All existing chapters of this story may be found at:
http://www.rigroup.com/~grayson/relentless


               =========================
                      RELENTLESS
                A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction

                   By Grayson Towler
               =========================

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                      CHAPTER THREE:
                        Hot Water
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dawn was just breaking over Tokyo.  The summer sunrise greeted 
a city which was just beginning to come to life for yet another 
in an endless string of busy days.  It was the time of day when a 
city looks its finest - the bright glass windows glittered with 
the first rays of sunlight, the air was crisp and still relatively 
untainted by the daily buildup of smog, and the streets were almost 
totally free of the strangling congestion of traffic. 

Two weary young martial artists trudged down the street, making 
their way towards the airport.  They had maintained a blistering 
pace across town during the night, even though they knew their 
pursuer was assuredly still dormant where it had last fallen.  If 
the events of the terrifying evening had taught them one thing, 
it was that every second counted when one was pursued by the 
Reikoku.

Still, even young athletes in superhuman physical condition had 
to meet certain needs.  With a growl like a bear coming out of 
hibernation, Ranma's stomach reminded him of the most pressing of 
those physiological requirements.  Ryouga's belly answered in kind, 
with a similar sentiment.  The two boys regarded their lower 
abdomens, then one another.

"Gotta get some grub," Ranma observed.  

Ryouga nodded his agreement.  He frowned at the cityscape around 
him.  In a way, he preferred the task of foraging for food in the 
countryside to visiting restaurants.  "Where's a good place to 
eat?" he asked, scanning the local buildings.

"'Good' don't matter," Ranma said.  "We need somethin' fast and 
cheap.  We don't want to miss our flight, and we ain't got much 
cash."

Ryouga took Ranma's word on the latter.  He actually had a fair 
amount of yen on him at the time, but he rarely gave it much 
thought.  His knowledge of the value of money was fairly limited, 
anyway.  Most of the time, it just wasn't a factor in his life.  

Ranma scratched his head.  "A lotta places ain't even open yet... 
ah.  I guess that'll do.  C'mon, Ryouga."

Ryouga scowled when he realized what Ranma's choice of restaurant 
was.  "THAT place?"  The golden arches set against the bright red 
sign rotated slowly on the top of a tall pole.

Ranma shrugged.  "Hey, American fast food ain't my favorite 
either, but it's better than a lot of things.  'Specially Akane's 
cooking," he muttered the last sentence almost as an afterthought.

"Feh.  I've been there before," he nodded towards the McDonald's.  
"Half the time they hire people who don't even speak the language.  
It's a dive."

Ranma gave him an odd look, then shrugged.  "We don't got time to 
be choosy.  I'm sure you can get somethin' without bacon, if that's 
what you're worried about."

"Shut up!"  Ryouga trotted after Ranma as the pig-tailed boy made 
his way towards the restaurant.  Suddenly, the bandanna-clad martial 
artist pulled up short, his eyes wide with shock.  "Oh no!"

"What?  What?"  Ranma was a bit on edge.  He half expected the 
Reikoku to appear around the corner.

"We're... we're nowhere near the airport!" Ryouga wailed.

"What are you talkin' about?  It's just a few minutes away!"

"We're in Okinawa!" Ryouga asserted gloomily.  "How did we get so 
lost?"

Ranma looked around at the city.  "We are NOT in Okinawa, you 
moron!  What the heck are you talkin' about?"

Ryouga grabbed Ranma by the shirt and pointed angrily at the 
McDonald's.  "I'm telling you, we're in Okinawa!  I ate at this 
place last time I was here!  We're completely out of our way!"

Ranma jerked free of the other boy's grasp.  "Aw, don't be such 
a dummy.  You probably just ate at one of the McDonald's in 
Okinawa.  We're fine, believe me."

Ryouga looked genuinely puzzled.  "You... you mean there are 
two of these places?"

Ranma blinked a few times in astonishment.  "Y... yeah.  There 
are a lotta these places, Ryouga.  It's a chain restaurant."

"Chain... restaurant?"

"You know, a franchise?"

"F... fr... franchise?"

Ranma smirked.  "Okay pig-boy, whaddya think this is, dictation?"

Ryouga's shook his fist in rage at Ranma.  "Just how many of 
these places are there?!" he yelled.

Ranma backed away, waving his hands in protestations of innocence.  
"What, in the world?  I dunno, thousands!"

"THOUSANDS!" Ryouga bellowed.  "How come nobody ever TOLD me about 
this?"

"Geez, will you knock it off and come with me?" Ranma yanked on 
Ryouga's shirt and hauled him towards the doors of the restaurant.  
"We ain't got time to mess around!"

Ryouga followed numbly, staring with glazed eyes at the hypnotic 
rotation of the giant "M."  <Thousands,> he thought in wonder.  
<That does explain a lot...>

- - - - - -

Kuonji Ukyou breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the doors of 
her restaurant for the night.  It was always difficult to get back 
into the swing of things after coming back from vacation.  Konatsu 
had done a reasonable job of keeping the place running in her 
absence, but it seemed like there were a million things she needed 
to do to catch up.

Still, she'd needed the break.  Her life was insanely busy - she 
was a full-time student, a small-business owner, and a Saotome Ranma 
fiancee.  Trying to keep a handle on that had run her ragged, and 
she'd decided to take advantage of the summer break from classes to 
escape for a while and find a bit of peace.

She frowned to herself as she began to take down the outdoor sign to 
"Ucchan's."  Her only real worry about taking time off was that 
she'd get behind in the Great Fiancee Competition.  She had enough 
trouble keeping pace with the others, given her responsibilities.  
Shampoo didn't go to school, Akane lived with him, and Kodachi (if 
she could even properly be considered competition) didn't have a 
job.  Those three girls seemed to be able to make free time with 
ease.  But Ukyou didn't have the same freedom that her rivals 
enjoyed, and as a result she had missed out on a great many of 
Ranma's adventures and escapades.

She wouldn't have worried so much if he'd come to see her when 
she'd gotten back.  She'd been staring hopefully at the door all 
day, desperately wanting to catch sight of a Chinese shirt or a 
pig-tail, but Ranma hadn't stopped by.  This was disappointing, 
but not entirely unexpected.  Ideally, she would have liked it 
if he'd missed her, and had been eagerly anticipating her return.  
But Ranma was not really the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" 
type - he was much more "out of sight, out of mind."  

Still, she had needed the vacation.  It would be all right.  Once 
Ranma remembered he could get the best okonomiyaki in the world 
for free again, he'd be coming around to her door...

Ukyou's train of thought was interrupted by the familiar but wholly 
unwelcome sound of a bicycle approaching on the street.  It was 
the unmistakable harbinger of the arrival of one of Ukyou's least 
favorite people in the entire world.

"Oh, Spatula-Girl!  Shampoo thought you maybe got some sense and 
left for good!"

Ukyou turned with what she hoped was crushing dignity and gave 
the Amazon girl a look of cold loathing.  "Why is it always 
'Spatula-Girl' with you?  Or 'Crazy Girl,' 'Bokken Boy,' or my 
personal favorite, 'Not-Nice Girl?'  Are you so incredibly stupid 
that you can't remember anybody's name?"

The superior little smile vanished from Shampoo's face, and her 
expression changed to one of rage.  Ukyou was pleased to see that 
the barb had struck home.  "Shampoo not stupid!  Spa... Spatula-
Girl's name not worth remembering, that all!"

It was Ukyou's turn to be furious.  Shampoo always brought out 
the worst in her, one way or another.  When they were at each 
other's throats, the okonomiyaki chef found that she lost all her 
composure and became hot-tempered, irritable, and violent.  Perhaps 
even worse, though, were the times that she'd actually ended up 
working alongside the purple-haired girl.  On those occasions, 
Shampoo had managed to drag Ukyou down to her own manipulative, 
scheming level.  Ukyou always looked back on those ignoble times 
with shame and self-contempt.  It was much safer to just stay on 
Shampoo's bad side.

"My name," she snarled, "is Kuonji Ukyou!  Soon to be Saotome 
Ukyou, in case you were wondering!"

Shampoo let out a derisive little laugh.  "When Husband and Shampoo 
married, maybe we hire Spatula-Girl on to cook for childrens.  
Spatula-Girl clean windows too, yes?"

"Ranchan is never going to marry a bimbo like you!" Ukyou shouted.  
Her temper was beginning to get the better of her.  "He's said so 
a hundred times!  Why don't you go over and ask him again, if 
you're still not convinced?"

To Ukyou's surprise, Shampoo suddenly became pensive... almost 
sad.  She looked away from Ukyou, her eyes not focusing on anything 
in particular.

"Shampoo?"

"Husband no here.  In China."

"China?" Ukyou repeated.  "What's Ranchan doing in... did he go to 
find a cure?"

Shampoo quickly shed her melancholy and flashed Ukyou a mischievous 
grin.  "Yes, and he go to learn Chinese.  Ranma want to do 
everything to be best husband possible to Shampoo!"  She stuck 
out her tongue at Ukyou.

"You liar!" Ukyou snapped.  

"Is no lie!" Shampoo said in a sing-song voice.  "Husband go to 
learn Chinese, and all Amazon laws, and be man all the time for 
Shampoo!  Such love, such devotion.  He make Shampoo so happy!"

"Lying little bimbo!" Ukyou drew her battle spatula and took a 
menacing step forward.  "Maybe I should just pound the truth out 
of you!"

"No time now!"  Shampoo pivoted on her bike and began to pedal 
away.  "Not want to beat up future servant today!" 

The Amazon girl dodged the throwing spatula that was hurled her 
way as she retreated.  As much as she disliked Ukyou, she had no 
desire to actually get in a serious fight with the girl.  The 
little brawls and cat-fights they'd had in the past hardly 
constituted real battle, and all had ended inconclusively.  
Shampoo was pretty certain that her lifetime of training as an 
Amazon warrior would allow her to prevail over the young chef 
in a legitimate clash... but she couldn't be positive.  Ukyou 
was just good enough that, on the right day, she might be able 
to take Shampoo down.  And that would mean that Shampoo would be 
obligated to give her the Kiss of Death, which was not a prospect 
she relished.  She'd had enough trouble with THAT particular 
tradition already.

Ukyou watched her purple-haired rival swerve and disappear around 
the corner.  Why did she let that moronic girl get under her skin, 
anyway?  The okonomiyaki chef sighed and shook her head, trying 
to dispel the last remnants of her anger.

Still, the encounter bothered her.  Shampoo may have been lying 
about some things, but Ukyou was certain she was telling the truth 
when she'd said that Ranma had gone to China.  And why had she 
looked so sad if Ranma was really going to find a cure?  Something 
seemed wrong about the matter.  Ukyou couldn't put her finger on 
it, but she had a bad feeling about this.

- - - - - -

Ranma-chan struggled desperately to pry Ryouga's  hand off the 
armrest of his airplane seat, working finger-by-finger against the 
lost boy's panic-driven iron grip.  She cursed herself 
silently: <Why the heck did I have to try to do this goon a favor?  
This what I get for bein' nice.> 

In the airport, Ranma had felt a pang of sympathy for Ryouga at 
the prospect that the fanged boy would have to ride in a pet carrier 
the whole way.  Ryouga had never been on a plane (for that matter, 
neither had Ranma), and it would have been pretty lousy for him 
to have to waste the opportunity by being stuck as a pig in the 
luggage compartment.  It HAD been Ryouga's ticket, after all.

So Ranma had hit upon a brilliant plan.  The early-morning flight 
was not going to be full - there would be extra seats to spare.  
They'd sneak Ryouga in as a pig while everybody was boarding, then 
Ranma-chan would get him into the bathroom and leave the hot water 
running so he could change back into a human.  Once they'd gotten 
past the ticketing attendant in the general chaos of boarding, 
nobody would notice the extra person - they'd assume he had a 
ticket, just like everyone else.

Unlike many of Ranma's brilliant plans, this one actually succeeded.  
Ryouga mingled in with the other passengers without raising any 
kind of stir at all.  He'd even managed to get a seat next to 
Ranma-chan.

Unfortunately, neither of them had realized that Ryouga was going 
to manifest a severe phobia about flying.

"Let... go..." Ranma-chan hissed as she strained to peel his 
fingers off the armrest, trying to minimize the damage to the 
seat.  "If you mess up this plane... there's gonna be... >nnnf!< 
... real trouble!"

Ryouga was sweating up a storm and gasping for air.  He tried 
desperately to pull himself together, but all it took was one 
glimpse out the window for the unreasoning panic to seize his 
mind again.  He grasped reflexively for a handhold.

"Gnnnf!"  Ranma-chan tried to bite back a yelp of pain.  "Watch 
where you're grabbin', ya stupid jerk!"

Ryouga tried closing his eyes, but he could feel his stomach lurch 
the moment he did.  The disorientation of not being able to see 
would surely make him sick.  He was terrified and profoundly 
embarrassed.  He was only vaguely aware of Ranma-chan pounding 
on him until he released his grip on her.

A worried-looking stewardess checked in on the two of them.  "Is 
your friend all right?" she asked Ranma-chan.

"Uh, he ain't used to flyin'," Ranma-chan answered.  "It's his 
first time."

The stewardess nodded sympathetically.  "It looks like there won't 
be much turbulence.  It should be a smooth ride."  She patted 
Ryouga on the shoulder - he gave her a look that was pitiful to 
behold.  "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked gently.

Ranma-chan shrugged.  "He's real strong.  If you could get him 
somethin' to hold onto so he won't mess up the plane, that might 
help."

"Just a second," she smiled.  "I know just the thing."

The stewardess departed, and returned a moment later with a large 
spare tire.  Ranma-chan gave her a quizzical look, but it did seem 
to help.  Ryouga took a hold of it like a drowning man might seize 
a life preserver.  His trembling hands sank deep into the vulcanized 
rubber.

"There, there," the stewardess said comfortingly.  "We'll be on the 
ground before you know it."  She smiled and left them.

Ranma-chan scowled at Ryouga, who was kneading the tire fitfully.  
"Man, you're really pathetic.  What kinda martial artist are you, 
anyway?"

"Shut up!" he snarled back in a quivering voice.  "A... as someone 
who g... goes to pieces... every time he s...sees a kitty cat... 
y... you... shouldn't..."

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma-chan huffed.   Ryouga began to gnaw on the 
tire.  Ranma-chan shook her head in disgust.  What a trip this was 
turning out to be.

- - - - - - 

Ukyou took a deep breath before passing through the gate of the 
Tendou Dojo.  In spite of all the time she'd spent in this place, 
it was always a little like preparing for battle when she came 
over.  When Ranma was home, she felt more like she had a right to 
be there.  But Ranma wasn't there, and she had to find out why.  

She could hear Akane practicing in the Dojo as she entered - the 
sounds of the short-haired girl's grunts and the breaking of 
cinder-blocks were unmistakable.  Ukyou was a little relieved 
at this, since it meant that Akane would not be answering the door.  
She and Akane were unusual amongst the Ranma fiancee pool in that 
they could actually coexist peacefully in the same place as one 
another for extended periods of time, but there was always an 
unmistakable tension.  Ukyou found that she was always straining 
to pick up hidden meanings in the other girl's words, buried hints 
of her true feelings and intentions.  She didn't know what Akane 
was thinking when they were together, but Ukyou's rival for Ranma's 
affection was hardly ever really at ease around her.

Ukyou knocked on the door and waited.  The odds were that Kasumi 
would answer, which would be tolerable enough.  Kasumi would tell 
her what she wanted to know... as much of it as she understood, 
anyway.  Ukyou liked Kasumi well enough (it was hard not to), but 
she didn't have much faith in the eldest Tendou daughter's grasp 
of reality.  Still, it would be better than Tendou Soun, who might 
come unglued at any second, and it would certainly be better than 
Saotome Genma, whom she utterly loathed.  

The door slid open.  "Oh," Nabiki said.  "It's you."

Ukyou offered a small prayer of thanks.  Nabiki was really the one 
she wanted to speak with.  The middle Tendou girl was always 
composed, always insightful, and hardly ever missed a thing.  
She'd surely be able to get an accurate rendition of whatever was 
going on from Nabiki.

It just wouldn't be free, of course.

"Hi, Nabiki," Ukyou greeted her.

"Ranma's not here," Nabiki told her.  "Sorry."

"I heard," Ukyou said, nodding.  "Can I come in?"

Nabiki shrugged and led her into the dining area.  Ukyou knelt at 
the table and set down her package in the center, cracking open 
the top of the carrying box to let the aroma escape.  She had brought 
some specially-made okonomiyaki for the occasion.  To Ukyou, entering 
a potentially awkward social setting without food was like going 
into battle without her spatula.  

A small, satisfied smile appeared on her lips as she saw Nabiki's 
reaction to the scent of the food.  She had guessed in advance that 
she might need a bribe for Nabiki, and okonomiyaki was always 
Kuonji Ukyou's coin of choice.  The smoked salmon okonomiyaki with 
the tangy mirin sauce took some special preparation, but Nabiki 
had a real weak spot for that particular dish.  The Tendou girl 
gave her a small nod, which told Ukyou that the price for 
information had been met.  Ukyou served up the okonomiyaki, then 
sat attentively as Nabiki told her tale.

Ranma was in China - the bimbo had been right about that.  But 
he wasn't there to find a cure.

Ukyou's heart sank as Nabiki explained the events of the previous 
days.  It wasn't as if Ranma hadn't been threatened before, of 
course.  It wasn't as if he hadn't taken care of some pretty 
dangerous foes.  Nabiki knew that as well as Ukyou did... and 
the way Nabiki told it, Ranma's life was in serious jeopardy.  

"I'm tracking Happosai's movements through China," Nabiki 
explained.  "But it isn't easy.  China doesn't have the most 
open policy when it comes to news, you know.  And that little 
geezer sure does get around."

Ukyou stared blankly ahead.  She was trying to come to grips with 
the news she'd been given.  

"Look," Nabiki said after a long silence, "I'll be sure to let you 
know if I get any news, okay?   On the house."  She hazarded a 
little grin, hoping to jostle Ukyou out of the gloom that seemed 
to have descended upon the young chef.  

Ukyou nodded gravely, then rose to her feet.  "Thank you, 
Nabiki-san."

"Uh... no problem."  

Ukyou gently closed the door behind her as she left.  The sounds 
of Akane's practice session in the training hall drifted to her 
ears again.  She felt a surge of anger at the youngest Tendou 
daughter - her fiancee was in real trouble, and all she did was 
hang around and break rocks?

But the anger passed quickly.  Ukyou's first desire was to take 
off after Ranma, to charge to China with her spatula in hand and 
help him out.  However, from all that she had learned from Nabiki, 
that would be a futile gesture.  The Reikoku just got stronger 
if you tried to gang up on it.  It got more powerful every time 
you defeated it.

And if she attacked it, the thing would hunt her down and kill 
her.

On the other side of the coin, she had a business to run.  A list 
of dozens of chores and duties for the restaurant unraveled itself 
in her mind, things that Konatsu simply wasn't equipped to handle.  
Furthermore, school would be starting up in a week.  An impromptu 
trip to China would be remarkably ill-timed.

She wandered back towards Ucchan's, her body on autopilot as 
her mind turned the problem over and over, examining it from all 
angles.  She loved Ranma, but was he worth dying for?  Maybe... 
if she thought dying would do him any good.  But where was the 
benefit in running off to a pointless death?  What kind of use 
would that sacrifice be to anyone?  

She had responsibilities.  She had a life, and she didn't want to 
throw it away.  She wanted Ranma to survive, but that was what he 
was best at, wasn't it?  

Shampoo and Akane had stayed behind.  

Ukyou looked up at the banner for her restaurant, undulating 
languorously in the soft breeze.  "Ucchan" - the name that Ranma 
had given her - flowed in shallow waves as she stared.  She knew 
there was only one conclusion she could reach that would actually 
sense.

Ukyou made her decision, and walked into her restaurant.

- - - - - - 

"Let me try it this time."

Ranma glared at Ryouga defiantly.  "Last time you tried it, you 
got a glass of water tossed in your face.   We don't wanna have 
THAT happen again, do we?"

"Yeah, well last time YOU tried it, you had half the women in this 
city trying to kill us!"  It was an exaggeration, but not much of 
one.  The chase through the narrow Chinese streets, with a mob of 
angry women armed with kitchen knives and gardening tools, had 
lasted for almost a full day.  

"I got the hang of it this time," Ranma asserted confidently.  
"It's my turn, okay?"

"We should just find someone who speaks Japanese," Ryouga grumbled.

"Aw, quit worryin'.  I got this aced."

The two young martial artists had encountered an unanticipated 
stumbling block in the beginning of their search.  While they 
had known that the language barrier was going to be a challenge, 
neither had realized that there were so many ways to mis-phrase 
the question:  "Have you seen a man who steals panties?"  Neither 
Ranma nor Ryouga were quite certain what they had actually been 
saying, but the reactions from the Chinese women they'd asked so 
far had ranged from outraged to homicidal.   

This time, though, Ranma knew he'd gotten it right.  He'd been 
up late the night before scouring the Japanese-to-Chinese 
guidebook for the correct approach to phrasing the question.  It 
was not the sort of subject which was addressed in the rather 
elementary texts they had brought with them, but Ranma was 
confident that his research would pay off.  

Ranma scanned the restaurant for a likely person to ask, and 
eventually settled upon a pretty young waitress.  She was wearing 
the sort of frilly, cute uniform that Happosai couldn't resist.  
If the withered old pervert had been around here, there was a 
good chance she'd have seen him.  He smiled his most charming 
smile (or so he thought - his truly charming smiles only actually 
came when he wasn't trying to affect them) and strolled up to 
her.

She asked if she could help him.

He grinned disarmingly and asked the question.

The waitress stared at him with a blank, uncomprehending 
expression for a long, awkward moment.  Ryouga fidgeted nervously 
behind Ranma.

Ranma asked his question again.

The waitress let out an ear-splitting shriek of terror and slammed 
her tray of drinks over Ranma's head.  

Ranma staggered backwards, dazed.  The waitress spun and tore out 
of the restaurant, white as a sheet and screaming up a storm.  
Ryouga registered the trajectory of the glasses of water which 
had been on the tray an too late, and in an instant he was a 
pig.  

Then, things got really chaotic.

By an unfortunate coincidence, the spilled drinks had also landed 
on a rather large and irate looking restaurant patron... possibly 
a Mongolian sumo wrestler, by the look of him.  That individual 
rose ponderously to his feet and turned to face Ranma, who had 
actually been shielded from the flying liquid by the tray which 
was still stuck to his head.  Ryouga, now P-Chan, skittered 
backwards away from the angry Goliath, only to find himself 
backing up into the boots of the cook who had emerged from the 
kitchen to investigate the commotion.  The man took one look at 
P-Chan and got the same idea that most Chinese cooks seemed to 
get when they saw him - "Yummy!"  He raised his cleaver and began 
to chase the small black piglet around the restaurant, while Ranma 
tried to placate the outraged restaurant patrons which were 
gathering in a small mob behind the Mongolian giant.

Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Ranma 
executed a dazzling leap over a table, rebounded dexterously 
off a wall, snagged P-Chan by the bandanna in mid-leap, and 
sailed gracefully out the window in the back of the restaurant.  
The angry mob heard the sound of a trash can capsizing, then the 
screech of several startled cats.  A second later, Ranma plowed 
back through the window, howling in terror and flapping his arms 
like a parrot having an epileptic fit.  He trampled the Mongolian 
giant and bowled through the startled restaurant patrons, then 
finally crashed through the wall and barreled out into the 
street.  

Once Ranma realized the cats were not pursuing him, he regained 
his composure - just in time to see the mob reforming behind the 
enraged chef, who was not very pleased by what had just happened 
to his restaurant.  Ranma took to his heels, carrying the queasy 
and disoriented P-Chan (who had been rattled mercilessly during 
Ranma's panic attack), with the angry gang of Chinese diners in 
hot pursuit.

The few remaining individuals who had not taken off to chase Ranma 
and Ryouga stared at the wreckage with emotions such as astonishment, 
disbelief, and horror... except for one.  He sat in a darkened 
corner of the restaurant, all but obscured by shadows.  He had 
recognized the two Japanese martial artists immediately when they 
had entered the restaurant.  He had also figured out what it was 
they had really been trying to ask the waitress, and why.  

He smiled a nasty little smile.  Saotome Ranma was in China, 
searching for the old man.  That was very, very interesting news 
indeed.

- - - - - -

"Hello, Tendou residence."

"Kasumi?  It's me."

"Ranma!" Kasumi exclaimed in delight.  "How nice for you to call.  
Are you having a good time in China?"

"Uh... yeah.  Sure.  Um, is Nabiki there?"

"Not at the moment," Kasumi answered.  "She said she had some sort 
of business arrangement to attend.  I think she's starting a new 
job.  Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah.  Great.  Did she leave any messages for me?"

"Oh dear!  I almost forgot, she did."  Kasumi shuffled through 
the papers that Nabiki had left behind for her.  She read off the 
latest information that Nabiki had gathered about Happosai's 
movements through China.

"Man!  That guy really gets around!"

"Oh yes," Kasumi chimed.  "Grandfather Happosai does seem to 
travel a lot.  Sometimes it's almost like he's in several places 
at once, isn't it?  Perhaps he's gotten a bicycle," she 
hypothesized.  She knew that bicycles were very popular in 
China, and Shampoo did seem to get around rather well on hers.

"I don't think his feet could reach the pedals.  Did she get 
the translation I asked for?"

Kasumi shuffled through the notes.  "Here it is!  Are you ready?"  

"Fire away."

Kasumi read the Chinese phrases which Nabiki had gotten translated 
to Ranma, pronouncing the words according to the phonetic guidelines 
her sister had written down.  "Nabiki says that means 'I am hunting 
for a criminal who steals underwear.  Can you help me find him so 
I can bring him to justice?'  Do you think that'll help you, 
Ranma?"

"Yeah, I think so.  Well, that's about it, I guess."  A long pause 
followed.  "Uh... say, Kasumi?"

"Yes, Ranma?"

"Is Akane around or anything?"

Kasumi sighed.  "I'm sorry.  She's been rather listless and depressed 
lately, so Father took her off to see a film to help cheer her up.  
I think they went to see a foreign film called 'The English Patient.'  
I hope they have a good time."

"Oh.  Well, okay."

"Your father is here," Kasumi announced brightly.  "Would you like to 
speak to him?"

"Sure, put the old guy on."

Kasumi handed the phone to Mr. Saotome.

"Growf?"

"Pop?"

"Growlf."

"Aw man!  Why the heck did you get on the phone if you're... geez, 
I don't even know why I bother with you!"

click<

- - - - - -
(continued in second half...)
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