Sorry I do not have more to show you.  As I said, I'll 
reconstruct the rest of the file (maybe I'll draw up and post an outline for 
the rest of the chapter) and finish the chapter... then start work on the 
next three ;)
	C&C is welcomed and encouraged.
	Sorry about anyone receiving this twice.

HTG
______________________________________________________________________________
******

Late Night/Early Morning; Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters:

	Shampoo never liked beeing subtle in the traditional meaning of
the word.  In fact, her preferred form of covert influence over others is
sneaking powerful mind-altering substances into food and feeding it
(sometimes forcefully) to whomever she wanted influenced.
	Neverless, true steath was all that was on her mind as she looked
in the window on the second floor of the Boys' Dorm in this school, gazing
at her beloved sleeping on a mat in the darkened room.  Reluctantly, she
checked the small timer and leapt from the windowsill to the seat of her
bicycle and pedaled for the front gate as though her life depended on it. 
She carefully braked at the front gate, taking care not to make more noise
than absolutely nessisary, and checked her watch.
	#45 seconds to the front of the Girls' Dorm,# Shampoo thought
critically, #I could cut that at least in half if I don't bother with
doors.  Easier to keep the bike there or in the lobby to prevent anyone
from getting suspicious (_if_ Nabiki's big mouth didn't do that already
what is she _thinking_!?), 30 seconds at the most to rescue Ranma, and 15
to the gate.# She checked the powdered happiness spice to keep her husband
from struggling and the thermos of ice water to shrink him down as much as
possible (#He shouldn't slow me down much in any case,# she concidered
when she assembled her escape gear while the others slept, #but I can't
afford to take any chances#).
	She started to pull the road map she had bought at the airport
from under her when an unearthly buzz/roar wafted over from the woods on
the far side of the campus (#_Why_ is this place so _big_ anyway?  Even if
this is some sort of vacation time, there should be more rooms ready to
use than in those five buildings.#).  She froze for a moment and waited
for the hammer to drop; then, when the alarm was not accompanied with
weapons or guards trying attack her, she rode in the direction of the
sound to investigate.
	A minute later, she abandoned the bike and was creeping through
the thick grove of trees toward the source of the odd sound when a light
exploded out from a clearing ahead of her.  Despite being all but blinded,
over a decade of training held firm as she leapt for the branches
overhead, there she allowed her eyes to adjust and crept toward the
clearing.  She arrived at the source of the sound a few seconds after it
stopped, just in time to see the hole in the middle of the air snap shut. 
After wasting several seconds being totally astonished, she dropped down
to investigate.  It was obvious that there _was_ someone here, he (or she)
made no attempt to hide his trail where he passed through the woods.
	"<But... where he go?>" Shampoo muttered as she stared at where the
portal slammed shut.
	She recieved no clue to the answer even as she carefully crept
around the inhabited sector of the campus in search of anyone else roused
by noise, conciously avoiding the window to the room of the woman that
only _just_ missed spotting her earlier.  Satisfied that the only one's
that were awake (both of them in the same room as Kodachi unfortunately
for them), either missed her entirely or dismissed whatever they sensed as
merely nerves; she carried her bike to the front gate, rechecked the map,
and set off to scout a few escape routes.
******

	Logan remained still and relaxed until Shampoo reached the gate,
then opened his eyes and reached for the jeans, tank-top, and sandals he
hung on the back of the couch Sean let him sleep on.  He had been
following the girl's movements from the time she stepped out of the dorm
with his ears alone as he 'played possom' and silently wondered whether to
wake the other adults.
	#Irish's too overprotective, he'd overreact and probably panic the
kid if I'm readin' her right;# Logan decided as he quickly dressed and
walked silently to the door, #and I figure Frost already know's more'n I
do if I know her at all (hope Charley knows what he's doin', trustin the
Hellfire Club's old White Queen like this).#
	Focusing his thoughts with a silent snort, Logan crept out the
door and intercepted the young Joketsuzoku's scent trail with unerring
accuracy.  #Better keep slow an' quiet, she can't hide her scent and I
don't want t' catch u-# Logan decided before he heard the soft squeak of
the bicycle chain acellerating away with speed he'd expect from his
motorcycle.
	#On th' other hand....# the mutant sighed as he settled into a fast
jog.
******

I-90 off-ramp; not far from XSfGY:

	Logan peered at the small hair ornament hanging off the 'Exit'
sign from the bottom of the off-ramp and nodded, his suspicions about the
girl's plans confirmed.
	#She doubled back from here,# he thought with firm conviction, #and
headed down that side road a mile back.  Looks like she's headed all th'
way t' Boston and from the smell of it, she ain't going t' slow down
anytime soon.  Looks like a survey/practice run, so she'll try t' get back
b'fore she thinks anyone'll miss her; but I can't risk tryin' t' trail her
on my bike or she'll spot me an' bolt for sure.#
	He suddenly smiled as he thought of a friend that just happened to
be in Boston for some 'business' dealings.
	#I'm sure Tyger ain't gonna mind loanin' me th' use o' her ninjas
'til mornin',# Logan decided as he headed for a nearby pay phone, #an'
Madripoor's chief crimelord owe's her concience a enough favors t' forgive
a call this time o' morning.#
******

Before Dawn; Near I-90; Snow Valley, Massachusetts:

	"<You just spotted her... on-ramp to I-90 westbound. . . yup, purple
hair on a bicycle, that's her... no _don't_ bother trying to follow her,
you couldn't keep up anyway... thanks, Tyger'll pay your bonus.>"
	CLICK
	#Good,# Logan thought as he hung up the pay phone and started for
the campus, #if I didn't get a report in by dawn, I'd have t' get a search
goin'.
	#I better pull her aside an' tell her what's goin' on though; if
she's paranoid enough t' check the train stations, bus terminals, docks,
_and_ airports (good thing Tyger had watchers all over th' place already)
she's wound up enough t' do someone real harm if she sees a threat.  Can
see where Charley an' Frost thought coming clean from the get-go was a bad
idea, but looks to me like keepin' secrets from 'em gonna do more harm
than good... to _us_.#
******

Before Dawn; Girls' Dorm (Kitchen); Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters:

	"You're up early kid," a deep, familiar voice noted almost casually
as Jubilation Lee fought to keep from passing out face-first in the large
bowl of sugar-laden cereal before her, "couldn't sleep?"
	Jubilee slowly turned towards the voice and paused for a few
moments as she matched the short, hairy man with the question she heard;
then scowled as she turned back to shovel another spoon of sucrose into
her mouth.
	Logan could only smile as he shook his head.  #Kid ain't changed,#
he thought, #she wouldn't get up before noon if she could get away with
it.#
	Logan's face grew puzzled and concerned as he examined the young
former X-Man with his eyes and nose, quickly realizing that she had not
slept two hours in the past eight but finding no trace of physical illness
aside from the residual signs of near continual stress.  As he began to
ask what had disturbed her; he spotted a bleary-eyed Kitty walk into the
room (not even pretending to bother with the door) and shamble through the
table, Jubilee, and part of the stove to get the sink.  As she began to
feel around for the coffee pot and absently wondered why she couldn't turn
on the faucet, she noticed someone snapping fingers in front of her face
and looked down at the muscular, hairy arm poking through her chest.
	"O' 'i L'gan" she mumbled sleepily before shaking her head,
stepping clear of any solid objects, and forcing herself back into
solidity.
	"Don't _DO_ that!!"  a now _wide_ awake Jubilee yelled from where
she fell after tipping her chair over in panic, "Somebody could'a saw ya!"
	"Kid's right Pum'kin," Logan noted, "we got _guests_ here,
remember?"
	"Sorry," Kitty said as she blushed and spashed cold water on her
face, "Kodachi kept us up all night."
	"She don't snore _that_ loud." stated Logan with the assurance of
one who slept in an adjacent room.
	"She don't snore Wolvie," Jubilee corrected, still sounding
slightly traumatized, "she giggles.  All night, really softly, _really_
creepily, and non-stop; she _giggles_!"
	"I'm beginning to see why Nabiki insisted that none of the others
got along with her that well (while gouging us for 'consulting fees'),"
Kitty noted as she silently gave thanks for the forsight to set the timer
on the coffee machine last night, "she had me jumping at shadows all night
without even trying." 
	Logan debated telling the teenage mutant ninja of the event that
should have gotten her attention last night, but decided against it as
Kitty headed for the Biosphere to do her morning katas. 
	"Oh, I almost forgot." she said as she headed out the door, "I went
to Boston the day before yesterday to get you a few clothes so don't
disappear on me."
	"Kitty I thought we-" Logan began.
	"Oh hush." Kitty said with an impish smile, "We're supposed to be a
'respectable' school and you _do_ want to make a good impression on your
students, right Logan-sensei?"
	"I gotta _bad_ feeling about this" Logan muttered.
******

Dawn; Girls' dorm (2nd floor):

	The alarm clock sounded off precisely at 5:15 and managed to beep
for a whole 10 seconds before it's owner turned it off and stretched out
the kinks in her back.  Paige Guthrie then hopped off the bed and started
to step over to her dresser in order to begin her normal morning routine
with an exercise tape. 
	As she stumbled over the rumpled futon and nearly fell she
suddenly remembered that she would have to alter that routine for the next
two weeks.
	"<Why did I do this to myself?>" Tendo Nabiki grumbled from under
her pillow."<I come halfway around the world and the first thing I do is
set myself up in a room with _two_ morning people.>"
	"uh, Sumimasen" Paige said to the figure across the room as she
started to get dressed for a workout, "<Where Shampoo?>"
	"She woke up before you did and left.  Maybe you can find her if
you hurry."  Nabiki volunteered, desprate to get some more sleep and
hoping her host would take the hint.
	#Girl's _quiet_!# Paige marveled as she dressed, #Up, dressed, and
out the door while Ah may well be dead for all Ah notice.#
	She continued alternating between mentally praising Shampoo's
stealth and berating herself for inattentiveness unbecoming an X-Man as
she headed to the front of the dorm and began her usual calisthenics in
preperation for her usual morning jog.  A few minutes after she began she
spotted a short-haired Japanese girl stretching in preperation for her own
run beneath a tree not far from her.
	"<Good afternoon... Akane, is it?>" Paige cheerily greeted as she
finished and walked toward her fellow early bird.
	"Hello... Paige, right?" Akane responded as she looked up at the
blonde, "You run too, like me?"
	"Hai." she said while trying to figure out how to phrase her
request. 
	"Do you-" Akane began after a few seconds of silence.
	"<-want to->" Paige said simultaniously.
	"-run with-"
	"<-me?>"
	They both blinked in slight suprise, then smiled and chuckled
their joke.
	"OK!" they said at once as they smiled at each other.
******

2nd Floor; Boys' Dorm:

	Everett Thomas rolled over and sat up at the sun streamed the
window.  As he looked at the futons lain on his floor he sighed as he
found one surmounted by a long-haired youth sitting up and fumbling about
for his glasses while another lay as neatly arranged as it was before his
second roommate left for a shower last night.
	#I couldn't believe it until I saw it myself.# he thought as he
picked up the _thick_ glasses on his nightstand and thought back to
Kitty's hushed warning to 'Keep an eye on Ryoga' the night before, #She
said the guy had a bad sense of direction, but _how_ can a man get lost on
his way back from the bathroom at the end of the hallway when I put all of
our names on the door?!?#
	The search he and Mousse initiated after Ryoga was missing for a
few hours had tuned up little aside from wet footprints that followed a
random path until the feet dried.  After nearly an hour of searching,
Everett was at the point of asking Sean and Logan for help when Mousse
suddenly grabbed him and literally dragged him back to the dorm room,
whereupon he (with the aid of a Japanese Phrasebook Everett bought and
considerable pantomimes on his part) explained that Ryoga usually found
someplace warm to bed down whenever he found himself lost late at night
(which was often).
	#He saw something.# Everett contemplated Mousse took the offered
glasses and earnestly thanked the lamp beside him, #We were by the
Biosphere, and he was checking something in the underbrush... I thought I
saw blood and animal tracks, but the minute I tried following them he
grabbed me and dragged me home to try to cover for Ryoga.#
******

	Saotome Ranma glanced silently at the boy in the bed as he pulled
on his blue shirt; shaking his head slightly at the sight of Angelo
Espinosa's grey skin hanging in loose folds all over his face.
	#An' I thought _I_ had problems.# He thought as he reflected on his
mixed amusement and disdain at the reports of the 'mutants' that some
claimed would supplant humanity.  As one who dedicated his life to martial
arts mastery, the youth never took those who relied primarily on genetic
gifts seriously, let alone thought of them as suffering; and as to those
who called them threats, he had nothing but contempt (#Just get some
training boneheads,# he thought at the time, #they can't be _that_
powerful... can they?#). 
******

Morning; Wooded area of campus; Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters:

	"Akane," Paige wheezed as she tried to catch her breath while her
companion jogged in place, "<um... you say Ranma is fiancee... but many
girls... like him.  Why?>
	Akane remained silent for a moment to try and find the vocabulary
to answer and decide whether the blonde girl was being rude.  "Ranma's
father and my father want us to... marry?  So we inharu... inhen... get
dojo."
	"<That bad.>" Paige pronounced, somewhat disturbed by the custom.
"<You, Akane, do not like Ranma?>" 
	"<Like Ranma?> Akane began, forgetting her promise to practice her
english as she unconsiously began a series of spin-kicks, "<why would I
like a macho, _boneheaded_, _Egotistical_, FAITHLESS IDIOT LIKE _HIM_!!!>"
	Akane and Paige both halted and blinked in suprise as she realised
that her last kick had slammed into a reasonably thick tree.  Paige rushed
forward expecting the shorter girl to cry out in pain when an ominous
creaking filled the air as the trunk proceeded to split accross it's
girth. Paige simply stared dumbstruck as the tree leisurely tipped over
and fell into the forest while Akane took a deep breath and calmed
herself.
	"No Paige, I _don't_ like Ranma." Akane said somewhat coldly as she
began jogging off in a huff with no sign of a limp.
	#Ah ain't seen _nobody_ get that angry at _anybody_ that
didn't....# Paige thought as she stared after the girl, then she broke
into a grin as she muttered, "'Methinks the lady doth protest too much.'"
	Then she took another look at the broken trunk of the tree the
maritial artist brought down with a single kick, swallowed hard, and
started to run after her companion when a small sound halted both girls in
their tracks.
	Akane looked around the underbrush instinctively at the familiar
grunt, then cried out and ran towards the sight of a small snout poking
through the bushes.
	"P-chan!!" she yelled as she picked up the bedraggled black piglet
and noted the dried blood on his flank, "<You're hurt!>"
	"<Your... pet?>" Paige asked as she looked over the shoulder of the
smaller girl.
	"Un" Akane nodded as she babbled, "He must got in my luggage, and
get hurt after he leave."
	Paige tried to get a good look at the piglet's injury as Akane
cuddled it while murmuring apologies and endearments, only to blink in
suprise as she realised that the noticeable gash was more than halfway
healed.
	#If the blood ain't in her clothes,# Paige thought, #li'l thing got
hurt after she got here and ain't no way a cut like that heals up that
quick...
	#An' where'd Ah see that bandanna before?#
******

	Paige had an easier time of it as the two half-jogged, half-walked
toward the dormitory; the two had simply been babbling about their lives
and family, both trying to ignore the guilt caused by the omissions they
were conciously making.
	"Is there... clinic here for P-chan?" Akane said as they approached
the Girls' dorm.
	"<Can I look?>" Paige asked as Akane carefully handed over the oddly
dazed piglet she had been holding to her breasts, "<He OK, just need to
clean... er....>"
	"<Cut?>"
	"Hai." Paige concluded with a grateful smile as she stopped in
front of the dorm, <We wash him up in bathroom and he fine.>
	"Good," Akane smiled as she started indoors, "we take him to shower
and wash him with us."
	"Oh, shower, right." Paige said nervously as she realised that she
had already began tearing open the skin behind her ear, "<Wait! your
clothes!>"
	"Will get them!" she called as she headed for Monet's room.
	"That gives me some time at least." Paige murmured before she
remembered the presense of the piglet in her arms.
	"Hope you c'n keep a secret li'l fellah" she muttered under her
breath as she headed for the showers. 
****** 

Showers; Girls' Dorm: 

	Paige chuckled to herself as she noticed the piglet's stance after
she undressed and set aside the clothes she had in the shower room, it was
a little unusual to see a pet turn his back on a naked woman and keep his
eyes tightly shut.  She then sighed and thought about the lies the had
told.
	#Ah dunno,# She mused as she idly sliced through the skin along
the side of her head and neck with a fingernail, #Ah _like_ the kid, and
Ah hate lyin' t' her; but we ain't known these people for a day yet and if
they freak out like 'Beth....#
	She scowled to herself as she realized that what she was doing
would make any ethical questions about concealing her mutant nature moot
if Akane walked in on her.  She then picked up the pig, headed a shower
stall with a small, open window; and set gentlemanly little P-Chan near
the open entrance facing outwards.
	"And for effect...." Paige then said as she reached for the faucet.
	Maybe it was a shift in humidity, maybe it was the rumble of water
through the pipes, maybe it was a form of precognition developed from
living for weeks at a time a spilled mug of tea away from intensive care
that caused the swine's eyes to snap open.
	What it certain was that P-Chan suddenly realised that Paige
Guthrie liked her showers _hot_!
	With speed born of absolute panic, the demi-piglet scrambled
across the slick tile in hope of outracing the scalding mist and spray. 
He almost succeeded.
	"Huh?" Paige muttered as she began to dig her nails into the side
of her neck, "Akane?  P-Chan?"
	She stepped out of the stall and looked at the main door and front
dressing area, then extended her search to the floor when she realized the
piglet left in her charge had disappeared.  If she had stepped into the
main chamber and looked towards the side of the stalls however, she may
have noticed an utterly terrified 17 year old boy wearing nothing but a
yellow and black bandanna eyeing the open window above the lockers and
trying very hard not to breathe.
	"Paige?" called Akane's voice as the doorknob began to turn.
	The two occupants of the room bolted; Paige ducked back into her
stall while Ryoga grabbed a towel and jumped through the window with all
the speed he could muster.  As he left part of Ryoga's mind registered a
sound reminicent of the skin being ripped off a fairly large animal,
however he was too busy realising that the shower was on the second floor
to contemplate that information. 
	#Well,# Ryoga contemplated moments later as he fingered the scar on
his hip where he cut himself on... whatever it was in that oversized
greenhouse, #at least this cut didn't reopen when I changed.#
	"<Damn you Ranma.>" he muttered as he wrapped the towel around his
waist and walked away from the building, unmindful of the near intact skin
of Paige Guthrie that fluttered down behind the bushes beside him moments
before.
******

Evening; Nekohanten; Nerima District, Tokyo:

	Cologne sighed as she closed and locked the door after waving to
the sniper down the block.  Business, already slow, had fallen to almost
nothing after her great-grandaughter and the Idiot left the day before
last.
	#I suppose that more customers came for the view than I thought.#
she sighed, recalling how much attention the male diners paid attention to
the waitress... and the female ones paid to the menial laborer.
	She was heading into the living quarters upstairs, using her
gnarled wooden staff as a pogo stick, when she sensed a disturbance in her
private storage area behind a locked door in the basement.  As she bounced
beneath the restaurant, the unearthly light was visible from beneath the
door was quite visible in the darkness.  She calmly took the small
skeleton key from her robes and flicked her wrist, hurling it spearlike
and spinning along it's longest axis until it entered the keyhole cleanly
and made a final quarter turn to unlock it.  As though the entire event
was choreograghed beforehand, the ancient woman turned to the light switch
(while still balanced on top of her cane) and turned it on just as the
light faded and the door was pushed open from within. 
	Cologne hopped to the ground and calmly regarded the short (at
least compared to most younger people, he still had nearly two feet on
her), wizened, grey bearded Austalian Aborigine that stood before her clad
only in a loincloth and a coiled bullroarer hanging from his shoulder. 
	"Hello old friend," the Joketsuzoku wise-woman said in vaugely
British sounding english, "I see you're still persisting with this
'Gateway' nonsense." 
******

Morning; Central courtyard; XSfGY:

	Kuonji Ukyo stood by her yatai and stared into the polished steel
blade of her largest spatula, quietly contemplating the young man that was
her reflection.  For most of her life, that face was a reminder of her
shame, her abandonment at age six by her intended husband and his father
and their theft of her dowery.  But last year she finally tracked down the
cute little boy she had enough of a crush on to convince her father to
speak to his about marriage; and found a handsome teenager possessed of
both amazing fighting skills and a strong sense of honor... one who had no
idea of either the planned marriage or his childhood friend's true gender. 
Now her path was different, she and Ranma were friends once more (of
course if things went her way they would be _far_ more), and she could not
help but wonder at times why her femininity has proven so easy to cast
aside or embrace of late. 
	#Funny,# Ukyo thought, #I never did throw away my old clothes,
never got in the habit of _woman's_ clothes much... and come to think of
it, the only times I whent out of my way not to pass for a guy are at the
beach or when I'm trying to get Ran-chan's 'attention'.  Maybe I don't
miss womanhood as much as I-#
	Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of her betrothed heading into the 
dorm opposite her's and spun to call him over then bent over and busied 
herself firing up the wheeled griddle.
	"<Hey Ucchan!>" Ranma called as he approached.  Ukyo immidiately 
looked up and began staring over his shoulder at the grey skinned youth 
following him.
	"Forgive me." she said as she caught herself and bowed politely,
"You suprise me... ano...." 
	Angelo sighed as he looked at the rather embarrassed looking boy 
before him and relaxed somewhat while Ranma gave him a 'sorry about this' 
look before introducing them.
	"<Ucchan, Angelo Espinosa>", Ranma began, "Angelo, this Kuonji 
Ukyo."
	"Would you want Okonomiyaki?" asked Ukyo in an attempt to changed 
the subject.
	Angelo simply shrugged as Ranma nodded eagerly, then gazed in
suprise as Ukyo rolled up her sleeves and her arms faded into a strange
haze that appeared over the griddle and ended at her elbows.  With her
usual flourish, she scooped the steaming okonomiyaki onto her largest
spatula and, after a second of hesitation, presented it to Angelo with a
smile.  Angelo took a bite out of the apparent peace offering and grinned.
	"Good stuff." he remarked around a mouthfull.
	"Thank you," she remarked, already cooking up another okonomiyaki
for a slightly impatient Ranma, "it is my job."
	As Ukyo explained her occupation as a resaurantur, Angelo thought
back to the original room assingments and realized what was wrong with
what he was seeing.
	"Waitaminute," Angelo inturrupted, "ain't you supposed t' be a
girl?" 
	"Ano...." Ukyo responded as she blushed.
	"Is long... story." noted Ranma as he gulped down the last of his
breakfast. 
	"Ahh," noted Angelo as he raised an eyebrow and smirked, "you going
_after_ the chicas, si?"
	Ranma and Ukyo initially looked blankly at him, confused by the
'spainglish' terminology; however, Ukyo's eyes soon glimmered with
understanding, widened with suprise, and then narrowed in anger.
	CLANG
	"IS NOT LIKE THAT!!" Ukyo yelled at the mutant, his head firmly
wedged between the flat of her spatula the the remainder of his breakfast.
******

Main Building (Remedial English); XSfGY:

	Logan glanced at his faint reflection in the window and shook his
head in mild disbelief.
	"Yukio'd prob'ly laugh her head off if she saw me like this," the
old warrior muttered faintly, "on th' other hand Elf'd call it an
improvement... and M'iko...."
	He cut that train of thought immediately, realizing that profound
depression was not the state of mind he wanted to be in for his first day
as an instructor at a 'reputable place of learning', and opened the door
to his classroom.
	The view the mutant saw before him was very suprising considering
the reports of what had happened at the airport yesterday and what he had
heard on the way to the Main Building.  The room was quiet, the shattered
desk, mace embedded in an interior wall, and semi-concious Tatewaki the
only overt testament to the short tempers and considerable skills of those
within.  The student's were seated in a suprisingly orderly fashion: 
Ranma looking vaugely bored, Mousse alternated between worried glances at
the door and sour looks at Ranma as he rubbed his sore jaw, Kuno looked
moderately dazed (getting tagged on the head with a large iron ball tended
to do that, even if you were not it's target), and Genma looked generally
annoyed.
	For their part, the students saw a rather dapper looking man clad
in dress-shoes, slacks, a beige shirt complete with matching tie, and a
plaid sweater-vest.  All in all, Logan seemed the perfect image of a
50-ish liberal arts college professor, even the micro-ponytail did not
look out of place. 
	Logan sighed slightly as he went over the list of students.  _He_
knew where the missing student had gone, but to continue as if nothing was
happening would not only insult the intelligence of those who knew there
were five students assigned this class, but make even more of them suspect
the absolute worst. 
	"<Has anybody seen Shampoo?>" he asked, conciously using less
informal japanese than what he was accustomed to.
	"<N-no Logan-Sensei>" Kuno stammered, now fully concious and amazed
by the transformation of the uncouth barbarian he met yesterday.
	Ranma and Genma simply shrugged and shook their heads.
	"<You said she would be here Saotome.>" Mousse snarled, ignoring
Logan as he pulled a huge sicmitar out the sleeve of his robe and glared
menacingly at the pig-tailed boy. 
	"<I said _probably_, DuckBoy.>" Ranma said as he cracked his
knuckles and prepared for Round 2.
	"<Quiet!>" Logan barked, immediately getting everybody's attention.
	The students immediately shut up and stared at the teacher for a
moment, expecting to be taken to task for the disruption.  Logan for his
part was apparently staring at nothing in particular, his head cocked at a
slight angle.
	#Yup, that's her.# Logan thought as the sound of a bicycle chain
moving at impossible speeds reached his ears, #Past th' gate... heading
straight here... must've paced herself on th' way back... what th' hell
sheAIN'TSTOPPIN-#
	CRASH
	RING-RING
	In all his years, in more that a lifetime of travels throughout
this world and beyond, Logan had not seen anything quite like this.  He
could only blink in suprise as the purple haired girl, looking somewhat
tired and disheveled, set her suprisingly intact bicycle by the side of
rather large hole she just made in the brick outer wall.
	"<Shampoo sorry teacher.>" she said after she caught her breath and
slammed Mousse into the floor when he tried to embrace her, "<Shampoo go
explore in morning, take time to find way back.>"
	"<Understood.>" Logan said once he regained his composure and
Shampoo took a seat beside Ranma, "<Now let me make a few things clear
students.  Firstly _no_ fighting in class, that means no threats, no
provocation, no challenges.  If you have a problem, it waits until after
class....>
	#What's with her?# Ranma wondered as he watched the wary figure
next to him, #Shampoo's _never_ tried to get this close to me without
tryin' to grab or feed me....#
******

Main Building (Intermediate English):

	Kitty had a headache.
	This was supposed to be simple.  She had only two students, both 
of whom had (comparatively) good academic and diciplinary records back at 
Furinkan, so she and Logan had decided that she would check their knowledge 
of spoken english with a simple personal interview.  It had all gone 
quietly, until Ukyo (still the picture of a student at an all-boys 
private school outside of the bandolier of spatulai and the monsterous 
thing Kitty insisted be left in the corner of the room) had mentioned 
that she was engaged to Saotome Ranma.  Of course Akane grumbled 
something in japanese, Ukyo responded, and it escalated into a shouting 
match that left her head ringing.
	"<What makes you think Ranchan'd marry a abusive tomboy like
_you_!?!>"
	"<Who are YOU calling _TOMBOY_!?!?!>"
	"<QUIET!!!!!>" Kitty finally yelled at the top of her lungs.
	"<Am I to understand,>" she continued after she collected her
thoughts and the students muttered embarrassed apologies, "<that Saotome
Genma had engaged his son to _both of you?>"
	Ukyo remembered giggling to herself as she played with the
ponytailed boy in the small gi as their fathers spoke in hushed tones near
the yatai that would be her's... and her husband's....
	Akane recalled watching her father weep openly with joy as he
explained the pact he and his best friend made to unite their families and
schools by marrying his then-newborn son to one of the three Tendo
daughters....
	... days later she ran screaming after the yatai promised as her
dowery while Saotome Genma pulled it down the road and her clueless playmate 
waved cheerily from it's rear.
	... after the insanity of the past day, walked into the bathroom for 
a long relaxing soak, only to see a naked boy her age she had never seen
before rise from the steaming water as she stepped in the door clad only
in a towel
	"Yes, sempai." they finally nodded to Kitty.
	#Why is it,# Kitty wondered as she thought back to the madness that
was the exchange students arrival, #that this doesn't suprise me, or look
like Ranma's only problem?#
******

Main Building (Advanced English):

	"Let me see if I understand this Ryoga," Everett said as he led the
washed and fully clothed wanderer down the hall by the hand, "you tried to
find your way back to the room, got lost outside _all_ _night_, and found
yourself in the shower room in the wrong dormitory and jumped out the
window before anybody came in and 'misunderstood'."
	"Yes." Ryoga said tersely, noticibly blushing and not meeting his
eyes.  "My entire family is like this, without a sense of direction." he
quickly added.
	Everett contemplated the brooding figure he led doen the hall.  He
had spotted him from the common kitchen as he wandered towards the woods
that surrounded the much of the campus clad only in a towel and bandanna. 
Everett managed to get his attention and lead him back to the Dorm for a
shower and breakfast, and then insisted on leading him to classes that
morning.  Ryoga had remained quiet and brooding all morning except when
they bumped into Akane and Paige (whereupon he became a nervous, babbling
wreck).
	#Yup, definite crush.# Everett decided as they approached Ryoga's
classroom.  Then he noticed what seemed like a faint yellow glow
surrounding his companion.  Before he could make up his mind whether or
not it was a trick of the light, however, he was distracted by the bones
in his hand shifting position.
	"Ryoga take it easy!" Everett nearly yelled as he tried to shake
him with his free hand.
	"Nan- oh, forgive me." Ryoga said as he hurredly released Everett's
hand, "I was... thinking."
	"No harm done," Everett replied, wincing slightly as he made sure
his hand was still functional, "just relax a little.  And wait for me here
after class, OK?"
	#Nobody would make up a lie that crazy# Everett concluded as Ryoga
nodded in affirmation, #and nobody can fake that sense of direction all
the time... lookes like he's telling the truth.#
******

	#... as far as it went.# Emma Frost noted as she sat in the classroom
with her other two students for the morning.  Both she and the others
arrived before schedule and she had been telepathically monitering the
boys' conversation as they quietly awaited Ryoga. 
	To tell the truth, Emma was still slightly uncomfortable with her
current companions.  She was used to knowing exactly what was on
everybody's mind at all times, whether she used that knowledge or not. 
Unfortunately for her, Tendo Nabiki's psychic defences proved as
impervious as ever; and while Kuno Kodachi's thoughts were easily
accessable, her brief visit into the girl's sleeping mind the night before
had her lying awake for hours and very, very, frightened of the young
gymnast.
	The temptation presented by a nearby and unaware mind she was
willing and able to probe trying to hide something proved too great to
resist, and without a physical movement she plunged into his recent
memories.
******

	It's emaciated form was swathed in black bandages, it's fingers
and toes elongated mockeries of human digits honed beyond razor sharpness,
it's strangely inquisitive face surrounded by spikes, the coloring a deep
blood red everywhere except for the solid blue orbs that served as it's
(her?) eyes.
	She was staring down at him as she reached with her bladed hand.
	#I see he's met Penance.# Emma thought wryly as she 'saw' what the
boy experienced last night, #Let us see... ran between her legs, cutting
himself when he brushed her ankle in the process... found his way out of
the BioSphere... wandered around the forest until he found a spot to
sleep....
	#WAIT A MINUTE!# she almost said aloud as the reason for the
nagging wrongness in the memories struck her, #He was no more than ankle
high for most of the night!#
	The telepath probed deeper as Ryoga approached his seat, ferreting
out whatever information that could explain a transformation that felt as
routine (to Ryoga) as it was radical.  #Valley of Cursed Springs?# she
thought as she found some of his more signifigant memories, #Spring of
Drowned Piglet... curse triggered by cold and hot water... oh my lord,
P-Chan?!?#
	She felt like falling out of her chair with laughter at the
hilariousness of the young man's condition; it was only due to the degree of
emotional self control that earned her the reputation of 'Ice Queen' among
the rank and file of the now defunct Frost Enterprises that she allowed 
only a faintly amused expression to reach her face as Ryoga took his seat.
	#Frost-sensei!#
	The thought rang in Emma's head despite the fact that it was not
her's.  Not precisely projected, the mental voice still sounded loud and
clear against the psychic background noise.  A strange chill went down her
spine as she slowly turned towards the source of the call only to stare
into the half-closed eyes of Tendo Nabiki.
	#Sensei,# Nabiki thought 'audibly', her face remaining utterly
emotionless, #is it normal procedure for instructors to probe the minds of
students without their permission?#
	Emma fought to keep her reaction from her face and body as she
frantically (and unsuccessfully) probed for any weakening or chinks within
the girl's psi-shields
	#I... err... no.# the telepath finally 'said', realizing _how_ much
she had come to rely on subtle application of her telepathic powers to lie
convincingly.  Even the telepathic nature of Emma's response failed to
conceal her nervousness and shock over being spotted so quickly,
especially by someone who had no trace of psychic ability that she could
detect.  Not suprisingly, the implications were not lost on young Nabiki.
	#May we... discuss this policy after class then ma'am?# Nabiki
asked politely, allowing Emma to sense her very real anticipation of
future profit at the same time. 
	#Very well,# Emma all but snarled, humiliated at being manipulated
so easily by a head-blind child.  Then aloud to the oblivious class she
said, "Now let's get started, shall we?" 
******

Night; Nekohanten:

	"Calm yourself my friend." Cologne told Gateway as the latter
stared at the basement's ceiling, "the spies outside see nothing out of
the ordinary if I do not wish it."
	Gateway looked at her with a dubious expression, but settled to
the ground and silently took the tea that was offered.
	"I suppose that you've finally run out of words, considering how
excessively you talked in your youth." Cologne sighed, "I am to assume
that you are here to reassure me that my great-granddaughter is in perfect
safety and Charles Xavier has no connection with the watchers set upon
me." it was not a question.
	"I suspected as much." she continued, reading the genuine
astonishment on the old man's face with ease, "His involvement in the
'mutant rights' contreversy sparked my suspicions, but I realize now that
he is not one of Nathanel's lackeys.  A comparatively benign rival
perhaps, but no lackey.
	"In fact, Professor Xavier has more in common with the mutant
'super-heroes' called X-Men than a similar intrest in the welfare of 'Homo
superior', correct?"
	Gateway only nodded, stroking his beard as he tried to figure out
how the old woman learned these secrets while spending the better part of
the past half century in the remote Joketsuzoku village.
	"I shall speak to your great-granddaughter about this," Gateway
finally said in an accented voice scratchy with disuse as he finally rose,
"it seems she fears the worst and is willing to act on that assumption." 
	"No." ordered Cologne, "It would be best if Shampoo put some work
into discovering the truth for herself, I cannot be there to think for her
all the time and such an exercise of the mind would be benificial for the
child." 
	Gateway simply glared at her grimly as he began to unwind the
bullroarer in preperation for his return to the 'States.
	"Do not even start about my 'Machivellian Scheming'," Cologne
responded, "if I were as 'ethical' as you liked, our bleached bones would
have decorated Ayers Rock a century ago."
	"And what of Sinister?" Gateway asked, locking eyes with the older
woman.
	"Xavier's minions have dealt with the whelp in the past, yes?" 
Cologne noted, holding up a hand to silence Gateway's retort, "I suspect
that between the 'instructors' at this place, Shampoo, the Son-in-Law, and
_his_ friends; young Essex may find his hands full.
	"Consider your silence payment of the debt you owe me Australian,"
she concluded with a note of command, "you have certainly done more over
less."
	Gateway did not answer, but grimly nodded his head as he whirled
the bullroarer over his head and opened a hole in the air from which
blinding light issued forth.  Cologne was forced to turn her eyes from the
radiance and when she could look in that direction again, Gateway was
gone.
******
______________________________________________________________________________
P.S.: Does anyone have an idea for a title?