Okay, here's part three.  Author's notes at the end, yatta, yatta, yatta.  :)
 On with the fic!

Look Out Ryouga!  The Love Pill Strikes Again!  Chapter 3

	Morning quickly revealed to Ukyou that Ryouga had NOT returned to his correct
 state of mind.  She awoke to his face beaming down at her and a tray full of
 carefully prepared breakfast foods shoved in her lap.  "You made breakfast in
 bed for me?" she asked him, trying to make her voice sound gruff.  The young
 man nodded excitedly, flashing a rather charming toothy grin.
	"I got up three hours before dawn," he stated happily, "to make sure I could
 find the kitchen and your room before you woke up.  I hop you like it."  Ukyou
 was oddly touched, albeit in a weird, freaky sort of way.
	"Well, no sense in letting good food go to waste," she said.  It was getting
 harder and harder to sound curt.  "Thanks, Ryouga," the girl murmured.
	The rest of the day passed by without any outrageous events such as the
 previous night�s occurring.  Apparently Ryouga�s initial insane behavior had
 abated.  However, evidence of the crush (or whatever it was) that he had on
 her was not lacking.  That morning the okonomiyaki chef had found two white
 roses on her griddle, and a sweet poem in the food pantry.  The bandanna-
 wearing martial artist hummed constantly while he worked and would
 occasionally pause to gaze at her blissfully.  If he caught her watching him
 she would just grunt disgustedly and lose herself in her work, until she found
 herself humming unconsciously as well.  Ukyou would never admit it, but the
 cheerful atmosphere was kind of, sort of, almost rubbing off on her.
	That evening, after what had been a most confusing day, the spatula girl
 entered her room exhausted.  Thoughts unrelentingly criss-crossed her mind.
 *What is with Ryouga, anyway?* was the main one.  After finding out that
 Ryouga was P-chan, and remembering the way he acted around Akane, she had
 figured that he was totally in love with the Tendo sister.  Now this.
 Something must have happened�  Suddenly, Ukyou recalled the little blue stone.
 "Hmmm," she pondered, "I DID throw it out the door just as he walked in.  And
 he DID look like he had swallowed something.  Could it be the cause?  Well,
 there is one person who would know."  Shampoo�s great-grandmother, Cologne.
	Making a mental note to visit the old mummy, Ukyou moved over to the mirror
 above her dresser.  A kind of, sort of, almost happy girl looked back at her
 through the glass.  This troubled Ukyou; she knew the dangers of being
 content.  It meant you were vulnerable and easily hurt by the ones you thought
 were close.  "Better to end this as soon as possible.  I�ll see the ancient
 Amazon tomorrow," she promised herself. 

	The next morning Ukyou closed up the restaurant for the day and dragged an
 adoring Ryouga through the Nerima streets toward they Nekohanten.  About
 halfway there, she heard a voice behind her.
	"Ukyou!  Ryouga!  What�s goin� on?"  The two martial artists turned to see
 Ranma running up the sidewalk toward them.
	"Ranma!"  Ukyou beamed.  "We were just going to the Nekohanten to, uh� do
 some� stuff," she finished lamely.  The spatula girl glanced at Ryouga, who
 was scowling slightly at the pig-tailed boy.  Ranma was, naturally, oblivious.
	"Hey, Ryouga," he said, turning to the glaring figure.  "Just get back from a
 trip or somethin�?"
	"Leave Ukyou alone or prepare to die!" was the response.
	Ranma blinked.  He turned his head from one to the other slowly as he tried
 to process the situation.  The okonomiyaki chef was muttering and Ryouga
 looked ready to leap for his throat.  "Ukyou?" he began, "I thought you li-"
 He was cut off as he was forced to duck from the fist flying toward his face.
 Ukyou caught the bandanna-boy�s arm and brought him around to face her.
	"You stop picking on Ranma or I�ll splash cold water on you and make today�s
 special pork okonomiyaki!" she threatened loudly.
	Ranma was totally baffled.  "You know about his curse?" he asked.  Ukyou
 nodded.
	"C�mon, and I�ll tell you about it," she said.  They began walking again, the
 girl holding on to Ryouga�s hand so he wouldn�t get lost.  As they headed down
 the street, she told Ranma sketchy descriptions of the last few weeks:  her
 discovery of P-chan�s true identity, Ryouga moving in and working for her, and
 the current unexplained love-crush.
	Ranma shook his head, amazed.  "Well," he assured her, "Cologne�s definitely
 the one to go to for answers.  Me, I just want some food."  The boy turned a
 light green color.  "Akane made breakfast this morning."
	With that, the three turned into the ramen restaurant.  Shampoo greeted them,
 immediately glomping onto Ranma.
	"Aiyah!" she cried.  "Ranma come to take Shampoo to date?!"
	"No!" the young man fairly screamed.  "I just want some food," he explained,
 trying to extricate himself from her limbs.  Ukyou stiffened.  *I�ll deal with
 her later,* she thought, *right now I gotta find that old Amazon.*  She led
 Ryouga to the back of the restaurant just as the two-foot tall woman came
 hopping out of the kitchen door on her staff.  Upon spying the two, she
 smiled.
	"Aah," she croaked, addressing Ryouga, "how is my former pupil?  Have you won
 the heart of that girl Akane yet so that Shampoo is free to marry son-in-law?"
	Ukyou interrupted before he could say anything.  "Uh, we have a few problems
 there," she stated.  "You see�"  The three sat around a table while the pony-
 tailed girl repeated her story, but with more detail.  When she was finished,
 the ancient Amazon looked at her carefully.  Finally she spoke.
	"So, you say you found a little blue pebble in an octopus?"  Ukyou nodded.
 "And when you threw it away, you think Ryouga accidentally swallowed it?"
 Another nod.  "And then he looked at you."  That on seemed half-question and
 half-answer.  The youth let out a frustrated sigh.
	"Yeah, but I don�t see how that has anything to do with it," she confirmed
 wearily.  The wrinkled martial arts master cackled.
	"It has everything to do with it, girl!  And I�ll tell you another thing:
 that pebble is no pebble at all."  Ukyou�s eyebrows shot up.
	"You mean you know about it?" she asked hopefully.  The old woman smiled
 enigmatically and nodded.
	"It�s a long story," she replied, "so I�ll try to sum up.  Once there was an
 antique Amazon heirloom, a bracelet with three love potion pills in it.  They
 made any person who swallowed them fall in love with the first person of the
 opposite sex he or she saw.  One pill lasted only an instant, the next lasted
 and day, and the final pill was for a lifetime.  Anyway, I won�t go into the
 whole fiasco, but Ranma ate the instant pill, the day pill was kept safe and
 stored away, and the lifetime pill�  was tossed into the sea where it was
 eaten by, well, I think you can guess."
	Ukyou had listened intently to Cologne�s speech.  As each puzzle piece fell
 into place, she became more and more shocked.  The poor girl turned to stare
 at Ryouga, who was grinning widely back.
	"Isn�t that great, Ukyou?" he said merrily.  "Now I get to love you forever!"
 That sent the spatula girl over the edge.  Desperately she leapt at the
 smitten boy and began the Heimlicht maneuver on him.  
	"C�mon, cough it up!" she ordered. 
	"Cologne shook her head.  "I�m afraid it�s too late for that, child.  The
 pill has been digested by now.  However, I think I may have a cure.  It�s
 extremely dangerous, I�m afraid."  
	"Anything!!" Ukyou cried.

END PART 3

Author�s notes:  Okay, three is out.  I know it�s a bit of a cliff hanger, but
 that just makes it more exciting, ne?  :D  As always, C+C is welcome.  To
 clear up a few bits:
1)  When Ukyou is telling Ranma about what happened, she doesn�t mention the
 stone-swallowing incident, as she isn�t even sure if it has any relevance.
 Should I make this more clear so people don�t wonder why Ranma doesn�t tell
 what�s wrong?
2)  If you�re wondering why the pill was digested when Ryouga ate it, but not
 when the octopus ate it, it�s because it�s a magic pill that�s designed
 specifically for humans.  It�s affects work on an animal, but it keeps it�s
 consistency for when it is to be used by a human.  At least, that�s my excuse.
 If you never wondered about this, well then don�t worry about it.  ;)