.

    Based off of characters by the ever-lovable Rumiko Takahshi, which
are her's, no copyright infringement is meant, and they are used
without permission.
    Any other Non-Rumiko type characters have their own copyrights
and are also used without permission, no infringement is meant
    any other characters are mine, and Are used with permission
(Mine!)
    This story can be spread around, as long as the author is
acknowledged, and it is not sold for profit, either in part or in
whole, and all disclaimers are left intact.
	

Ascending Changes part 3  

By Ridgewolfe



    Hikaru stood on the outskirts of the Nerima district, watching as
the sun rose to be sure of the direction.
    "Finally, I made it..."  He muttered to himself as he adjusted his
pack.  After realising he was lost, Hikaru had waited until nightfall
and had navigated by the stars.  Now, two days later, he had reached
his goal.
    "Now all I have to do is find this Tendo dojo and..." he started
to reach into his jacket pocket, only to find it ripped open.
    "Auughh!  My map, it's gone!"  Franticly he started searching
around where he stood, already knowing it was futile.  "Great.  Just
great!  Now how am I supposed to find this dojo... why'd that bear
attack me anyway, it's not like I meant to step on him..." Hikaru
stopped looking and closed his eyes.  No sense in getting mad, what
was done was done... Maybe he was supposed to help someone first.
    Either way, he would just have to find the dojo on his own.  How
hard could that be?  With that, Hikaru entered Nerima.


    Akane sighed as the gentle motion of the train car tried it's best
to lull him asleep in it's mid morning warmth.  He tried to sit
straighter, but as Ranma was already asleep with her head on his
shoulder, the best he could do was fidget.
    The two of them had spent all of yesterday preparing for their
return.  Not in packing, even with all the stuff they had bought, that
had taken less than an hour.  No, what had them worried was that they
didn't know what would happen when they arrived.  They had finally
gone to the small park by the Hotel and worked on their martial arts.
    Akane sighed again, trying to move his shoulders without bothering
Ranma.  He had a lot that he would have to relearn because of his new
body.  Akane had found that although his power, stamina, and
resistance as a male was now greater than before, his balance and
speed were off, as he was used to a smaller, female body.  Ranma had
assured him, however, that this was temporary, and had promised to
help him train.  That was something Akane was looking forward to.
    Before Ranma had showed up in Nerima, Akane had been the best
Martial artist in the district, training regularly with his father,
and the center of most the major duels in the area.  By the time of
his sophmore year, Akane had mastered the basics of kenpo and was
beating not only Mr. Tendo regularly in their training, but the entire
athletic department as well due to the idiotic challenge made by Kuno.
    However, after Ranma had arrived, Akane had been shoved into the
background, so to speak.  He was still the center of many of the
feuds, but now as a prize, not a fighter.  Akane wanted to learn the
more advanced techniques of Anything Goes, but the person best able to
teach him, Ranma, had never taken him seriously, always just dodging
during their sparring matches.
    Even the fights Akane had over the last two years with Shampoo,
Kodachi, and even Ukyou didn't help much, as they were infrequent and
often ended with his opponent chasing after Ranma.
    In fact, the only time anybody had trained with him seriously was
when Ryoga had trained Akane to win back the dojo from Natsume and
Kurumi.  But all that had done was just perfect his skills, they
hadn't taken the time to learn the advanced techniques.
    Not that Akane was a lousy fighter by any means, even Ryoga had
said so, it was just that many of the others in Nerima were so much
better, but he knew that he had the potential to be a great fighter, a
true martial artist...
    Akane slowly yawned, snapping himself awake.  He didn't want to
miss their stop, he thought, grimacing at the thought.  They had
purposely not told anyone they were coming home early, in hopes of
avoiding a possible ambush at the station.  Although Mousse and Ukyou
had wished them well, there was still the Kuno's, Shampoo, Cologne,
and the kami knew who else to deal with.  True, they may have the
house staked out... The two of them had even dressed in their chinese
clothing, Ranma in her long sleeved red shirt, and Akane in the blue,
just in case a fight did break out.  Ranma had also seemed worried
about Ryoga's reaction to the fact they were married now, but Akane
didn't see why that should be a problem.  True, Ranma and Ryoga fought
a lot, but if Akane could get Ranma to stop teasing Ryoga, wouldn't he
be happy for them?
    Akane glanced out the window and saw that their stop was coming
up.  Gently he nudged Ranma as the train started to slow.  "C'mon
Ranma, time to wake up..."
    "...lemme `lone...grr..." was the only reply as Ranma tried to
crawl deeper into the seat.
    "Ranma, c'mon, we're home... wake up," Akane insisted, shaking his
wife harder.
    "Mphgh...zzzzzz..."
    "Hmm..." Akane thought as the train stopped.  Around them the
other passengers started to rise to disembark.  Standing up, Akane
reached over and covered Ranma's nose and mouth, surprised that his
one hand was large enough, that he did not need to use his other one
to cut off her air supply.
    A full minute went by, with no results.  Several other passengers
stared at Akane, causing him to blush.  Shrugging, he tried to ignore
them as best he could.
    Suddenly, Ranma bolted from the seat, wide-eyed and gasping for
air.
    "Are you awake now?"  Akane asked.
    "Whatcha doing?  Are you trying to smother me!?" Ranma shouted at
the same time.
    "I had to wake you up, we're home!" Akane snapped back.
    "Leave it to a Tomboy like you to think of something like that."
    "What did you call me?"
    "You heard me..."
    "Ran-Ma--!"  Normally, Akane would be seeing red by now, but as
the odd voice he'd been hearing over the last week had seemed to
indicate, the direct approach was not always best.  Forcing his
clenched fists down to his sides, Akane looked down at his feet and
slowly, in a sulky voice, said "Fine Ranma, if that's how you want to
be..." then he brushed past the surprised Ranma and walked off the
train.
    Akane slowly walked towards the baggage car, waiting.  Sure
enough, Ranma came running up past him, stopping Akane by blocking his
path, her expression one of worry.  "C'mon Akane... don't be like
this, please?  I didn't mean it, I'm sorry..."
    Akane turned to the side, not acknowledging her for a moment, then
looked in Ranma's direction with narrowed eyes.  "You didn't have to
be so rude."
    "Aw geez Akane, Don't be mad, it was a joke!" why did girls have
to be like this--?  Suddenly Ranma's arms were pinned as Akane grabbed
her, holding her to him.
    "Gotcha!"  He giggled, hugging Ranma.
    "Hey!  No fair!"  Ranma squirmed in Akane's grasp, sliding her
arms around to Akane's back.
    "How you gonna get out of this one?"  Akane smirked.
    "Who says I wanna?"  Ranma tilted her head back, kissing Akane as
they giggled.
    Across the street from atop a roof, Ryoga watched the two, his
mouth hanging open.
    "It's... true..." he whispered to himself, his brain not believing
what he saw, "I didn't want to believe... but Ranma... really Is a
girl now..."  Who would have thought that the curse would have
affected her mind as well, nobody should have to suffer like that...
    "To live her life as a girl..." Slowly, Ryoga's expression became
one of anger, "And she has a boyfriend already!  Ranma, you really Are
a pervert!  How *dare* you cast aside Akane like that!  Have you no
regard for her feelings?!  For Akane's sake, I shall punish you!
Prepare to die!"  Yanking free his umbrella, Ryoga leapt down to the
street, his vision a red haze focused solely on the fiend Saotome.
    Which is why he didn't see the work crew and the open manhole
cover until he dropped through it into the sewers below.
    One of the workers saw this and leaned down to peer into the
darkness below.  "Yo!  Kid!  You alright down there?"
    "Bwee..."
    "Crazy Martial artists..."

    Ranma and Akane, oblivious to this, parted, smiling at each other.
Gathering their packs, they walked from the station hand in hand.
    The two of them made sure to avoid their normal routes home in an
attempt to escape the inevitable.  "How long do you think we can keep
it secret we're back?"  Ranma leapt onto a fence and, with a little
coaxing, was joined by a wobbly Akane.
    "I don't know," Akane answered, holding his arms out from his
sides as he walked in front of Ranma, "But you can be sure it won't be
for long..."
    Ranma set her hands on Akane's hips, helping him to balance as
they walked.  Then she started pushing him into a run, "Well, whenever
it is, we gotta start training you right away!"
    "O-okay Ranma, but don't you think we're going kinda fast?"
    "Don't think about it, Akane," Ranma encouraged him from behind,
"You can do it, you have the balance, it's as easy as walking on the
sidewalk."
    Akane looked forward as they ran, his mouth dry at trying this.
Akane's balance had always been good, but that was when he had been a
girl.  He tried to relax, to let his reflexes take over, trying to let
it flow, so to speak... then he saw the intersection ahead of them.
    "Ranma--?"  Akane started, trying to slow down.
    "You can make it Akane," Ranma told him, pushing Akane on faster.
    Akane took on a grim look of determination and then started
running full out.  He could do this, he thought, besides, Ranma would
leap with him in case anything went wrong, right?  They reached the
end of the fence and Akane leapt, soaring through the air across the
street.  He heard a car slam on it's brakes as he passed overhead,
then he was landing on the opposite fence, still running.
    "Wow, I did it!"  Akane was estatic, slowing down to a walking
pace again.  "Is it always that easy?  Ranma?"  Akane turned and saw
that he was alone on the fence.
    Ranma was still on the other side of the street, watching him.
    "See, I told ya!"  Ranma shouted, then she leapt across to join
Akane, "All it takes is a little confidence, you got the ability..."
    Akane was staring at Ranma.  Slowly his hand raised into a fist,
"You mean, you let me leap across that..." Akane's voice started
getting louder as he threw his pack to the ground "...and you didn't
leap with me?  You-- JERK!"
    Ranma did a handspring off Akane's foot as he launched a kick at
her, somersaulting to land on the fence behind Akane facing him,
dropping her pack to the ground as well.  "What's wrong?  I said you
could do it and you did, aren't you happy?"
    "No!  You tricked me!"  Akane spun and lashed out with a backheel
kick, which Ranma jumped up and over, and faced Ranma in a offensive
stance.
    Ranma stuck her fingers in her mouth and stuck out her tounge,
"Jeez, that's what I get for helping a tomboy like you!"  She mumbled
    Akane smiled grimly, he wasn't so angry that Ranma's taunting was
making him loose it.  In fact, Akane was somewhat surprised that he
wasn't seething right now.  But still...
    "C'mere you!"  He growled, throwing punches and kicks at Ranma.
    Well, now's as good a time as any, Ranma thought, then proceeded
to block Akane's attacks, as opposed to simply dodging.
    Akane launched attacks furiously at Ranma, surprised that she
wasn't just dodging.  Curiosity cooled his anger, and Akane started
to vary his attacks to see what would happen.  Punches, kicks, elbow
and knee strikes, forearm smashes, all were blocked as Ranma gave
ground, sliding backwards across the fence.
    Akane's getting better, Ranma thought, a slight smile forming, so
let's if he can handle... This!  Suddenly Ranma started to attack as
well, slipping past the gaps in Akane's defense with fingerstrikes.
None of them were damaging, just hard enough to let Akane know he'd
been hit.  Back and forth across the fence the two went, first one
giving ground, then the other.  The fight had become more of a
sparring match, where Akane found himself stretching his ability.
While he saw that Ranma was easily blocking his attacks, it was
obvious that the power behind them was more than she could handle.
    However, his defense was sorely lacking in this new body, as shown
by the ease with which Ranma was able to breach it.  What really
surprised Akane however was that she was attacking at all.  As for
Ranma, she found the whole situation amusing.  Here was Akane, who's
ability was growing by leaps and bounds, and he wasn't even aware of
it, judging by the look of fierce concentration on his face.
    After another minute Ranma cartwheeled backwards then bowed to
Akane, drawing him up short.  "You're doing very good, Akane, keep
this up and you'll be giving Ryoga a run for his money in no time!"
    "What?  I don't understand, I was barely able to touch you..."
Akane asked, confusion written across his face.
    Ranma broke out into a wide grin.  "This wasn't a test of skill,
Akane-chan, this was a test of balance.  Look at where you are."
    Akane looked down and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw they
were still on the fence.  "You're not lacking in skill," Ranma
continued, "you're just lacking confidence.  That'll come it time."
    That's when the applause started.
    Startled, both of them looked down at the sidewalk, to the two
figures standing there, one slowly clapping, the other looking
shocked.  They leaped down to join them.
    "Mousse!  How ya doin' man?"  Ranma said, clapping the tall boy
on the shoulder.
    "Hello Mousse, nice to see you," Akane agreed, holding his hands
together in front of him.
    "Well, it's nice to see that you two are getting along as usual,"
Mousse commented, sliding his hands back into his sleeves as the two
newlyweds started blushing.  At this remark Mousse's friend, a dark
skinned young girl, slowly turned and stared at him in disbelief.
    Mousse looked the two of them over, raising a eyebrow at how
similarly they were dressed.  "Let me guess, nothing else was clean?"
    "Huh? Oh, no... just taking precautions.  So Mousse, who's your
friend?" Akane asked, smiling at Shanna.
    "Ah, forgive me... Akane, Ranma, meet LeBeau Shanna."  The two
turned and bowed in greeting to her.  "Actually, it's rather fortunate
that we found you first, there's much you must know about."
    "<These are the two that you told us about?>" Shanna asked Mousse
in english, "<Why were they on the fence fighting?>"
    "It's their way,"  Mousse answered, "And you really should use
japanese.  Why don't we go somewhere and we can fill you two in."
    "Ucchan's should be open by now..." Ranma mused, "C'mon, let's go
there!" with that, Ranma grabbed up her pack and leapt up on the fence
again, running.
    "Yeah, great idea Ranma," Akane muttered out loud, "Why don't
we put four Martial artists together in the same room?  What could
possibly happen?"  He looked over to Mousse "We better go you two..."


    Ukyou was behind the grill working fast, her morning rush in full
swing, when Ranma walked in through her door.
    Several emotions ran past Ukyou as Ranma called out a greeting.
First was the familiar joy of seeing her fiancee, which was quickly
replaced by depression as she remembered that was no longer possible.
Then surprise as she realized they must be back already.  Then,
lastly, confusion, as she saw that Ranma was here by herself.
    "Hi yourself, Ran-chan," Ukyou responded, absently flipping a
okinomiyaki off to a customer, "What happened, did Akane kick you out
already?"
    Ranma blinked in confusion, caught in the act of sitting down in
the booth Ukyou reserved for her friends, then looked around.  "Akane?
Where'd he go?"
    Just then the door slid opened again, and in stepped a dripping
wet Akane, followed by a amused Shanna carrying Mu-Mu chan.  Akane did
not look happy.
    "What's the idea of running off like that, Ranma?"  he growled.
    "Oh, umm... I thought you guys were behind me... What happened,
did you run into the wicked water woman?"
    Akane sighed as Mu-Mu chan quacked an affirmative, "I guess I'm as
big a water magnet as you are," he agreed.
    Ukyou tossed a towel from behend the counter to Akane.  "Why don't
you guys go upstairs and change Mousse back, I've got something to
tell you guys.  You wanted the special, right sugar?"  she said,
turning to a customer.
    "Thanks, Ukyou, c'mon Shanna, this ought to be fun," Akane led the
quiet girl towards the back.
    "This happen lots?"  They heard Shanna ask.
    "Yep, afraid so..."
    "Quack..."
    "You no complain, Mousse, you cute as duck..."
    Ten minutes later the trio came back down and joined Ranma, who
was already on her third okinomiyaki.  Mousse decided to wait until
Ukyou could join them to tell his news, and told her this as Ukyou set
three of her masterpieces down for them.  Soon Mousse and Shanna found
themselves on the recieving end of a barrage of questions, such as how
long had they been dating.  The two quickly denied this, stating they
had only met a few days ago and were only interested in being friends.
Akane and Ranma then pelted them further with questions like how did
they meet, where was she from, what hobbies did she have, when did she
come to Japan...
    Mousse sat back and quietly ate as Shanna answered their
questions, occasionaly correcting her japanese as needed.  He was more
interested in the changes he saw in Ranma and Akane.  Already he could
tell that Ranma seemed more relaxed than before, and Akane had already
shown that he was at least trying to control his temper, if you didn't
count the incident at the fence, that is... This was very interesting,
it seemed that marriage was really doing these two some good.  He
wondered what had happened to cause these two to change so soon.
    Mousse wondered if it would be enough for what they might have to
face soon.
    Finally, the crowd in Ucchan's thinned out enough to where Ukyou
could join them.
    "So, did you two have fun on your honeymoon?"  Ukyou asked as she
slid into a chair, grinning as the two newlyweds turned crimson, "Or
can't you talk about it in decent company?"
    "Ukyou!  I-- really don't know what you're talking about..." Akane
muttered.
    "Uh-huh, I'll worm the details out of you later, right now I've
got something important to tell you two."
    "As well as I,"  Mousse chimed in, "However, let's let Ukyou talk
first."
    "Okay.  First of all, there's trouble.  Ryoga showed up the other
day."
    "Oh great," Ranma interrupted, "Let me guess, he went through the
roof about the whole thing, didn't he?"
    "Well, he was kinda concerned about why you went back to China..."
Ukyou started to twiddle her fingers, "But he really didn't react at
all about Akane being cursed or you two getting married..."
    "He didn't?" Ranma gasped in disbelief, was this the same Ryoga?
What happened, did he find religion on his last trip?  "Why didn't
he?"
    "Because... I sorta didn't get to tell him about it..." Ukyou
finished lamely, "He ran out before I could finish telling him
everything."
    "Oh, great.  You mean he doesn't even know about the wedding?"
Ranma growled, "Just what we need..."
    "Wait a minute Ranma, I don't understand..." Akane interrupted,
"You make it sound like Ryoga would be mad that we got married, why
would he?  Why is it you two fight so much anyway?"
    "Uhh-- well, umm..."
    "You mean you don't know?"  Ukyou asked, she knew that Ryoga was
in love with Akane, but she though the lost boy had at some point told
the transformed Akane.
    "Know what Ukyou?" Akane turned to face Ukyou, so he didn't see
the frantic 'No! No!' gestures Ranma made behind him.
    "Oh,"  Ukyou thought for a moment, "Well, partly it's a matter of
honor, so I can't say too much... let's just say that Ryoga doesn't
think that you and Ran-chan make the best couple."
    Akane's eyes widened, as a thousand little clues suddenly came to
mind.  All the little gifts Ryoga gave him, all the times he turned
into a blithering idiot... "You mean to say that Ryoga... has a crush
on me??"
    "Well, yeah..." Ranma clasped Akane's hand to get his attention.
Mousse noticed Ukyou's cheeks color at this, but neither said
anything, "Ryoga... didn't want anyone to know, and he kinda wanted to
tell you himself, but... well, he's kinda shy, and--"
    "And when he could say it, you'd start in on him!" Akane growled
suddenly.  "Why do you have to pick on poor Ryoga so much!"
    "Aw Geez Akane, That ain't it!  Why do you always gotta put words
in my mouth!  I ain't never picked on him unless he deserved it"
    "So you admit it then, you do pick on him!"  Akane snapped,
"You insensetive jerk!"
    "I don't believe you," Ranma leaded on the table with one arm as
she turned to glare at Akane, "Don't tell me that a uncute tomboy like
you actually has Feelings for the little pig-gie!"
    "Cut it out!" Akane barked back, "Ryoga is NOT P-chan, I can't
believe you're--"
    "Would you two SHUT UP!!!"  Ukyou screamed at the two as she shot
straight up, slamming her hands on the table.  Shanna jumped almost
out of her chair, her eyes wide as saucers.  Mousse was covering his
eyes as if he had a headache, he'd had such high hopes... "Here it
is we're trying to tell you two stubborn jackasses something and all
you can do is fight!  I would've thought that you two being alone for
a week without hurting each other would have cooled those tempers down
but I guess I was wrong!  I don't know why you two decided to finally
get married when you can't even be in the same room together!"
    Ranma and Akane looked up at the steaming Ukyou, then at each
other.  "You're right," Akane agreed, "We can talk about this later.
I just wish I knew why you two fight so much."
    Before Ranma could answer, Mousse interrupted.  He had figured out
awhile ago that Ryoga was actually Akane's little pet, and that
somehow he must have gotten Ranma to promise not to tell.  "Come on,
Akane, this is Ranma we're talking about, who needs a better reason to
attack her?"
    Akane thought about this for a second.  He hated to admit it, but
that was almost logical...
    "ANY-way..." Ukyou continued, sitting back down, "that's not all,
there may be more to it than just Ryoga.  Today when I opened up there
was somebody here looking for the dojo.  He said he had business
there. Now he didn't mention you two, and he didn't seem like he was
looking for trouble, but when was the last time that THAT happened?"
    "What did he look like?" Akane asked.
    "Big guy... wore denim... had a back pack and a sledgehammer...
and he carried himself like a martial artist." Ukyou replied, "I'd say
he was in his early thirties..."
    "Aw, big deal..." Ranma waved Ukyou's concerns off, "I can handle
him if he causes trouble, no problem..."
    "I wouldn't be too sure, Ran-chan..." Ukyou cationed, "I wouldn't
like the idea of possibly having him team up with Ryoga against you."
    "And why would he do that?" Akane asked, curious now.
    "Because he said his name was Hikaru Hibiki, Ryoga's cousin.  And
if he's anything like his cousin then that means trouble."
    "Well then, where is he now?"  Ranma glanced around the room 
briefly.  Ukyou snorted in amusment, like they wouldn't have noticed 
if the guy was still here...  	
     "I figured we needed some time, so I gave him directions to the 
dojo, I figured if he had a sense of direction like Ryoga..."
     "So in other words, you let him get himself lost,"  Mousse 
finished for her, "Did it work?"
    "He wandered off in the southernly direction he was warned not to
go in," Ukyou grinned.
    "That very interesting, but Mousse have something to say."  Shanna
added.  Several of them jumped, she had been so quiet they had
forgotten she was there.  Shanna smiled shyly and looked down, her
face coloring as they stared at her.
    "Ah yes..."  Mousse pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed,
looking back.  "What I have to say is not exactly unexpected...
Shampoo didn't take the news very well.  She has become increasingly
violent over the last week, and I believe she will seek out Ranma to
exact vengence against her."
    Both Ranma's and Akane's expression's fell.  "Just... great... why
can't she just get over it?  After all this time, she's STILL gonna
try to kill me?"
    "I am afraid so, she has been training most of the week." Mousse
agreed.  "I wouldn't take this threat lightly."
    "Tell me again, Akane, why did we come back here?"  Ranma muttered
sarcasticly, holding her forehead.
    "Because this is where all our friends and loved ones are," Akane
replied, "Mousse, is there any way we could talk Shampoo out of this?
I don't think any of us want to see her get hurt, and we can't allow
her to hurt Ranma."
    "Not that I know of,"  Mousse shrugged, "I suppose that if
somebody were to defeat her then she may call it off, but I don't
think it's because of tribal law.  I get the impression it's because
she feels betrayed."
    "Then why don't you challenge her?"  Ranma asked, looking up, "I
know you don't want to hurt her, but You could beat her easy if you
tried."
    "I have tried, Ranma," Mousse told her, "But Shampoo doesn't even
acknowledge my challenges anymore, she just hits me over the head and
goes on her way..."
    "Why not go to police?"  Shanna asked, "Get a re... a re..."
    "Restraint order?"  Mousse supplied.
    "Yes, why not?"
    "Actually... I'd never thought about that..."  Ranma agreed, "Do
you think it would work?"
    "This is Shampoo we're talking about..." Akane muttered.
    "What's Cologne think about all this?"  Ukyou wondered.
    "That's the strange part, Cologne doesn't seem to be at all
concerned..." Mousse told her, "Either she's completely withdrawn
because of it, or she's planning something."
    Just then several regulars walked in,  "Well, whatever you
decide,"  Ukyou told them as she stood, "I have work to get back to.
Let me know what happens"  Ukyou cheerfully greeted the newcomers as
she made her way back around the grill.
                                       

    Hikaru looked up at the midday sun in confusion.  The girl at the
shop had said that the dojo was close by, yet here it was, almost
noon, and he hadn't seen anything remotely like a dojo.
    Hikaru stopped abruptly when he came to another restaraunt, the
banner in front showing Vietnamese characters.  He started looking
around in a panic until he found a streetsign.
    "Good, I'm still in Japan,"  He sighed in relief, "Well, maybe I
can get directions in there."
    Hikaru walked in, glancing at the lunch crowd that filled the
small buisness as he slipped his sneakers off, the chatter of several
convesations filling the air.  Making his way around the tables, he
walked up to the counter, where he could see a young, long-haired
woman busy in the kitchen, her back turned.  Reaching around a
customer, Hikaru rung the small bell on the counter.
    "Just one minute, I'll be right there!"  The woman called out.
    "Take your time, I was just wondering if I could get some
directions..." Hikaru called back, looking around the room.
    The woman suddenly stiffened, dropping the pan she held to the
floor in a loud clatter.  Magicly, the entire room grew quiet.  That
voice... no, it couldn't be, not after all this time... Slowly she
turned around, fire in her eyes as she saw who was at the counter.
    "You--!"
    "Ah-hahaha..." Hikaru nervously laughed, "Mai Ling!  So... when
did you arrive in Japan?"  Slowly he started backing towards the door.
    "After you defeated and humiliated me in front of my entire
village, you DARE show up here?" Mai Ling snarled, a halberd suddenly
in her hands.
    "Hey! You attacked me!  I just wanted directions, how was I to
know you were having a tournament?"  Hikaru noticed that a lot of the
customers were moving their tables off to the side, as if this was a
common occurance.
    "I have only one thing to say to you!"  Mai Ling snapped.
    "Nice to see you?"  Hikaru asked hopefully, still edging to the
door.
    "Die!"  Mai Ling leapt over the counter and slashed at where
Hikaru was standing, but he was already gone, flipping backwards with
a handspring out the door.
    "At least let me grab my shoes!"  He shouted back into the
doorway, then barely dodged decapitation as Mai Ling charged after
him.  Hikaru dropped and swept her legs from under her, then leapt up
onto the roof.  Soon, he was bounding from house to house, the crazed
cook hot on his heels.
    "Great spirits, why does this happen to me and not someone else?"
he wondered out loud.


    Ranma and Akane sat on the park bench near the edge of the pond,
the warmth of the midday sun comfortable as they tossed breadcrumbs to
the ducks.
    After walking with Mousse and Shanna to her Grandfather's place,
they had sat and talked to the older man, who had practicly gushed
over them.  Mr. LeBeau's mannerism's were... new, to say the least.
But, when most everyone they had met over the last two years were
after the two of them in some manner or another, they felt they could
easily get along with him.
    After they had left the Crawdad's, the two newlywed's had come
here to the park, putting off going back to the dojo as long as they
could.  It wasn't that they didn't want to go there, they just didn't
want to become target's quite yet.
    Ranma sat next to Akane, her legs curled up under her on the bench
as she rested against the cradle of Akane's body, Akane's right arm
loosly around her shoulders.  Normally, Ranma would never be seen in a
position like this, not only because it was a public show of affection,
but because the position she was in was very feminine.  However, Ranma
had decided that she didn't care.  If someone saw her with her... with
Akane, then what did it matter?  Besides, this felt nice...
    "Yen for your thoughts," Akane asked, looking down at Ranma.
    "Why?"
    "Cause you were smiling, I was just wondering what about"
    Ranma smiled, "I was thinking about you, about how nice this
feels..."
    "Ranma!  You say the nicest things!"  Akane squealed, hugging her
tighter.
    "Ack--!  Akane-- must breathe--!"
    Akane let go, and they settled back into place.  They watched as
the ducks floated across the surface of the pond, listening to the
distant sound of children playing...
    A thought occured to Akane, "Ranma, what day is today?"
    "Umm... Friday, why?"  she answered, looking up questioningly.
    "Great.  You realise that we have school monday, don't you?"
    "The thought had crossed my mind.  How do you think everyone's
gonna react?"
    "I don't know..." Akane sighed.  "Even with all the craziness over
the last two years, this is going to take some getting used to.  What
do you think?"
    "Well I--"  suddenly Ranma's eyes grew wide, "Uh-oh!"
    Before Akane could ask, Ranma was kissing him passionately,
pulling his head down as she ran her fingers through his hair.
Startled, Akane started to reciprocate eagerly.
    Ryoga walked past then, not paying attention to the young couple
making out on the bench.  "Why can't I ever get where I'm going?" the
lost boy growled, stopping, "Is it ever to be my curse, to wander
hopelessly, never to know where I am?  Ranma!!  This is all your
fault!  You won't escape me for long!  Ranma!"  Having uttering his
standard battlecry, Ryoga ran off.
    Ranma came up for air, leaving Akane gasping as she watched
Ryoga's retreating form.  "Man, that was close!  I was sure he was
gonna find us..."  Just then Ranma was grabbed by Akane again.
    "He could come back,"  Akane growled huskily, pulling Ranma back
into another kiss.
    As the two continued to hide from Ryoga, dark eyes watched them
from above, hidden in the depths of the trees.
    There she was... the one who had stolen her one true love... she
had much to answer for... but not now...


    Hikaru skidded across the roof as he landed, hopping down quickly
to the street.  Throwing himself around the corner of the house he hid
himself desperately, trying to get his breathing under control.
    As Hikaru's conditioning was excellent, his breathing soon
returned to normal.  Not hearing anybody in pursuit, he cautiously
looked around the corner.
    "Huh, looks like I lost her," He muttered, looking up to the
rooftops as well, "I wish Mai Ling would just sit down and talk with
me, I'd make repreations with her but it's kinda hard when she keeps
trying to kill me."
    Shedding his backpack, Hikaru dug around in it until he found a
pair of moccasins.  Slipping them on he looked around to catch his
bearings.  When he saw the nameplate on the wall of the house he
landed on, his jaw dropped in surprise.
    "Well, well, Mai Ling, it looks like I owe you a favor," He said
softly, tracing the name ~Hibiki' on the nameplate.  Hikaru leapt over
the wall and to the door, his heart beating in excitement.  Was
anybody home?
    Taking the key from under the mat, Hikaru unlocked the door and
walked in, setting his backpack and toolbelt aside.  "Auntie?  Uncle?
Ryoga?  Is anybody home?"  He called out, almost forgetting to remove
his footwear, "It's me, Hikaru!"
    Silence was all that answered, however, and with it a crashing of
his hope.  "Ah well... it was a long shot, anyway..."  Hikaru felt the
depression building, but quickly shook it off, he wasn't the angry
young man he once was, he wouldn't let this get to him.  All the
members of his family were cursed to wander as he did, they would be
back eventually.  Besides, now that he'd found the house, it wasn't
like he couldn't come back, that's why he had studied navigation...
    "No, it's getting there in the First place that's the problem..."
he muttered.
    "Well, since I'm here..." wandering into the kitchen, he fetched a
glass of water from the faucet, then scanned the room.
    "Hmm... what's this..." Hikaru picked up a bowl of what looked
like dried out ramen noodles from the counter and a note, "`Ryoga, made
some lunch for you, I've gone to the market and should be back soon.
Love, mom.'  Looks like it's been about three weeks then... " He
emptied the contents in the trash, then proceeded to clean the dusty
kitchen.
    Twenty minutes later, Hikaru walked out into the living room,
moving towards his uncle's desk.  "Let's see... he's gotta have some
paper... ah." quickly he scribbled out a note, "Hello there, stopped
by, but nobody was home.  I am back in Japan and will stop by again
later.  Have a lot of stories to tell you, Hikaru."  with that, he
went back to the front door, gathered his pack and toolbelt again, and
stepped back outside.
    "I'd like to stay, but there's no telling how long it'll be until
anybody shows up next,"  He muttered to himself, slapping the note on
the front door.  Shrugging the pack back on, Hikaru walked out to the
street and turned, hoping to find the dojo next.
    Five minutes later, from the opposite direction, a older woman led
by a black and white dog and carrying a sack of groceries, strolled
across the yard, and into the house.


    Kasumi worked away in the kitchen, humming merrily to herself.
Akane and Ranma were back!  And it looked like they were getting along
so well...
    Kasumi started to sift the flour for the buscuits she would serve
with dinner tonight.  When Ranma and Akane had shown up at the front
door an hour earlier, she had been worried like everyone else.  After
all, they weren't due back for another day at least, why were they
back?  Was everything okay?  Kasumi had been very glad to hear that
they had just come home early and they were getting along just fine.
After that, Kasumi and Nabiki had dragged the two off to Akane's room
for a gossip session, while the two fathers had broken out the sake to
celebrate the joining of their families.
    Kasumi smirked to herself.  She and Nabiki *had* been somewhat
merciless with their questions, remembering how red Ranma and Akane
had gotten, but it was just so exciting!  They had wanted to know
everything that had happened while on the honeymoon... well, not
*everything*, she thought, blushing slightly, some things were better
left unsaid...  but Still--!
    Kasumi pulled out a measuring cup and started to spoon the flour
into it, Soon she would have to show Akane how to do this, if he was
going to be taking over the household, that way Ranma would be free to
train students in the dojo...
    Kasumi paused for a moment, running that thought over in her
head.  Wait a moment, if Akane was the `man' of the house now, then
wouldn't he be the one training the students?  And wouldn't Ranma be
in charge of the household duties?  She was already a better cook than
Akane...
    Kasumi sighed, then set the cup down, absently wiping her hands on
her apron.  If she were to instruct Ranma in how to take over the
household, she'd better start now, she could be so stubborn... it
would probably be best if Kasumi didn't tell Ranma she was training
her right off, as well...


    Ranma and Akane, having unpacked after the little chat session,
had decided to work out, so were now in the dojo.  Ranma was currently
facing Akane, leading him through a kata designed to improve one's
defense, her movement's flowing and graceful as she slowly showed
Akane how it was done.  Akane followed through the form, his movements
not quite as graceful, yet still just as powerful.  They reached the
end of the kata, bowed to each other, then started again.
    "I still can't believe those two, asking questions like that!"
Ranma groused, blushing at some of the rather pointed details Nabiki
had wanted to know.
    Akane grinned, "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Ranma...
they're only excited about what's happened.  It's natural to be
curious.  Think of it as a girl thing, if you want."
    "I suppose... just as long as they don't keep it up, the last
thing we need is Nabiki selling information like that to Kuno or
someone..."  just then they heard the dojo door slide open, and in
walked Kasumi.
    Both of them nodded to her, and Kasumi bowed back, quietly
smiling as she stood off to the side, watching them.  Kasumi marveled
at how smoothly the two newlyweds moved through the kata, both their
actions the same, how dedicated they were to their artform.  Even
though their actions mirrored the other, Kasumi could see how Ranma
was the more graceful, her movements like a soft breeze, as if gravity
had no more hold on her than she wished, almost a bird in flight...
Akane's motions seemed fluid, yet with stronger undertones, hidden
power wanting to be unleashed, like a predator waiting to pounce...
the two finished the kata, then turned to her.
    "Hey there, what's up Kasumi?" Ranma asked as they walked over.
    "This is rather unusual, seeing you out here," Akaner agreed.
    "I'm sorry for interupting your practice," Kasumi apologized, her
hands held in front of her, "But I was wondering if I could talk with
Ranma for a moment in the kitchen?"
    Both of them looked rather surprised at this.  "Umm... sure, I
guess... " Ranma answered slowly, glancing at Akane.
    "Uhh... is something going on?"  Akane asked, wondering.
    "No no," Kasumi smiled, "Just some secrets I want to share with my
new sister, that's all."
    Ranma flinched inwardly, wanting to say she was a guy!  But this
was Kasumi, nobody could bring themselves to say a cross word to her.
"Sure Kasumi, I'll be right in." Kasumi smiled again and walked
outside.  Ranma turned then to Akane, "Do you think you can practice
the kata by yourself Akane?" she asked.
    "Sure Ranma, no problem." Akane responded.  He didn't want to show
it, but what Kasumi had implied had hurt his feelings, that he
wouldn't be shown how to run a household because he was a guy now...
then Ranma was hugging him, pulling his head down to kiss his cheek.
    "Don't worry Akane, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," she
whispered, "they just gotta get used to us, that's all."  with that
Ranma turned and bounded from the dojo.
    Akane sighed and started through the kata again, but even though
his body went through the motions, his mind wasn't on it.  He kept
thinking about what Kasumi had said, and what it implied.  Did this
mean that he wouldn't be shown how to be a good housewife?  no, that
should be house husband, he supposed.  either way, it was something he
wanted to learn.  Ever since he'd been a little girl, Akane had
admired his mother, what she did for her family and loved ones, the
things she did for her family... that was the image he held in his
mind every time he tried to do something for Ranma, not only because
it was something he aspired to, but because he wanted to make her
mother so proud... it didn't matter to Akane that he never seemed to
suceed, but that he tried so hard--
    #How do you know she's not proud of you, little warrior?#
    Akane paused in the kata, surprised, but then continued, "So,
you're back are you?" he said to the voice, "and to what do I owe this
honor, oh spirit of drowned man?"
    #You figured out what I am,#  The voice responded with a touch of
humor, #I wondered if you would.#
    "It wasn't that hard, who else could you be?"  Akane replied,
"You've been quiet for days, why talk to me now?"
    #Because at this time, I can only communicate with you when you
are either very relaxed or very upset about something, your will
serves as a barrier otherwise.  There may come a time when we can talk
any time you want, and soon, but it is not now.#
    "Why can you talk to me at all?"  Akane asked, stopping the kata
and sitting down, "Can you read my thoughts?"
    #Those questions can only be answered when the next level is
reached, Akane-san, but I will say that only your loudest surface
thoughts can I hear... how do you know your mother is not proud?#
    "Well, my mom died when I was very young, but my fondest memories
are of her doing things for us.  I've always wanted to be just like
her, to do things for my family..." Akane sighed, "I just don't seem
to have any talent for housework though..."
    #I'm no expert, but it seems as if that would come in time.  Did
you learn martial arts right away?#
    "Well, no..."
    #Any skill worth doing well takes time, Akane.  If you really want
to learn it, I am sure you will... may I tell you something?#
    Akane shrugged, "I suppose, will it help?"
    #Maybe.  When I was younger, my mother once told me something.
she said that whatever I choose to do with my life, whether it was to
become a merchant, or a woodcutter, a farmer, or even a gladiator, she
would always be proud of me as long as I always tried my best.  From
what I have seen, you always do your best.#
    Akane thought about this for a moment, then smiled.  "Was she
proud of you?"
    #I would like to think so.  Death may do many things, but it
doesn't stop others from caring about you, I would say that your
mother is proud of you and your family, and I am proud of you as well,
you are doing better at controlling your anger.#
    "But I'm not yet there, right?" Akane asked.
    #No, not yet.# With that, Akane felt the presense leave him again.
    With a sigh, Akane stood back up and started the kata again.  "Of
course I'm getting better with my temper, what with you blocking me
all the time."  he growled, then started moving through the kata once
again.


    Mousse waved goodbye to the last customer, then removed the banner
that hung outside.  The dinner crowd had just left, and as Crawdad's
was a new restaraunt, they closed afterwards.  Mousse took a moment to
regard the low sitting sun, it looked like it would be a beautiful
sunset, then stepped inside, sliding the door closed.
    Setting the banner aside, he hurried over and started helping
Shanna clear the tables.
    "Mousse, you no need help," Shanna told him, grateful that he was.
    "It's no problem, really."  Mousse told her, setting dishes on the
tray, "Besides, you and Mr. LeBeau have been so nice to me, it's the
least I can do." Clearing the last table off, the two carried the
trays into the back, where Mr. LeBeau was finishing storing the food
away.
    "Ah, we do good tonight!"  He beamed at the two young people,
"`Dis keep up, then we do as good as we did in New Orleans!" Shutting
the cooler door, he picked up a clipboard and started on the closing
paperwork.
    "I wouldn't worry about it, Mr. LeBeau," Mousse told him, setting
the dishes in the sink for Shanna, "People in this area are always
looking for new places to eat."  Because of all the fights that break
out in all the old ones, he thought silently.
    As Mousse grabbed a broom to sweep the front with, they all three
heard the front door open and close.  Looking at each other, Mousse
shrugged and started up front.
    "I'll get it,"  He said, stepping through the doors, " Welcome to
Crawdad's I'm sorry but URK!  You!"
    "Nice to see you to, boy,"  Cologne drawled humorlessly, hopping
up on her staff and across the room.
    "What are You doing here?"  Mousse asked, dropping the broom,
hoping this wasn't going to become violent.
    Cologne hopped over to Mousse and looked him over with a piercing
glare, causing him to break out in a sweat.  Finally she waved him
away.  "Relax Mousse, I only wanted to see where all my waitstaff had
run off to."  just then Shanna stepped out of the kitchen, wondering
what was going on.  "Or is this the reason here?"  Cologne finished,
raising an eyebrow.
    "It-It's not like that, Shanna and her Grandfather are my
friends,"  Mousse told the elder Amazon, "I figured since Shampoo
didn't seem to like me that much anymore..."
    "Did she ever?"
    "Hello there, how do you do?"  Shanna walked up to Cologne,
bowwing to her and smiling nervously.  If this was the Cologne that
Mousse had told them about, Shanna didn't want to be on her bad side.
    "Hello there young lady, I'm doing fine this evening.  Am I to
understand that you are the reason Mousse has been away for so long?"
    Before Shanna could answer, Mr. LeBeau entered the room.  "Ahh,
what do we `ave Here?  Are you `de famous Matriarch Cologne?  `tis a
pleasure to meet you Madam, I am Mr. LeBeau, and welcome to my little
shop.  It not often `dat we get people of your prestige here, Ha ha!"
He beamed, walking right up to Cologne and bowing deeply to her, "It
also a pleasure to meet another shop owner so soon!  you must be
hungry, please, take a seat an' I go get you some tea, the gumbo is
still hot, I sure you would like a bowl, it excellent today, or so
Mousse here think, he had three bowls already!"  Waving to a booth,
Mr. LeBeau started towards the kitchen, "You wait right here, I be
right back!"  With that he entered the kitchen again, where they could
hear doors opening as his deep baritone sung out a folk song to
himself.
    Cologne slowly looked at Mousse with wide eyes, wondering what had
just happened.  "I'm not sure, but I think I like him," she finally
said, hopping down into a booth.
    "Great..." Mousse muttered, "This outta be fun..." Waving Shanna
to follow him, he started back towards the kitchen as Mr. LeBeau came
back out with a tray ladened with food, "C'mon Shanna, we'd best make
ourselves scarce for awhile."
    "Mouuse tell me `dat you been around for awhile, you must `ave
many tales for de tellin'!"  They heard Mr. LeBeau ask as they went
back to finish cleaning the kitchen.  Yep, this was going to be a long
night...

        
    Ranma stepped into the changing room, stripping off her chinese
top and pants, and set her bath things on the sink.  Dinner had been
somewhat interesting, full of questions and jokes for the newlyweds.
Ranma had let Akane answer most of them, though, as she was too busy
wondering about Kasumi.
    When they had entered the kitchen, Ranma had helped Kasumi with
making dinner.  It had seemed the thing to do, that or just stand in
the way... And Kasumi had shared some secrets... but they had been
secrets about running the household, things about the neighborhood,
how to cook... why would she tell her things like that?  It was almost
as if Kasumi was trying to instruct her or something.  What was Kasumi
up to?
    Ranma paused for a moment, about to brush her teeth, and studied
the image that looked back from the mirror.  A pretty young redheaded
pigtail girl clad in boxers and a sports bra.  With a scowl, Ranma
pulled the bra off and threw it in the hamper with the rest of her
clothes.  She had accepted the necessity of the item, and both she and
Akane had compromised in favor of the sports bras Ranma now owned
instead of regular ones, as she could at least pretend they were
something else like a tight shirt or something, but Ranma hated
wearing them.  They only served to remind her that she was forever
stuck as a female now.
    Not that it was a bad form to be stuck in... Ranma thought as she
studied herself in the mirror while brushing her teeth, her breasts
were round and full, standing firm and proud in spite of their size...
her tummy was nicely flat, the muscles showing a washboard relief... a
slender waist, her hips nicely rounded... Ranma shook her head to
clear it, she was getting aroused by her own body!  Too bad Akane
wasn't here... ah well, I guess I'll just have to wait `til later...
yes, definately not a bad form to be in, but it wasn't the one she had
been born to.  She missed her height as a male, the strength it had...
Not that this form didn't have it's advantages, as a female Ranma was
faster than she ever was as a guy, and a good deal of her power did
translated over, she just missed her real form at times.
    Ranma rinsed her mouth out and stepped into the bathing area.  She
would just have to make do, she supposed.  "Not like I haven't had
time to get used to it," Ranma told herself, "Besides, it's kinda nice
being with Akane finally."  They had talked about it while at the
hotel, sorta.  While both of them agreed that their new bodies were
definately attractive, it was the person inside that they were
interested in, not the packaging.
    Ranma hurriedly scrubbed herself in the shower, then went to step
into the furo, almost screaming as she saw that Nabiki was there,
watching her with a wicked grin.
    "Nabiki!  What are you doing here!?" Ranma yelled, grabbing a
towel and wrapping it around her waist.
    "Finally, I was starting to wonder if you'd ever notice me,"
Nabiki drawled, her head resting on her crossed arms on the edge of
the tub, "You know, that towel doesn't hide that much..." Nabiki's
grin got wider as Ranma blushed furiously, readjusting the towel.
"Out of curiosity, why are you acting so modest now?  You never did
before..."
    "Well, umm... I never really saw this as my body before," Ranma
answered, starting to edge towards the door, "I'll come back later--"
    "Oh come on, Ranma, we're all girls here..." Nabiki told her
teasingly, "Besides, it's gonna be awhile until I see any of you again
anyway... come on in."
    Reluctantly, Ranma stepped into the far end of the furo, avoiding
looking at Nabiki's bare form.  It was one thing to see herself or
Akane naked, but she didn't even want to think about what the others
would do if they saw this!  The hot water immediately started to relax
her, and with a sigh, Ranma settled into the water, eyes closed.
    "You can open your eyes, Ranma, I don't think I'm that hideous,"
Nabiki said.  Cracking open one eye, Ranma saw that Nabiki was looking
at her, although she hadn't changed positions, and that with the way
Nabiki was sitting along with the depth of the water, you really
couldn't see that much.  A thought occured to Ranma then.  "Why aren't
you embarrassed Nabiki?  I mean I'm still pretty much a guy inside..."
    Nabiki shrugged, "There's no profit in it," she said, her face
taking on a quiet look, "If I were to try and blackmail you because of
this, I'd hurt myself.  Besides, I forgot to put the occupied sign
out, it's my own fault that you came in, so there's no use in worrying
about it."  Nabiki paused for a moment, studying Ranma as they relaxed
in the water.  "So, you really like being with my little sister?"
    Ranma felt her cheeks getting warmer at the question, but she
noticed that there was something about Nabiki's tone that seemed more
inquiring than teasing... "Well, yeah... I always have Nabiki.  I just
wish it hadn't taken something like this to admit it to each other.
Not that I'm complaining, it's been kinda fun." Ranma smiled back as
Nabiki's grin returned, "Now I got a question for you, where have you
been hiding all day?  Outside of dinner, hardly anybody's seen you
Nabiki."
    "I've been busy packing, I leave for college on monday, didn't you
know?" Nabiki asked back, a eyebrow raised, "I wanted to get it done
today so that I could spend the weekend with everybody.  Not that I'm
gonna miss the insanity that happens around here..."
    "Umm... sorry about that..." Ranma muttered, looking downcast.
    Nabiki stirred, sending ripples across the water, "Don't worry
about it Ranma.  I know that a lot of it is caused by that useless
furball of a father of yours, and when you do cause trouble, you at
least try to make up for it."  Not that Ranma always succeeded, but
Nabiki was always able to make a profit off the attempts.  "Besides,
it does get entertaining at times."  Nabiki stood up then, causing
Ranma to "Urk!" and quickly screw her eyes shut as Nabiki stepped out
of the furo.  Nabiki shook her head at this, it wasn't that she was
an exhibitionist, but you would think that Ranma would have gotten
used to seeing a female's body by now... "You can look now, Ranma,"
she said, wrapping a towel around herself, "I'll go tell Akane he can
take his bath now.  Just remember, little brother, while you're having
"Fun" with my little sister, to keep using protection.  I don't think
you're really ready for motherhood yet."  With that, Nabiki left the
room, leaving a wide eyed Ranma still in the water.
    Protection?  Ranma thought to herself.


    Ryoga looked up from his map as he walked down the street, looking
around in confusion as the early evening darkness settled in.
    "This doesn't make sense, the dojo should be around here
someplace..." he said, looking around.  He'd only walked across half
of Tokyo, he should of found it by now... turning a full circle, he
saw the object of his search across the street from him.  At last!
He'd found the Tendo dojo, there was no way that the cursed Ranma
would escape the punishment she had coming to her now--!  With a
single bound, Ryoga was perched on top the wall that surrounded the
Tendo's yard.  Finally, that fiend Ranma would pay for hurting Akane
so, she must be so heartbroken, after being dumped so heartlessly...
wait a minute... if Akane was so heartbroken, then wasn't it his duty
as her friend and true love to comfort her in her hour of need?
Wouldn't this be the time to express his true feelings for her?  But
what about Ranma, who had so traitorously left her for that--that
GUY!?  What was he supposed to do?
    Ryoga stood up on the wall, his fists clenched and unconsciously
striking a dramatic pose.  There was only one way to solve this
dilemma.  Digging through his pockets, Ryoga produced a canadian
two-dollar coin.  Huh, wonder where I got this at, he absently mused.
    "Okay, heads I comfort Akane, tails I beat the snot out of Ranma."
he said, the coin flipping through the air.  Catching it, he slapped
it to the back of his hand.
    "Heads it is!  Here I come Akane!"  Ryoga cried as he leapt into
the air, visions of Akane and him together clouding his vision,
clearing only when he hit the koi pond that somebody must have moved
into his way.
    Soun Tendo and Genma-panda, both who were sitting on the porch
playing their favorite game of Go, looked bleary eyed out into the
yard, many a bottle of sake around them.
    "Did you hear something, Saotome?"  Soun managed to get out,  The
Panda tried to palm two of Soun's pieces while he was distracted, but
instead ended up putting three back.  "I guess it wasn't anything--
there they are!  I was wondering where those pieces went!"
    A very disgruntled P-chan crawled out of the pond, his clothes and
pack settling to the bottom.  This wasn't quite what he'd been
thinking of, why was it that the fates were always conspiring against
him?  Somehow, this had to be Ranma's fault!


    Ukyou stepped out of Ucchan's and, checking to be sure her Battle
Spat was secure and she had a full bandolier, locked the door behind
her.  Then, with a look of grim determination, quickly strode down the
street.
    It was time.  Her target had much to answer for, and she knew she
would find him at the dojo.  She had tried to be nice to him, but for
what he had done, there was only one option left.  And when she found
him, there was going to be hell to pay...


    Akane stepped into the bathing area, absently holding his towel to
his chest as he entered.  Sitting in the water was Ranma, a shocked
expression still on her face.
    This was odd, Akane thought, kneeling by the edge of the tub.  He
reached up and touched Ranma's face, causing her to start.  "What's
wrong, love?" Akane asked, "You were just staring off into space."
    "Akane, I think we may have a problem," Ranma told him, her voice
distraught.
    Akane quickly climbed into the furo, driven by the emotion in
Ranma's voice.  Gathering Ranma's small form in his arms, he held her
tightly, stroking Ranma's hair.  "What?  What's wrong?  Did something
happen?"  it almost seemed like Ranma was scared!
    "Akane... while we were away... should we have used...
protection?" Ranma shuddered at the thought.
    "Protection?  Protection against what?  I don't-- Urk!"  Akane
froze, she didn't mean *That* kind of protection, did she?  "You mean
you think you might be... *pregnant*???" he gasped out, feeling Ranma
flinch at the word.  No, this couldn't be happening, he wasn't used to
being a guy yet, but now he was going to be a Mommy?!? No wait, that
would be Daddy... He thought as he turned Ranma around to face him.
    "I don't know!"  Ranma almost wailed, looking away from Akane.
    "Well, what signs have you shown?  How far along in your cycle are
you?  Are you overdue for your period?"  Akane's stomach was turning
flipflops right now, he wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or scream!
    "My period?"  Ranma asked in confusion, looking up, "You mean that
thing Kasumi was telling me about?"
    Akane `urked' again, then glared at Ranma.  "How can you spend
most of your time as a girl and not know what that is, you Baka!"
    "How can you yell at me at a time like this!  You're the one that
did this to me anyway you tomboy!"  Ranma snapped back, pushing away.
    "I didn't hear you complaining at the time, you pervert!"  he
growled back, then stopped himself, "Okay Ranma, let's just stop.
We've both been rather high strung today, so let's just take a minute
and just collect ourselves before either of us says something really
bad..."  Ranma nodded, then slid back into Akane's arms.
    "I'm sorry I got you mad..."
    "I'm sorry I yelled at you, too..."  they stayed quiet for a
moment, then Akane sat back, "Okay Ranma, what makes you think you
could be pregnant?"
    "I was talking to Nabiki earlier, and she made a offhand remark
about using protection.  We haven't used any at all."  By now Ranma's
cheeks were bright red.  This was not the sort of thing she liked
talking about, she'd had nightmares about this before!
    "So you're saying that there's no proof it might have happened,
just that you think it might of?" Akane asked.
    "Well... yeah... I guess so..." Ranma muttered, feeling
embarrassed now, "I feel like such an idiot..."
    "No, Ranma... " Akane shushed, petting the girl's hair gently,
"It's something we should be worried about.  Neither one of us are
really ready to become parents yet, but as far as we know, you could
be pregnant... I definately think we should go see Dr. Tofu like we
planned tomorrow."
    "Umm... about that... Kasumi said that Tofu was out of town, he
won't be back until tuesday.  We'll have to make the appointment
then."
    Akane thought for a moment.  Tuesday.  Okay, tuesday wasn't so
bad, they could wait until tuesday. "Okay Ranma, we can do that.  but
until then, I don't think you should get into any fights or that
we should tell anybody else, okay?"
    "That's easier said than done, you know," Ranma grumped, rolling
her eyes.
    "I know that, but if you are pregnant you could hurt yourself and
the baby, so I want you to promise me you'll at least try, okay?
Okay?"  Akane held her until she nodded her head.
    "Okay Akane, I promise." she said.  With that, Ranma stood and
stepped out of the furo, "I'm going to bed, Akane... you go ahead and
finish your bath..."
    "Are you going to be okay?"  Akane held onto Ranma's hand, concern
in his voice.
    "Yeah, I just got a lot to think about... don't worry..." she
squeezed her husband's hand, then turned and shuffled from the room.
    "Poor Ranma..." Akane watched her shut the door behind her, then
slumped into the furo. Ohgodohgodohgod!  Pregnant!  whatifshewas?
Whatifshewas??  I'm not ready for this!  Aughh!


    A pajama clad Nabiki stepped into the kitchen, pulling a soda out
of the fridge.  She had finished packing for the night, but she still
had a lot of work ahead of her.  She had to make sure the household
finances were all in order, plus instructions had to be left so that
the others could keep them up...  maybe an accountant should be
hired... maybe she should also let people know that Ranma was taking
the dojo over now, with her reputation, students shouldn't be hard to
find...
    A scratching at the back door drew Nabiki's attention then.
Opening it, she watched P-chan enter the kitchen, who greeted her with
a friendly "Bwee!"
    "Oh.  You."  Nabiki drawled to the piggy.  For the life of her,
Nabiki couldn't figure out what Akane saw in the thing, but then
again, Nabiki wasn't much for pets in the first place... I wonder if
Akane would consider breeding P-Chan, you could charge a lot for stud
fee's, and there had to be a market for miniature pigs someplace...
    The two stood there for a moment, looking at each other.  What was
she supposed to do, pet the thing?  With a shrug, Nabiki turned and
left.  When she got partway up the stairs, she looked behind her and
saw P-chan at the foot of the stairs, grinning up at her.
    "Are you following me?  Not that I expect a pig to answer..."
After a moment, Nabiki went back down and picked P-chan up by his
bandanna, holding him away from her with two fingers, "C'mon, I
suppose I can be nice for once and take you to Akane's room."
    Carrying him up the stairs, Nabiki took him to Akane's door and
tossed him into the darkened room, wiping her hand on her pajama
bottoms as she left.
    P-chan rolled to his feet, having a few choice thoughts for Nabiki
as he did.  But then again, it wasn't like he could really do anything
to her, Nabiki wasn't a martial artist.  Even though the room was
dark, there was a bit of moonlight from the window, enough for P-chan
to see the small figure huddled in the bed.  Poor Akane, she must of
cried herself to sleep.  Hopping upon the bed, P-chan huddled close to
the young girl.
    When Ranma had left the bath, her emotions had been in turmoil.
She felt confused, angry, upset, distraught, all sorts of things that
she wasn't prepared to feel and hadn't felt before.  What was she
supposed to do?  What if she was... she was... oh kami, she couldn't
even think about it!  This would be just the thing she would need to
have get out to the others, if they weren't after her head before,
they would be now... her's or Akane's... she had crawled into bed and
had almost fallen asleep.
    Needless to say, when she felt a certain piggy's snout prodding
her, she knew it was about to hit the fan.  Still only half awake, she
sat up, picking P-chan up and petting him as she tried to gather her
thoughts.  Maybe if she was nice, she could diffuse the situation?
Besides, she had promised not to fight...
    "Hey there Ryoga, it's good to see you,"  P-chan's eyes grew wide
as he squealed in shock.  What was Ranma doing here!  "Um, Akane
should be here in a bit, and I'm really not in any mood to deal with
you, so I'll tell you what, I won't say anything if you want to stay
here tonight, but we gotta talk tomorrow.  You can't keep this up,
P-chan.  Maybe if we sit and talk we can settle this without anybody
getting hurt, okay?"
    However, all of this was wasted on P-chan as a black veil of rage
descended over his eyes.  How *dare* this twisted, insensitive,
freakish, PERVERT be here!  Not only had she gone and lured some poor
guy into her web of deceit, but now she intended to seduce Akane and
have her wicked way with her!  She'd gone TOO FAR!  P-chan squirmed
away from Ranma and leapt to the floor, marching across the room and
out the door.
    "Ryoga, no, wait!  Don't go... away mad..."  Ranma watched the pig
leave.  He'd wanted to make friends with him... "That could have gone
better..."
    For once P-chan's sense of direction didn't distract him from his
goal, and within minutes he stormed into the washroom.  That pervert
had gone too far this time!  There was no escuse, Ranma must be made
to pay!  Hopping up onto the rim of the Furo, he threw himself into
the hot water.  The change was almost instantaneous, tingly, like a
muscle that had gone to sleep, then Ryoga stood up, erupting from the
water.
    "Ranma.  Now you die..." He growled, his battle aura already
visible and humming.  Furiously he strode out of the room, pausing
only long enough to grab a change of clothes from the shelf in the
laundry room and dress.
    Not once did he notice the strange young man he'd seen earlier
that was sitting in the furo.


    A few moments later, all hell broke loose.
    "SHI SHI HOUKOUDAN!"
    Ranma hit the ground in a shoulder roll, clad only in her boxers
and shirt as the outside wall of the bedroom exploded above her with
the force of a bomb.   When Ryoga had kicked the door in, Ranma's
reflexes had taken over and she had dived out the window just in time
to avoid the chi attack.  Ranma came to her feet and leapt backwards
for some distance as Ryoga leap out of the hole, his fist crashing
into the spot where she had just been. Ranma then had to dive again as
several bandanna's cut thru the air.
    "What the hell is your problem Ryoga, I said you could stay in the
room!"  Ranma sidestepped as Ryoga charged her, then she found herself
dodging like mad, only barely avoiding a furious barrage of strikes
and kicks as Ryoga forced her on the defensive.  This was real bad,
Ryoga seemed to have gotten better since they last fought, he was
coming a lot closer than she liked with his attacks.  Not only was
Ryoga extremly furious, but he was unusually focused as well, if this
kept up Ryoga would wear her down real soon, and then there would be
blood spilled.
    Ryoga's answer however was to growl as he threw even more strikes,
several of which grazed Ranma's shoulder's and arms, and followed with
a backheel kick aimed for Ranma's head.  A kick that would have taken
her head clean off if she had been there when it landed.  With a speed
born of desperation Ranma had ducked under it and stepped inside
Ryoga's guard.
    "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"  Over three hundred blows nailed
Ryoga in the solar plexus in under a second, then Ranma jumped back
out of reach.  The lost boy doubled over, then slowly stood, pausing
to brush his shirt off.
    "Not bad for a girl, Ranma,"  Ryoga growled, the green glow of his
battle aura surrounding him in a demonic effect, "I almost felt that.
But none of your tricks will help you now, You Die toni--OOFFFPH!"
Ranma hit the ground as Ryoga suddenly went flying forward to crash
into the dojo wall.  When Ranma looked up, it was to see a very angry
and boxer clad Akane standing before her, glaring daggers at Ryoga as
he shifted his grip on his mallet.
    "Stay behind me, Ranma, the little pig is mine." Akane said in a
frighteningly calm voice.
    "I'm glad you're here and all, but I can fight my own fights!"
Ranma snapped, hopping up "You try fighting him by yourself and you're
going to get hurt!"
    "Do you really think you're in any *Condition* to fight him?"
Akane asked in that calm voice as he watched Ryoga stand up again.
    "Get out of the way, I have no quarrel with you," Ryoga warned the
newcomer.  For some reason, he looked oddly familiar...
    "You wreck my home, betray my trust, threaten my wife, and you
think I'm just gonna stand aside?  Think again Ryoga."
    "You're Wife?!?  Ranma!  Is there no end to your perversions!
What about poor Akane!"
    "I'm Akane."
    "He even has her name!  Ranma--!"
    "Akane TENDO!  He's Akane, you jerk!"  Ranma yelled back, "We got
married!  If you'd let Ukyou finish when she tried to tell you you'd
know this!"
    Before Ryoga could respond, a figure leapt high into the air above
the dojo, a weapon in hand as it descended rapidly.
    CLANG!
    Caught by surprise, Ryoga's eyes rolled back in his head and he
toppled forward.  With a grin, Ukyou peeled her spatula free of his
head.
    "Hi guys!" she called out to the surprised couple in the yard, "I
figured he'd be here by now... looks like I should have gotten here a
bit sooner though, sorry."  What happened to the wall, a bomb?
    "Thanks a lot Ucchan!"
    "Ukyou, would you please do me a big favor?" Akane growled, "Get
that little pig out of my sight before I kill him?" At that Ranma
looked up surprised, that didn't sound like Akane at all...
    "What?  Why would--"
    "Please Ucchan, do as he ask," Ranma pleaded, turning to face her,
"We'll explain later."
    "O-kay, I guess so..."  Grabbing Ryoga by the back of his
bandanna, she leapt into the air, dragging him behind as she left.
    Ranma sighed in relief.  From the behind her she could hear Soun
in the living room starting to wail at the damage to his house.  Akane
turned around to face her, his mallet gone.
    "You knew, didn't you." Akane said, his tone clearly stating that
this wasn't a question.
    "That Ryoga is P-chan?  Yes, I did."  Ranma agreed, covering her
head as she waited for the blows.  Ranma didn't even think about
running, this was something they had to clear up, and if Akane was
going to beat her for it, it was best to get it out of the way.
    Akane reached out and took Ranma's hands, pulling them down to her
sides, "Why didn't you tell me then Ranma." he asked, releasing her.
    Damn, Akane was still talking in that calm voice, he must be
furious!  "It's a long story, but I swore on my honor that I wouldn't
tell his secret.  Bushido."
    Akane simply glared at Ranma, thinking.  That would be the case,
and if it was true, then that meant Ranma had been over the proverbial
barrel.  Why hadn't I seen it?
    Ranma tenatively reached for Akane's hand, "Akane... are you
okay?  Talk to me..."
    "No I'm not, Ranma.  I feel very hurt and betrayed.  I want to
know why Ryoga did this to me, but not right now, I'm too angry to
understand anything."  Akane clenched his fists, trying to stay in
control, "I... I think I'd like to be alone for awhile."
    "Okay Akane, I'll go inside," Ranma agreed softly.  "I love you."
    "I know Ranma, I'll be inside in a bit."  With that, Akane turned
and sat down in the yard as Ranma left.
    Neither one of them noticed the figure that dropped down from the
tree across the street and bounded away...


    Hikaru turned the street corner and stopped, leaning against the
wall as he started muttering angrily to himself.
    "Who needs a map, Hikaru..." he growled to himself, "You can find
the dojo on your own, Hikaru... how hard could it be, Hikaru... I'm
such an idiot..." he started walking again, then saw the name plate on
the wall.
    "Tendo dojo of anything goes martial arts."  he read.  With a
growl of exasperation, he looked skyward, "You're laughing at me,
aren't you?  Some spirit guide..."  Hikaru hopped up onto the wall.
Although it was kind of late, there were still lights on, and he could
see people inside.  Good, he didn't want to wake anyone up if he had
to... what in the world happened to the side of the house?
     Kasumi was bringing a tray of tea into the living room for
everyone that was still up.  Nabiki was currently on the couch,
calculating her damage assesments in a notebook, Soun and Genma had
gone back to their game of Go, while Ranma was currently upstairs
confiscating the guestroom to sleep in.  As Kasumi set the tray down,
they heard a knocking at the front door.
    "Oh my, who could that be?"  She wondered, standing back up.  As
the knocking continued, she quickened her pace.  Could this be another
of Ranma's little friends?  Another fiancee maybe?  This night was
getting more and more interesting... Opening the door, her eyes grew
wide at the sight that met her.
    "Oh... my..." she breathed slowly as Hikaru looked at her, who
could this be?
    "Good evening, are you Ms. Tendo?"  Hikaru asked, bowing to her.
Kasumi could only nod, and she felt her heart skip a beat as he smiled
to her. My, what cute little fangs!  "I'm sorry for disturbing you so
late at night, but I have traveled far hoping to find someone.  I
understand he visits here often?"
    "Ummm... It's no... of course... Please, step inside, Mister...?"
Kasumi suddenly found that she didn't know what to do with her hands,
why was it suddenly so warm in here?  Who *Was* this man?  He was so
tall, and handsome, and... older!
    "Hibiki, Hikaru Hibiki," He introduced himself, stepping inside
just far enough to close the door, "I really don't wish to be a
bother, but I'm looking for my cousin, Ryoga, and I understand he has
friends here?"
    This was Ryoga's cousin? "Yes, he does come here often.  In fact
you just missed him,"  Kasumi answered, "after blowing out the wall he
left with another friend.  Is it urgent you find him?"
    Hikaru looked shocked, "You mean Ryoga did That?  If he did, I
guess it is urgent that I see him.  Do you know where they went?"
    "They went to Ucchan's Okinomiyaki, it's only a little ways from
here, would you like me to show you the way?"  Kasumi asked him,
somewhat surprised at her own boldness.
    "Um, no, Actually I know the way already, I've been there
before..."  Hikaru thought for a second, "Tell you what though, I know
a little bit about construction, and since it was my cousin that blew
your house up, I could come back tomorrow in the afternoon and repair
the damages if you'd like."  Actually, he was a practitioner of the
construction based school of martial arts, but Hikaru saw no reason to
mention that now.
    "You could?  That would be wonderful!  Thank you Hikaru-san!"
Kasumi beamed, he'd be back tomorrow!
    "All right, I'll see you then, Bye!"  Waving to her, Hikaru
turned and let himself out.  When the door closed, Kasumi let her
expression fall.  When he'd waved with his left hand, she had seen the
gold ring he wore on his middle finger.
    "Damn!"  She said, then quickly covered her mouth in surprise.


    Ukyou crossed her arms as she stood in front of Ryoga.  He had
regained consciousness shortly after she'd dragged him back to her
shop, and had tried to leave.   However, after beating him over the
head and shoulders with her spatula, Ukyou had convinced him to stay
and let her explain what was going on.  Now Ruoga was sitting on the
stool in front of the grill looking down at the floor, his face
drained of color.
    "Are you okay Ryoga?"  Ukyou asked softly, reaching out to smooth
his hair.  Her anger at Ryoga for running off the first time was gone,
now all she could feel for him was sympathy, she knew what he must be
going through.
    "My life is over..."  was all Ryoga mutttered.  Akane was cursed
as a guy now, and married to Ranma.  *Willingly* married, it seemed.
There was no longer any hope... maybe he should just crawl off into a
dark hole and die.  Ryoga barely heard anything that Ukyou was saying
to him, or the knocking on the door that followed.  What was he
supposed to do?  It wouldn't be honorable to challenge Ranma any more,
it would just cause Akane to despise him further, how she-- sorry, He
must hate him now...
    A large hand cupped his face, gently turning his head upward.
Hikaru was kneeling before him, looking concerned. "Hey there buddy,
you going to be okay?"  He asked.  Ukyou had already given him a
brief rundown on what she knew, although she herself still didn't
know what had happened at the dojo.  He knew that Ryoga had to be
depressed, he could feel it just being this close to him, but
hopefully he could help Ryoga overcome this.
    Ryoga's just stared at him for a moment, then his eyes seemed to
snap into focus.  "H--Hikaru?"
    "Yep, it's me buddy.  It's been what, ten years?  Sorry to take so
long between visits, but I've been--" Hikaru was cut short as Ryoga's
fist crashed into his jaw, sprawling him backwards.
    "You--!  How dare you come back here after leaving me like that!"
Ryoga screamed at Hikaru, on his feet with clenched fists, "I looked
up to you!  You said you would Train me!  And you RAN OFF!"  Ryoga
charged the prone Hikaru, only to be met with a foot to the gut.
Hikaru then grabbed a double handfull of Ryoga's shirt and heaved,
launching Ryoga out the still open door that a wide eyed Ukyou stood
besides.  She had thought it strange that he asked her to stand aside
and keep it open...
    "I guess I snapped him out of his depression..." Hikaru growled,
then kicked back up to his feet.  "Thank you Ukyou-san, I can take it
from here, sayonara!"  he said as he charged out the door.  Shocked,
Ukyou just shut the door and locked it.
    "Is his whole family like that?"  She wondered.
    Hikaru waited for Ryoga to get back to his feet, then leapt away,
looking for someplace where nobody would get hurt.  Obviously Ryoga
was a fighter, but he had no idea about Ryoga's abilities.  There were
some things that were to be expected, of course, all the Hibiki's were
incredibly strong and had a high threshhold for pain, but outside of
that... Hikaru spotted a empty field and bounded into it, shedding his
backpack and toolbelt as he landed.  He had a feeling he would need
all his speed very shortly, and there was no way he was going to use
his Sledgehammer on a family member.  He turned to face Ryoga, only to
be tackled as Ryoga bore into him.  Hikaru braced his feet and stayed
upright, his heels digging into the ground.
    With a grunt, Hikaru wrentched Ryoga free and tossed him aside.
yep, he was dead on about the strength... Roaring, Ryoga charged
Hikaru again, launching a flurry of kicks at Hikaru, which he blocked
with his forearms.
    "Not bad Ryoga, you're almost as good as I was at your age,"
Hikaru ducked under a kick, and then shoved Ryoga away, sending him
stumbling a good ten feet.
    "Shut up and fight!" Ryoga snapped, almost frothing at the mouth.
The rage he had felt for Ranma was as nothing compared to what he felt
now.  Ripping free several bandanna's he hurled them at Hikaru, who
leaped over them.
    "You mastered the Iron cloth technique," Hikaru noted absently,
landing in a defensive stance, "Very good, I was never able to learn
that one..."  what else had Ryoga learned?  When Ryoga charged again,
Hikaru caught his fist, then the other.  Soon they were engaged in a
test of strength.  Oh yeah, Ryoga had a great deal of power, but it was
obvious that Ryoga was going almost all out, while Hikaru was using
only enough strength to keep him at bay, Ryoga was no match for him in
the strength department.
    "Why don't we stop fighting Ryoga, I didn't come all the way back
to Japan just to beat you up."  Hikaru asked conversationally.
    "If you didn't want to fight then you shouldn't have come back
here at all, you Traitor!"  Ryoga snarled back.
    "Traitor?  Here I am trying to be polite, and you call me names?"
Hikaru brought his knee up into Ryoga's stomach, knocking the wind
out of him, followed by a forearm uppercut that knocked Ryoga off his
feet.  Hikaru took a couple of steps back, "You're a good fighter
Ryoga, maybe we can talk more about it when you wake up."
    "Why don't we 'talk' about it now?"  Ryoga sneered, then started
to stand up.
    "What the hell?"  Hikaru dropped into another defensive stance,
shock evident on his face, "That combination would have killed a
normal man!  How can you just shrug it off!"
    Ryoga grinned wickedly, rubbing his chin where he'd been hit.
He'd felt the blow, but it hadn't been worse than anything Ranma had
hit him with, "Just a little trick I picked up," he growled, then
started running forward, diving for the ground in front of Hikaru with
his finger extended "Care to see more?  Bakusai Tenketsu!"
    Hikaru leapt backwards, shielding his face as the ground exploded,
sharp bits of stone cutting into his arms and ripping his clothes.
A secret technique???  Maybe I should have kept the sledge after all!
Then Ryoga was charging out of the cloud of dust, tackling Hikaru and
bearing him to the ground.
    "Why are you here!"  Ryoga screamed, beating Hikaru face and
chest as Hikaru tried to protect himself, "I was only six years old
and you left me!  You said you would help me train and you left me!
when you left I went looking for you!  I was lost for over a month!
HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME!"
    "Tesshi Ougi!"  Hikaru called, poking Ryoga in the chest with a
finger.  With a flash of Chi Ryoga found himself blasted across the
field, the wind knocked out of him as he landed in a heap, trying to
suck air back into his lungs.
    Hikaru regained his footing, brushing himself off.  Ryoga hadn't
been holding back with his punches, Hikaru thought as he drew the back 
of his hand across his mouth, wiping away blood.  He'd have some bruises
tomorrow morning as well...  It was a good thing that Hikaru healed as 
fast as he did.
    "Alright Ryoga, I'm sorry that I used the Tesshi Ougi on you, but
this fight is getting way out of hand."  Hikaru started walking
towards Ryoga as he talked, seeing that Ryoga had already made it to
his hands and knees, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to keep my promise
to you, but I didn't leave you, I got lost.  Our entire Family is
cursed to wander, you know this.  I didn't come back to Japan to beat
your brains in, I came here to fufill that promise.  I came here to
try and make amends.  But most of all I came here because you're the
only family that I have left.  Let's stop this now and go home,
alright?"
    "No... You don't get off that easy!"  Ryoga growled, rising to one
knee.  His battle aura flared to life, bright green and humming with
the power of his anger and depression, "I went through hell because of
you!  Take this!  SHI SHI HOUKOUDAN!"
     Hikaru managed to roll as the Roaring lion's bullet washed over
him, blasting him backwards off his feet to crash into the ground over
a dozen feet away.  Ryoga collapsed forward, drained.  He caught
himself on hands and knees, funny, he thought that Hikaru would have
been more of a challenge.  Panting, he looked up to see Hikaru's
unmoving form lying on the grass.
    "Alright Hikaru, let's finish this!" Ryoga growled, shakily
getting back to his feet, "Hey Hikaru, get up!  I'm not done with you
yet!"  cautiously Ryoga moved closer, his eyes growing wide as he saw
his cousin wasn't breathing.
    "Aw man, I killed him!"  Ryoga staggered over and dropped down
next to Hikaru, pounding on the older man's chest, "C'mon, wake up!
You're supposed to be tougher than that!  Wake Up!"
    Hikaru's eye's shot open then, causing Ryoga to jump as three
fingers were driven into his neck.  Leaping back, he stared as Hikaru
started to slowly sit up.
    "You... You Tricked me!" Ryoga growled, once again dropping into a
offensive stance, "But... you weren't breathing!"
    "Oh come on Ryoga," Hikaru sighed, brushing himself off painfully.
Even rolling with the attack, the Shi Shi Houkoudan had hurt.  "What's
so amazing about holding your breath to draw someone in close?"
Hikaru winced as he sat up.  He had a similar attack to the Shi Shi
Houkodan, but not even he could summon it as easily as Ryoga had his.
If it was based off depression like he had been told, then Ryoga was
in worst shape than he thought... "by the way Ryoga," he continued as
he rolled to his knees, "You can fall down now."
    "What?  What's that supposed to... to..." Ryoga was overcome by a
wave of dizziness as his eyes rolled back in his head, falling forward
to unconscious.
    "Shiatsu points, I love them." Hikaru groaned as he got back to
his feet.  He would Definately be feeling that attack tomorrow... with
a sigh, he comtemplated his cousin.
    "Great Spirits Ryoga... what am I gonna do with you?"  If he was
using attacks as dangerous as that... "Maybe you'll be in a better
mood if you wake up in your own bed, Ryoga-kun... stay here, I've got
to retrieve my pack first..."
    Soon, Hikaru was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Ryoga's
unconscious form over his shoulder's as he made his way back to the
Hibiki residence.



                              CHINA
                    VILLAGE OF THE JOKETSUZOKU

    The Wizard quietly walked up to the guard, studying him in the dim
torchlight as he stood at attention... Yes, a most impressive figure,
he stood almost seven foot tall, it seemed, with arms as thick as some
people's legs... a strong one, this one was, sure to scare many a foe
in battle.
    Although he wasn't sure if the fear would come because of the
guard's size or the guard's face, the wizard admitted.  He had seen
orc's in his time that were downright handsome compared to the guard.
Broad and flatfaced he was, with a jaw that looked like it had been
broken once and never properly set.  He would hate to meet whatever
had done that...
    Actually, he would rather not meet the guard, the Wizard found all
fighters to be a terrible crude and uncouth lot, tending to attack
first and not caring to ask questions at all.  If it wasn't for the
fact that the Wizard was currently invisible, he was sure the guard
would have done so by now.  But unfortunately, the door he was
guarding led to the tribe's library, and if his books were still here,
this was the place to find them.
    Quietly, the Wizard walked off to the side and sat, considering
his options.  He could put him to sleep, but the Wizard might be
awhile looking for his books, and if one of the partols came by, the
alarm would be raised.  He couldn't just kill him, it would be a waste
of magic and be much too loud... wait a moment, a charm spell would do
nicely, that way he could recruit him for simple muscle as well.
Making his desicion, the Wizard started casting his spell, his spell
of invisibility dropping as he chanted.
    Sc'ope, hearing somebody talking, quickly whirled around, drawing
his sword as he did.  However, instead of a invader, all he saw was
some friendly looking young man sitting off to the side, dressed in
oversized fatigues.  Relaxing, Sc'ope walked up to him.
    "You really shouldn't be here you know, move along!" Sc'ope
ordered, although not nearly as harshly as he would have to someone
else.  True, this  man was an outsider, but there was just something
about him...
    "Hello there, brave warrior," The Wizard said, smiling.  Charms
worked so much better if you used flattery, "I am sorry to bother you
so late at night, but you see, I left a book of mine inside earlier
today, and I was wondering if I might retrieve it?  I promise not to
disturb anything that is not mine, and it is very important.  I am
sure nobody would mind..."
    The Wizard could see Sc'ope think about it for a moment, then he
shrugged.  "Well, I guess you're too little to cause any harm," He
growled, sheathing his sword, "Besides, it's kinda boring tonight.
Sure, why not."  Taking a large iron keyring off his belt, Sc'ope
unlocked the door to the small building and, grabbing the torch,
gestured for the Wizard to enter.
    Quickly the Wizard perused the shelves, skimming over documents
and scrolls and tomes.  No... No... No... "You must be very well liked
in the Village," The Wizard said as he searched, "Why else would you
be given such a important job?"  He was drawn up short at the guard's
bitter bark of laughter.
    "I am stationed here not because I am liked, but because they
think I need to be punished!"  He growled, "After being beaten by an
outsider, I have been banned from seeing my family and put here to
watch over a bunch of moldy books!  It is the most humiliating duty
they could find, why guard that which doesn't need to be?  Even if
somebody did come after these, they would have to go through half the
village first!"
    "I see... very interesting..." The Wizard commented with a knowing
smile, then turned back to his search, "You have no love for the
Village?  What of this outsider that beat you?"
    "I would like nothing better than to hunt down the foul Hikaru and
make him pay for what he has done to me," Sc'ope rumbled, "As for the
Village, it can burn to the ground for all I care."
    "Perhaps then we can assist each other then, I am preparing to
leave here soon, and I would find someone of your obvious talents very
helpful... perhaps I could even help you find this Hikaru... No...
No... No... My book does not seem to be here..."  Looking around, the
Wizard saw a door in the floor near the corner, a large iron lock
sealing it.  "What is in there?"
    Sc'ope stepped forward, bringing the torchlight closer, "That is
where the oldest and most powerful techniques of the tribe are kept,
only the elders have the key,"  He said.
    "Hmmm... perhaps it is in there..." Kneeling down, the  Wizard
spoke a few words, using more of the magic at his command.  With a
snap, the lock sprung open.  "What do you know, it was open!  Help me
with this please?"
    Reaching down, Sc'ope yanked the door open, releasing the smell of
dry air and leather.  Taking the torch, the Wizard shone it downward
and saw the steps leading down.
    "Excellent, I will be right back."  Slowly he decended the stairs,
could his books be in here?  The room was very small, only about ten
feet by ten feet, but there was something here that felt familiar...
wait, over there!  In the far corner of the room was a very large
tome, two feet across by three feet down, bound in leather with silver
hinges and a silver clasp.  Yes!  This was it, His spellbook!  Opening
the clasp, the Wizard carefully checked the pages... they were all
intact!  He now had the majority of his spells again... and even
better, the spell of conjuration, the last spell he had committed to
the tome, was still here.  What fools the Amazons were, they should
have destroyed this when they had the chance... Closing the tome, he
tucked it under his arm.  He had his spells again, and now he had
muscle with that brutish guard... however, he still needed supplies,
equipment, and time to study... plus he needed to find the Tiger and
the Crane again.  However, that would not take nearly as long now...
what was that?
    Reaching into the corner, the Wizard discovered a tall object
wrapped in leather.  Undoing the bindings, he discovered a thick oaken
staff, runes carved into the length of it.  As he touched it, he could
feel the magical power contained inside.
    "My staff!"  He gasped, grinning in unholy glee, the Amazons truly
were fools then to keep this around, after all the destruction he had
caused with this.  Well, now he knew how to get the supplies...
    Sc'ope watched his new friend as he came back up the stairs, a
book and a staff in one arm as he handed the torch back.  "I have
found what I needed, my good friend... now all we need do is gather
some supplies and we can be off to Japan."
    Sc'ope grinned at this, how had he know that's where he wanted to
go?  "Find by me, but where are we getting supplies at?"
    "Oh, do not worry, I am sure we can get them from the Villagers,"
the Wizard assured him, changing his grip on the staff.  There was
just something that was so... toasty about a bonfire...


End?


Author's notes: Well, here it is finally, the 3rd part of this series.
I tried to experiment a little in this, mainly some of the mannerism's
on the characters, in order to portray them a bit more like I'm
thinking, so hopefully that was noticed.
     But, even if it wasn't, I hope you enjoyed this part, it's been a
long while in the coming.  I just hope that the next part (Which I am
drawing a rough draft for BTW) will be out Much sooner... time will
tell...
    I want to thank my list of proofreaders for the excellent work
they did in catching my spelling mistakes and suggesting ideas, so all
of ya (T.H.Tiger, Ronald Chan, Tzigane, Janissa, PRPchan, and Phoenix)
take a bow or something ;)

For those of you interested, you can send your caustic comments,
racious remarks, noxious notes, and original observations to:

    Ridgewolfe@hotmail.com

    Any and all fanmail and C&C will be read and appreciated, and I 
do ask that you send it, C&C is one of the best tools for improving
one's writing skills.  Or, if you want to see more of my work or that
of my friends, check out the website at:

    http://idt.net/~jallen9/hole.html
    (I swear we're gonna update it soon!) *Wolfish grin*


Sayonara!
Ridgewolfe