Here it is folks, the next 4 Chapters in my continuation fic.

Here We Go Again

Notes to follow

**************PRIVATE FEEDBACK ONLY**************

Christopher Angel
cja124@mail.usask.ca

Chapter 5: A New Start
(it's almost the start of a new school year)

The afternoon sun beat down of Nerima.  There was not a cloud in the sky. 
Nabiki wearily trudged home, and exhausted Ranma-chan by her side. 
Ranma-chan paused, stretched, and groaned at her sore muscles.

"Jeez, it's bad enough Shampoo makes me work in girl-form, but why does she
have to send me all over Tokyo on that stupid bike?" she whined.  "I'm
actually anxious for school to start!"

"Ranma, baby, it IS a delivery job," Nabiki reminded her.  She stretched
herself, wincing has her back popped and cracked.  "Count youself lucky
that you get to move, I never knew sitting at a desk all day could be so
much work."

"Trade ya," Ranma-chan offered.

"Not on your life."

The two were silent for a few moments.  "Hey," Ranma-chan asked, "You think
everyone would wanna meet at Ucchan's tomorrow for lunch?  I haven't had
okonomiyaki for a while."

Nabiki chuckled.  "You're not still afraid of Akane's cooking, are you?"

"It's not that!"  Ranma-chan said defensively.  "She's getting better.  It
only takes me TWO helpings to get sick now."  Nabiki laughed.  "It's just
that I haven't seen Ryouga or Ukyo for a while."

"I don't see why not," Nabiki mused.  "We can ask Tenno when we get home." 


Ranma-chan chuckled.  "Poor Tenno."  Nabiki gave her a sharp look. 
"Kasumi's been on his case lately."

"KASUMI?"

Ranma-chan grinned and nodded.  "She keeps on reminding him you two aren't
married."  Nabiki looked at her suprised, and then blushed.

"He's a perfect gentleman!" Nabiki insisted.  Ranma-chan laughed.

"Of course he is.  But he's so nervous around Kasumi all the time, she's
convinced he's got some guilty secret."

They turned the gate to the Tendo Dojo, and walked up the path.  "We're
home!" Nabiki called as they walked through the door.  Akane's head popped
out of the kitchen.

"Ranma!  Come here and try what I made!"  Akane ordered.  Ranma-chan
gulped, and nodded.

"The life of a martial artist is filled with peril," she quoted to Nabiki,
and went to the kitchen like a doomed woman.

Tenno sat at the table, drinking coffee and reading some papers.  He made a
note on one, and put it to the side.  He looked up, saw Nabiki, and smiled.
 "Hi," he said.  "Rough day?"  Nabiki nodded.  "Come on, I'll give you a
quick massage."  Nabiki smiled happily and went to sit beside him.  He
turned and cracked his knuckes, then pushed her hair away from her neck. 
"Growing your hair longer?" he asked as be began to knead the flesh between
her neck and shoulder.

Nabiki sighed.  "You have exactly fourty-five minutes to stop doing that,
and yes, I am."

"Any particular reason?  Not that I don't like it, I'm just curious."  He
began to work his way down her back.

"Just a change. The cut I had was a little too..juvennile."

He turned her gently to face him and leered.  "I'd never call YOU
juvennile."  She giggled as he returned to working on her back.  Just then,
Ranma charged in, carrying a plate of curry.  Akane followed him, blushing
furiously.

"You guys HAVE to try this!" he insisted.  "It's the best thing she's ever
cooked!"

Tenno and Nabiki glanced at each other aprehensively and slowly took a bite
of the mixture.  Ranma was right.  It was...good.  "Wow!"  They chorused.

Akane blushed even redder.  "You don't have to be nice on my account," she
began.

"Akane, it's very good," Nabiki said.  Tenno sighed.  "Oh, stop it Tenno." 
Akane looked at her sister suspiciously.  "He was convinced that eventually
you'd make some great scientific discovery in the kitchen."  Akane glowered
at Tenno, who had his hands up in submission.

"Hey, it was just an idea," he defended.

"A bad one."

"But think of the advances you could make in the field of materials
alone...." he trailed off the face of Akane's glare.

"Did you ask him about lunch tomorrow, Nabiki?" interrupted Ranma, changing
the subject.

"Not yet." She turned to Tenno.  "Feel like meeting us at Ucchan's for
lunch tomorrow?"

"Sure," he replied, then laughed.  "You guys HAVE to see the latest get-up
Ukyo has poor Ryouga in."

"Revealing?" Ranma asked with a grin.

"Oh, you might say that...."  Tenno grinned back.

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

The next day they met at Ucchan's as they had planned.  "Welcome to
Ucchan's!" a low female voice sang out as they entered.  Inside, they saw a
beautiful young girl with short brown hair.  She had on a tight blue dress.
 The dress was...impressive.  It was off the shoulder and ran down to
halfway down her thighs.  The front was VERY low cut.

"RYOUGA?!?!"  Akane gasped, and began to giggle.  Ranma merely looked
Ryouga up and down ever so slowly, a sly smile on his face.

"Nice dress," he remarked causually, and grinned as Ryouga blushed a deep
red.  

Nabiki sighed.  "I wish I had legs like that," she said wistfully.  

Tenno leaned over to her.  "I like yours better," and she blushed as deep
as Ryouga.

"Hey guys!  Come, sit down,"  Ukyo called from the counter.  "Ryouga, get
back to work!"  Ryouga nodded dumbly and went to serve other customers,
still blushing.  The group sat down and ordered their lunch.

"Ucchan," Ranma asked, still grinning, "what did Ryouga ever do to you?"

Ukyo snorted and shook her head sadly.  "Well, I had to do something.  The
jerk kept on getting nosebleeds and passing out every time he saw a bit of
cleavage.  It was embarassing, especially with all those high-school girls
coming here to moon over the jerk.  I thought I'd try desensitizing him." 
She gazed at her attractive waitress.  "So I had him go girl-form, and that
got rid of the high-school girls.  They didn't buy anything anyway.  Then I
started making her dress like that.  Now, I just do it because she looks so
darn good."  The others looked at her in shock.  "Hey, I may dress like a
guy, but I'm not all macho.  The jerk does look good that way, not to
mention the extra business it gets me."  She grinned wickedly.  "Besides,
it stopped Shampoo from showing up and pestering us.  I think it offends
her delicate sensibilities."

Ranma looked stunned.  "Shampoo has delicate sensibilies?  This is the same
Shampoo who would jump in the bath with me naked, right?" Akane elbowed
him. "Amazon?  Purple hair?  About so high?"  He held up his hand.  "Wants
to marry Ryouga?"

Ukyo nodded.  "I don't think she likes it when her fiancee looks better in
a dress than her."  She placed their lunches in front of them, and her
smile faltered.  "Have you seen Mousse lately?"  At the group's negative,
she sighed.  "I think he gave up on Shampoo.  He's been showing up alot
with this new girl."

"WHAT?"  Tenno exclaimed.  He put his head in his hands and groaned. 
"Mousse, you IDIOT!  That's not what I meant!"

"Talk, Tenno."  Ukyo demanded.

Tenno quickly outlined the tail-end of the conversation he had with Mousse
earlier.  "Did I ever screw that one up,"  Tenno sighed.

"Maybe not," Ukyo mused.  "Take some advice from one of us, Tenno.  Leave
it alone.  Besides, he should be showing up soon, you can see for
yourself."

Tenno sighed.  "I suppose I should quit while I'm ahead.  As someone once
told me, you can't help everyone."  He glanced over at Nabiki.  Just then,
they heard the door open and Ryouga sing out "Welcome to Ucchan's!"  

"Hello, Ryouga.  Nice dress," they heard Mousse reply.

They whirled and saw Mousse standing inside the door with a young,
attractive girl.  The girl had short, almost spiky blonde hair, and was
very slender.  She wore jeans and a T-shirt, and Mousse looked ridiculously
overdressed beside her in his robes.  Mousse noticed them, smiled, and the
two walked over to where the group sat at the counter.

"Hello, everyone," Mouse said, "May I introduce my ... friend, Tenako
Akemi?"  He proceeded to complete the intoductions.

"Pleased to meet you," she said softly.  "Please, call me Akemi," she
looked around.  "Excuse me, I'll be right back." She headed off to the
ladies room.

Mouse turned to Ranma. "I'd like to thank you for your advice, Tenno." 
Ranma turned him to face Tenno.  "This experience has been
most...enlightening."

Nabiki whispered something to Akane, who gasped.  Tenno's eyes grew wide as
realization dawned on him.  "Mousse, that's dirty!" he scolded.  "How could
you use that girl like that?"

"Use her?" Mousse asked, puzzled.  "She's in on it.  We're doing the same
thing to the boy SHE likes."  Tenno stared at him shocked.  Ranma guffawed
as Akane explained the situation to him.

"Mousse, that's sneaky, underhanded, despicable, and may just work,"  Ranma
complemented him, and bowed.  "I bow in the presence of a master."

Tenno sighed.  "You had me worried there," he said, relieved.  "Did you
find out what you wanted?"  he asked.

Mousse nodded. "Oh yes, I found out EXACTLY what I wanted.  Shampoo has
been acting VERY strange lately."  He smiled.  Akemi came out of the ladies
room and took his arm.  "If you'll excuse us, we have to go.  We have to be
seen at a place in the next township."  As Akemi and he turned to leave,
Mousse turned and faced Ukyo.  "Tenno, please don't tell Shampoo about
this."

Akemi steered Mousse out the door, and into the street.  Tenno shook his
head and smiled. "That boy is FAR to clever," he remarked to no one in
particuar.

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

It was the first day of class.  Tenno stood at his pedestal, addressing the
class.  "I'm going to teach this class differently than others you've taken
before," he began.  "First, I'm going to give one assignment every week.  I
don't care how it gets done, or if it even gets done."  Some of the
students looked very pleased at that.  "Don't get too happy, every third
week there will be a short quiz on the material that was covered in the two
previous assignments.  If you did them, you'll have no problem on the
quizzes."  Some students groaned.  "At the middle of the term, there will
be one large test, that takes the whole period.  The best way to study for
those is those same assignments.  The final exam will be similar."  Several
more students groaned. "Yes, this is unlike what you've been taught before,
but it worked for me when I was a student, it'll work for you, if you give
it a fair effort."  

He paused, and continued.  "Before I begin, I'd like to say a word about
discipline.  That stupid buckets in the hall thing will not be used in this
class."  Several students grinned at that, and a small cheer came from near
the back of the room.  "HOWEVER, a portion of your grade will be based on
your behavior."  He smiled wickedly. "That's right, kids, you can answer
every question on every quiz and test 100% correct, but if you act like a
jerk in my class, the best you can hope for is a B."  He waited for the
meaning of what he said to sink in.  "What doesn't mean don't ask
questions.  I want to hear them, so dont be afraid to ask them."  

"I want this to be a fun class.  Yes, I'm teaching you math, but that
doesn't mean it's got to be boring.  Any questions?"  He looked out at his
students, and saw more than a few smiles.  He smiled himself.  This may
work after all, he thought.  "OK, shall we begin?  Lets talk a little about
what calculus is.... Yes?"  He paused and ackowledged the student's hand.

"Mr. Nahaki, I have a question."

"Spit it out."

"Uhh..why is the sky blue?"

Tenno groaned as the class erupted in laughter.  "There's one in every
class..."

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

Tenno sat under a tree in the school yard, watching Nabiki do business over
at the next tree while he ate his lunch.  He didn't like her little photo
enterprise, but he let it go.  She did check with him before selling
anything though, mostly because Tenno was afraid how Ryouga would react to
some of the racier pictures.  Near the girl's locker room, Akane and a
bunch of girls stood in a crowd.  Every once in a while they'd look over at
the crowd of boys where Ryouga and Ranma stood and giggled or sighed.

Suddenly, one of the girls shreiked, and soon the entire group was in
chaos.  "What a haul!"  Happosai cried, and ran towards the group of boys. 
"Hey Ranma, if you help me escape, I'll split the take with you!  Ranma and
Ryouga exchanged a glance and then bounded after him.

"Come back here, you freak!"  Ranma cried.

"How dare you, you lecher!"  Ryouga seconded.

Tenno sighed, picked up the bucket of water beside him, and doused himself.
 As Happosai ran by, she called out to him.  "Hey!"  She called, pulling
open her shirt to reveal some cleavage.  Happosai stopped and switched
directions, leaping for Tenno-chan's chest.  She resigned herself to being
groped at least once before Ranma and Ryouga caught up with the lecher, but
at least he'd be punished.  Happosai flew towards her.  Tenno-chan closed
her eyes.

*CLANG* Tenno-chan openned her eyes to see a Nabiki holding a garbage-can
lid, with Happosai flattened in it.  She glared at Tenno-chan.  "What were
you thinking?!" she demanded.

Happosai peeled himself off of the lid, and fell to the ground, just in
time to be pummeled by Ranma and Ryouga.  As the girls arrived, he sped
away, coping a few feels as he went through the crowd.  "No fair!  All of
you picking on a weak old man!"  He dodged another swipe by Ranma and sent
Ryouga flying into the air.  "See ya tommorow!"  He cackled, and bounced
out of the yard.

Nabiki watched him go, and whirled on Tenno-chan.  "What were you
thinking?" she repeated.  "You're acting like Ranma!" A faint blue glow
apeared around her.

Tenno-chan held up her hands in submission.  "It was a spur of the moment
thing!  I didn't think!" 

"Tenno, you jerk, don't EVER do that again!"  Nabiki yelled.  She stomped
out of the yard.

Ranma laughed.  "I wouldn't pull stunts like that when Nabiki's around,
Tenno," he advised.  His voice became a stage whisper.  "Those Tendo women
have very short tempers."

"Raaaaaannnmmaaa!  I heard that!"  Akane yelled, pulling out a hammer. 
"Come back here!"  She growled as she chased after Ranma, swinging.  

"Uncute! Tomboy! Violent maniac!"  Ranma teased, leaping away.  He stopped,
lept back, avoided her swing, and kissed her lightly on the nose.  "But I
love you anyway."  He lept away as she stopped, stunned.  "Even if you are
a tomboy!"  He lept away, laughing, as Akane chased after him.  It was
obvious her heart wasn't in it though.

"Yep, they're married."  Someone remarked.  "Incoming!"  Another voice
yelled, as Ryouga slammed into the ground, head first.

"Ryouga, you OK?"  Tenno asked as he pulled Ryouga up to a sitting
position.

"I'm fine, Kasumi."  Ryouga said shaking his head to clear it.

"I'm Tenno."

"Close enough."

"I WISH you would STOP saying that."

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

Tenno and Ryouga walked to school, as they did every morning.  They chatted
about the dance that was going on that Friday.  As they reached the gate to
the school, they head a low thunder.

Out of the school charged a huge throng of boys, yelling and screaming. 
"Hibiki Ryouha, I'll defeat you! No, I will!  Don't let them touch you
Ryouga, you're mine!"  Tenno and Ryouga stopped, stunned.  

"What the hell..."  Ryouga started.

"I don't know but you had better do something about them." Ryouga nodded. 
"Oh, and please try to avoid hurting anyone severely."  Ryouga bounded
forward.

Most martial artists have an uncanny resistance to damage and an incredibly
high pain threshold.  Ryouga had godlike levels of both.  He didn't bother
blocking hits, he merely concentrated on incapacitating his opponents. 
While Ranma could dodge and do this, and Akane used to just knock the boys
out, Ryouga could not.  His fighting style was designed to do the maximum
amount of damage, so a fight where he had to be restrained was quite a
challenge for him.

Quite a challenge is one thing.  Particularly hard, something else.  Ryouga
still managed to beat the crowd in a few minutes.  Ryouga stood on a pile
of unconscious students, panting.  He was unhurt, his clothes, however,
were another matter.  

Tenno walked up and examined the pile, moving from student to student.  No
one seemed to be badly hurt, most were just knocked out.  The worst had a
broken wrist.  He looked up, and saw a bunch of girls watching the carnage
from a class window on the second story.  "Someone want to tell me what
that farce was about?"  he called up to them.

A young girl from his freshman algebra class answered him.  "A bunch of the
girls got together and told their boyfriends that they wouldn't go to the
dance with them unless they beat Ryouga."

Tenno scowled.  "Oh great, they're taking lessons from Kuno," he muttered,
recalling the stories Akane told him.  "That's INSANE!"  He called back. 
"The only one here who MIGHT beat Ryouga is Ranma!" 

"I shall defeat the foul sorcerer Hibiki, and win the hand of the fair
Fanged-girl for my hand at the dance!"  Ryouga stiffened.

"HE'LL WHAT?!?!?!"  Ryouga yelled.

Tenno put his face in his hands and groaned.  "No, not Kuno, anyone but
Kuno."  Sure enough, there stood Kuno in his kendo uniform holding a
practice sword. "Uh..Kuno?  Umm, this is a REALLY bad time for this..."

"SILENCE!  Do not speak to me, foul Mr. Nahaki!  If you were not a teacher
I would smite you as well!"

Tenno sighed, and turned to Ryouga.  "PLEASE don't kill him, Ryouga."

Ryouga cracked his knuckles.  "No problem."  Kuno, you pervert, Ryouga
thought, I know understand why Ranma enjoyed hitting you so much.  He
charged at Kuno, ducked under his swings, and stabbed his finger at the
ground at Kuno's feet.  "BREAKING POINT!"  The ground exploded into a great
cloud of dust, and Kuno flew into the air.  

When the dust cleared, Ryouga stood there, clapping the dust off his hands.
 Tenno walked up to him.  "Nice distance," he commented, watching the arc
of Kuno's flight.  "Why didn't you just blast him though?"

"Not depressed enough," Ryouga replied.  Tenno looked at him oddly, then
got a thoughtful expression.

"I see why people say you have almost an Akane-esque temper going there."

"Who says I have a bad tempter!?"  Tenno whirled, and saw Akane and Ranma
standing behind them.   Akane was glowing blue.

"Not me!  I think of you as sweet and mild mannered!"  Tenno replied,
holding his hands up in submission.

"Nice recovery," Ranma smirked, as Akane stomped into the school.  "So what
was that all about?"  Ranma asked as they walked into the school.  Tenno
quickly explained.  Ranma began to chuckle, and Ryouga went pale.

"THEY WHAT?!?!"  Ryouga stood there stunned, for a moment, sighed, and
walked into the school.

That lunch, Tenno told the events of the morning to Nabiki as they ate. 
Nabiki got an appraising look in her eyes, and gazed over at Ryouga who was
eating with Ukyo a few feet away.  "That's not a bad idea," she mused. 
Tenno got a stange look in his eyes.

Tenno stood up, walked over to Ryouga, and bent to whisper in his ear. 
"Sorry about this," he said as he grabbed a hammer and konked Ryouga on the
back of the head, knocking him out.  "When he wakes up, tell him I'm sorry
and that I'll explain later."  Tenno told the shocked Ukyo.

He walked back to an amazed Nabiki.  "That settles THAT."  He told her,
then looked in shock at the hammer in his hands.  "Umm, how'd I do that?"
he asked the hammer, and Nabiki giggled.  He looked up at her sheepishly. 
"Well, you ARE going to the dance with me, aren't you?"

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

The night of the dance was one of the worst of Ryouga's life.  It was the
first time he ever wanted to be left ALONE by girls.

Ranma chuckled and Akane giggled as they watched poor Ryouga get snagged by
another girl.  Nabiki sat near then with Ryouga's dance card, raking in the
money as the girls bribed for better positions.  Tenno sat beside her,
amusedly pointing out "delinquents" to Miss Hinako, who sucked them dry on
the spot.  The girls who were after Ryouga had a marvelous time, each one
axiously awaiting their turn with Ryouga on the floor, and sighing faint
with pleasure (hey, these are Takahashi high school girls, anything's a
high romance to them) after their dance was done.

The boys, on the other hand, were NOT having so wonderful a time.  If looks
could kill, Ryouga's death would have been guaranteed a hundred times over.
 They boys grumbled to themelves as they sent dark looks at the overworked
Ryouga.  "Stupid Hibiki."  "Stealing all the girls." "At least Ranma had
the decency to get a fiancee."  "Yeah, he was decent about it."  "Hey,
isn't that Ukyo?"

Ukyo stood at the entrance. She was wearing her usual outfit, but it was
altered slightly in several key places.  Several of the boys gulped as they
realized she wasn't wearing the usual chest-straps.  The average body
temperature of the boys in the crowd rose a few degrees.

"Man, she looks good."  "You'd have never have known it the way she usually
dresses."  "Think she'll let me dance with her?"  "You want to risk it?"
"Oh man, she's looking at Ryouga!"  "All the cute ones..."  "Uh, oh, she's
glowing."

Ukyo had noticed the line of girls behind Nabiki.  She grabbed one of the
girls and snarled her a question.  At the terrified girl's response, she
pounded over to Nabiki. "Dance card. Now."  Nabiki looked up at her in
suprise, and winced as the girl took the card and calmy tore it in two. 
Several faint cries of outrage were heard from the line.  Nabiki sighed and
pulled out her purse, while Tenno chuckled.  The song ended, and Ukyo
grabbed Ryouga's hand, dragging him back out to the floor.

"This final dance will be a slow dance,"  the DJ announced.  Ranma grabbed
Akane's hand, and dragged the protesting girl onto the dance floor.  Tenno
turned to Nabiki and asked her a question softly.  She nodded and they too
went to the floor, which was now populated by several couples, as well as a
frozen Ukyo and Ryouga.

Ukyo looked up at the frozen Ryouga.  "Stop being an idiot," she growled,
grabbing his hands and placing them around her.  "It's only a dance." 
Ryouga relaxed, ever so slightly.

As the music started, the two began two move, stiffly at first, and then
more smoothly as their embarrasment faded.  As the song progressed, a faint
smile appeared on Ukyo's face.  Ryouga numbly danced, a slow flush creeping
its way into his face.

The music stopped, and time seemed to as well,  Ryouga let Ukyo go, and
looked down at her, embarassed.  "T..thanks," he stuttered.  What's going
on?   he thought.  I'm NEVER this nervous around Ukyo!

Ukyo smiled faintly.  "The pleasure was all mine, sugar," she responded,
and slowly walked out of the hall.  Ryouga watched her, his expression
blank.

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

"Tenno, where's Ryouga?"  Kasumi asked.  Tenno stiffened, nearly dropping
his cup of tea.

"He's at the school.  He stayed behind to talk to Ukyo," Tenno responded
mechanically.  Kasumi frowned at him and nodded, returning to the kitchen. 
Tenno leaned over to the giggling Nabiki at his side.  "Is she gone?"  At
Nabiki's nod, he relaxed, relieved.

"I don't know why you don't like Kasumi," Nabiki said softly.  "She's the
nicest, most harmless person I've ever met."

"I like her!"  Tenno defended.  "It's just that I can't accept anyone being
THAT nice and oblivious.  She just can't be that innocent."  Tenno
shrugged.  "Call it the corrupting American influence in me, but she gives
me the creeps."  He shuddered and looked outside at Akane and Ranma, who
were arguing outside.  Akane pulled out a hammer and whacked Ranma, who
promptly fell into the pool.  "Cooking remark?"  he asked Nabiki,
indicating the pair.  Ranma-chan ran inside, zipped into the kitchen, and
ran back out male.

"Dancing."  Nabiki responded.  "Ranma's still teasing her about how many
times she stepped on his feet last night."  She smiled as Ranma whirled in
and kissed Akane like he had before, this time on the lips.  Tenno and
Nabiki looked away, embarrased as they realized it wasn't going to be a
quick one.  "That boy is getting far too good at diffusing those
situations," she chuckled.

Suddenly Ranma-chan gave a cry of suprise, and pointed to something in the
sky.  Nabiki and Tenno got up, ran outside, and looked to where Ranma was
pointing.  "Doesn't that,"  Tenno mused, "look like Ryouga?"

"Bet he hits the pool," Ranma quipped.

"No bet."  Nabiki responed as Ryouga came flying into the yard, sure
enough, right into the pool.  

The water settled, showing Ryouga-chan, who sat in the pool, cursing.  Her
voice rose as she gre more angry  "...spatula wielding, over-reacting,
VIOLENT MANIAC TOMBOY!"  She roared, as she stood up.  She looked around,
facing away from the four observers.  Well, five, Kasumi had come out of
the kitchen to watch.  "Where on earth and I now?!?!"  She roared into the
sky.

"Hello, Ryouga,"  Kasumi called from directly behind Tenno, who yelped and
jumped a meter, straight up. "You have just enough time to dry off for
dinner."

Ryouga-chan whirled around, and blushed, emabarrased. "Oh, hi guys."

"Fight with Ukyo?"  Ranma asked, grinning.  Ryouga growled and nodded.

"What did you do?!?!"  Akane demanded, grabbing a hammer.

"Nothing!"  Ryouga growled.  "I only asked her to be my fiancee..."  

He was drowned out as the group yelled "WHAT?!?!?"

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

"Make sure he gets to the Tendo's, OK?"  Tenno asked.

"No problem," Ukyo replied, turning to look at Ryouga.  Tenno nodded and
walked away.

Ryouga and Ukyo stood under one of the few remaining trees in the school
yard.  Ukyo wondered what Ryouga had wanted to talk about.  He seemed so
nervous around her, and so reluctant to speak.  For a long moment, he was
silent.

"What is it?"  she asked, impatient.  "I have a restaurant to run."

"Ukyo," Ryouga began, then faltered.  "Ukyo, we're friends, right?"  he
asked, looking at her hopefully.

"Y..Yes," she responded slowly.

"I have a big favor to ask."  Ryouga looked at the ground.  She'd going to
say no, he thought to himself.  "Would...would you be my fiancee?"

Ukyo froze, stunned.  She had NEVER expected this.  Ryouga was her friend,
sure, but she never knew he felt about her that way.  "Uhh, Ryouga, what
are you-"

"Not for real!" Ryouga interrupted, taking her response for a denial. 
"It's just...ARGH!!!"  he suddenly roared, startling Ukyo.   He began to
babble, hoping that if he just said it fast and non-stop, it wouldn't come
out sounding quite so stupid.  "It's just that I've never had so many girls
after me before Ukyo I was always a loner and never hung around with people
much and I'm so afraid of leading them on and I don't know what to do I
don't like any of them that way and they keep on coming after me and I
thought that if you were to pretend to be my fiancee they would leave me
alone I mean so many of the girls and guys are afraid of you because you're
such a tomboy like Akane and if they thought you were my fiancee they would
leave me alone and it's OK if you say no and hate me forever."   He ran out
of steam, panting.

Ukyo was silent fora long moment.  Her shock had given way to pity,
intrigue, and more than little anger.  "Yes, Ryouga, I'll pretend to be
your fiancee, and no, I don't hate you."

Ryouga almost sobbed he was so happy.  "Thanks, I don't know how I can
repay you."

"One more thing," she growled, suddenly glowing blue.  She grabbed her
spatula off of her back and swung.

"Ryouga, YOU JERK!" she cried, as she sent the boy flying though the air.

She stormed off to her restaurant.

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

"...and that's when you guys saw me."  Ryouga-chan finished, and scowled. 
"I didn't think she'd take it THAT badly, the stupid violent maniac."

"Akane," Ranma asked his wife.  "Can I borrow your hammer?  I have a
burning urge to smash a certain matrial artist."  Akane shook her head. 
She had a small smile on her face.

"Nope, he's Ukyo's fiancee now, she's the only one allowed to hammer him,"
she told him.

"But he clobbered me all the time when I was YOUR fiancee!"  Ranma
protested.

"You're married now, you're supposed to be above these things," she told
him, then kissed him on the cheek.  "But it was a nice guesture to ask."

Ranma's eyes narrowed, then he smiled.  "Hey, Tenno, want to do me a
favor?"

"Not on you're life, Ranma."  Tenno told him.  "I'm going to stay out of
this."  

Ranma grumbled, then brightened again. "Hey, Ryouga, how about we go
'train'?"

"I might as well, too,"  Tenno sighed.

Akane got up, saying something about dinner, at which Ranma paled. "I
thought she got better," Ryouga-chan asked.

"Her curry is great,"  Ranma said quickly.  "Everything else she makes is
still deadly.  Pray we're eating curry."

The group went outside at Tenno's insistence.  "Ranma, I want to learn that
chi-blast thing you and Ryouga do."  Ryouga-chan and Ranma exchanged a
look.

"Are you sure? I mean, that's a pretty advanced technique, I don't know if
you're ready for it,"  Ranma stated.  "Wouldn't you rather I showed you
something a little easier?"

"I obviously have no problems summoning the chi," Tenno said and reminded
them of the day he learned he was a berzerker.  "I may as well figure out
how to use it."

Ranma slowly nodded.  "It's not a hard technique to explain.  You simply
gather up a lot of chi, and push it out of you."  He glaned at Ryouga-chan.
 "Usually though your hands, but this idiot's also done explosions centered
on himself."

"Yeah, well at least I figured out how to do it without getting myself
pummeled before you did!"  Ryouga retorted.

"Still gonna rub that in my face, are you?"  Ranma yelled back.

"Uh..guys?"  Tenno asked.  "Remember me?"  The arguing pair stopped and
looked sheepish.

"Anyway," Ryouga continued, "you have to be sure to let your feelings go as
the blast comes out of you, or you get hit as well."

Tenno nodded, and started to concentrated, facing the target in the yard. 
Ranma and Ryouga stood back.  Tenno stood for a moment longer, then threw
up his hands.  "Nothing!" he yelled.  He looked at his hands and
concentrated, but the glow that apeared there before never appeared.

Ranma and Ryouga exchanged a glance again.  "Tenno, what were you feeling
that one day?"  Ranma asked.

Tenno frowned, and thought for a moment. "A little angry, and depressed,
and I was feeling pretty lonely."  He smiled.  "Nothing like I feel now.  I
was in general 'life-sucks' mode then."

Ranma nodded.  "Thought so.  Tenno, when I do the Fierce Tiger Shot, I take
all my confidence and put it into the blast."

"Your ego, you mean,"  Ryouga supplied behind him.

"The twerp back there," he continued, "uses depression to do the Roaring
Lion Shot."

Tenno looked at Ryouga in suprise.  "Is that why you couldn't do it that
one day with Kuno?"  Ryouga nodded.

"I haven't felt really down since after the fight with Shampoo," Ryouga
said sheepishly.  "Maybe I'll have to try Ranma's version.  But I should
have known.  Your glow had a faint blue-tinge then.  Depression and anger
are both blue and confidence and hope is yellow."

"Try confusion," Ranma supplied, grinning.  "Or panic.  You seemed to have
alot of that last night, and today for that matter."

"HEY!  Are we going to help the trainee here?"  Ryouga asked, trying to
change the subject.  "Essentially, you have to find something you feel
strongly enough to use as a source.  I thought your being a...berzerker
might give you a shortcut, but apparently, it doesn't."

"I guess not,"  Ranma agreed.  "Don't worry, Tenno, how about I teach you
that Chestnuts thing?"

"Or I could teach him Breaking Point," Ryouga offered.  "He could use the
endurance training."

"Maybe the Cat-Fist.." Ranma pondered.

Tenno groaned as the two thought up tortures for him.  He sighed.  "At
least Jusenkyo is gone, they can't make me go back there until it dies
down."

End Chapter 5



Here We Go Again

Notes to follow

**************PRIVATE FEEDBACK ONLY**************

Christopher Angel
cja124@mail.usask.ca

Chapter 6: Truth
(next day from end of chap 5)

It was a beautiful morning.  Four people walked to the school, obviously
enjoying the weather and having an animated discussion.  "I'll tell ya
what,"  Ranma offered Ryouga. "We'll get him up to Akane's level, then
we'll start teaching him some more advanced techniques at the same time as
Akane."  He grinned over at the girl in question.  "That'll give us some
time to work on SOMEBODY's temper."

Akane growled.  "I do not have a bad temper!" she insisted.

"Of course you don't.  You just tend to overreact,"  Ryouga started, "a
little,"  he finished as Akane glared at him.  "But to get Tenno to Akane's
level anytime soon would take some heavy training...it'd be rough."

"And what you've been doing hasn't been?"  Tenno demanded.  "You have to
practically carry me home as it is!"

"I'm sure Nabiki would love to re-negotiate a rental agreement," Akane said
sweetly.

Tenno shuddered, imagining waking up to Kasumi every morning.  "Thanks, but
no."

"I don't know why you're so uneasy around her..." Akane mused.

"It's not that..."  Tenno started to defend.

"...I mean, you're SO much like her," she continued.  "You're just as sweet
and lovable."

Tenno looked disgusted.  "You just HAD to say it, didn't you?"  He
complained as Akane laughed.  "You make me sound like a teddy bear."

The group continued on to school, for once arriving well before the the
first bell.  They found a group of boys at the gate, most of them grinning
wildly.  Two boys familiar to the group, Daisuke and Hiroshi, stood at the
front.

"We heard about your engagment,"  Daisuke said to Ryouga.

"We wanted to wish you our most heartfelt congradulations," Hiroshi added. 
"No hard feelings?"

Ryouga shook his head, and the group of boys broke up with a mild cheer.

"HOLD, Hibiki you fiend!  It has come to mine ears that you cast away mine
sister's heart like yesterday's refuse for some restaurant wench.  I have
come to punish you for your transgressions against all women!"

Ryouga, who had been ignoring Kuno, froze, and turned to look at him. 
"WHAT did you call Ukyo?" he asked, his voice like ice.

"Is that the foul harlot you have given your heart to in favor of my dear
sister's?"  Kuno sneered.  "No matter!  You shall pay for your crimes!"

Ryouga fighting normally is a thing to be never forgotten.  Where Ranma is
all grace and speed, Ryouga is sheer power.  The fact that Ryouga can take
almost any hit and keep on going is no small portion in this.  Ryouga angry
is to see that power combined with a good deal of skill and a desperate
need to connect.  

Ryouga was beyond angry.  

He was furious.

He didn't charge at Kuno, he didn't leap, he simply walked.  As Kuno swung
at him, he simply blocked with his arm, letting the wooden blade shatter. 
He pounded Kuno in the gut.  "Nobody talks."  He punched Kuno in the head.
"About my fiancee."  He slammed Kuno in the chest, cracking a rib. "Like
that."  Kuno was noticeably unsteady.  A stray breeze threatened to topple
him.  Ryouga wound up and dove his fists down on Kuno's shoulders, driving
him up to his neck in the ground. "BUT ME!"

Ryouga turned to walk into the school, and found his progress impeded by
the large spatula that had slammed into his face.  "And who said YOU could
talk that way about me?"  Ukyo demanded.

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

A crowd of girls sat in the cafeteria, discussing Ryouga's sudden change
from single to engaged.

"It's not fair!"  "Why should a girl like THAT get a cute boy like him?" 
"She's a bigger tomboy than Akane!"  "They fight more than Ranma and Akane
too." Silence fell over the group.  "Nah, no one fights more than Ranma and
Akane."  "Speaking of whom, there they are!" "Let's ask them!"
"AKANE!"  With that cry, the girls charged the couple, snagging Akane and
dragging her off into the girls change-room.

"What the hell?" Ranma began.  His musing was cut off by three of the girls
who ran out of the change-room with a bucket, spashed him, and dragged
Ranma-chan into the locker room.  "Hey, wait, I can't go in there!  I'm a
GUY!"  Her protests were ignored as the girls dragged her inside.  The next
thing Ranma-chan knew she was sitting on a bench in the locker room with
Akane, surrounded by some VERY angry girls.  "Hey, wait, what'd I do?"

"How could you let that nice Ryouga get engaged to that awful Ukyo?" 
"She's so wrong for him!"  "I thought you were his friends!"  The tirade
went on for a moment.  "You have to tell us how to break them up, Akane!"

"Uhhh,"  Ranma-chan began.  "Do you girls know anything about Ryouga?"

"He's so cute!" "He's nice, and gentle, and strong!"  "He's got a little
mis-direction problem."  "Didn't he want to kill you?"  "He's very good in
school!"  "He's got the dreamiest body."  "Those fangs just make my knees
melt..."

"OKAY!  I get the picture.  Sheesh,"  Ranma-chan said in disgust.  "Any
more sugar and I'm gonna need insul-ack!" She was cut off by Akane's elbow
in her ribs. "Ryouga's 'little mis-sirection problem' isn't so little. 
Remember that time he was absent for a week?"  Several girls nodded.  "He
was trying to find his way from my place to his house.  They're a block
from each other.  Get the picture?  The guy could get lost in a broom
close-urk!"  Akane's elbow was in her ribs again.  "Could you stop that?"

"Get to the point, Ranma," Akane growled at her.

"Yes dear," Ranma-chan replied meekly, and gleefully enjoyed the moment of
shocked silence.  Suprising Akane was even more fun than teasing her at
times.  "As I was saying, he's lost A LOT.  That means he's alone A LOT." 
Ranma-chan paused.  "Ryouga doesn't have much people experience.  Think how
you'd feel if a ton of boys started coming after each of you."  She paused
as a thought occured to her. She turned to Akane. "How DID you feel?" she
asked.

"Annoyed," Akane replied matter-of-factly.  "But I wasn't as worried about
hurting feelings as Ryouga is."  

Ranma-chan grinned.  "That's because you were an uncute tomb-herk!" 
Akane's elbow found her ribs again.  How does she find the same spot every
time?  Ranma-chan wondered, rubbing the spot.

Akane took over, giving her husband an annoyed glance.  "Ryouga's afraid of
hurting one of you.  If you really don't want him to stick to Ukyo, leave
him alone.  When he's not so afraid you'll come chasing after him, he might
break off the engagement."  Her eyes twinkled.  "He MIGHT.  I think they
make an awfully nice couple, don't you, Ranma?"

"They're perfect for each other," Ranma-chan grinned back. "Good luck,
ladies, you'll need it."  The pair stood and started to leave, but
Ranma-chan stopped.  "Umm, doesn't it bother you that he's got the same
curse as me?"  Almost in unison, the girls shook their heads.  "Why not?"

"Becuase he's such a NICE boy," one of the girls replied.  The rest of the
group nodded.  

"But..but..why did you care when it was me?"  Ranma-chan stammered.  

"Because YOU were a PERVERT," another girl replied, as as many of the other
girls scowled.

Ranma-chan sighed and let Akane drag her out of the change-room.  "Akane, 
I may change into one...but..."

"But?" 

"I will NEVER understand women."  Ranma-chan shook her head. "Not if I live
to be a hundred."

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

"Why did I agree to this?"  Ukyo asked, yawning.  "It's 5 in the morning!" 
She wore her kitchen commando outfit.

A small group stood outside the Tendo Dojo on a bright Sunday morning. 
Ranma was in his usual Chinese fighting outfit.  He yawned.  "Stop that,"
he snapped good-naturedly at Ukyo "They're contagious." Akane stood beside
him in jogging pants and a sweat shirt, a bandana around her forehead. 
"And we're doing this because we're all out of shape, and we could use some
plain exercise."

Ryouga ran up in his usual fighting clothes. In the distance you could see
another figure behind him.  "Hi guys," he said, blushing.  "Sorry we're
late, but uhhh...."

"Morning!"  Tenno-chan's voice sang out.  The group merely stared as she
jogged up.  She was wearing a sweatshirt over the skin-tight jogging outfit
so many women liked.  Nabiki, who was sitting on the front steps drinking
her coffee, gasped in half-horror and half-amusement.  Ryouga merely looked
embarrased.

"TENNO?!"  Ranma yelled, horrified.  "What are you wearing?!?!"

Tenno-chan looked down at herself and shrugged.  "It's my jogging outfit."

"But..but..you're dressed like a girl!"  Akane continued.

"How observant,"  Tenno-chan chuckled.  "Like it?"  She twirled.

"Tenno, WHY on earth are you dressed like that?"  Ukyo demanded.

Tenno-chan looked a little embarrased.  "Because it's more comfortable to
go jogging this way."  At their disbelieveing glance, she elaborated. 
"It's alot easier to run when there isn't a certain set of equipment
hanging between your legs."

"So it's easier with two different ones up front?"  Akane demanded.

Tenno-chan looked at her oddly.  "What on earth..." she trailed off as
comprehension dawned.  "Oh, you think I'm like THEM," she said, indicating
Ryouga and Ranma. "I might as well show you," she sighed, and started to
pull her sweatshirt over her head, only to find it yanked down by Akane. 

"Are you insane? We're in public!  You can't do that in broad daylight!"
she hissed.

Tenno-chan looked at her, disgusted.  "Give me some credit, it goes all the
way up."

"I noticed,"  Nabiki said walking up.  She looked Tenno-chan up and down
meaningfully.

"The outfit, not the figure,"  Tenno-chan chuckled, blushing a little.  She
started to pull the shirt over her head.  "Although," she continued, her
voice muffled by the sweatshirt now over her head "you might say that about
both of them.  Tadda!"  She finished, yanking the shirt off her upper body.
 "See what I mean?"

Ranma-chan's figure was painfully well known to everyone, since Ranma in
either form had no grasp of modesty in any way.  Ryouga-chan's was also
well known, usualy from the fact that for the first while she would faint
every time the curse kicked in and and she noticed her new body. 
Tenno-chan, however, had always worn clothing that was loose enough to hide
her figure fairly well.

What she wore today didn't leave much to the imagination.  Tenno-chan was
as tall and slender a woman as she was a tall and slender man.  Her breasts
were not large, maybe B cups, giving her a womanish figure without the
obvious voluptuousness Ryouga and Ranma had.  Her hips were relatively
narrow as well.  She was in no way skinny, she was just slender.  A poetic
admirerer would call her elven.

"I...see,"  Ukyo stated, carefully resisting the urge to stare.  Nothing to
be jealous of there, she thought to herself.  A similar thought ran through
all the girl's minds.

Ryouga just blushed further, while Ranma grinned.  "Man, would Happosai be
disappointed," he stated, then cursed himself as the hurt registered on
Tenno-chan's face and Akane hammered him into the ground.

Nabiki scowled at Ranma and walked up to Tenno-chan, kissing her on the
cheek.  "Don't listen to him, Tenno."  She looked Tenno-chan up and down
again, and then smiled at her impishly.  "If Happosai's disapointed he's as
much a fool as he is a pervert."  She started to walk back inside.  She
stopped, turned around and looked at Tenno-chan in a preadatory sort of
way.  "I don't suppose you'd be willing to wait while I get my camera,
would you?"  Tenno-chan blushed.  "I didn't think so."

Ramna peeled himself off the ground.  "Owwww.. jeez, I didn't mean it that
way...you know how he's contantly threatening me with 'they'll sag', well
it won't work with her."

This time Ryouga smashed him into the ground.  "It was an awful thing to
say anyway, Ranma."  He turned.  "Come on, lets go."  The group jogged off,
Ukyo grinding her foot into Ranma's back as she went by.

A few moments later, Ranma peeled himself up off the ground, and sat
watching the group go off into the distance.  "You know, I think this
jogging idea was a bad one.  It's hazardous to my health."  He got up and
chased after the others.  "HEY, wait up!"  He ducked a hammer sent his way.
 "Aww, come on guys, I'm sorry!"

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

"I say we take him to Dr. Tofu's!"

"That's not going to help, you moron, we can't turn him into one of us in
under a year!"

"I don't see why not!  If we train him hard enough, it should work!"

Nabiki came out of the house and sat beside Tenno and Akane on the porch
and watched Ranma and Ryouga argue.  "I assume 'he' is Tenno?" she asked
the pair.

Tenno nodded.  "Ryouga's convinced there's something wrong with me because
I've reached a plateau.  I haven't improved any more in weeks.  Akane says
I can take on most of the boys in school easy, but one of the 'high-level'
crowd would mop the floor with me.  Ranma says I've reached the peak of my
training."

"What do you think?" Nabiki asked him, searching his face.

"I don't know.  I can't even summon chi like I used to, Nabs.  Maybe there
is something wrong.  On the other hand, I haven't gotten any better at all
in a while.  Maybe I'll never be able to learn those techniques they keep
trying to teach me."  They turned to listen to the argument.

"Are you purposefully being an idiot?"

"What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"You, me, Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, Mousse, and even that pervert Kuno have
been training all our lives, right?"

"So?"

"So how are we going to get him up to something even close to our level in
so short a time?"

"That doesn't change the fact that he hasn't improved AT ALL in weeks, or
the fact that he can't summon chi!  It's a mental technique, he should be
able to pick that up!"

Kasumi interrupted from the house, startling Tenno, who looked embarrased. 
"Ranma, Dr. Tofu wanted to meet Tenno anyway.  Something about him being a
berzerker?"  Tenno stiffened and put his head in his hands, groaning in
abject misery.  Ryouga merely turned to Ranma.

"OK, lets go," Ranma sighed, acceeding the victory.  "I don't see what good
it'll do though."

Ranma, Ryouga, Akane and Tenno were soon walking on their way to Dr.
Tofu's.  "Isn't this guy a chiropractor?"  Tenno asked.  "I don't see what
he can do."

"Oh no, Dr. Tofu's extremely skilled, and knowledgable in almost all fields
of medicine."  Akane insisted.

"He's a martial arts master too,"  Ranma added.  "If you ever get in a
close fight with him, don't let him touch you, he knows every pressure
point there is, and how to use them."

"If he's as good as you say, if I get in a fight with him I'd be better off
to surrender," Tenno said grimly.  Ranma nodded.

"Good plan."

They soon reached the door to Dr. Tofu's office. Ranma's hand froze on the
handle.  "Umm, one thing.  Tenno, Ryouga, DO NOT, in ANY circumstance,
mention Kasumi."  At their confused looks, he merely said "Trust me, it may
save your life."  He opened the door and ushered the group in.

"Hello!  You must be Tenno,"  Dr. Tofu said as they entered.  "You're in
luck, I'm not busy."  He had the others take a seat while he guided Tenno
into a back room.

Dr. Tofu started the phsyical exam, gently prodding certain pressure points
to relax his patient.  As he did so, he spoke in a soft, soothing voice
that served to put his patent at ease.  Soon, Tenno was in a deep hypnotic
trance.  Dr. Tofu sat down and began asking Tenno about how he discovered
he was a beserker, and how it had manifested.  He spent a long time
focussing on Tenno's feelings at the time of the fight at the Cat Cafe.  At
one point, he cursed, and seemed to shake with anger.  He did what he could
to sooth the hurt and emotional pain the boy felt, and slowly brought him
out of the trance.  

"W..wha..." Tenno started, confused.

Dr. Tofu put his hand on the boy's forehead and forced him to lie back. 
"Just rest, Tenno, we'll finish this in a second."  He walked out of the
room to the waiting trio.

Dr. Tofu looked at the three, and silently pointed them into another
examination room, his face dark.  The three quickly filed into the room,
the fear they felt quite obvious.  Dr. Tofu followed them, and turned to
Akane and Ranma.

"If I violent man," he snarled, teeth clenched. "I would KILL your fathers
for what they did to that boy."  Akane and Ranma looked at the normally
mild-mannered and cheerful doctor in horror.  "How DARE they do that to
him?  They had that boy nearly suicidal with self hatred!  The only thing
that kept him from killing himself were you three and Nabiki."  The doctor
looked as if he wanted to smash something.

"What did they do?"  Akane asked, softly.

"They had him convinced he was some sort of monster," he growled, and Akane
recoiled.  

"Doc, we saw him take a huge amount of damage and still fight.  We saw him
nearly kill the ghoul.  If Nabiki hadn't been there he WOULD have.  He IS
just what they described."  Ranma argued.

Dr. Tofu glared at Ranma, the fury in his gaze making Ranma gulp.  "Ranma,
a true beserker CAN'T be stopped.  They fight until ANY person they see as
a threat is dead.  The simple fact that Cologne's words reached him at one
point, that he listened to you, and that Nabiki brought him out of it AT
ALL shows he isn't."  He seemed to calm down.  "There was also the fact
that he seemed to have some very advanced abilities when he fought.  Even
with his ignoring damage, he should have been killed by the amount of hits
he took.  Also, the way that his touch caused such pain is another
indication, since that's a chi-based technique.  Even ignoring all that,
the simple fact is, if he was a true berzerker, you would have been forced
to kill him."  Akane gasped.

"Then what is he?"  Ryouga asked suspiciously.

"A very caring young man with some very dangerous abilities.  Your father
was recognized the right symptoms, Ranma, but connected them to the wrong
source.  Tenno is a scion of a lost group of fighters called the Rage
Warriors."

"Rage Warriors?"  Ranma asked, disbelieving.  "Sounds like an arcade game."

Dr. Tofu smiled, his anger still not forgotten, but lessened.  "It does,
doesn't it?  They were known for all the things your father said, and were
often taken for berzerkers.  But they weren't.  The Rage Warriors would
channel their anger into their combat to enhance their abilities."  He
paused, and walked out of the room, returning with an old book which he
flipped through.  "Ah, here.  Yes, Ranma, you were right to train him, but
you have to incorporate a lot of anger control and emotional techniques." 
Ryouga and Ranma exchanged a glance.  "Tenno without proper training will
never be anything more than an above-average fighter that explodes into a
barely controlled rage every time Nabiki is hurt.  Tenno with proper
training will be a force to be reckoned with."  He looked Ranma in the
eyes.  "Nabiki is the key to his anger.  He loves her very much.  You have
to help him learn to let the rage come, but to keep control.  It will be
very dangerous, for both him, and you."  He looked at the others.  "Never
let Tenno train without Nabiki in the area until he gains complete control
of his anger and chi. She will be the only one who can control him until
then."

"How will we know?"  Ryouga asked.

"Bring him here every week."  Dr. Tofu offered.  "I'll judge his progress
and may be able to guide you."

"Can we see him?" Akane asked.  Dr. Tofu shook his head.

"No, he and I need to have a long talk."  He smiled wryly at them.  "That
boy has had a great deal of pain in his life, and took on a lot of yours. 
He needs someone safe to help him let it out."  He paused.  "A lot like he
did for you.  Go home, I'll see him to your place myself."

Ranma nodded, satisfied.  "OK, we'll go.  Come on, Ryouga, Akane, the Doc
may not be a violent man, but I sure as hell am, and we're gonna go 'talk'
with my father."  His voice promised nothing good, and he cracked his
knuckles.

Akane got a dark glint in her eye.  "And mine."

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

Tenno bid goodbye to Dr. Tofu and wandered inside the Tendo's gate. He
knocked on the front door. "Hey," he called.  "It's Tenno."

The door flew open to reveal Nabiki, who flung herself at him and hugged
him tightly.  He looked down and saw she had been crying, and that her
hands were bruised.  "Hey," he asked, "what's wrong?"  Has she been
fighting?  He wondered.

"Nothing,"  she gasped, and hugged him tighter.  "Nothing now."

He held her for a moment and then manuvered them inside, where he saw an
amazing sight.  Ryouga, Akane, Ranma, Kasumi and Nodoka sat around the
dinner table, watching him with a mixture of worry and relief.  At the
other end of the room, well away from the other occupants, sat Soun and
Genma.   They looked like they had been battered quite severely, and their
eyes kept on flicking to the other occupants of the room as they played
their game.

Ranma hissed at the two men, who quickly stood up and prostrated themselves
in front of Tenno.

"We most humbly beg your apologies for any harm we may have done."  Gennma
said into the floor.

"We meant no harm, and will accept any punishment you require."  Soun
seconded.

Tenno was silent for a minute as he realized that his friends had done for
him. "There is no debt to be paid," Tenno replied softly.  "An error meant
in good faith shouldn't be punished.  Please get up."  The two men stood
unsteadily and returned to their game, their heads bowed.  Tenno whispered
in Nabiki's ear. "Besides, it seems someone did more than enough."

Nabiki help him tighter and gave her father and uncle a dark look.  "Not
even close."  She said fiercely.  She guided him to the table, where Kasumi
served tea.  With no little suprise, Tenno noticed her hands were also
bruised.

They drank their tea in silence.  Ryouga stood.  "Come on, Tenno, it's been
a long day.  Lets go home."

Tenno looked at the others at the table. "You know, I think we are home,"
he said softly.

The two moved back in the next week.



Here We Go Again

Notes to follow

**************PRIVATE FEEDBACK ONLY**************

Christopher Angel
cja124@mail.usask.ca

Chapter 7: Christmas and a New Enemy
(it's December, a week before the X-mas/new years break)


Ryouga, Akane and Ranma ran into the school ground, barely making it on
time.  They screeched to a halt in the yard as Akane took a moment to
pummel Kuno into the dirt.

"HIBIKI, PREPARE TO DIE!"

Ryouga barely jumped back as a steam of projectiles stuck the ground where
he stood.  His eyes, and those of the growing audience, were drawn to the
source of the attack.  In a tree stood a thin man in a resplendendent white
suit and mirrorshades.  His hair was impecably combed, and the slight
breeze that was in the air seemed not to touch him.  He was much older than
the other students, aparently in his late twenties.

Ranma and Akane sat on the school wall with Daisuke and Hiroshi. "Vengeful
rival?"  Daisuke asked Ranma.  

"Looks like it, doesn't it?"  Ranma returned.

"You know, my grandfather was telling me about his younger days.  You know,
things like this have been happening here all the time?"  Hiroshi mentioned
offhandedly. 

Their conversation was interrupted by a cry from Ryouga.  "Sachura Kai?!"
he yelled, shocked.  He grinned.  "Great to see you, how the hell have you
been?"

"Hey, Ryouga, he wants to kill you!"  Daisuke called.  Ryouga seemed
suprised at this and turned to the man, his question on his face.

"That's right, Hibiki."  The man lept to the ground.  "You destroyed my
career, you destroyed my life. I'm here to kill you!"  Kai reached into his
coat and withdrew some items.  "DIE!" he cried as he flung the items at
Ryouga, who used his ever-present umbrella to deflect the weaons into the
ground and wall, nearly hitting Ranma.  Ranma picked up the item.  It was a
paper shuriken.

"Paper?!"  Ranma asked.  Ryouga looked at Kai in suprise.

"Yes, paper." Kai confirmed.  "You didn't know that the man you've hounded
for the past 10 years was a student of the Origami School of Martial Arts,
did you?" He withdrew a long sheet of paper from his coat, and in a flash
folded it into a katana.  "HA!"  He ran at Ryouga, who lept away as the man
swung.  The paper katana drove into the ground, and sank a good foot into
the soil.  

Ryouga kicked the blade, and lost his balance as foot flew through the
construct without resistance.  Kai swiped at Ryouga and gave him a long cut
on the arm.  Ryouga lept away, and looked in suprise at the scarlet-edged
sheet in the other's hand.  Ryouga got a dark look on his face.

"I didn't want to do this, Kai," he growled.  "You were a nice guy, you
always helped me.  But I'm late for class."  Ryouga concentrated, and a
glowing yellow ball appeared in his hand. "FIERCE LION SHOT!" he yelled as
he blasted at Kai, who flew out of the school yard.

Ranma and Akane lept off the wall and ran to Ryouga.

"That was great, Ryouga!" Akane cheered.

"Ahh, I could've beat him in half the time,"  Ranma scoffed, but continued
at Akane's dark look.  "Good job, though.  Nice to see you using something
like my version of that move. But," he paused, and his voice took on a tone
much like his father's.  "You must never let your guard down, boy," he
said, indicating Ryouga's cut arm.  "Come on, lets get that treated."

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

Ranma, Akane and Ryouga stood in the hall, carrying buckets of water.  "I
wish all the teachers would use Tenno's method,"  Ranma complained.  It
wasn't that carrying buckets was hard, or even a strain, it was just so
BORING.  "Who was that guy, anyway?  He wanted to kill you more than you
wanted to kill me, if that's possible."

Ryouga shrugged, and spilled some of the water on his shoes.  "Sachura Kai.
 He's this guy I kept on meeting when I was lost.  He was really nice, too,
he always helped me to find out which way to go."

"You've been meeting him for 10 years?"  Akane asked.

"Well, only once or twice a year, but yeah."  He looked puzzled.  "I don't
know why he wants to kill me."

"You must have done SOMETHING."  Ranma prodded.

"Nothing!  All I did was meet him, say hi, and ask for directions."

"Well, if all you did was ask for directions, why would he want to kill
you?" Akane demanded.  "That's insane!"

"Akane, remember you're talking to the guy who began a vendetta over lunch
bread," reminded Ranma.  He dodged the water thrown by Ryouga.  "Hey!"

"It wasn't just the bread!"  Ryouga insisted.

Akane sighed, and emptied her buckets on both of them. "Stop fighting!" 
The two soaked girls glared at her, then exchanged a look.  They turned and
soaked Akane.  Akane sputtered, grabbing a hammer.  "You JERKS!" she
yelled, and chased the two laughing girls down the hall.

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

Ryouga and Ukyo walked together from school.  The uncomfortable silence
between them hung in the air like a cloud.  "How come you aren't at the
restaurant?"  Ryouga asked.

"Why, tired of my company already?"  Ukyo asked, her eyes flashing.

"NO!" Ryouga replied, panicked.  "Its just that usually you're always
leaving in a rush to go work, I was wondering."

Ukyo seemed to relax, and she shrugged.  "It was interfering with school,
and since this is my last year I wanted to get in more time to study for
the college entrance exam, especially since my school performance hasn't
been so hot."  She grinned.  "Besides, Nabiki's been investing my money for
me, and I have more than enough to live on and go to college."

Suddenly Ukyo yanked Ryouga to the side.  Shampoo crashed down where Ryouga
had been standing.  "Nihao, Ryouga!"  she joyfully greeted.  "Shampoo hear
you live with Ranma now!  I see you tonight, OK?"  She peddalled away.

Ukyo grabbed Ryouga by the arm and whirled him around to face her.  "Why is
SHE going to be at your place tonight?" she demanded, furious.  A faint
blue glow surrounded her.

"PRACTICE!"  he quickly replied.  "For that act the Tendo girls, Shampoo
and Ranma put on every Christmas."

Ukyo seemed to calm down.  "Oh, sorry."

"Jeez, Ukyo, when did you get to be such a violent maniac?"  Ryouga
muttered, peeved. "You were always a tomboy, but this is.."

"RYOUGA, YOU JERK!"  Ukyo smacked him with her spatula, sending him flying
through the air towards the Tendo's.  "That had better be ALL she does
there tonight."

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

Tenno kneeled in the back yard, a white glow surrounding him, streaks of
red shooting through it.  Ranma and Ryouga stood before him holding a
kettle and a bucket.  Dr. Tofu stood behind him.  The rest of the family
watched from the house, minus Kasumi, who watched from the window upstairs.

Ryouga poured some cold water on Tenno, causing him to change.  The glow
remained.  Ranma then poured the hot water, nodding as the glow did not
die.  They repeated the process several times, seeming pleased by the lack
of any change in the glow.  They stopped at a word from the doctor.

Ranma dropped the bucket and picked up a board, and broke it across Tenno's
back.  Tenno's face twisted in pain, but there was no change in the glow. 
Dr. Tofu spoke again, and Tenno stood.  Ryouga walked up to him and punched
him in the face, then the stomach, then in the face again.  The glow flared
at the last hit, but still shone.

Dr. Tofu examined the young man, then beckoned Nabiki over.  He whispered
in her ear.  She looked at him in shock, and shook her head.  He whispered
in her ear again, more forcefully, and she reluctantly nodded.   She walked
up to Tenno, looked him in the eyes, and then quite calmy, kneed him in the
groin.

Tenno doubled over as the watching men winced.  He looked up at Nabiki, the
betrayal in his face, and the white glow was suddenly streaked by blue was
well as red.

Dr. Tofu nodded.  "Enough."  He helped the young man up, and pressed the
required pressure points to lessen his most severe pain.  "I'm sorry about
that last one, but we needed to make sure you wouldn't lose control under
even a severe shock."  He smiled at the young man.  "Excellent work, Tenno,
you exhibited total control."  He grabbed his medical bag and began to
treat the injuries caused by the punches and board.  "You can start
learning new techniques now."

Ranma and Ryouga congradulated the young man, and then went to the rest of
the family.  Genma grinned while Soun smiled through his standard tears. 
Akane smiled at them, her pleasure in seeing a friend succeed evident. 
Nabiki also returned after apologising profusely to Tenno.

"Saotome, old friend,"  Soun asked Genma.  "I'm familiar with the chi
manifestations of depression and anger, being blue, and confidence and
hope, being yellow.  It is also clear that anger, when it becomes rage, is
white.  But what, pray tell, is red?"

Genma grinned at his friend, and looked over at his wife.  "Why, Tendo, I'm
suprised you have to ask," he replied mysteriously.  Soun looked confused,
and frowned.

"Daddy," Akane hissed, exasperated, "it's love!"

Soun looked shocked, and then gazed at his blushing daughter Nabiki.  He
smiled broadly, and tears began to fall from his face again.  "I see."

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

That evening's dinner was marked by Dr. Tofu's antics, since it was quite
clear that Kasumi would not stand for being locked up in her room all
evening.  The doctor's full-fledged stupidity around Kasumi was a source of
no small entertainment.

Shampoo arrived soon after dinner, dragging along a quite pathetic looking
Mousse.  "Mousse all sad since white-hair girl dump him.  I bring him along
to be cheered up, OK?"  She sat him at the table, and gave Tenno a 'fix
this' look.  She then went with the other girls and Ranma-chan into the
dojo to practice.

The table was silent for a moment after the girls left.  Soon, sounds of
the girls singing echoed through the house.  "This was much harder than I
expected, Nahaki Tenno."  Mousse said.

"I'm sorry Mousse, I didn't mean for you to do this.  I guess you liked
that other girl?"

Mousse smiled sadly.  "We had nothing in common, except our goals.  But she
was nice, and considerate.  I really grew to enjoy her company, even if it
was for a cause.  The 'break-up' was much more difficult than I had thought
it would be."  He paused.  "The toughest part was we can't even be friends
now.  That was part of the deal we made at the beginning, and she wants to
stick to it."

"How did Shampoo react?" Ryouga asked.

"I don't know," Mousse admitted.  "She has been acting very strange lately.
 She was constantly wanting to know where we went, and what we did.  After
the 'break-up', she was very sympathetic," he paused, "for an Amazon."  He
grimaced.  "It was very hard to not go back to the way things were before,
but from what Akemi told me that will never work."

"What advice did she give?"  Tenno asked, suddenly VERY interested.

"She told me to be subtle.  She said that Shampoo seemed to be a girl who
responded violently to obvious things, so subtlety might get under her
guard.  I hope she was right."

"That seems like very good advice to me, but then, I'm a guy," Tenno
conceeded.
 
"But you are a very insightful one, Nahaki Tenno.  You are much like Tendo
Kasumi that way."  Ryouga laughed, and Mousse looked confused.  Tenno
groaned.  "Did I say something amiss?"

"No,"  Ryouga laughed, "no, Mousse, you said something very right."

Tenno scowled. "Don't encourage him.  I get that enough from you people
already."

Just then, the sounds of singing rose, and the mean stopped what they were
doing to listen for a moment.  


Nabiki always loved the Christmas parties her family held.  There was so
much opportinity for profit. As they had the year before for Ranma, all
three of Ryouga's 'suitors' showed up early to help with the preparaions. 
As had occured the year before, they were superfluous, and ended up
spending a good amount of time in the ladies waiting room, under Akane's
and Nabiki's watchful eyes. 
 
Tenno poked his head in.  "Hey, does someone want to help...."  his voice
trailed off has he saw Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo sitting in a triangle,
all glowing blue.  "Uhhh, Nabs, can I talk to you?"  He pulled her outside
the room, and shut the door. "Didn't this happen last year?" he hissed. 
"Are you INSANE?  The malice in that room is so thick you could cut it with
a two-by-four!"

"Don't worry, they promised to behave,"  Nabiki promised him.  "I even
loaned Ryouga the money to buy all three of them gifts."  Tenno's eyes
narrowed. "It was low interest!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Nabs," Tenno sighed.

"Trust me," she said, and laughed at his disgusted expression.  "What did
you need?" she asked.

"Kasumi needs help in the kitchen, I need help setting up the tables and
chairs, Ranma needs help with the decorations, Ryouga just needs help."

"What's Ryouga doing?"

"Hiding in the yard from those three."

"Good plan."

"I'd like to think so," Tenno grinned.  "It was my idea."

Nabiki thought for a minute.  "Hmm, Shampoo for the kitchen, Kodachi with
you, my sympathies by the way, Ukyo with the decorations, and Akane and I
to help Ryouga."  She went in to give the girls their tasks.

An hour later, the party began.  It was a cheerful affair, and even
Ryouga's mood lifted despite his having to suffer the attentions of three
very jealous girls for an evening.  As the party started to wind down,
Nabiki got up on stage and announced their number.  Her sisters and Shampoo
came out on stage, followed by a hurriedly-changed Ranma-chan.

Silence fell over the room at the ending of the song.  Soon, one person
started clapping, then two, then in a rush, a flood of applause and cheers
filled the room.  The girls bowed, and quickly left the stage after the
curtains closed.  

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

The girls and a damp, male Ranma sat in a back room, resting.  There was a
knock on the door, and Tenno poked his head in.  "Can we come in?" he
asked, and opened the doors to reveal the other men.  Tenno grinned and
handed Nabiki a single rose.  "You, she said, kissing him on the lips,
"cheat."

Mousse walked over to Shampoo.  "That was very nice, Shampoo."  She smiled
at him, and then went to hug an embarrased Ryouga.  Mousse sighed.  Tofu
tried to complement Kasumi, but his glasses merely fogged up as usual.

"But what do you mean, 'you cheat'?" Tenno asked Nabiki.

Nabiki kissed him again, this time on the forehead.  "If you keep on
suprising me, how am I supposed to suprise you?"

"Didn't you tell me to keep suprising you?" he asked.

"Not all the time," she returned impishly.  "I have to win sometimes."

Tenno looked even more dismayed at that.  "Ranma," he said.  "I agree with
you.  If I live to be a hundred, I will never, ever understand women."  

Laugher filled the room.

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

Christmas break was over, and Ranma, Ryouga and Akane ran to school.  Ranma
spoke as they flew through the gate.  "Hey, Ryouga, what happened to that
nut Sachura Kai..."  Ranma was cut off by a battle cry.

"HIBIKI, PREPARE TO DIE!"

"...nevermind."  Ranma grabbed Akane's waist and leaped away with her.  

"I can take care of myself!" she yelled at him, but without heat in her
voice.

Ranma shrugged, and held her tighter.  "It's a reflex.  Shh!  Watch now,
fight later," he shushed, indicating the combat.

Ryouga stood in the yard, facing Kai.  Ryouga had dropped his huge
backpack, but still held his standard umbrella.  Kai stook with a brace of
paper knives in his hand.   "Kai, what did I do to you?"

"You put me through hell!"  Kai cried, throwing the knives, which Ryouga
merely blocked with his umbrella.  At the sidelines, Ranma and Akane
laughed.  Ryouga was startled for a moment, then started to grin.

"How dare you mock me?!  PAPER STORM!"  A thousand pieces of paper flew at
Ryouga, who merely leapt out of the way.

"I've heard that line before," Ryouga bluntly stated.  "I used it.  What
did I do to you?"  He repeated.  "All I ever did was ask for directions!"

Kai reeled as if hit.  "Ask for directions?! You ruined my life!"  He
quickly formed an odd-looking paper airplane which he threw at Ryouga, who
dodged.  Kai then followed up with some more paper shuriken, which Ryouga
blocked on his umbrella.

"Ryouga, look out!"  Ukyo's voice rang over the field.  Ryouga whirled, to
see the airplane Kai had thrown past him flying his way at incredible
speed, much too fast for him to dodge.  Ryouga braced for the inevitable
impact, and gaped in suprise as a spatula took out the attack.

"HA!  Can't beat me by yourself, so you seek help from friends?  Well they
won't interfere. PAPER STORM!"  A flurry of paper flew at Ukyo, who
screamed as it enveloped her.

"UKYO!"  Ryouga cried, and ran to her, and stopped.  Ukyo stood there,
trying to cover herself up.  Her clothes were in shreds, and she was
covered in scrapes.  Ryouga quickly ran to his pack and pulled out a
blanket, which he covered Ukyo with.  He stood and whirled on the
statuelike Kai.  "You bastard!!  I'll kill you!"  Ryouga charged at the
other man, who lept over him and ran to Ukyo.

"A woman?" Kai whispered.  He pulled out a sheet of paper and formed a
paper rose, which he laid at the shocked Ukyo's feet.  "My most sincere
apologies, dear lady, I mistook you for a man given your apparel."  He
whipped out another sheet and a pencil, and sketched something on it in a
flash.  "Perhaps in the future, you might wear something like this, and
avoid the confusion."  He laid the picture beside the rose, and whirled on
Ryouga.  "In respect for the lady, we will finish this later, Hibiki."  Kai
pulled out a packet which he tossed to Ryouga.  "If you really are ignorant
of your crimes, read that. It also contains my formal challenge. 
Farewell!"  A cloud of confetti appeared where Kai stood, and he was gone.

"COME BACK HERE, KAI!"  Ryouga roared.  He fumed for a moment, then went
back to his pack.  "I should have something you can wear, Ukyo."  He began
to dig in his pack.

Ukyo picked up the paper rose and the picture that laid beside it.  Ranma
and Akane ran to her.
"What is it?" Akane asked, and looked at the sheet.

On it was Ukyo, in the most beautiful dress they had ever seen.

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

Ryouga, Ukyo, Tenno and Nabiki sat under a tree in the yard.  Nabiki was
reading names off of a series of sheets to Tenno, who would mark them on a
sheet of paper.  After a few minutes of this, he wordlessly passed the
sheet over to Nabiki, who shook her head in awe.  "Ryouga, this is amazing!
 For a guy who gets lost all the time, you're really well travelled."  She
showed them the sheet.  It was a world map, with scattered dots all over
it.  They were concentrated in the far east, but there were some as far
away as Europe.  

"According to these papers," Tenno said, picking some up, "this Sachura Kai
person was some sort of secret agent."  He pointed at one dot in England. 
"Here you aparently blew Kai's cover with a gang at a meeting near
Stonehenge."

"How on earth did you get to Stonehenge?!"  Ukyo demanded.

"So that's what those stones were," Ryouga mused.  "It was awfully foggy
for central China."  Ukyo looked at him in a mixture of disgust and
disbelief.

"Here you caused him to miss a shot at killing a criminal mastermind," 
Tenno said, pointing in Russia.

Nabiki had also taken up some sheets and started to join in.  "Here," she
said, pointing to Germany, "you blasted through a wall and allowed his
pursuers to find him more easily."

The two alternated, rattling off all the misfortune Ryouga brought onto
Kai.

"But all I did was ask for directions!"  Ryouga yelled at them.

"I know you did, sugar, but you always did it at the wrong time,"  Ukyo
said, trying to soothe him.

Ryouga looked in dismay at the map.  "But...but..."  He crumpled the map. 
"Fine.  He wants to kill me, he can try.  I've taken on better men than
him.  Besides, he's going to pay for what he did to you," he growled to
Ukyo.

"I can fight my own fights, Ryouga,"  Ukyo told him, steel in her voice.

Ryouga smiled grimly.  "I know you can.  But it's MY challenge, and I get
first crack at him."

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

The vacant lot was surrounded by spectators.  Ryouga stood at one side, his
umbrella at the ready. In a corner, Nabiki was taking bets, while Tenno
looked on with no small amusement.  She handed him a stopwatch.

"This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of," he told her. 
"Since when do people bet on the appearance of WATER?"

Nabiki shrugged.  "These duels are always awfully one sided, and besides,
everyone thinks Ryouga would win, including me.  Besides, water always
shows up in these things."  She fell silent as Kai bounded into the lot,
carrying a large, flat box.

"Nice to see you found your way here, Hibiki."  He glanced around.  "Where
is that fair one who I wronged earlier today...aha!"  He bounded over to
Ukyo, and laid the box at her feet.  "My replacement for the garments I
ruined this morning.  I believe this suits one of your beauty better."  He
openned the box, letting her see that the dress inside was exactly the one
in the drawing.

"KAI!  Keep the hell away from her!"  Ryouga roared, charging at him.  Kai
bounded away.  

"Bah, I was merely making amends, Hibiki."  He reached into his coat and
drew out some paper knives.  "It was no business of yours."

"Like HELL it isn't!"  Ryouga reached up to his forehead and withdrew some
bandanas, which he began to whirl.  "Come near my fiancee again and I'll
kill you!"  He threw the bandanas at Kai.  Kai blasted them out of the air
with his knives.

Kai looked at Ryouga in suprise, then grinned evilly.  "If you're dead, she
isn't your anything."  In a flash, he had some more paper knives in his
hand.  "I'll just have to arrange that.  DIE!"  The knives flew through the
air. Ryouga charged a suprised Kai, blocking the knives with his umbrella. 


Ryouga dove at Kai's feet.  "BREAKING POINT!"  Kai was blasted into the
air, and landed a few meters away, his suit mangled.  He groaned and slowly
got up, and gasped when he saw what had been done to his suit.

"Do you know how expensive these things are?!" he growled.  "They're
hand-made!  You'll pay for this, Hibiki."  He leapt out of the way as
Ryouga charged him again, using the Breaking Point where he stood.  "You
won't get me twic-phmsd!"  he was suddenly soaked by water from a burst
pipe under the lot.

Tenno turned to Nabiki.  "One minute, 35 seconds." He told her.  "Who won?"

"No one," she happily told him.  "I love lotteries no one wins."

Ranma, who had been sitting beside them, gleefully cheered Ryouga.  "ABOUT
TIME!"  He yelled out to the combatants.  He turned to an inquisitive Akane
and explained.  "Kai's technique has a flaw.  He can't use wet paper."

Kai stood, soaked, looking at the mess of pulp in his hands.  He growled
and threw it away.  "I don't need paper to defeat the likes of you,
Hibiki."  He leapt high in the air, kicking at Ryouga (suprisingly male) as
he came down, knocking Ryouga back a few feet.  "I'll defeat you with my
bare hands."

Ryouga tossed away his umbrella.  "Your funeral."

The fight went on for a few minutes, until it was clear that no fighter had
a clear advantage.  Ryouga could demolish Kai, if he could only hit him. 
Kai had no trouble hitting Ryouga, but didn't have enough strength to do
any damage.

Ranma whistled.  "This guy's fast, good thing he doesn't have the Chestnuts
technique, or Ryouga might be in trouble."

Ryouga was thinking much the same thing.  All I'm doing is getting tired,
he concluded.  He jumped away.  "FIERCE LION SHOT!"  he yelled, and blasted
at Kai.

Who merely dodged.  "You got me once with that, Hibiki.  Suprised me.  You
won't get me twice."  He came again at Ryouga, who skuttled away, his
thoughts churning.

I don't have enough speed with that to hurt him, he thought. The only thing
that I can do fast enough is a Breaking Point.  But he'll just leap away if
I try it again.  I need something with the reach of the chi-blast, and the
speed and power of a Breaking Point.  

An idea occuring to him, Ryouga stopped and concentrated, letting chi build
up in his hand.  "Breaking Point Revised!" he cried, and stabbed at the
ground.  "ROLLING THUNDER!"  An explosion rocked the ground where he stood,
and then almost to quick to see, the explosion spead in a line, tearing up
the ground, to where Kai stood shocked.  The explosion envelopped him in a
yellow blast, obsuring him in clouds of dust.

When the dust cleared, Kai lay on the ground, unconsious.  Ryouga had won.

The crowd cheered, and Ranma bounded out to the field to congradulate his
friend, Akane and Ukyo hot on his heels.  In the commotion, Kai awoke, and
realized he had been defeated.

"HIBIKI!" he roared, and ran at him, stopping a few meters away.  "You may
have won this battle, but I'll be back!"  He turned to Ukyo.  "Til we meet
again, fair Ukyo."  He turned, and ran out of the lot.

Ryouga stood staring after Kai, his anger plain on his face.  "This isn't
over yet, Kai.  Not by half."


Notes: 
Count youselves VERY lucky.  I had a really cheezy X-mas scene in here
which I removed because the sugar content was criminal.


Here We Go Again

Please recall my school year is americanized.

**************PRIVATE FEEDBACK ONLY**************

Christopher Angel
cja124@mail.usask.ca

Chapter 8: Final Reckoning/A New Family

Tenno sat at the dinner table, marking tests.  He was talking to himself. 
"Come on, you did that right in the previous question!" He laid the paper
he was working on down, and watched Kasumi walk by the table.  He glanced
at his watch.  Five times in as many minutes, he thought.  I think I'm due
for one of 'those' talks.

Tenno sighed.  One of the prices he had to pay to live here was the
constant not-quite nagging from Kasumi with respect to his relationship
with Nabiki.  It was OK at the start, but soon Nodoka joined in, followed
by Soun and Genma.  The only thing worse than one woman with a purpose, he
thought, is two.  And the only thing worse than that is two women and two
meddlesome old men.

As Kasumi walked in for the sixth time, Tenno decided to bite the bullet. 
"Kasumi, is something wrong?"

Kasumi came and sat down beside him.  "Tenno, are you going to marry
Nabiki?"  Tenno blinked in suprise and said nothing for a moment.  

"I'm sorry, this was not quite the talk I expected,"  Tenno began.  Kasumi
started to speak again, but Tenno held his hand up.  "Wait, I'm going to
answer.  I don't know.  I will ask her, yes, but when the time is right. 
When I do, it will be between her and me."

"She's my sister, I care about her!"

"Kasumi, I love her. More than you can possibly imagine.  But I don't want
to change our relationship yet.  We're still feeling each other out and
discovering things about each other."  He smiled sadly.  "You girls have a
knack for stealing people's hearts completely.  You know Ryouga was in love
with Akane right?"

"He still is,"  Kasumi said softly.  Tenno nodded.

"I knew you saw that.  You know that he always will be.  But he fell in
love, suddenly, and hard.  I'm afraid, Kasumi.  Nabs and I fell in love the
same way.  We fell in love long before we really knew each other, and I'm
afraid that it might not be something right.  I don't want to commit her to
a marriage she'll regret."

"Oh, but that won't happen to you and Nabiki!"  Kasumi insisted.

"I want to be sure, Kasumi.  I care about her too much to risk it.  All you
and the other are doing by pushing is making me more afraid."

Kasumi sat silent for a moment.  "I will stop pushing."  She looked him in
the eyes.  "But I feel that you are not being fair to my sister.  Marriage
is a risk, Tenno, and it's as much hers to take as yours."  She stood.  "By
trying to protect her from being hurt, you may be hurting her anyway."  She
walked into the kitchen.

Tenno looked after Kasumi for a moment, and then lay back.  He stared at
the ceiling for a while, thinking about what the eldest Tendo daughter had
said.  I do love her, he thought.  I do want to spend the rest of my life
with her.  But does she want to spend the rest of hers with me?

Tenno suddenly sat up.  "That sneak!" he exclaimed.

"Did you say something, Tenno?"  Kasumi called from the kitchen.

"Nothing, Kasumi," he replied, a grin on his face. I KNEW she wasn't that
oblivious, he congradulated himself.

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

Ranma flew through the door to the Tendo's.  The scene inside stopped him
like a brick wall.  Inside, at the table, was the almost all the household,
with the exception of Nabiki and Akane.  Beside it, a battered Mousse lay
on the ground, being treated by Kasumi.  Tenno sat, staring at a note, his
face dark and tears rolling down his eyes.

"What's going on?"  Ranma asked.

"Sit down and shut up," Tenno growled.  Ranma started to snap back at him,
but Ryouga caught his gaze with a fiery stare and slowly shook his head. 
Ranma swallowed his pride and sat.  "Listen,"  Tenno said through clenched
teeth.

	"I said it was not over, and it is not.  Meet
	me at the place of training if you ever want 
	to see them alive again."

"Who..." Ranma began, and then his eyes widened.  "AKANE?!"

Ryouga nodded.  "And Nabiki.  And Shampoo.  And...." fire came into his
voice. "Ukyo."

"WHO?!"  Ranma demanded.

"The ghoul," Mousse said, slowly sitting up. "She came and took Shampoo." 
Tears started to fall from his face.  "I couldn't stop her."

Ramna cursed an oath that made even his father pale.  "The only 'place of
training' I can think of is..."

Ryouga finished for him.  "..the forest I learned the Breaking Point at."

Ranma nodded.  "Come on, let's go-whoa!"  He shielded his eyes as Tenno
stood and started to blaze with a white and red aura.

"Not yet."  Still glowing, he walked outside, and faced the target they
used to practice chi-blasts on.  His aura grew even brighter.  He pointed
his hand at the target, and a ball of chi-formed around it.  "HOWLING WOLF
SHOT!" he roared, and five small white missles steaked from his fingers and
hit the target, which shattered.

He turned and faced the watching group.  "NOW we go," he said, his voice
dead as the glow about him slowly faded.

Ranma and Ryouga exchanged a look.  "It ends here,"  Ranma said,
determination ringing in his voice.  

Ryouga nodded, his eyes like ice.

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

The four men looked at the path that lead to the clearing.  "It's got to be
here,"  Ranma said.  "This is where we fought after she taught Ryouga the
Breaking Point."

"Yeah, and where you showed me the Saotome Secret Technique," Ryouga added.
 He and Ranma shared a grin at the memory, but the smiles soon faded.

"Come on." The four trudged down the path to the great tree.  As they got
closer, they saw that the four women had been trussed up and hung, much
like Akane had been so long ago.  They were unconcsious.

"NABIKI!"  Tenno cried, and as his red-white aura burst into being.  "I'm
going to.."

"You're going to do what I say, berzerker."  Cologne's dry voice rang over
the clearing.  "You are going to stop.  Now."  She appeared on the branch
where Nabiki was hanging.  "Or this time, she won't survive my attack."  A
brace of darts appeared in her hand.

Tenno howled and let the rage rush out of him.  "Nabiki..." he whispered.

"Good."  She looked at Ranma and the rest.  "Son-in-law.  Lost boy.  The
traitor.  How absolutely wonderful to see you again."

"I'm not, nor will I ever be, your son-in-law, ghoul,"  Ranma growled.

"You have gone to far, nameless one," Mousse said softly.  "Release them
now, unharmed, or face the anger of the entire village."

Cologne laughed, her scorn evident in every tone.  "So, they have cast me
out, have they?  No matter.  This old woman will pay any price to see the
tribe survive."  She looked at Ranma.  "Unless you want your precious Akane
to die, son-in-law, you will annul your marriage and marry Shampoo."

"NO!"  All eyes turned to Shampoo, who had woken up and struggled in the
ropes.  "Shampoo no want marry Ranma!  Ranma belong to Akane!  Shampoo
want..." She looked at Ryouga, who was trying to get closer to the hanging
Ukyo, and then at Mousse, who was staring back at her.  "Shampoo not know
who she want.  But Shampoo no want marry Ranma!"

Cologne looked at Shampoo, her disgust clear.  "Shut up, child. You are too
stupid to decide anything for yourself."  Mousse growled. "Oh, the traitor
does not like me talking about his precious Shampoo that way?" She laughed
dryly.  "No matter, once I teach son-in-law a lesson, you will be next."

"If you want a fight, come on down and get me," Ranma yelled at her. 
"Let's finish it."

"So eager!  Very well, one moment."  With that, the withered old woman
sprang off the tree, and like lightning flattened Tenno.  "Foolish boy. 
Throwing away your only advantage."  She smashed her stick down on him. 
"Now stay there.  You will be the first to die after I deal with
son-in-law."  She sprang at Ryouga.  "And you," she said, her stick
pressing into a pressure point that paralyzed him, "will have to stay out
of this.  If you behave, I may let you take the okonomiyaki girl home." 
She flew at Mousse.  "Same for you, trait-urk!"  She grunted as a lightning
attack by Mousse knocked her out of the air.  She landed lightly on her
feet and gazed at him with her eyes narrowed. "Very good, traitor, I didn't
think you had it in you."  She sprang at him again, and was once again
bashed out of the air.

Mousse stood straight.  "For a hundred year old woman, who claims to be so
very wise, you have some very large gaps in your learning, ghoul."  He
smiled at her, venom seeping into every word as he spoke.  "I actually
thought you might know the truth about my school, but I see you were
ignorant all along.  I've taken your abuse for my entire life, trying to
win Shampoo's love, watching as you've poisoned her heart. It ends here. 
Now."

"Stupid Mousse!  You get hurt!" Shampoo yelled.

Mousse laughed, and glanced up at Shampoo.  "I thought the ghoul might have
known, but since she does not, I suppose I should not be suprised you do
not either."

"Stop speaking nonsense, traitor."  Cologne lept at him again, her staff
outstreched, and once again found herself flying through the air, a chain
wrapped around her.

"Very sloppy, ghoul, not knowing learning as much as you could about the
one technique you were banned from training in,"  Mousse mocked her.  "Did
you not ever ponder why no Amazon woman was allowed to learn Hidden
Weaponry?"

Cologne cackled, the contempt evident in her voice.  "Because it is a
cowardly, useless technique that could never defeat a properly trained
warrior."  The chain around her snapped.

Mousse laughed. "Stupid, ghoul, very stupid.  The reason no Amazon woman
was ever allowed to learn it is because it is designed to be used to DEFEAT
Amazon women."  His voice took on a tone that parodied the one Cologne used
so very often.  "Behold the true power of a technique that was passed down
through three throusand years of MALE Amazon history."  Shampoo gasped. 

"Men have no power," Cologne sneered.  "Very good, traitor!  I almost
believed you.  But it is now time to end this farce."  She lept at Mousse
again.

As she flew towards him, Mousse's robes seemed to explode with hundreds of
weapons and chains.  Forced to choose between blocking the edged
projectiles and avoiding being wrapped in chains again, she was forced to
choose the former.  The weight of the chains soon dragged her to the
ground.  Rather than let them tighten on her, leaving her helpless, she
squirmed out of the chains.  Mousse suddenly stiffened, and all the chained
projectiles flew back into his robes.

Ranma had decided long ago to ignore the fighting pair and rescue the
girls.  Starting with Akane, he quickly released the captive girls, gently
waking up Akane and Ukyo, and leaving the sleeping Nabiki in their care. 
Shampoo, once released, ran to the combat area.

Mousse had finally trapped Cologne in chains, the heavy coils wrapped
tightly around her body.  He allowed the chains to tighten, slowly
squeezing the strength out of the old woman's body.  Satisfied that she
couldn't fight back, he walked up to her and tapped a pressure point,
quietly saying "You're not the only one who knows pressure points." 
Paralyzed, the old woman could barely speak.  Mousse removed the chains
from her, carefully making sure she couldn't recover.  He reached into his
robes and withdrew something.  It was a long spike.  Cologne's eyes widened
as he kneeled beside her prone body and held the long spike to her chest. 
"You do not deserve it, ghoul, but I will give you a merciful death."  He
positioned the spike to drive it directly into the ghoul's heart, but found
Shampoo's hand on his.

"No," she said in Chinese.  "If the mercy death is to be performed, I will
do it."  Mousse looked up at Shampoo.  Her eyes were like steel, yet there
were tears forming in them.  He nodded, and stood, handing her the spike.

Shampoo kneeled beside her great-grandmother and spoke to her quietly in
Chinese.  "I am sorry I have to do this, great-grandmother.  But you will
not let it go.  Ranma and I were never intended.  Akane has won his heart,
and to force anything else is wrong."  Cologne's eyes burned with rage, and
she struggled to speak.

"Stupid...girl," Cologne hissed, her voice barely above a whisper.  "It was
for the...good of the tribe...It was...for honor."

Shampoo shook her head.  "No, it was for pride.  The laws are absolute,
grandmother, you can not pick and choose which ones to obey.  You tought me
that long ago, before all this began."  Tears fell from her eyes onto
Cologne's clothes.  "What you and I did was evil, grandmother.  I do not
think I can ever live it down."

"You are...no granddaughter of mine," Cologne hissed.

Shampoo nodded sadly.  "I am no grandaughter of the creature you are, but I
was of the kind of woman you were.  It is the loss of that woman I cry for.
 Farewell, great-grandmother.  May you find peace."  With that, she swiftly
drove the spike between the old woman's ribs, up into her heart.

The old warrioress stiffened, then slowly relaxed, her eyes glassy. 
Shampoo reached up, and closed her eyes.  "May you find the honor in the
next life you lost in this one, great-grandmother."  She laid her
grandmother's corpse down.  She stared at it for a moment, until she felt
Mousse's hand on her shoulder.  She slowly stood and turned to face him.

"I'm sorry, Shampoo," was all he said.  Shampoo flung herself into his
arms, and cried with great heart-rending sobs.  He simply held her.

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

The group watched Shampoo at the pyre.  The flames rose high into the air,
and the smoke from the blaze curled and twisted in the sky.  Shampoo spoke
the formal words of farewell.  And watched the blaze burn until the last
ember stopped glowing.

Shampoo turned to the others.  "Is done."  She told them in her broken
Japanese.  "We go home now."

There was a strange calmness about the group as they returned to Nerima. 
It was part a feeling of the sadness of having seen someone die, and part
the finality of knowing that the last remnant of the previous cycle had
finally passed on.  

As they walked, some of the cheer returned to the group as the impact of
the last day's events faded for them.  Tenno was carried home by Ranma and
Ryouga on a makeshift stretcher.  Of all of them, he was the only casualty,
a fact that he complained loudly about.  Nabiki merely walked by his side,
his hand in hers.  

Ryouga's eyes kept on returning to Ukyo's form as she walked several meters
ahead, his thoughts churning.  Stupid tomboy, getting in trouble all the
time, he thought.  

Akane walked by Ranma's side, happy to be returned to the man she loved and
to be going home.

Shampoo walked by herself, with Mousse a few paces behind.  Her thoughts
would not rest.  Ryouga loves Ukyo, she thought, even if he doesn't know it
yet.  I'm not so foolish as to be that blind twice.  Mousse used to always
say he loved me, but he does not do that any more.  Does he no longer love
me?  Did he ever?  He could have fought me and won my hand long ago.  Why
didn't he?
She suddenly whirled.  "Mousse!  If you able to beat Shampoo, why you not?"

He looked at her sadly.  "In part, because I could not hurt you.  In part,
because I refused to make you follow that law, even if you chose to."

She continued walking, and thought back to her tribes marriage laws.  If a
woman remains undefeated by any man, and wishes to marry, she can choose a
man for a husband.

That stopped her whirling thoughts for a moment.  Did Mousse just want me
to...choose? she wondered.  She turned and looked back at the myopic young
man following her.  Very slowly, a smile grew on her face.

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

Weeks had passed without much action.

The front bell rang, and Kasumi answered the door.  "Why hello, Shampoo,
Mousse.  They're waiting for you inside."

"Spatula girl here?"  Shampoo asked.

"Yes, she is.  She just arrived a few minutes ago," Kasumi told her.

"Good.  You come too!" 

With that, the beautiful amazon dragged Mousse into the dining area, Kasumi
right behind her.

"Hey, Shampoo, what's up?" Ranma asked.

"Be quiet Ranma.  Shampoo tell when time is right."  Ranma blinked in
suprise.  He looked at Mousse, who looked just as bewildered as everyone
else.  Shampoo looked around.  "All here?  Good!"

She turned to Mousse, threw her arms around him, and kissed the suprised
boy on the lips.  "Mousse!  You be Shampoo husband now, OK?"  Everyone
gaped at her in shock and Mousse went pale.

"O...OK." a stunned Mousse replied numbly.  Shampoo yelped in delight and
gave him a rather more thorough kiss.

She finished the kiss and turned to the suprised crowd.  "Mousse and
Shampoo married now!"

"That's...THAT'S IT?"  Ryouga asked, stunned.

Ranma grinned.  "Short, direct, and to the point.  Gotta like it. 
Congrats, you two."  He held his own wife tightly.

Soun was in a full fledged wail, tears streaming down his face.  "It's
so...beautiful!"

Tenno stood, and walked to the two newlyweds.  "Nice ceremony," he grinned.
 He whispered in Shampoo's ear.  "When did you figure it out?"

She smiled happily and whispered back.  "Shampoo look at tribal laws.  Laws
say woman not defeated can choose.  Shampoo figure Mousse want her choose
him, not be forced with him.  That make her very happy."

Tenno grinned again, and looked at the delirious Mousse.  "I think you made
HIM very happy too."  He turned back to the table, and was stopped by the
look in Nabiki's eyes.  She's envious?  he thought.  As he sat down beside
her, he finally made his decision.  "Nabiki," he murmered to her.  "You're
not an amazon.  I'M the one who gets to ask."

Nabiki was shaken out of her reviere and looked at him in shock.  He smiled
innocently back at her.  She suddenly smiled, and lifted her lips to his
ear.  "Yes," she whispered.

Tenno stiffened, and turned to her, his heart in his eyes.  She nodded to
him, her eyes wide.  He whooped, startling everyone in the room, and took
her into his arms.

"Did I miss something here?"  Ranma asked, confused.

Nodoka and Kasumi exchanged a look.  "Tenno just asked Nabiki to marry him,
and she said 'yes'."  Kasumi guessed.

"Not quite, but close enough,"  Tenno told them.  He pulled his fiancee
away from him, and smiled into her eyes.  "You," he said, kissing her
softly, "cheat."

Nabiki smiled, and kissed him back.  "I have to win sometimes," she told
him.

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

A little later, the family was discussing the earlier events.

Soun was once again in a full fledged wail.  "I can't afford it!" He cried.
 "Not so soon after the first one!"  Genma edged away from his friend.  He
really didn't want to go panda right now, and the pool Soun was generating
was quite impressive.  "My little girl is getting married and I can't
afford it!"

Nabiki smiled and patted her father's hand.  "It's OK, Daddy, ours doesn't
have to be quite as impressive as Akane's."

"I suppose I could lend it to you, Mr. Tendo," Tenno mused.  He took
Nabiki's hand.  "I still have a good chunk of my father's money left."

Nabiki's hand tightened painfully on his.  "No fiancee of mine is going to
LEND anything,"  she said fiercely.  She loosened her grip.  "We'll loan it
to them.  At a reasonable rate."

Tenno looked at her in suprise.  "Nabs, this is your own family!"

"So?  Business is business, dear."  She gave him a look that informed him
arguing would be a VERY bad plan.  

Tenno looked at her in dismay for a moment, and then laughed.  "Why do I
have a feeling the first thing we're going to do after we're married is
open a joint bank account?"

Nabiki smiled impishly.  "Maybe not the FIRST thing," she said
mysteriously, and laughed as Tenno blushed.  

Ranma cleared his throat.  "Uh, guys?"  Nabiki looked embarrased and
blushed.

Nodoka smiled condecendingly.  "Have you chosen a date?"

Tenno and Nabiki exchanged a look.  "Well, I thought it would be nice to
have it a week or so after the entrance exams..."

Kasumi gave them a happy smile.  "That will give Tenno's mother more than
enough time to arrive."

Tenno's face darkened.  "My mother won't be coming," he snapped.

Nodoka looked at him with a frown on her face.  "Every mother wants to see
her child's marriage, Tenno."

"SHE'S NOT COMING!"  Tenno roared.  The others stared at him in shock. 
Tenno stood.  "I'm sorry.  But she's not coming.  She doesn't have the
right."  He turned, and ran out of the house into the night, feeling the
others' eyes following him.

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

Tenno ran into the night, tears misting his eyes.  "They'll never
understand,"  Tenno said to himself.

"You don't really think that."  Tenno looked up, and saw Ranma leap down in
front of him, Nabiki in his arms.  "We're your friends, Tenno.  Nabiki
loves you more than anything.  We'll understand."  He set Nabiki down, and
lept away.

Tenno turned and started to walk away, but fell to his knees.  "You can't
understand.  How could you?  Your family loves you."  He felt Nabiki's hand
on his shoulder, and shrugged it off.  "I...I lied to you all."

"About what?"  Nabiki asked.  "Tell me, Tenno.  I love you, maybe I can
help."

Tenno stared at the ground.  "My parents didn't love each other, Nabs. 
They always fought."

"So?  Akane and Ranma fight all the time!  So do his parents!"

Tenno shook his head.  "Ranma and Akane argue.  My parents FOUGHT.  They
were after blood."  He paused.  "My parents didn't marry out of love, they
married because of me.  My mother never let me forget it."  Tenno
swallowed.  "After my father...died, I went to my mother.  She LAUGHED at
me.  She said the curse was a just repayment for the misery I had put her
through."

How could a mother not love her child? She wondered as she put her hand on
Tenno's arm and lifted him to his feet.  But maybe, just maybe, I can help,
she said to herself.  "They're not your family, Tenno.  Families are bonded
by love, and caring, and understanding."  She started to guide his friend
back home.  "WE'RE your family, Tenno."

The two walked back to the Tendo's.  As they entered the gate, Nabiki
stopped him.  "Just head to your room.  I'll handle our family."  She
stopped as a sob tore from Tenno's throat.  She turned him to face her, and
saw him smiling, tears running down his face.  "Tenno..."  He turned to her
and held her tightly as she guided him to the others.

Should I tell them? she asked in her mind.  He may not want it told to
everyone.  She shook her head.  We're his family, she answered herself.  We
may not understand, but I think we should know.

They sat at the table, and Tenno was silent as she filled in the others. 
Kasumi's face grew tight with horror, while Ryouga's face went dark. 
Nodoka and Genma exchanged a glance of shared sorrow.  Soun said nothing,
tears running from his cheeks like rivers.  Ukyo shook her head in dismay. 
The most violent reaction came from Ranma, who held his wife tightly.  His
face was red with rage.

"HOW DARE SHE?" he growled, and looked around in fury, and released his
wife.  "I..I have to go hit something."  He stormed off to the dojo, and
crashes could be heard as he demolished every practice dummy and target
they had.  Akane stood up and followed her husband.  She entered the dojo
to see Ranma on his knees surrounded by the remnants of several practice
dummies.

"Ranma?" she asked, softly.  He roared and slammed his fists on the floor.

"It's not fair, Akane.  My friend's upstairs, with a hurt that I can't even
begin to understand, and I can't do a DAMN THING ABOUT IT!"  He slammed his
fists on the floor again, cracking some boards, and looked at his hands. 
"He keeps on doing so much for us, and I can't do a DAMN THING for him!"

Akane went and kneeled beside him, and took her husband into her arms. 
"All we can do is be there for him like he was for us.  He's family now,
Ranma."

Ranma smiled, as thr truth finally occured to him.  "Yes, we are a family
now, aren't we?"

Just then they heard a crash at the front door.  A feminie voice was heard
yelling.  "Which one is Hibiki Ryouga?  He must pay for abandoning his
fiancee!"

Ranma and Akane looked at each other, then back to the source of the noise.
 They began to laugh.

End Story..for now

Notes:

I ended it here mostly because I was getting tired of this series.  I was
running out of ideas for this story, and I decided to stop while the
going's good.

If I do get more ideas, I can always continue, I mean, I am thinking of
seeing what Ryouga the engineer would be like....

End Chapter 8