into Ranma's eyes.

 "Not really, no, but if you are going to use my name on your business, I would like to be involved."

 Nabiki's face brightened considerably. "That's perfect then! You were asking me about investing your money, and letting it work for you, and if we work together, I am sure we have a very bright future..."

 "Then I suppose we should schedule regular meetings to discuss business models and proposals. Discuss what we do, and how we do it."

 "I can't wait to start..."

 "But, wait, you still have those stuffed animals?"

 "You know it, we all do. Do you want to see? Ours are upstairs, only Akane's isn't here. That one is at our old house."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Nabiki had said she needed to get some things done before the 'class', so Ranma had excused himself and went looking for Ukyo, who had just set down a book as he came walking up.

 "Ucchan, we still have a bit of time before Fukibuki and Kasumi-nee are ready for our lessons, could you help me for a moment please?"

 "Of course, Ranchama, what can I do for you? I was just finishing up here anyway."

 "Whatchadoin'?"

 "Uh, just going through my old scrolls, refreshing my memory on the old codes and traps and stuff. Not all of us have a mostly perfect memory you know, we need reminders."

 "My memory is FAR from 'perfect'. I only remember the things I care about."

 "Well, you've never forgotten my birthday, or our anniversaries or anything like that. That's more than most men can say, ...or so I hear." Ukyo sauntered over with a grin.

 "Exactly! Stuff I care about."

 Ukyo feigned offence, backing up a step. "Oh, so I am 'stuff you care about' am I?"

 "Very much so. More than pretty much anything else." Ranma pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her lower back.

 "That's good, because you're my favorite 'stuff' too. Now, gimme some 'good stuff'." Ukyo leaned in and kissed him for all she was worth. "That's better, more like the kind of greeting I expect from my Ranchama, but you were saying?"

 "Um, right... You remember those attacks Genma-san was doing in that last fight, right?"

 "Of course."

 "Well, other than ofukuro-chan, you were the only one really paying attention. I think I have what we saw down, mostly, and I was hoping you could watch and tell me what you think..."

 "Sure Ranchama, no problem. I just hope they are ready to start soon, Yume-chan should be here for lunch."

 "That's right, you are going back to your other house to pick up things, are you sure you do not want me to come along and help?"

 "I do, but it is fine, there are too many things that we need to get done here. I would put this off if it were not for Yume-chan coming by to compare records. The Colonel had to help convince their family head to let her take the book, promising to personally keep it safe, so this needs to be done today. Besides, now that we have this place, I have somewhere I can store some of it, I might as well pick it up now."

 "Well, your back looks fine now, but be careful, don't try to do anything 'too' acrobatic or strenuous. You still need to take things slow."

 "Don't worry Ranchama, I am tough!" Ukyo pounded her fist into her chest to demonstrate her point.

 "Believe me, I know, better than anyone. If you were not tough, even with our healing, you would not be walking now! So, please, for me, just take it easy for a bit longer. I am not asking you to not do anything, just don't push it, that's all I am asking here." Ranma used his 'charming' wink, knowing that Ukyo was mostly immune to the effect, but more as a private joke they shared.

 "Oh, you charming devil you. How can I say 'no' to that face?"

 "There is one thing..."

 "What is that, Ranchama?"

 "Well, we did not get examples of many moves, one of them was the voice thing, the 'opening move'."

 "...and...?"

 "I kind of need to try it 'on' you, and not just for you, to know if I have it right. As you know I have had, um ...'trouble' with a similar technique, and I don't want to overdo it. It shouldn't hurt in any way, but maybe we can try at first with you blocking with a ki shield, focusing on your ears, and lesson it a bit each time until I can use the full effect without you needing to block. Trial and error. The way I understand the move, it is a bit different than the one I have used, but since the goal is a little different, I am hoping to avoid the same 'issues'..."

 "What do you... Oooooh... Maybe I should go to the restroom before we do this..."

 "But, if you do that, then I won't see you again for a while."

 Ukyo looked curious. "Why is that?"

 "Uh, never mind! Let's just go outside. You can take off your panties ...just in case."

 Still curious, but always excited by the thought of Ranma participating in a bit of exhibitionism, however minor it may be, so she let the matter drop. She would find out eventually, whatever it was. "Okay Ranchama, let's go. Here, hold these then." Ukyo handed Ranma her recently slipped off string panty. "But, if my dress gets dirty, you are washing it."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Fu buki had finished her cleaning for the morning, and was looking for her 'students' and fellow instructors. She had been looking around, and was surprised when she found a 'sign' on the furo door. It was Ranma's handwriting, so she did not want to disturb it, but she felt compelled to see what was going on.

 When she entered the furo, she found several members of the household playing with the 'toy'. She thought about this for a short time before coming to the conclusion that since the sign was written by Ranma, then she could consider it an 'order', and far be it from her to ignore an order...

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Ranma and Ukyo had completed their impromptu training session, reasoning that Ranma did, in fact, have the moves they saw down, and his vocal control was getting much better. Ukyo had been able to maintain control of her bladder, and they considered it a rousing success.

 "Thank you for your help Ucchan, I couldn't have done it without you, as usual." Ukyo blushed at the praise. "Since our new instructors seem to be late, I suppose I have time to give you a little reward for your service." Ranma grinned as he pulled a remote out of his pocket and moved the control up a ways.

 "Ukyo's knees buckled at the sudden stimulation. "Ooohh, thank you RanchamAAAHH!!!!"

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 The morning half over, and their instructors were still inside. Ranma decided he had waited long enough, and went in search. He followed their ki to the furo. When he went inside, he found everyone in his household except Ukyo playing with Anastasia who was doing a good job of enticing the others attentions.

 "Well, I did not expect 'everyone' to be here. Kasumi-nee, you too?"

 Kasumi got flustered quickly, embarrassed that she had gotten distracted on such a flimsy pretext, she stammered out something that made little sense to most of them. "Ara! Well, Shampoo-chan said, ...being good host, ...make first guest happy ...helping?"

 "I can see you are making Ana-chan 'very' happy, but-"

 "It's not everyone, Ukyo isn't here!"

 "I know. We were out back, waiting on our instruction to begin..."

 A collective "Ooops! Is it that late already?" came from several members of the group.

 "Well passed. For those of you helping with the dojo, clean up and go out back. The rest of you, well, keep up the good work!" Ranma winked at them. "Ana-chan, are you doing okay? Do you need anything?"

 "-No thank you, master-, you're the BEST HOSTS EVERrrrrr! Just waiting on your return -master-."

 Pai looked up from her 'playing'. "Yes, as fun as this is, it would be much better if you were playing with us too, Ranma."

 "That would be nice Pai-Pai, but this is too important. It won't take me long to get this down, and I will have more free time, but maybe after lunch... Gotta take a break eventually." Ranma grinned at those who remained, before walking to the dojo.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

A fter eating lunch, and retying Anastasia, Ranma saw Ukyo's party off before looking for Kikyo.

 "Kikyo-san, there was one more part of the tour we did not get to last night. I wanted to show it to you personally."

 Kikyo looked curious, as she got up to follow. "What ever could that be?"

 "Just close your eyes." When Ranma saw Kikyo's eyes close, he scooped her up in his arms. The moment her feet left the ground, her eyes shot open in surprise. "I actually meant for you to keep your eyes closed until I asked you to open them. It kind of ruins the surprise if open them right away."

 "I'm sorry, but I really was surprised. Ranma-dono should give a girl a bit of warning." She put her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as she leaned in close.

 Ranma could not resist kissing her as he walked toward the back yard.

 "That was not the surprise, was it?"

 "No, it was just for being beautiful ...and being willing to go along with my nonsense."

 "Shouldn't I get two then?"

 "You have been hanging around Ucchan too long..." Despite his words, he leaned in and kissed her again, but this time Kikyo was prepared and really got into it. Ranma had to stop himself from walking into a wall.

 "Well, that is where I learned it pays to take the initiative, and it certainly paid off this time."

 "Yes, it certainly does." Kikyo could hear the smile in his voice. "Now, while this is really for all of us, we thought that you should have the most say in how it gets set up, and all of that. You can open your eyes now."

 Kikyo did as instructed, and saw a small temple, done in the 'eclectic style' of the Muromachi period that included both the Buddhist and Shinto traditions, though the construction looked more sturdy than she had been used to back then. It looked like a smaller version of the main hall at Kakurin temple, but with a slightly larger one behind it.

 "We figured that we could all enshrine mementos of those we have lost in the front building. Kasumi already brought the shrine to their mother inside for our first addition. I hope you do not mind."

 "You did this, for me?"

 "Well, I mean not personally, not really, I only came up with part of the idea. Ofukuro-chan and I did go through our family artifacts, we found this, and had it repaired. It was said to have belonged to an elderly miko who had been close to some of our ancestors from about your time. We thought that, maybe you might know something about it." Ranma had pulled a bow and quiver out of his pocket.

 Kikyo could not believe her eyes. She whispered something too low for Ranma to hear before asking, "May I see that?"

 Ranma handed them over. "They are yours if you would like them."

 Kikyo turned them over, and examined every detail. "YES! ...I mean yes, please, if you do not mind, I would like it very much if I could hold on to these. I do not just know something about them, they belonged to my little sister, Kaede-chan. I could tell you how most of the nicks and scratches got on these. I just cannot believe this, is there anything more about this priestess in your stories? I would love to hear them."

 "Not a lot I am afraid, but you are more than welcome to look over anything we have. I will be happy to take you over there, as soon as they get back from the store. Ofukuro-chan knows the history far better than I, and can give you a better tour of what we have."

 "Thank you Ranma-dono, you have no idea what this means to me."

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

"Y ume-chan, how did you get this thing?"

 "Yume's friend is out of the country, but said we could borrow this for our trip. We just have to return it, and the pilot, before morning."

 "But, this shouldn't even exist! They don't make anything like this! Who do you know who could possibly have .something ..like ...this? OOOOoooohhh..." Nabiki's face and voice dropped. "So that's why Kei-kun didn't want to come..."

 The pilot turned his head to be heard better, but not enough to pull his eyes away from what he was doing. "Top secret project. This is a prototype model. Technically we are still in the testing phase, but don't worry, I have logged hundreds of hours in this baby. We haven't had a problem in weeks!"

 "Kuso! How do I keep getting into these messes?"

 "Don't worry, just have a drink and relax..."

 "We are underage!"

 "Okay, then just relax! In jet-mode, we will reach our destination in about ten more minutes. Although, judging by what I know of the area, it is going to be hard to find a place to land, even in chopper mode."

 Ukyo spoke up for the first time in a while, having been amazed at the level of technology she was witnessing, and recently, hope they were not going to blow up, or crash or anything. "That will not be a problem, if you can just hover over the site!"

 "Not a problem!"

 "Just get us as close as you safely can! Nabiki-chan, how high can you jump?"

 "WHAT?!?!? You can't be serious? Parachutes only work if we are above a certain point, and even if they do, how would we get back in?"

 "Who said anything about parachutes?"

 "I don't know, a few meters or so, a bit more maybe thanks to those treatments that Ranma-kun has been giving us..."

 "Okay, got it. How about you, Natose-san?"

 Giving the 'thumb-up' sign Natose smiled. "About six stories."

 "What? Really?"

 "Oh yes, Natose is incredible. The position of Head of Security for our household is not just for show. All of our servants are amazing, but Natose is the best, other than maybe the colonel."

 Natose literally glowed with the praise, but tried to be humble about it. "No, the colonel has more practice."

 "Well, I can only carry Nabiki-chan right now, so if you can carry Yume-chan we are good, otherwise they should wait here. You can wait here with Yume-chan if you would prefer, this should not take long."

 Yume looked depressed. "Yume wanted to see."

 Natose set her resolve. "If Yume wants to go, we are going!"

 "Okay! Nabiki, would you like to go, or wait here?"

 "You worry me, you really do, but there is no way I am going to miss this..."

 "Good. It looks like we are almost there."

 "That's what I thought, all wooded, there is nowhere I can land this thing here. I could go over there, but that would be quite a few kilometers away."

 "This is faster, just get us close to the treetops. We shouldn't be too long."

 "Here, take this. If you have any problems, radio me. I will do what I can to help."

 "Thank you. We will be back soon."

 "How can you take this calmly? People are about to jump out of your plane, without parachutes, from above the trees!"

 "Ojou-sama's butler does it all the time ...though admittedly, there is usually a crater in the ground after the landing... and ojou-sama tends to use the parachute, but this isn't that unusual... Either way, good luck!"

 "Are you SURE we shouldn't be using the parachutes?"

 "You would just get tangled up in the trees, this is easier."

 The three girls with long hair had all copied Ranma's tight braid to keep from having it blow around, and Nabiki had chosen to wear pants. After being amazed watching the jet turn back into a helicopter, Natose and Ukyo picked up Yume and Nabiki respectively.

 Ukyo saw that Nabiki was still nervous. "Are you okay Nabiki-chan?"

 "Not really... Are you sure you know what you are doing? Didn't Ranma-kun tell you to take it easy?" She looked almost pleadingly into the younger girl's eyes.

 "Of course, trust me. This IS taking it easy. Why do you think I am only carrying you, and asked the pilot to fly down this low?" Ukyo gave a reassuring smile, before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "For luck."

 "Yume wants luck too!"

 Everyone grinned, while Ukyo and Natose each leaned in to kiss Yume on the opposite cheeks.

 "After I jump, wait a few seconds, and then follow me." As soon as they got within a several meters of the treetops, Ukyo jumped out, with Nabiki in her arms. Nabiki had to fight every instinct to resist throwing up her arms and screaming, to her credit, she succeeded. A few hops, and several teddy bear panty-shots from Yume later, they were all safely on the ground, near an old temple-like structure. "You three ought to wait here and let me go in first. There are all sorts of traps and things that I need to disable before it is safe for you past this point, and even then, it would be best if you do not touch anything." Ukyo gave them her cutest 'innocent' smile before running off, moving in an intricate, yet random seeming pattern before vanishing from view.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ukyo was resetting traps as she led them back out, Yume's hair was a mess, she was covered in a dark and sticky fluid, and she had black marks all over herself. "Yume! Did I not tell you not to touch ANYthing?"

 "Well, you did say it would be best, but that statue looked so cute..."

 "It's a good thing we were there. Those okonomiyaki traps can be brutal. You were about to be grilled to perfection, with one of our secret sauces!"

 "Wahhhh! Yume doesn't want to be a snack! Natose would eat me!"

 Natose had to think for a split second, distracted by the thought of food. "NO! Of course I wouldn't! ...Just the shell." Natose wiped some of the sauce off of her with a finger and popped it into her mouth. "Mmmmmm, and maybe the sauce..."

 "Waaaaahhhh!"

 "No, wait, Yume! It just means you are too cute to resist!"

 "And our family's okonomiyaki is too. The best in the world!"

 "So, you make food in there?"

 "We used to, but not for generations. We dwindled to the point that we only used this for training. My father and I used to work out of a yatai, and we were the last of us left."

 "So, you make ...food? I have never had okonomiyaki, Beni isn't very good at making many Japanese dishes... But you should come by when we are having Italian!"

 "Ukyo Kuonji's the name, and okonomiyaki's the game. ...or at least, it used to be. Mostly I only make them for one person now... although the rest of you are welcome to have some too. As a matter-of-fact, you should both join us for dinner, I will not be letting them out cook me tonight! It's Ucchan's turn to show you how we do things, Kuonji style!"

 "That's great, but how are we supposed to get back in the helicopter? Do you think it has a ladder?"

 "I am sure it does, but we don't need a ladder." Ukyo scooped Nabiki up in her arms, and started leaping up through the trees, with Natose and Yume not far behind. When they reached the tops of the trees, and made the final leap toward the helicopter, Nabiki's heart froze. As they got closer and closer to the whirling blades, Nabiki began to shriek and almost lost control of her bladder. She did not stop screaming until they had landed safely, and Ukyo was comforting her. Natose and Yume landed moments later, and they gave the order to return to where the colonel would be waiting for them at the airfield. Nabiki made Ukyo swear she would never tell anyone what happened.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
Earlier that day, Ranma had finished training for the day, and noticed Kasumi was changing shoes by the front door.

 "Kasumi-nee-chan, what are you doing?"

 "It is my 'cleaning day'."

 "You're cleaning? Did we make a schedule yet, but, then why are you dressed to go out?"

 "Because I will not be cleaning here, silly."

 "Then, do you need help?"

 "Not at all, but it would be nice to have you there, if you would like to join me. Maybe carry my bags..." Kasumi's smile was almost blinding.  

 Ranma felt a warmth wash over him as Kasumi smiled, as if he were basking in the morning sun. "I would love to join you, where are we going?" Ranma put the bags in his pocket without even thinking about it before he linked arms with Kasumi.

 Kasumi led the way out of the house. "It is not far at all..."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 After a brisk walk, they came to a bridge. "We are here Ranma-kun."

 "We are? The bridge?"

 "Under it, actually." Kasumi led Ranma under the bridge, and as they got closer, a hidden building came into view, along with a small farm, a water wheel, and wires that connected to small solar panels that were discretely placed on the bridge. As they got closer, they saw a few people who were fishing and doing other work around the field.

 Smiles and happy greetings met them as they approached the building. Kasumi stopped to make brief small talk with the working people before leading Ranma into the building with a sign that said, 'Kasumi's Cottage'.  

 Ranma remembered the letters they sent, telling him about this place. He was impressed with the construction, and how self-sufficient it seemed to be. He watched as Kasumi spoke to the counselor briefly, before leading him to the kitchen.

 "Now, Ranma-kun, if you would be so kind as to get out the items I asked you to carry."

 Ranma did as instructed, only just then, realizing that is was food he was carrying. "Oh, I see. What do you plan to make, and may I help you cook?"

 "I would love that Ranma-kun..." Kasumi's smile, once again, brightened the room.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 By the time they had finished cooking, they had acquired a rather large audience. Most of the residents had turned out to watch the show.

 After serving the food to their 'guests', they began to clean the house. Ranma used this time to study Kasumi's fluid movements, and practice his new techniques.

 They had moved so rapidly that they had finished cleaning before the others had finished their meal. Still having some time before they had dishes to wash, Ranma decided to do one more thing.

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Kasumi and Ranma were nearing their home, Kasumi was in a bit of a hurry, it was nearing dinner time, and she wanted to make sure she could help prepare Ranma's dinner as well. Kasumi moved briskly and Ranma easily matched her pace, but she felt she needed to say something as they walked. "I want to thank you Ranma-kun, even though we stayed longer than usual, I have never finished the work that quickly, and that dessert you made... You truly made some people happy today ...and I am one of them." Kasumi paused for a moment, taking Ranma's hands in hers. "So, Thank you, for everything today. Ranma-kun, daisuki!" She blushed, and tried to turn her head shyly away, but Ranma stopped her with a kiss.

 "No, I am the one who needs to thank you. I had a wonderful time, and I learned a lot. Getting a chance to watch you helping others, has to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. You are a natural."

 "Oh no, I did not really do much..."

 "No, really, I am truly amazed by what you have done there. Nabiki-chan told me the whole story of how that place came to exist. I know others did a lot to make it work, but it never would have happened if it were not for you. You seem to bring out the best in people," Ranma's voice lowered to an almost whisper. "...and I hope that you can do that for me as well..."

 Kasumi could not believe her ears. "...but, you are already the nicest man I have ever met, I cannot imagine how you could get 'better'."

 "We can always strive to be better, that is what life is all about, but being around you, Kasumi-nee-chan, shows me how much farther I still need to go..."

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Ranma was still following Kasumi as she hurried toward their new kitchen, hoping to be a part of cooking their third meal in the house, even if she had not been able to help with the first two. However, when they arrived, they found the door locked! Sensing his oldest friend inside, Ranma knocked.

 Ukyo came to the door, opening it moments later. "Welcome home, Ranchama."

 "Ucchan! What's going on?"

 "Yes, it is time I start dinner..." Kasumi looked hopeful.

 Ukyo looked them both up and down before she answered. "No."

 They were both surprised by her reaction. "What?"

 "I am sorry, but we are having okonomiyaki for dinner, and only members of the Kuonji family are allowed inside ...for now." Ukyo winked.

 "So, you found out?"

 "Well, Nabiki-chan is still going over the registrars and any other records we could find, but it does seem that way. So, I am teaching Yume-chan some of the secrets of the family art."

 Ranma surprised Ukyo by taking her in his arms. "CONGRATULATIONS!!! Ucchan, that's wonderful news!"

 -!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

 Some of the okonomiyaki were undercooked, others were overcooked in places, and some were both, but that did not stop Natose from eating as many of those handmade by Yume as she had been able to get. Yume had taken to trying something new, and she would support her all the way. ...It had nothing to do with being able to eat her mistakes, or anything like that, not at all. Natose would have supported Yume, no matter what she did, getting extra food out of it was just a bonus...

 "Fukibuki, would you mind going outside, near the window over there, and tell my 'adoring mother' to just come in here and join us for dinner, please?" Everyone other than Ukyo looked over at the window in surprise, just in time to see Nodoka duck out of sight.

 "Hai, goshujin-sama!" Fubuki quickly ran for the backdoor.

 "Thank you Fukibuki-chan, be 'insistent' if necessary." Ranma took another bite of his latest serving, before smiling at his oldest friend. "You haven't lost your touch Ucchan, these are still the best!"

 "Oh no Ranchama, I am so rusty it's pathetic! That took way too long. As a matter uh fact, from now on, we're havin' okonomiyaki at least once a week!" There was a fire burning deep within the young woman from Osaka, a fire that Yume was attempting to match. The two women did not produce the same effect though, while Ukyo appeared seriously determined, Yume just looked cute, and a bit silly.

 "Well, you may have been slower, but the taste did not suffer at all! I am sure you will be able to get back into proper form in no time! Especially if you keep training your new 'student'." Ranma grinned at the two young women.

 "Speaking of which, Yume-chan, considering this was not just your first time making Okonomiyaki, but your first time cooking at all, you did very well. I am sure if you keep practicing, you will be great!"

 Yume blushed at the compliment, still embarrassed by how most of hers came out. "Yume is not so sure..."

 "No, the fact that you did this well on your first try, proves that it's in your blood! You can do it Yume-chan!"

 "Will you help teach Yume more?"

 "Of course! As the keeper of our family's traditions, it is my duty to teach them to any Kuonji who wishes to learn, you can come by and practice whenever you want!" Ukyo gave her warmest smile to reassure her distant cousin. "Besides, we like you."

 Natose was thrilled that Yume was fitting in with her new family, and that she was finding a new hobby to enjoy. Yume had received more attention in the last two days, than she would normally get in a month outside of her few friends and Natose herself, and seeing that happiness in her young charge filled her with a warmth matched only by her full stomach. She really hoped that Yume would have better luck sticking to it this time, the girl tended to give up quickly with Natose being her only encouragement, perhaps supporting her equally in all things was not the best approach... Natose could not be sure. Hopefully, with so much support, this time would be different.

 "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think this deserves a celebration!"

 "Just don't forget, we have your first day of classes in the morning..."

 Fubuki returned with an embarrassed Nodoka in tow.

 "Ah, you are just in time, so good of you to join us ofukuro-chan... I am ever so glad that you could make it. Though I really 'do' wish you would just join us when you wish, instead of 'playing the game'. You do not need to ask, you are, of course, always welcome, and this time it looks as if you have come on a rather special night, we have cause for celebration. Yume-chan here, is a member of the lost branch of Kuonjis." Seeing the mostly blank look on his mother's face, Ranma decided to continue. "We found Ucchan's estranged family, isn't that great?"

 It took a few moments before that sunk in completely, being the first she had actually heard about any of this. Once it had, Nodoka was instantly by their side, embracing the two young women, and firing off questions faster than anyone could respond, and before long they had all gathered around Yume and Ukyo, happily chatting away.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

G enma had been wandering for some time, with no particular direction in mind, when he found himself in somewhat familiar surroundings. He was near that temple, where the old master was buried.

 Finding himself before the burial spot, Genma bowed, clapped twice, and asked "Oh master, what should I do?" 'Wait, what am I asking THAT guy for? Well, it IS all I have left right now...'

 He almost fainted when he felt a slight rumble from the ground, and was a bit relieved when several dozen miko came running over shooing him away. "That isn't the shrine!" "What are you doing?" "Get away from there!" "You don't know what you are doing, that place is dangerous!"

 Genma vanished into the woods before they could catch up to him.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

Om ake 13

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
{To the tune of Secret Agent Man}

There's a man who is a gender changer
To every girl he meets, a handsome stranger
With every move he makes, that's one more girl he takes
Odds are he'll find a new girl tomorrow

Genius Lady's Man
Genius Lady's Man
Couldn't get more limber,
He'll put your guy to shame.

He loves the pretty faces that he finds,
With pretty breasts and also, sweet behinds.
Oh! Seduction's his forte,
Then on to the foreplay.
Odds are he'll find a new girl tomorrow.

Genius Lady's Man
Genius Lady's Man
Giving them his number,
and leaving them aflame.


Genius Lady's Man
Genius Lady's Man
Won't get any slumber,
When that boy plays the game.

Traipsing through the Bayankala one day
And then movin' back to Tokyo, the next day
His hand goes underneath her slip
While kissing her willing lips
Odds are he'll find a new girl tomorrow.

Genius Lady's Man
Genius Lady's Man
Burning like an ember,
And leaving them exclaim...

Genius Lady's Man

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

End Omake

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

A uthor's Notes

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

- Shijuhatte - The Japanese Kamasutra. Forty-eight sexual positions that can be reversed to make ninety-six. There are charts available that look strikingly similar to the forty-eight sumo wrestling moves. Read into that what you will.

 Japanese Sex noises - "The special whimpering sound reserved for lovemaking is called yogarinaki ('squeal of delight' or 'joy sob'), which adds much to the pleasure of having sex with Japanese women." These are not my words, as a similar quote can be found on most sites explaining this term. I included the commentary, due to it being such a widely held belief.

 -Youkai the Façade - Essentially this is an 'add-on' to first edition World of Darkness "Storyteller" (we will call it the 'Narrator') system that I am throwing together for this story. If you know how the original Vampire the Masquerade, or any of those work, you have a pretty good idea of how this works. There will obviously be some changes to make it more anime/manga oriented, and they will power their abilities with either ki or mana, depending on the orientation of their character (chosen by the player at creation). I will post the character sheet on the Archive of Our Own (AO3) site for this chapter, and possibly other places as well. This is a work in progress; it will evolve as needed in the story, and as I think of new things for it. All things with it are subject to change as we go. My knowledge of Magical Girls and such is pretty limited, so I am open to suggestions on any spells, artifacts, techniques, and so on (or really, anything to do with whatever). What my goal with them is, like with the original game, to take common techniques and spells, and then making a generic version that will work for either type of character. Character archetypes, such as 'tsundere' fall under 'Nature' and 'Demeanor'. Items gain bonus abilities for each special requirement it needs (such as complicated activation phrases, maintaining a certain karma, must be kept secret, and so on), in addition to ones it gets for points spent on the item. Anything too specific would of course have to be determined by the player and Narrator (GM).
 The characters can be just about anything you can think of from anime and manga, but the focus is martial artists and magical girls fighting monsters. I may do a 'mecha' add-on for it later, though they could easily be worked in as an 'Artifact' (item: Background trait). Perhaps, if my notes for it progress far enough, and we create enough unique material for it, I may post the 'official rules' for it somewhere as well ...if there seems to be an interest.



-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-! -!-

*CHARACTERS USED*

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

{ Here I will list all of the important, non-Ranma characters, used in the chapter and where they are from.}

Kikyo - From Inuyasha (as if you did not know that). Sorry I did not add her sooner, I just assumed it was obvious, being another Takahashi work.
Kogarashi the "Maid Guy" - the title character from Kamen no Maid Guy.
Fubuki - The soon-to-be 'Maid Guy Tamer' from Kamen no Maid Guy.
Kaede Tenjoji - The headmaster of Hakureiryo Academy from Ladies vs. Butlers.
Pai Chan - Taken from Virtua Fighter.
Yume - A cute girl with long pink hair. She is from the game/anime, They are My Noble Masters (Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de).
Anastasia Mistina - A strange friend of Yume, and a minor character from the same series/game.
Keiko Inamura - Another friend of Yume and Anastasia. The 'normal one' in their group.
Natose - Yume's Personal attendant, and the head of security for her family's home.
The Colonel (Taisa in Japanese) - Taijiri Yasushi - The head butler of Yume's family.

Hisho Fukumi - A member of the Fuma clan, just a bit older than Ranma. Her name means; "Hisho - (1) secret or hidden place; (2) (euph. for) woman's genitalia; (3) the underworld; the other world" Fukumi - implication; hidden meaning; latitude; atmosphere; tone; sentiment; inclusion. It uses the characters for 'hold in mouth; cherish; contain' and the number 'three'."
Hijo - Hisho's younger brother. His name means 'hidden' 'help/assist/aid'. He is a year or so younger than Ranma. {They are OC}