If you missed part 1, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.  This is still
unfinished (violating my policy of never releasing an unfinished work) but
this part and part 3 are, and I expect to have part 4 done before I release
part 3.  Disclaimer and Authors Notes are in part 1.  Any form of C&C, MST,
even flames are accepted (provided you prove to me you read my work) and
encouraged (well, maybe not the flames).  And no, for those of you who have
read my work in the past, this is NOT the big guy.

Here we go...
--------------------------------------------

The next morning, Desaix and Buriko joined the breakfast table.  Desaix,
instead of his usual shinto robes, was dressed in a black jogging suit,
while Buriko wore jeans and a modest t-shirt.  Ranma and Akane were, as
always, running late.

"Ken," Genma said, noticing the outfits while he was waiting for breakfast
to be served, "Why aren't you and Buriko dressed in your shinto robes?  I
mean, you two even did the heavy work of moving over here wearing them..."

"Call me Desaix- everyone else does, because there are WAY too many Ken's
in the temple.  Actually, Buriko isn't officially supposed to wear shinto
robes unless accompanied by someone of our temple, so she doesn't wear them
much outside of Koshindo.  And, as far as this jogging suit is concerned,
I'm planning to do some exercising soon after breakfast."

Genma smiled a little deviously.  "So, have you studied any martial arts?"

Desaix bit his lip.  "Er, well, I've never been formally trained by anyone.
 That doesn't mean I haven't studied them- I've been trying to teach
myself.  At the temple, I'm regarded as one of the better fighters, even
though I've never actually fought with anyone before."

Genma raised an eyebrow.  "Would you care to spar?  I normally work with my
son before breakfast, but as you can see he's running late, and probably
won't have the time."

Desaix hesitated.  "I'm really not that good- I know some tricks, but...
oh, alright.  I've always wanted to gauge my skills against someone.  Um,
where's the training hall?"

"Well, normally we practice outside, but since you're a guest, follow me, I
guess I'll train inside today."  Akane came down just as he said this, and
asked if she could watch.  Desaix shrugged and Genma nodded, so she
followed them outside to the dojo's side building which was the training
hall.  Buriko joined her, and they took their seats along the Genma
prepared himself by stretching, and Desaix looked at the 3-1/2 foot long
walking stick he was holding, puzzled.

"Why aren't you stretching?"  Genma asked.

Desaix smiled.  "If some mugger came up to you on the street, armed with a
knife and intent on taking your money or your life, do you honestly think
he would pause and let you stretch so that you could fight him better?" 
Genma slowly shook his head in the negative.  "That's why I don't stretch-
at least not before workout.  Afterwards, I do some flexibility stretching,
but not much... I don't really have any need for it.  Um, pardon my asking,
but much of my offensive skill comes with this... walking stick.  I'm
worried about hurting you with a weapon, however, so should I use it or
not?"

Genma nearly laughed.  "Go ahead and use it.  I've practiced against very
sharp spatula's, 200 pound umbrellas, bonbori, and deadly swords.  I'm not
worried about a walking stick."

Desaix bit his lip to keep any expession from showing, and nodded.  He took
a fighting stance, holding the walking staff out in front of him like a
sword.

"Ready?"  Genma asked.  Desaix nodded.  "Okay, begin!"  Genma charged
straight in- and was met by a now 6 foot long bo staff.  Desaix used the
staff to push him across the room, and followed up by pole-vaulting into a
flying kick, knocking Genma into a wall.  Desaix stepped back and swung his
staff at Genma's head.

Genma ducked and blocked, and noticed that Desaix only lightly tapped the
spot where his head had been seconds before.  'Thank the gods,' Genma
thought to himself, 'He can pull his punches with that thing.  This boy's
good.  Not as good as I am, though!'  Genma counter-attacked, using a judo
throw on Desaix's outstretched weapon arm, knocking the staff out of his
hand.  It clattered onto the floor and rolled over to Akane as Genma sent
Desaix flying into the same wall he had been knocked into.

Akane picked up the staff and looked at it.  On the handle, there were a
pair of buttons.  Expirementally, she pressed one of them, and faster than
she could see the staff once more became the walking stick it had been.

"Do you want your weapon back before you continue, Desaix?"  Akane asked.  

Surprisingly, it was Buriko who answered as Desaix stood up and fell into a
defensive stance.  "No, he doesn't.  From what he's told me, when he
practices he wants everything to be just like it would be if he were
attacked on the street, with the possible exception of not applying enough
force on his attacks to be lethal or seriously damaging.  So, if he's
disarmed practicing, he'll continue practicing disarmed.  He's not very
good offensively, though."

As if to demonstrate the truth of that statement, Desaix threw a
kidney-level roundhouse kick that whiffed in front of Genma, following it
up with a spinning back kick which was very easily blocked.  There was
obvious potential in the form of the kicks, but they were poorly timed and
aimed.  Desaix fell back into a defensive stance, smirking wryly.

"That was stupid of me.  When I don't have my staff, I should probably just
stick to my defense, and just wear you down."

"Oh?"  Genma asked.  "I've always found that people who have that
particular philosophy easily get backed into corners from which they cannot
escape.  Can you avoid such a fate?"  Genma through a roundhouse kick at
Desaix's midsection.  Desaix dropped long before the kick got there, and
raised his own leg so that it pushed Genma's upwards, knocking him onto the
ground as well.  Both jumped up, and Genma quickly launched a punch
straight to Desaix's midsection.  Desaix raised his arms in an x-block. 
'Poor boy,' Genma thought to himself in the split second that the punch was
travelling.  'Doesn't he realize that the x-block was designed against
kicks and overhand punches?  If I hit it, I'll hurt him, but I'm not even
going to do that, am I?  It's too low- my punch will pass right over it!' 
At that point in his thoughts, his fist had travelled all the way through
the block, but wasn't far enough to make contact with Desaix's chest. 
That's when Desaix turned his arms and spun out of the way, trapping
Genma's wrist for a second and turning his back, allowing Desaix to spin
out of the block and deliver an elbow to the back, forcing Genma to stand
straight up in reflex.  Desaix raised the arm attached to that elbow, and
brought it across Genma's neck, standing back to back with him.  Then
Desaix kneeled, pulling with his arm to flip the middle-aged martial artist
over his shoulder.  A backhand to his knee knocked Desaix to the ground,
and Genma stood up over him, kneeling on his arms in a classic mount
position.  Desaix tapped the floor with the universal sign of 'I give up,'
an was quickly released.

"Very good for someone without formal training," Genma evaluated as Desaix
stretched out.  "Not nearly as good as Ranma or some of the better people
who've tried to kill him, but-"  He was interrupted by Kasumi coming in the
door announcing breakfast had been served.  Everyone headed back into the
house and sat down to eat just as Ranma appeared, his hair wet from the
shower he had just been in.

"What kept you, boy?" Genma asked.  "I had to spar with Desaix, here,
instead of you, this morning."

"Hmm," Ranma swallowed a bite of food.  "Misplaced my clothes when we
re-arranged my room yesterday.  Took me a while to find them."  Akane
snickered as he took another bite of food.  Ranma looked sadly at her
before turning to Desaix.  "So, you know martial arts too, huh?"

"Well, I have some tricks, but most of my actual skills are self-taught,
and so are hard to guage.  I did pretty good against your father, but I
surprised him and he was holding back a bit, I think."

Genma nodded.  "Not as good as you, or even Ukyo or Shampoo, but still he's
decent.  He needs to work on his unarmed offense or on his armed defense,
from what I saw."

Desaix shifted uncomfortably, being compared to people who he had never
met, and he was really sensitive about his skills, or lack thereof.  It was
time to find something else to talk about, and fast.

"Um, excuse me for changing topics, but... I was thinking of trying to
visit one of the local shinto temples sometime today.  Do any of you know
where one is?"

Soun hesitated.  "Actually, we normally perform ceremonies around the
family shrine, in the training hall.  I... really don't know where the
nearest local temple is..."  He was somewhat embarrased, admiting this to a
priest.  Other people shrugged or looked away.  Ranma bit his lip
hesitantly.

"Um, I know where one is.  I've visited it on occasion- or at least, I've
seen it from the outside."

Akane looked at Ranma, puzzled.  "How do you know where one is?  I'm around
you most of the time, and I've never noticed one before.

Ranma blushed slightly, and started stammering.  "Um... I was fighting with
Ryouga... noticed it as a landmark..."  Desaix saw that wasn't the real
reason, and smiled.  He'd been that situation before himself, with Buriko,
and knew that Ranma really needed some kind of rescue.

"So," Desaix broke in.  "Maybe you could meet me outside Furinkan after
your classes and show me around town- show me to the temple... maybe the
library... anywhere else I can think of between now and then."

Ranma shrugged.  "I dunno.  I don't have anything else planned.  What about
you, Akane?"

"I'm free.  I know!  I'll make lunch.  We'll have a picnic!"

"Sounds like fun," Buriko said.  "Mind if I tag along?"  Desaix smiled.

"Sound's great!"  Both of them failed to notice Ranma's face turn ashen.  

"Um... Akane... Are you sure-"

"Oh, no!  We're going to be late!"  Akane grabbed Ranma by the pigtail and
started pulling him along at a gallop.  Buriko responded with a very
Kasumi-like phrase.

"Oh, my!"

*	*	*	*	*

The phone was ringing.  Kasumi picked up the reciever and listened for a
moment.  "Hello... Yes... Yes... Oh, my, yes, I'll tell them."  She walked
outside, where Desaix, now in his priestly robes, sat chatting with Buriko.
 "Hello, you two.  Ranma just called from the school.  You're going to have
to take the picnic food to Furinkan- for some odd reason, a monster arrived
in Akane's class when she was preparing your lunch and destroyed the home
economics classrooom."

Desaix nodded.  "Okay.  Buriko, why don't you ma-"  Buriko looked at him in
askance.  "Er, oops, sorry, forgot who I was talking to.  I'll make some
sandwiches and some thermos's of tea in a minute."

*	*	*	*	*

It had been several weeks since Ryouga had been in Nerima.  Not since the
failed wedding, in fact.  He'd never found Akari, and wasn't sure what he
would have done if he did.  After hearing about how Ukyo and Shampoo had
succeeded in, at the very least, delaying the marraige of his fierce rival
for some time, Ryouga was wondering if he, perhaps, had one last chance to
win Akane's heart.

But truth be told, he wasn't thinking about that at the moment.  He was
trying to find a way to change back from being a pig- he hadn't been able
to return to his human form for several days.  He didn't even know where
his clothes or pack had disappeared to- he was in the middle of a forest
when it rained, and of course he wandered away from them and would probably
never find them again.  Oh, well, at least he still had his one hundred
throwing bandanas, tied around his neck.

It was by these he was picked up.

"Oh, a little pig!  How cute!  Are you lost, little pig?"  The owner of the
soft and demure feminine voice turned him around to face her.  Looking at
her body, Ryouga immediately thought of Shampoo.  'Oh, no!  She's going to
try and cook me again!'  Then he saw the girl's face and hair, and knew
that it was someone he hadn't seen before.  Now that he thought about it,
her speech was a bit too articulate for Shampoo- he didn't recognize this
person.

However, he did recognize the next voice he heard very well.  All too well,
in fact.

"Charlotte?  Is it you, Charlotte?  It is!"  Azusa squeeled happily.  She
ran over to Buriko, and stretched out her hands.  "Give Azusa back her
Charlotte!"

"Oh,"  Buriko began.  Desaix, awkwardly carrying two big and heavy picnic
baskets and two filled thermos's, pulled up to Buriko's side.  "Is this
pig-"

"Charlotte!  Charlotte!  Charlotte!"  Azusa screamed, getting louder each
time.  Buriko couldn't get a word in edgewise.  Azusa saw the two thermos
Desaix was holding, and grabbed one from him, causing him to drop one of
the picnic baskets and juggle the other with the second thermos.  Azusa
took the improvised weapon she had secured and began smashing Buriko over
the head with it, screaming "Charlotte!" with every blow.  Desaix, his face
turning angry, set the surviving picnic stuff down and turned to intervene.

"How dare you attack Buriko in fron-"  He broke off as the thermos Azusa
was smashing a confused Buriko over the head with split open along the
plastic mold's seam, spilling the  hot contents.  Azusa tried to continue
bashing the other, now sopping wet, girl with the rapidly disintegrating
plastic container.  That girl responded by bringing her palm up hard
against the remains of the thermos, shattering it in Azusa's hand.  Then
she tucked her shirt in so that it was tight against her, showing her
curves in a very flattering way.  Desaix turned very pale.  'Oh, no!' he
thought.  'B.B.'s back!'

"Now how can you possibly claim that this cute little pig is yours?  You
don't even know what sex he is!  Forget calling him Charlotte, he should be
named Wilbur!"  Desaix sighed as B.B. said these words, rolling his eyes. 
'She's going to get me in trouble again, isn't she?'  Azusa grabbed the
poor pig away from B.B. before she could react, and hugged her to her
chest.

"This is Azusa's Little Charlotte!"

"No, it isn't, and you know it, Azusa!  That pig is my P-Chan!"  Akane's
voice said.  She ran into the scene and pulled him away, hugging him to her
chest.  Ranma pulled up beside her.

"Didn't we already settle this once?" Ranma sighed.  He poked his finger
and bent down to talk to the black piglet.  "You're more trouble than your
worth, you know that?"  The pig chomped down on Ranma, and so he slammed it
down onto the ground.  Ranma's elbow smashed Ranma on the back of the head.

"Quit picking on P-Chan, Ranma!"  Meanwhile, B.B. picked up the thing that
was drawing all the attention.

"Actually, Akane, this pig was wandering around the streets," B.B. said,
looking at her with sharp, Nabiki-on-the-hunt-like, eyes.  "I found him,
hence he's MY Wilbur."

"Warn Akane to be careful," Desaix was anxiously whispering to Ranma. 
"When B.B.'s in this mode, she can't be matched for cunning!"

"Wanna bet?" Ranma whispered back to Desaix, thinking of Nabiki's tricks.

"Azusa wants her Charlotte!"  Azusa cried.  "Azusa challenges both of you!"

"Oh, god!"  Ranma cried.  "Not another Martial Arts Figure Skating contest!
 One is enough for a lifetime, and it isn't even the right season!"  Akane,
without even realizing it, looked at Ranma with a slightly pained look on
her face.  Some of her fondest memories of him were centered around that
match.  "I mean, after Ryouga started trying to kill me in the middle of
the match, I thought I was going to lose for a second there."  The pain
left Akane's face without her ever realizing that it was there.

"Ranma right," Azusa said.  "It's not the season for Martial Arts Figure
Skating.  Need time to think of what to challenge two girls in!"  'Why does
she remind me so much of Shampoo?' both Akane and Ranma thought to
themselves.

"Hmm, it doesn't seem fair to me to only have you decide how we should
settle this.  I think we should all come up with two things, each, to face
each other with."  B.B. intervened.

"Hmm, sounds like an interesting way of doing things," Ranma said.  "But...
what about the possibility of a tie?"

B.B. looked around.  "How about if we have someone nuetral decide on a
seventh contest?  We'll do all of them, and we'll rate each other on a
point basis.  Three points for a first place finish, two  points for
second, zero for third.  If there's still a tie, we'll settle it by who has
the most wins."

Desaix looked at B.B. strangely.  "B.B., that actually sounds fair.  That
was hot water you were hit with, right?"  B.B. smiled devilishly at Desaix,
and he paled even further.  'Oh, god, she's planning something.  I'd better
make sure no-one hurts themselves.'  He turned to the others.  "I will make
a request of all of you when coming up with your section of the contest. 
Pick no fighting contests- if you do, I'll be forced to intervene to
protect B.B."

B.B. pulled out a mallet of chi that impressed even Akane, and smashed it
over Desaix's head.  "I don't need you to protect me, you sexist pig!" 
Ranma raised his eyebrow.  The other two girls kind of sighed sadly. 
'There goes my first idea,' Akane thought.  Desaix, on the other hand, was
thinking 'How did I know that this would be the reaction I would get?'

He stood up slowly, and looked at B.B. apologetically, but still spoke with
exasperation.  "Look, B.B., I'm not trying to protect you because I'm a
'sexist pig,' but because its my JOB to protect you- remember?!"

B.B. 'Hmph'ed, but didn't say anything.  Akane looked at Azusa, and
shrugged.  "If Azusa and Buriko agree to that condition," Akane said, "So
will I."

"Azusa agrees if other two do."

B.B. sighed angrily.  "Oh, okay, fine, I'll agree.  But, Akane, my name is
B.B.  Remember that!"  Desaix winced, but B.B. didn't notice.  Ranma,
however, did, but didn't say anything.  'Hmm... I think I want to talk to
Desaix about that,' he thought.  "Say," B.B. continued, "Who will hold onto
little Wilbur in the meantime?"  She gave the pig a squeeze into her
pronounced chest, causing it to sniffle a little in an attempt to keep from
exploding with a nosebleed.

B.B., Akane, and Azusa all started shouting at once how they should be the
one to keep him.  Desaix just shook his head, wondering what curse put him
in the middle of this situation.  Ranma sighed.

"Look, guys, I think I'd better be the one to look after him," he said.  "I
mean, I wouldn't hurt him too much, I know how to take care of him, and I'm
also probably the only person in Nerima who doesn't like the annoying
little pig."  The pig in question did it's best to stick his tongue out at
Ranma.

"I agree," Desaix said, just wanting the madness to stop, if only for a
little while.  "He should be kept by a nuetral party, but also someone
who's involved, and since I don't know the first thing about taking care of
pigs..."  The girls agreed, and so B.B. reluctantly gave the pig one last
squeeze before handing it to Ranma.  Azusa left after agreeing to meet at
Ucchan's Okonomiyaki for lunch and a discussion of terms of the duel the
next day, and Desaix started picking up the trash from the destroyed
thermos and the ruined picnic basket.  "Say, how about that picnic now? 
I've still got one thermos of tea and enough sandwiches and fruit for all
of us, and I haven't had lunch yet..."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ranma asked.  "Shouldn't B.B. and Akane
be kept apart?"

Desaix sighed.  "True, B.B. should be kept apart from Akane.  B.B., would
you consent to becoming Buriko at least long enough to have the picnic?"

B.B. looked at Desaix with a scowl on her face.  "Dez, you KNOW I don't
like being controlled by that personality."

Desaix smiled.  "And when you're in that personality, you hate being in
this one.  But, otherwise, the picnic you wanted can't happen."  Ranma and
Akane both started watching this exchange with interest.

"Well," B.B. said, looking down sweetly and seductively.  "If you do change
me to Buriko now," she put a finger under his chin to turn his face to
hers.  "Will you promise to change me back to B.B. before tonight- or at
least long enough before lunch tommorrow to give me a chance to plan my end
of the duel- and do your best to keep me as B.B. for the duel... unless I
specifically ask otherwise AS B.B.?"

Desaix closed his eyes at her touch and sighed.  "Oh, very well.  I
promise, on my word of honor, to change you back to B.B. by the time you
said."  He sounded like he was saying something rehearsed.  He walked over
to a water hose, and splashed B.B.  Buriko looked down at herself and
blushed.  She pulled her t-shirt out to make it baggier and to hide her
curves a bit.  Desaix picked up the picnic basket and thermos, and said
"Lead on."  Ranma, holding Ryouga-in-pig-form, lead the way, Akane
following close behind- not to stay close to Ranma, but to stay well away
from Buriko, who tailed at the back, unable to even look at Akane, as she
followed Desaix.  But, at least for the length of the picnic, things were
quiet for the four of them.

*	*	*	*	*

Things moved rather quickly from that point until after dinner.  The picnic
went smoothly (except for Akane trying to stay away from Buriko and Ranma
complaining about the food, or lack thereof (he only had 4 sandwiches and a
couple of apples to eat)), and afterwards Ranma led them all to the shinto
temple (Akane again brought up the question of how Ranma knew about the
location of the temple, to which he replied "Um, uh, I, uh, hid from
Kodachi there once?"  Everyone noticed the change in story, but they were
all too polite to mention it.  Akane made a mental note, however, to ask
him again some time- why was he lying to him?) where Desaix made some
connections and found that he had been asked after by his temple.  After
arriving back at the dojo, Akane went to Nabiki (pulling Desaix along as a
nuetral observer) to hire her to be the head judge of the duel and to come
up with the seventh challenge.  Ranma went to his parents room, and pulled
up some floor boards to pull out a chest of items he had saved.  Some of
the items in the chest were the hair cut off Akane by his duel with Ryouga,
the original Charlotte Cup, a leaf out of Ryugenzawa, and a poorly made
scarf with some badly-done embroidery.  Ranma pulled out the Cup, and
re-hid the chest, bringing it to Akane (who handed it to Nabiki).  Dinner
went smoothly, but after all the food had been eaten there was an awkward
pause.

"Say, Desaix, can you come with me to help me feed Ry... I mean, P-Ch... I
mean Wilb... BAH!  Who care's what his name is!  Can you come and help me
feed The Pig?"  Ranma asked.  Desaix looked at him strangely (as did Akane,
wondering why Ranma needed help feeding P-Chan) but agreed, and soon the
two were off to Ranma's room.  Buriko took this opportunity to approach
Akane.

"Akane, can we talk?  I want to explain some things about myself... and the
way this curse effects me... to you."  Akane hesitated, but agreed, and so
they headed up to Akane's room.

Everyone else just relaxed as they normally did in the evenings.

*	*	*	*	*

Ranma, after grabbing P-Chan, a fire bucket, a robe, and a tea kettle of
hot water, took Desaix with him onto the roof.  "We need to talk," he said.
 "And I need you to promise, as I will, that you will tell NO-ONE about
anything you see or hear here."

Desaix smirked.  "Well, I kind of figured that.  I mean, for one thing, you
forgot to get food for the Pig, and for another, I doubt that you would
actually need someone to help you even if you were planning to feed him. 
Its obvious you want this meeting kept a secret, so... sure, I promise I
will tell no-one about anything regarding this meeting."

"Uh, yeah.  That's kinda what I want to talk about."  Ranma sighed.  "Could
you... er, no.  How would you... uh.  Hmph.  I'm not quite sure if you'd
understand why I was asking that."  Ranma sighed again.  "Let's see if I
can approach this from another angle.  I suppose I'm the last person in the
world who should be asking about this kinda thing, but... what do you feel
about B.B.?"

Desaix blinked.  "What do you mean?"

Ranma bit his lip.  He was always uncomfortable talking to someone else
about their love life, with his own being such a muddle, but he figured he
needed to know for certain.  "I mean... well... for instance, why did you
not allow there to be any fighting in the duel?  That's a VERY unusual
request around here, and its rare that someone gets seriously hurt- they
generally break up before it gets too rough."

Desaix swallowed uncomfortably.  "Uh, its my job to protect B.B."

Ranma drew in his breath.  Desaix was obviously not telling the whole
truth.  "Try again."

"I... I... Well, I couldn't let her get hurt, you know?"

Ranma smiled.  "Yes, I know.  But why?"

Desaix looked at Ranma closely.  'Dammit, he knows how I feel about her. 
But I might as well try to put him on the spot in return!'  "I'll tell
you... but... first tell me why you are trying so hard to avoid saying why
you know the location of that shinto temple."

Ranma's eyes widened.  He looked at P-Chan, who was sitting around on the
roof looking rather bored with life, not paying any attention to what was
being said.  Ranma knew, however, that he would be paying close attention
if he answered.

"Um... how about I agree to tell you AFTERWARDS?"

Desaix raised a single eyebrow.  "Uh, why?"

"Urm... you'll find out soon enough."

Desaix shrugged.  "You'll tell me afterwards, on your word of honor?" 
Ranma nodded slowly.  "Okay... fine."  Desaix sighed.  "What do I feel
about B.B.?  The answer is..."  Desaix stopped for a second, and closed his
eyes.  When he opened them again, he looked straight at Ranma, flames
flickering.  "I love Buriko more than anything else there is, human, god,
or demon.  However... B.B. abuses me, mistreats me, smashes me for the
stupidest reasons... I won't say I hate B.B., but I don't particularly like
her- and I can never tell Buriko how I feel because then B.B. would know
and could use it against me."  He smiled sadly.  "Not that she can't use it
against me anyways- she just doesn't know she's using it against me right
now.  Why do you want to know?"

Ranma nodded.  He thought as much.  "Ever feel jealous when she... you
know... 'goes to work?'"

Desaix grimaced.  "Yes, of course.  Why?"  The flames in his eyes leapt
again.  "You AREN'T planning to 'hire' her, are you?"  The anger in his
voice made Ranma a little nervous.

"Eh, no,"  Ranma said quickly.  "I... want your help on something dealing
with the duel.  Actually, I want the duel to not happen- and I'll show you
why."  Ranma picked up the teapot and went over to P-Chan.  "Say, P-Chan,"
The pig looked at Ranma curiously.  "Do you mind if I reveal your secret to
Desaix here?  I think if he knew, and he could talk to you, we could work
something out regarding the duel."  Ranma really hated having to ask Ryouga
this, but he did promise...

The pig shrugged, as if it didn't care one way or the other, and Ranma
doused it with hot water, and quickly put the robe over the rapidly
appearing Ryouga.  Desaix's eyes widened.  "ANOTHER Jyusenkyo victim?" he
asked.  Ryouga nodded.  "Okay, how many are there in this area?"

"Well, there's Ranma here," Ryouga started, "who turns into a girl, there's
myself, there's Shampoo, who turns into a cat," Ranma shuddered as Ryouga
continued.  "There's Mousse, who turns into a duck, and... well, Ranma's
father turns into a Panda."

Ranma bit his lip.  "There are some others who show up from time to time. 
There's Pantyhose Taro, who turns into a chimera-like thing, and there's
Rouge, who turns into a goddess Ashura..."  Desaix's eyes widened large at
that one.  "Not the real goddess Ashura,"  Ranma said, noticing his
surprise, "See, she fell into the Spring of Drowned Statue of Ashura, and
so becomes Ashura-like when doused with water.  Of course, I don't really
expect to see those two anytime soon- they were in Nagasaki, on Kyushu,
last I heard."

"Wait, weren't there stories in the news about monsters battling each other
destroying half of Nagasaki?" Desaix asked.

Ranma smirked.  "Didn't I just say that?"  His expression got more serious.
 "Well, on to business.  I REALLY don't like doing it, but I have to keep
this guys secret- and so do you now, since you promised to keep the things
you see tonight secret."  Desaix nodded in acknowledgement.  "I don't like
it because he's ABUSED that promise by sleeping with Akane in his pig form.
 I would almost say that it would serve him right to be won by Azusa!"

"Raaannnnmmaaaaa!"  Ryouga growled, raising his fists.  Ranma just raised a
palm to try to calm him down.

"I said ALMOST.  To tell you the truth, I wouldn't with that fate on my
worst enemy- well, maybe Saffron- and... while Ryouga is perhaps one of my
toughest competitors, he isn't my worst enemy..."  Ryouga looked at Ranma
in confusion.  "Though he is frequently a nuisance."  The scowl reappeared
on Ryouga's face.  "Anyway, I figure that, since you love B.B.- er, Buriko,
you wouldn't want her winning 'ownership' of Ryouga either.  And I don't
want Akane to win him either.  However, there are no options other than
those three... so... any ideas?"

"I could leave," Ryouga said.  Desaix shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid that would only delay things.  Once B.B. sets her sights on
something, there is no stopping her.  If she doesn't really want it- and
she probably doesn't really care if she wins you as a pet pig or not, but
because someone tried to take you away from her, she's convinced herself
that she wants you more than anything, and so... she will stop at nothing
to win you.  At least, when she's B.B. in form."

"What is all this about 'B.B.' and 'Buriko' anyway?  Aren't they the same
person?"  Ryouga asked.

Desaix smirked.  "She, too, is a Jusenkyo victim- the Spring of Drowned
Holy Woman.  Buriko is her cursed form, B.B. is her uncursed.  Anyway, as I
was saying, you leaving won't help any.  However... if you were to reveal
youself to all three women at the same time, they might think twice about
wanting you-"

"WHAT?!"  Ranma exclaimed.  "Do you WANT Akane to kill me for keeping this
from her for so long?"

Ryouga ignored him.  "No, that wouldn't help.  At least... not with Azusa,
I don't think.  She found out I was both human and pig at the first
Charlotte Cup competition, and it didn't stop her then, so I doubt it'll
stop her know."

Ranma frowned.  "Do either of you have any other ideas, though?"  Desaix
and Ryouga shook their heads.  "Then... I guess there's nothing we can do."
 Ranma grabbed the bucket and doused Ryouga.  He squeeled angrily.  "Sorry,
Wilbur, I can't have you staying in the house as your human self, and since
I'm 'in charge' of taking care of you, I can't let you leave the house
either."  Ranma picked up the outraged pig and the other stuff he had
brought out with him, and went inside followed by Desaix.  Ranma smiled
wickedly as he locked Ryouga up in a pet cage, whispering "Well, I've gotta
maintain your cover.  Now, if you let me tell Akane about you, I could let
you out... but, since I can't, here you are."

Desaix tapped Ranma on the shoulder.  "Say, weren't you going to tell me
about why you're so secretive about that temple?"

Ranma sighed.  "Oh, yeah, forgot about that.  Come on."  Ranma lead Desaix
onto the roof again, and turned towards him.  "Okay, I promised to tell
you, so I will, but... I've never told anyone what I'm about to tell you. 
If you EVER tell anyone else a word I say here, I WILL kill you."  Ranma
looked Desaix in the eyes with a warning, and Desaix, frightened by the
glance, could do little but nod.  "The truth of the matter is... I was
there wondering about... about... wmdng crmnis."  Ranma started to blush

Desaix recovered from the stare by shaking his head violently.  "About
WHAT?"

"Wedding ceremonies..." Ranma's blush grew brighter.

"Well, what's so bad about that?  I mean, you are engaged to Akane, from
what your parents tell me..."

"Eh, sort of."  Ranma sighed, his blush fading but not completely
disappearing.  "But, its complicated.  I'm... I'm...."  Ranma closed his
eyes, and the blush returned with double the force of before.  "I am...
sorta... kinda... in l... l... l... love with Ak..." He swallowed. 
"Ak-kane..."  Ranma stuttered.

Desaix smiled.  "Well, that's good.  I would expect you to be in love with
the person who you have asked to marry you."

Ranma opened his eyes, anger burning in them.  "THAT is the problem.  I
never asked for the engagement, and neither did she.  Our parents arranged
it before we were born..."  Desaix's smile fell.  "That, in itself, would
be acceptable.  I grew to fall in love with Akane, and I... hope she can do
the same, if she doesn't kill me first."  Ranma gave a dry chuckle.  "You
know, the first time I realized how I felt about her was when we had the
FIRST Charlotte Cup match- remind me to tell you about that sometime- and
Mikado Sanzenine, Azusa's figure skating partner, threatened to kiss Akane.
 Thing is, though, I've never felt that she returned that love, and so
never wanted to force myself upon her.  I went to the shinto temple,
though, to find out when the earliest was we could get married.  The priest
I talked to said that, religiously, we could get married whenever we
wanted, but the law said I had to wait until she and I were eighteen- or a
little less than a year from now.  That's part of the reason I was shocked
when her and my parents tried to set up a wedding for us a while back-
apparently Nabiki found some legal loophole where, if we got married before
a certain date, the law would not technically affect us for some reason or
another- some kind of 'Grandfather Clause,' she said.  Of course, that was
ruined because other people wanted to interfere- primarily my OTHER
fiancees."  Desaix opened his mouth as if to say something, but decided
against it.  "That's right- I have other fiancees in addition to Akane,
also not of my choice.  The only one who's claim I feel is legitimate is
Ucchan- er, Ukyo, who my pop engaged me to when we were six.  The others
are also largely my fathers doing... er, well, Shampoo's kinda my fault,
but how was I supposed to know that by beating her in combat I'd be
required to marry her?  I shouldn't even be bound by that law, since I'm
not Chinese!"  Desaix bit his lip, desperately trying not to say anything. 
"Sorry about that," Ranma apologized, noticing his discomfort.  "Anyway, my
point is that my trying to find out about the legal and religious
requirements of weddings- my sole purpose behind locating that temple-
would cause more problems than I could possibly handle, if I were to let
people know I WAS trying to find out about them.  So... I don't really know
what to say to people when they ask me why I know of the location of this
temple when they don't."

Desaix nodded slowly, and started talking through clenched teeth.  "Uh huh.
 Right. Sure."  Then he frowned.  "So... what are you planning to do now?"

Ranma blinked.  "Huh?"

"I'm not really one to talk... but... shouldn't you do something to make
Akane realize how you feel about her?  Shouldn't you do something to end
your unwanted engagements?  And, last of all, shouldn't you be telling this
to someone who DOESN'T have basically the same problem with the same lack
of viable solutions?"

Ranma grinned.  This he did have an answer for.  "Like who?  My parents? 
My father would just blow everything- after all, he was largely responsible
for my other engagements, and he was ENTIRELY responsible for my curse- he
took me to the training grounds, and he knocked me into the Nyannichuan. 
My mother?  Who I signed a note when I was six saying that if I didn't
become one of the 'manliest' men, I and my father would have to commit
Seppoku?  She'd see the pouring out of my emotions as a weakness, and
therefore unmanly.  Kasumi?  Uh, she's the one who keeps inviting the
people trying to kill Akane and myself in for tea, thinking that they're
all 'such good friends' with me.  One of the other fiancees?  They'd either
kill me, or Akane, or both of us!  Mr. Tendo?  He'd just blab it out to
everyone and start crying before he could give rational advice- and
besides, he has ulterior motives.  Nabiki?  I couldn't afford it.  And
Akane... well, whenever I think about opening up to Akane, I accidently say
something stupid, or I retreat into a defensive shell, and insult her- or
deny how I feel about her, which is worse."  He let out an exagerated sigh.
 "And you think you have the same problems I do?!"

Desaix bit his lower lip- which was by now getting rather sore.  "Er..."

"I didn't think so."

And with that, the conversation ended.

*	*	*	*	*

While all this had been going on, Akane was sitting as far away from Buriko
as she could while the two of them talked in her room.  Akane fidgeted
uncomfortably.

"Akane," Buriko began, "I know you don't like being alone with me, after
B.B. and you got into that... contest.  I don't want you scared to be near
me- I mean, if I am going to be staying here a while, than I think we
should at least be friends."

"Oh, right," Akane said.  She had seen one too many people, aiming to
separate her from Ranma, use that exact same line.  "And I suppose I should
trust you, reveal all my feelings and all my secrets too you, and believe
everything you say, because you'd NEVER use any of that against me, right?"

Buriko blinked in surprise.  "Uh, no.  In fact, NEVER trust me, and NEVER
reveal all of your feelings or ANY of your secrets to me.  I know my 'other
self,' and she would take advantage of anything I found out in this form. 
In fact, I'd probably suggest that even if it wasn't for this stupid
challenge..."

"Stupid challenge, eh?" Akane said, trying to recover from her own surprise
at Buriko's words.  "Does that mean that, in this form, you won't
participate in the challenge?"

Buriko laughed.  "No, it doesn't mean that.  I might not try any
underhanded tricks in this form, but I will participate in it.  Though, in
fact, I wouldn't have even tried to keep that cute little pig from either
of you if I had been in this form.  Azusa just wouldn't let me tell her
that, though, before she smashed that thermos over my head..."  Buriko
rubbed her head and winced at the memory.  Then she sighed.  "This stupid
curse- if only I could lock myself in one form or the other.  These changes
keep messing up my relationship with my friends."

"Yeah, none more than with me, right?"  Akane asked sardonically.

"Uh, actually," Buriko said, "I think my changes wind up inflicting more
pain on poor Dez than anyone.  He was the first person at the temple to be
affected by them- B.B. was trying to seduce him, and then the head of the
temple walked in on the two of them.  B.B., of course, tried to frame Dez,
and he just let her.  So he was thrown out of the temple.  That was when he
went to Jusenkyo, and while he was gone the others at the temple eventually
found out the truth."  She blushed.  "They found out because B.B. was
successfully seducing the other priests one by one.  To tell you the truth,
Dez is the only one who AVOIDED being seduced by her- if that's any
indication of how manipulative she can be.  When he returned, they let him
back in, but they never treated him the same way again, because he didn't
warn them about me!"

Akane bit her lip in thought.  "Uh, why didn't he?  He could have avoided
the trouble he got into just by turning you in."

Buriko shrugged.  "I... really don't know.  I guess he felt responsible for
bringing me in, or something.  I might have thought he... he liked me, but
if so than why did he reject B.B., or why didn't he say anything to me
before he... found out?"  Buriko sighed and shook her head.  "No, it
couldn't be that....  He obviously doesn't want to be anything more than a
protector- or, at best, a friend."

Akane looked at her closely.  "You like HIM, though."

Buriko's lips twitched at the corners.  "Is it that obvious?"  Her face
broke out into a sad smile.  She sighed again.  "Actually, I don't know if
I like him or not.  B.B., I know, viewed him as a challenge- she's set her
eyes on him more than once."  Her face suddenly wrinkled in disgust. 
"She's even offered herself for free, at one time- and he still rejected
her.  Now, she just likes being cruel to him- in revenge- and accused him
of being a sexist pig whenever he does anything remotely polite to her." 
After a few seconds of quiet contemplation, the smile returned to her face.
 "I think he's sweet, most of the time- I still retain some of B.B.'s
attributes, though, with regards to thinking of him as a sexist pig- I
resent it when he opens doors for me, or when he tries to order me around-
like when he was about to tell me to make food for the picnic- but I'm not
as vehement about it as B.B.  She... takes everything he says the wrong
way, and smashes him good for it, she extorts money from him, she TRIES to
put him into compromising situations- and, to top it all off, she FLAUNTS
her... conquests... to him."

Akane grimaced.  "And you're telling me you want to be MY friend?  Why, so
you can do the same thing to me?  So you can put B.B. in a position to
steal Ranma from me?  So-"

"Steal Ranma from you?"  Buriko raised her eyebrows.  "I never even laid an
eye on him, even as B.B."

Akane was stopped dead at that, and barely contained her anger.  "WHAT? 
What's wrong with him?  Isn't he handsome enough?"  Buriko smiled broadly. 
Akane blushed when she realized what she said.  "Er, I mean, um..."

Buriko's smile turned into a laugh.  "Its nice that you defend those you
care about so vehemently, but-"

"Who said I cared about him?"  Akane shouted, blushing even deeper.

"You did... indirectly."  Akane opened her mouth, but Buriko just shook her
head.  "But its not a good idea to let me know that you do care about him
that way- B.B.'s likely to use it against you."

"Hey!"

"Oh, don't worry about it.  Its not that surprising that you love your
fiancee."

"But... I... ARGH!  I never wanted him to be my fiancee- I never asked for
any of this."  Akane proceeded to briefly explain the whole fiancee mess to
Buriko.

"Ah.  If I were more like B.B., I'd point out the fact that you didn't deny
that you love him, you just denied that you were willingly his fiancee." 
Buriko smiled.  "But since I'm not, I won't."

Akane blushed.  She decided that now was a very good time to change the
subject.  "Say... where are you going to sleep now?"

Buriko's smile fell.  "Well, I was hoping that this conversation would be
able to patch things up between us at least to the point where I could
sleep here, but... if you don't feel comfortable enough, I'd better make
sleeping arrangements."  Akane closed her eyes.

"I'm... I'm sorry.  You can sleep here tonight, as long as you can avoid
hot water for the rest of the night-"

"No problem there- I'm real tired and want to get to sleep."

Akane nodded.  "After tonight, however, I suspect that you'll have a hard
time assuring me that you AREN'T B.B., so maybe Kasumi or Nabiki will agree
to let you sleep in her room until the duel is over."  Buriko's smile
returned.  "I think I'll ask them about it tomorrow morning.  In the
meantime,"  Akane yawned, "I think I'm with you.  Let's go to bed- we have
a big day tomorrow!"  Buriko nodded and, without even changing into her
pajama's, leapt into the futon that had been put into the room for her, and
immediately fell asleep.  Shortly thereafter, Akane, too, went to bed.

*	*	*	*	*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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                 dtatum@capaccess.org
                     desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872