A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Ronin.  All characters herein are property of 
Takahashi Rumiko, and are used only because the author is a lazy butt and 
couldn't come up with an original character if his life depended on it...   

If you enjoy this story, please, e-mail me at msimmons@bcgroup.net.  This 
and other fics of mine can be found at http://ronin.anime-manga.net

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-- Oil & Water (part VI) --

	The Nekohanten crouched like a stray cat in the shadows of the 
Nerima evening.  The small building was indistinct, a lurking feline 
presence that lay sleeping.  A small, eye-like light sparked in the window 
of the second floor.  Inside, the small lamp cast a warm, comfortable glow 
over the main room.  An enormous circular woven rug covered most of the 
dark, scarred hardwood floor.  Most of the walls were covered with 
shelves, holding many books and strange vials.  The staircase to the 
ground floor restaurant and kitchen was a black pit in the dimly lit 
corner.  

	Brushing at her long white hair with a wrinkled hand, Cologne 
turned away from the small lamp which she had just sparked to life with a 
touch.  The stern gaze of the Amazon matriarch was undulled by time or age, 
unmuddled by sleep.  Cologne's sharp eyes flickered momentarily over the 
heaps of possessions piled on the many shelves.  {Several lifetimes it 
took to gain all this, these treasures, the -knowledge-.  I can't afford 
to do it a second time.  Security is necessary.  I refuse to allow my 
plans to be jeopardized.}  The stern glare of the three hundred year old 
Cologne settled on her great granddaughter Shampoo, whose stealthy 
movements had been not quite quiet enough to avoid awakening the old 
Amazon.

	Dressed for travel, Shampoo was swathed in a cloak of deep blue 
that blended with the businesslike arrangement of her long tresses.  A 
small bundle was slung over her back; Amazons travelled light.  The tip of 
a long scabbard was just visible beneath the swaying bottom hem of 
Shampoo's cloak.  Cologne frowned.  {Killing blade.  Great-granddaughter 
is serious about something.}  Folding her arms, Cologne amplified the aura 
of authority that was alway present about her.  Time had a way of 
distilling the personality, reducing and refining it to its most powerful 
and vital elements.  The old Amazon's force of character was a palpable 
presence in the room.

	"What's going on, Shampoo?"  Cologne spoke in Chinese.  She saw no 
need to subject herself to the crude vagaries of a foreign tongue while in 
the comfort of her own home.  Shampoo assumed a stubborn look.  To 
Cologne's surprise, Shampoo replied in broken Japanese.  

	"Shampoo going to pay a debt.  Ranma-girl is no more, now she is 
own person.  Now she free to die."

	Cologne's eyes narrowed.  For Shampoo to reply in her 
less-than-adequate Japanese rather than her own native language spoke of 
defiance.  {I do not wish to break Granddaughter's fighting spirit; but I 
can't allow her to do what she likes, either.  It is a sticky problem.  
When I myself found out about Ranma's separation from his female half, I 
thought it might make things easier.  It seems that I was wrong.}  The 
Amazon elder's reply had a commanding tone to it.

	"Granddaughter!  The girl Ranko is not the same person that 
defeated you in combat back in our village last year.  Pursuing her would 
be a wasted quest.  Your energies would be much better spent in trying to 
snare that future son-in-law.  Do you really want to give him up to 
Akane Tendo?"  

	Shampoo smiled grimly, recognizing Cologne's ploy.  "Sorry, Great 
Grandmother.  Shampoo love Ranma, but some things more important.  When 
debt is paid, I return to Airen.  All time in world for love, yes?"  

	Cologne bristled with fury, and her words cracked across the 
room.  "I have not come this far to have you destroy all I have built!  It 
is necessary that you remain here and win the love of that foolish boy.  
We can seldom do what we want to in life; such is our lot.  Who knows how 
long it might take to hunt down a fugitive girl?  We cannot afford to 
waste that much time!"

	"Great Grandmother should say what she mean!" Shampoo yelled.  
Switching over to Chinese, Shampoo's delivery was bulletlike.  "You mean, 
-you- can not afford to waste that much time."  Cologne flinched.  Seeing 
this momentary and fleeting weakness, Shampoo followed up on it swiftly, 
continuing again in Japanese.  "Great-grandmother have many plan, but 
Shampoo not some kind of -go- stone."  Shampoo's words softened, the 
blue-haired girl hoping to find some sympathy in the woman who had raised 
her unflinchingly in the Amazon tradition.

	"Shampoo -will- marry Airen, but not because Great-grandmother say 
so.  Shampoo marry Airen because she love him.  But first, have debt to 
pay.  Shampoo will go no matter what Great-grandmother say, though.  
Please, Great-grandmother.  Say Shampoo go."

	Cologne stood, stunned.  A woman of few weaknesses, she was unused 
to being disobeyed.  Something she was even -more- unfamiliar with was 
having those weaknesses exploited in such a manner.  An icy wash of rage 
stiffened her spine.  She would not tolerate failure.  

	"Shampoo.  You aren't going anywhere."

	Sweeping her cloak aside, Shampoo bowed to Cologne.  It was a deep 
bow, but Shampoo only held it for the bare minimum time dictated by 
tradition.  {What is a gesture of respect with no respect in it?}  Pulling 
upright, Shampoo turned and stalked towards the stairs.  Her expression 
was blank and stony, betraying nothing, even when Cologne's next words 
halted her in her tracks.

	"Shampoo!  Walk out of that door, and I have no great-
granddaughter!  Remember who you are!"  

	Shampoo looked back over her shoulder at Cologne, and the stony 
mask slipped a little, revealing a hurt, but also a stubborn and 
implacable resolve.  Blank nonemotion descended again over Shampoo, but 
the corner of her mouth quirked up a tiny degree.

	"Shampoo is Amazon.  That more than enough for her."  Moving 
swiftly, the blue-haired girl reached the stairs and descended into the 
darkness.  Shampoo's words came faintly from the stairwell, soft, gentle, 
and indicating that her facade of emotionless determination was not quite 
genuine.  The soft Chinese syllables were musical in the quiet room.  
"When the hunt is over, I shall return.  I... I love you, Great-
grandmother."  With a whisper, she was gone.

	Cologne moved to the window, and watched the shadowy figure 
swathed in a cloak make her way off into the dark evening of Nerima.  A 
deep sigh heaved itself up from the old Amazon's soul.  {Shampoo.  A more 
disobedient, a more disrespectful granddaughter I have never had.  This 
will set my plans back for a good while.}  Unbidden, a smile came, curving 
the withered lips of Cologne.  {You are a true Amazon, Great-granddaughter.
You showed no fear, and you were willing to disobey even me in order to be 
true to our laws.  But that last...}  Cologne recalled Shampoo's final 
words.  She had not raised an Amazon warrior to be soft.  {That need for 
love is the chink in your armour, Great-granddaughter.  I hope that it 
does not betray you.}

		*	*	*

	It was hot.  Blazing like the forges of some immortal smithy, the 
sun was high in the sky, and the heat of noon was tremendous.  A haze 
shimmered over the horizon, making the dunes waver and dance.  Things were 
seldom what they seemed in the deep desert, and many unwary travellers had 
been lost forever, winding among the endless shifting sands until they 
perished of thirst.  Ranko tugged her headcloth closer down over her 
forehead to shield herself from the gusts of hot, dry wind.  Sun goggles 
kept out the worst of the glare, but still bits of sand and grit managed 
to work their way up underneath, crusting around her eyelids.  She 
groaned, and cursed the pitiless stretches of desert.

	She had no idea how they'd even gotten there, either.  One moment, 
they'd been walking along the highway a few miles out of Nerima, and the 
next minute they were in the middle of a burning waste.  {Wierd.} Ranko 
thought. {Good thing Ryoga packs spares.  I don't think I could have 
picked up desert gear in Nerima, and there's no way I'd find a store or 
village within a thousand miles from here, wherever -here- is.  Wish that 
baka could have dropped us somewhere nice, like maybe Okinawa...}  She 
sighed.  There wasn't much hope in blaming Ryoga, he didn't seem to be 
able to control this strange place-hopping thing, it just happened to 
him.  {Besides, I think right now he's pretty much as miserable as I am.}
	
	{I don't think I've ever been this thirsty in my life before.}  
Unbuckling her canteen, Ranko sipped carefully from the muddy, brackish 
water that they had found at a small pool about five klicks back.  She 
winced as the movement exacerbated her already blinding headache, and 
slowly replaced the nearly empty container on her belt.  Walking beside 
her, Ryoga was dressed in similar desert garb.  A long cloak kept the sun 
off of him, swirling in the wind with each step that he took.  {He must be 
boiling in that thing,} Ranko thought.  {I gotta admit, Ryoga sure has a 
lot of endurance.  He doesn't even look tired.} 

	Ryoga staggered, nearly tripping, but pulled himself upright just 
in time to avoid falling.  Recovering himself, he dropped back into his 
regular, clockwork walking pace with a look of determination.  {I take 
that back.}  Ranko halted for a moment, scanning the piles of sand that 
stretched as far as she could see into a heatshimmer on the horizon.  
{We've got to get out of this heat, or we're gonna be french-fried for 
sure.}  Straining against the sun and the headache pounding at her skull, 
Ranko scrutinized the terrain before her.  {There's got to be some kind of 
hole or outcropping or -something-...}  

	Looking around for Ryoga, Ranko realized that he hadn't stopped 
walking, and was now several feet ahead.  With a grunt of effort, Ranko 
put on a burst of speed and caught up with him.  She grabbed on to his 
arm, breaking him out of his reverie.  He looked at her, slightly dazed by 
the sun.

	"Huh?"

	"Ryoga, we've got to find shelter!  It's way too hot out here, we 
need to hole up and wait for nightfall!" Ranko's voice cracked, her throat 
dry and dusty.  Her words penetrated Ryoga's tired brain, however, and he 
forced himself lucid.  

	"You're right.  Got to find shelter... but where?"  He looked 
around, but saw nothing but sand.  "Let's climb that dune over there, 
we'll be able to see better."  Rather than wasting precious energy on 
speech, Ranko nodded her agreement.  Both staggering now, they scrambled 
up the side of the sandy hill.  As they rose out of the shadow of the 
surrounding dunes, the sun struck, cruel and lethal.  Ranko held an arm 
over her eyes.  {Too bright... So hot...} Ryoga, his eyes watering, 
quickly surveyed the surrounding area.  He slumped in defeat, dropping his 
head.  {We're doomed...}  He raised his eyes again, but a small patch of 
darkness down in a valley between two sand hills caught his attention.  
Ryoga pointed.  "There!"

	He turned to Ranko, only to find her slumped in the hot sand on 
the crest of the dune.  Ryoga tugged at her arm, trying to lift her, but 
he was too weak himself.  "Come on, Ranko," he panted.  "It's just a 
little farther!  You'll broil if you stay here!"  She shook her head in 
defeat, ignoring Ryoga's plea.  He growled, his throat scratchy with 
dust.  "I should have known a girl could never handle surviving in the 
wilderness!  Maybe you should have stayed at the Tendos and learned how to 
knit, Ranko!"  This time his words had an effect.  Ranko heaved herself to 
her feet and took a swing at him, but her punch had no strength behind it.
Ryoga shrugged it off, and swung an arm towards the small patch of shadow.

	"Come on."

	Half-dazed from the sun and still smarting from Ryoga's stinging 
comment, Ranko snarled and hurled herself at Ryoga.  They toppled over, 
rolling in a tangle of arms, legs and sand down the side of the dune, 
coming to rest at the bottom.  The speed and surprise of the fall shocked 
them both lucid, and Ryoga struggled to his feet, pulling Ranko with him.  
The fall had taken them almost to the shadow.  Now that they were closer, 
they could see that a small outcropping of bedrock stuck out from the 
bottom of a dune, creating an overhang where the sun couldn't quite 
reach.  

	With barely enough breath left to walk, the two travellers 
staggered the last few feet, weaving back and forth as they leaned on each 
other.  Finally reaching their goal, Ranko and Ryoga collapsed in the 
shadow of the overhang.  Ranko sank thankfully into the cool sand, 
luxuriating in the feeling of something that was anything other than 
burning hot.  Ryoga dropped to the ground and was instantly asleep.  
Moving sluggishly as sleep began to claim her as well, Ranko looked over 
at him.  {He got me mad to keep me moving.  I... I could have died if I'd 
stayed out there.}  She rubbed at her eyes; the sharp pain of her headache 
was fading a little now that she was out of the blinding sun.  {I guess I 
should thank him....}  Ranko's thoughts faded to warm darkness as she 
dropped into the bottomless well of sleep.  

	Overhead, the sun continued its slow daily slog across the blue 
expanse of the endless wheel of sky.

		*	*	*

	There are a small number of people in the world who are dangerous.
Not just dangerous in the sense that they are ready to respond to a real 
or imagined threat with immediate retaliation, but dangerous in that they 
are implacable, and never give up.  There are an even smaller number of 
groups that bear a true reputation for such mercilessness.  The Koga 
ninja, the Israeli Mossad, and the elusive Men in Black are all on this 
exclusive list, but no other group has managed to cultivate such a 
reputation for sheer, unstoppable persistence than the Joketsuzoku 
Amazons.  An Amazon on the hunt will not be stopped by anything less than 
a miracle.  This particular Amazon had been stopped once before.  She 
would not be again.

	Shampoo moved in an easy lope down the highway a few miles out of 
Nerima.  Her eyes flicked constantly from the trail at her feet to the 
world about her, picking out the signs of passage and keeping watch for 
any possible threat at the same time.  {It seems that the girl has gained 
a companion.}  There were two sets of footprints.  The trail was faint, 
but long training made it less difficult to notice the faint footmarks in 
the firm gravel of the shoulder.  Even so, every so often the marks became 
so indistinct that even she could not find them.  Fortunately, she had 
foreseen the need.  

	A spray of gravel from a passing car had inudated the trail.  
Shampoo grinned, and sprang to the other side of the spray pattern, 
seeking to pick up the trail where it began again.  Her confident smile 
disappeared as she saw that there was no trail continuing after the five 
or six foot wide patch of disturbed gravel.  {This is very strange.}  She 
circled the patch, looking for signs of passage, anything at all, but 
there were none.  Shampoo shrugged.  She hated to use alternatives instead 
of relying on her own skills, but she didn't have the time to sit and 
think the whole puzzle through.  Digging into her small bundle, she 
withdrew a small crystal globe that rested in the palm of her hand.

	Shampoo felt a slight flush of shame.  She had taken the magical 
item from her great-grandmother's collection, knowing that it would not be 
missed for a day or two at the most.  Still, it was stealing, and Shampoo 
hated herself for it.  {I'll return it, and beg Great-Grandmother's 
forgiveness upon my return.}  She forced such thoughts from her mind, and 
recited the awakening phrase.  

	"I summon thee, Pathfinder!"

	The crystal globe shimmered, and a flame burst into life inside of 
it.  Shampoo circled the patch of spattered gravel to where the trail 
entered it, and held the globe down towards the footmarks of her prey.  
The flame burned brighter, turning a hot blue colour as the imprisoned 
spirit within it sensed the emanations of a trail.  Slowly, the flame 
sharpened and angled downward, pointing toward the gravel patch.  Shampoo 
stepped slowly forward onto the gravel.  Sure enough, the flame continued 
to point towards the trail where her prey had passed.  Shampoo smiled, 
baring her teeth with a hunter's glee.  She had only to follow the 
directions of the flame until she picked up the trail again.  She took 
another step forward, and another, until she was three or four feet into 
the gravel.  The flame winked out.

	"What going on?"  Shampoo held the globe up to her eyes, and 
peered into it, squinting as she strained her vision to the fullest.  
Within the cloudy crystal, the smallest flicker of flame was present, 
pointing off to the southwest.  {How did she go from being right here to 
so far away?}  Shampoo stepped back a pace, and the flame roared to life 
again, pointing as it had before, right in front of her.  She moved the 
pathfinder globe forward, and the flame died down to a tiny spot, whirling 
again to the southwest.  {Thousands of miles?  That can't be right.  How 
could she?  No one can travel so far in such a short time.  She has no 
magical abilities, Great-Grandmother would have sensed it otherwise the 
moment we arrived in Nerima.}  

	Shampoo stared into the globe at the tiny spark of flame, and 
looked off to the southwest.  {Maybe something is wrong with the 
Pathfinder spirit.}  Her experience and her intuition said that such was 
not the case.  Her talent for magic was very small, but she had been 
summoning such minor-grade spirits since she was a child, and she knew 
what it felt like when a spirit was not as it should be.    Cologne had 
trained her well.  {And it's time for me to make good use of those 
skills,} Shampoo thought.  

	Bounding down off of the rise that the highway was built on, 
Shampoo melted into the forest.  The evening sun cast weak golden bars 
through the thick foliage.  {The sun's going down anyway, I might as well 
make camp and think this whole thing through.}  Quickly sparking a fire, 
Shampoo collected enough dry wood and tinder to see her through the 
night.  She set a small tea billy on the fire to boil.  Her motions were 
smooth and minimal, until she leaned back and was still, staring into the 
fire.  The flames mocked her in her failure, and Shampoo frowned.  Leaning 
forward, she placed her chin on her hands and thought.  {I won't give up 
so easily.}

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Author's Notes:  Another one down, folks.  I apologize for the slight
delay, midterms have been a killer on sleep.  Also, I had the house to
myself for Spring Break, so a party was absolutely necessary.  I will say
nothing, only that it involved two cases of draft Guinness, an eight-pound
chocolate rabbit, a dice game that went on for three hours, and a human 
pinata.  Needless to say, I haven't been getting much writing done...

I felt that if Shampoo was going to take off, Cologne would be less than
pleased, seeing as how she has always wanted Shampoo to marry Ranma and
carry out the Amazon law.  This would boost Cologne's own reputation.  
However, Shampoo has her own desires, and I think the guts to carry them
out.  Although how she is going to track down Ranko and Ryoga, the eternal
Lost Boy?  You'll just have to read Part VII to find out!

Ronin.