Alternatives -- Chapter 9 

Ranma 1/2 and all of its' characters are the property of Rumiko 
Takahashi and all of the companies who have licensed it.  I don't own 
any of it.  I do not have permission to use her characters or ideas.  I 
am writing solely for pleasure.  Don't sue. 

All comments, flames, MST's or other responses are welcome.  Let me know 
what you think.  Public comments are the most appreciated! 

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The next morning, the hike from the village of Joketsuzoku to the cursed 
training grounds of Jusenkyo seemed twice as long as it had yesterday, 
and the mood of the hikers was significantly more solemn.  Previously, 
they had anticipated the fulfillment of their dreams with no cost to 
Ranma or themselves, yet now they knew the horrible, painful price that 
one man alone faced.  Each wrapped within their own thoughts, the group 
traveled somberly forward.

Ever the nurturer, Kasumi carried with her the necessary water, clothes 
and blankets in anticipation of Ranma�s plunge.  Her puffy eyes, the 
slight creasing of her brow and the slight frown on her lips were the 
only signs of the inner turmoil plaguing her.  If she hadn�t felt 
honor-bound to help Ranma, whom she considered a little brother, she 
knew in her heart that she would never have returned to this cursed 
place.

Leading the procession, Ranma and Akane uncharacteristically hung on 
each other with his left arm around her torso and her right draped over 
his shoulder, left clinging to his ribs.  Though she didn�t want him to 
go through the hell he suffered just a day before, she knew she couldn�t 
stop him and would show her support any way she could.  If given the 
option, Akane would have gladly assumed his place and his pain.

Shampoo, Kodachi, Ukyo, and Ranko followed directly behind Ranma and 
Akane.  Nabiki, shamed into coming by Kasumi, carried extra supplies and 
walked beside her sister.  Cologne, Kuno, Soun, Nodoka and Genma made up 
the rest of the procession.  They arrived just after the sun topped the 
trees that lined the deceptively tranquil looking valley.

Nervously waiting for Ranma to jump into the Spring of Drowned Twins, 
Ranko caught sight of several Musk Soldiers clustered around a spring on 
the other side of the plain.  There were six men in what looked their 
nightshirts waiting as a seventh man brought forward a bound and 
struggling small animal.  They laughed as one of them tied a rope to the 
animal's yellow collar and then threw it into the nearby pool.  Her 
stomach churned in revulsion as a young woman stood up from where the 
animal had been tossed.  Still watching in horrified fascination, she 
saw the man holding the rope begin to pull the woman towards himself.  

Faintly, she heard the woman shout in Japanese, "I'll die before you can 
touch me!"  
   
Without further thought, Ranko charged through the spring-laden valley, 
intercepting the rope tied to the naked young lady in the cursed spring.  
If the newly created girl could speak Japanese, she definitely must have 
been human before her plunge, and if so, Ranko could not allow them to 
play their disgusting games with her.

Now on the scene, she jerked the rope from the soldier's hands and 
angrily yelled, "I don't think so!"

Keeping her eyes firmly rooted on the Musk soldiers, she felt Cologne 
and a few others arrive behind her.  They immediately spread in an arc 
behind her, protecting both her and the girl in the pool.  

As the pressure from the rope eased, Ryouga looked up and saw Ranma-chan 
protecting her.  From her many fights with Ranma, she noticed something 
about Ranma-chan�s manner that barely failed to conceal her complete 
exhaustion.  Looking more closely, she noticed that Ranma-chan's 
clothes, though a shirt and pants as always, were different.  If a bit 
tight, it fit her body well, exposing the feminine curves that could 
rarely be seen with her usual baggy clothing.  Confused, she scanned the 
rest of her saviors and froze as she saw Ranma standing next to Akane.
 
The behemoth-like leader strode forward, answering Ranko's challenge, 
"We have trapped many animals and are testing them for worthiness.  Why 
do you stop us?  Those who meddle in our affairs pay dearly for their 
curiosity!�

Furious with pent up frustration and rage, Ranko shouted, �She just 
spoke Japanese, you idiot!  She�s obviously not an animal!  You�ll 
...test... her over my dead body!�

"So, you challenge me?"  Myrrh laughed as he looked at this pathetically 
weak female.  "I accept.  If I lose, you can have this female.  However, 
if I win, you agree to become a Musk warrior's docile bride."

�Agreed,� Ranko spit back as she dropped back into a defensive stance, 
poised for Myrrh�s first attack.

"Hold, you may not fight this challenge here.  I have adopted this 
woman's mother as my daughter.  Thus, she is my granddaughter, an 
Amazon, and a warrior of the tribe.  As such, our treaty protects both 
of you; this shall be handled as all disputes are between our tribes.  
You will come to our village in 15 days.  The challenge match will be 
held in the arena and will be witnessed by both Amazon warriors and 
yours."  Cologne stood between the two, blocking either from attacking.  

"With her mannish manners, I should have known that this bitch was an 
Amazon whore.  Very well, I agree, but the terms previously set will be 
enforced upon the loser, no matter who wins.�  With an evil leer on his 
face, Myrrh examined Ranko thoroughly.  He knew not to underestimate the 
women from Joketsuzoku, but the fact of the matter was that no mere 
woman could defeat him.

�And this woman will stay with us until the challenge is concluded!�  
Ranko added with determination shining from her eyes.

Gauging his options carefully, having no wish to surrender any part of 
what was his property, Myrrh surveyed Cologne.  Between the Joketsuzoku 
women and their pitiful allies, he estimated, that while not cheap, 
victory would be his, but that was not what stopped him from ordering 
these idiots' deaths.  To face a force of avenging Amazons would require 
many more men than he had here, and Joketsuzoku was much closer to 
Jusenkyo than the Musk border.

"Very well, breaking the both of you in will make my victory that much 
sweeter."  Looking at Ranko, he added in a lust-filled voice, "I think I 
shall make you one of my concubines, rather than let you be wasted as a 
wife.  I like my women small and feisty, just like you.  It will be a 
pleasure teaching you how to obey and serve a real man.  Before I'm 
finished with you, you'll be begging me to let you satisfy me."

"Do not respond to him, granddaughter.  We must tend to this woman," 
Cologne said, gesturing at Ryouga who sat in a daze, chest deep in the 
waters of the Nyannichuan.

Ranko continued to glare at Myrrh and growled, "I will finish this when 
we meet in the challenge field.  You will not be laughing then."  

Noticing the bandanna around her head, Cologne looked closely at the 
girl and with a smile of recognition said, "Shampoo, go into the pool 
and help this person out of the water."

"You sure, Great-grandmother?"  Shampoo cautiously asked.

"Go."

As she entered the water and moved towards the girl, Shampoo felt the 
beginnings of her transformation to a cat start and then, remarkably, 
reverse.  

"Aiyah!" she exclaimed as she quickly moved beside the girl and helped 
her out.  "Let Shampoo help you out."

With the immediate crisis over, Ryouga began going into shock.  She 
looked away from Ranma and down at herself and whispered, "I'm not a 
pig.  I'm a... girl?"  Feeling Shampoo's hand on her elbow, she allowed 
herself to be led out and away from the Musk tribesmen.  

Ukyo had not been idle.  Seeing that there would not be a fight, she 
moved forward and took a blanket from one of the men.  As the girl and 
Shampoo exited the spring, she placed it around the naked girl's 
shoulders and wrapped her up so that she would be decent.  "There you 
go, sugar.  You don't need to be naked and cold in front of scum like 
this.  We'll get you back to the village and get you some hot water and 
some clothes.  You'll feel much better when you're yourself again.  By 
the way, my name's Ukyo and this is Shampoo.  What's yours?"

Looking up at the chef with haunted eyes, Ryouga murmured, "Don't you 
recognize me, Ukyo?"  

"Um, sure I do, honey," she replied soothingly.  "Let's just get back 
over to where it's safer."

Lifting her gaze over the stricken girl's head, she looked at Shampoo to 
see if Shampoo recognized her.  Shampoo shook her head negatively as she 
gently untied the rope from the yellow and black bandanna wrapped around 
the girl's head.

�Everything will be all right, Ryouga,� Cologne whispered from behind.  
�Let�s finish our business and leave this evil place before any other 
tragedies occur.�

"R-R-Ryouga?" Ranko stammered out.  "But I thought that the... "

"Hush, child.  We shall speak of this a little later."

"What happened?" Kasumi asked as soon as they were within earshot.  

"Ryouga got lost and fell into a spring," Ranko started explaining.  
"Then the Musk caught him and, thinking he was a real animal, tossed him 
into the Nannichuan.  I saw them throw him in, heard him yelling in 
Japanese, and ran to stop the Musk from hurting him," she paused and 
with a little embarrassment in her voice continued, "I didn�t know it 
was Ryouga until Cologne recognized him.�

"Is that really you, Ryouga?"  Akane looked at the bedraggled figure in 
front of her.  The girl was wearing Ryouga's bandanna and had his eyes, 
but her hair was dishwater blonde and she didn't have the cute little 
fangs that Ryouga had told her was a Hibiki family trait.  

"Yes, it's me," an emotionless voice answered her.  Even under the 
blanket, Ryouga was shivering with cold.  

"Shampoo, why don't you take Ryouga to the Guide's hut and get Ryouga 
some hot water?  I'm sure he'll feel much better when he's himself 
again," Cologne gently suggested.  Turning to everyone else, she sighed 
and said, "Why don't we get your ordeal out of the way, Ranma?  Then we 
can get the answers from the Guide as to how this all happened."

Ranma bashfully stripped and walked to the edge of the pool.  He took 
several deep breaths, staring at the crystal clear water before he 
gathered the courage to leap in.  

Listening as her new brother�s voices tore through the air, Ranko 
quickly forgot the question she had intended to ask the Guide.  
Shivering with dread, she nervously waited for her brothers to be taken 
out and cared for before she took the initiative, breaking from the 
group, and leapt forward towards the water�s icy embrace.

"What are you doing, Ranko?" Nodoka screamed in horror as she watched 
her daughter dive into the pool from which she had been born.  Her 
terror turned into amazement as she watched her daughter painfully split 
into a son and daughter.  

Everyone except Ukyo was stunned at the development.  As the boy and 
girl crawled out of the water, Ranko looked towards Ukyo hoping that she 
would explain.  Kasumi and Kodachi moved forward to help get them under 
the tarp.  The two of them joined their brothers in sleep seconds after 
being laid down.

"We talked about this last night," Ukyo explained solemnly.  "I gave her 
some Spring of Drowned Boy water last night.  We didn't want anyone to 
have to go through this more than they have to."

The sounds of a heated, one-sided argument woke the four from their 
befuddlement minutes later.  When they were able to look for the source, 
they saw that a very unhappy Jusenkyo Guide defending himself from 
verbal attacks from Nodoka and Cologne, while helping Shampoo bring a 
now male Ryouga towards them.  

"I very sorry.  Mother of honored customer write; ask how to get rid of 
curse on son.  Already, I give full barrel of Spring of Drowned Boy to 
him.  I decide that honored customer must want way to save the girl-type 
body of cursed side.  I write back and tell her how."  He cringed back 
from the anger he could see in both women's body language.

"If that is true, why did you lie about mixing curses then?  Ryouga was 
cursed to be some sort of animal and then dunked into the Drowned Girl 
spring.  How come he didn't come out half-human?"  Nodoka was displeased 
with the little man and his evasions.

"Aiyah!  I not lie!  I merely state that if you mix waters, curses mix 
too!"  As he answered her, he prostrated himself to both women.

"You intentionally mislead my adopted daughter.  Tell us the truth!"  
Cologne's eyes slit in controlled anger as she moved next to the Guide 
and tapped him lightly in several key locations.

"I sorry.  I want to tell truth, but little man stop me.  He say he no 
travel all way from Nerima just to lose his Ranma-chan.  He say he drink 
all of Spring of Drowned Boy water to keep student from lifting curse," 
the Jusenkyo Guide was speaking as if hypnotized.

�Happosai, that little pervert,� Nodoka growled.  �How in all the hells 
did he know about my letter to you?�

"I no know; he no tell me.  He say he learn of letter and come 
immediately.  He no tell me how."  

Nodoka half-whispered to herself as she slowly turned away from the 
Guide, "I don't understand, I only told one person and he would never 
have told Happosai about it... or would he?  GENMA SAOTOME!  Tell me 
that you didn't tell your perverted master of my plans?"

>From somewhere, Genma had pulled a flask of cold water and splashed 
himself.  A panda now stood where he had been.  It was holding a sign 
that read, "Genma?  I don't know any Genma.  I'm only a panda."  

Hearing all of this, Ranko looked down at herself and from somewhere, 
she didn't know where, she gained enough strength to stand and start 
yelling, "Pops, you mean that if it weren't for you, I'd be a guy right 
now?  I've joked about having panda steaks in the past, but I'm getting 
very hungry for panda right now!  I can't believe..." she stopped and 
thought for a second.  "I can believe that you would pull something so 
crummy as this."  As her anger left her, despair filled the hole left 
behind, her strength deserted her, and she collapsed back to the ground.  

Ukyo rushed to her side and helped her back to her pallet.  She glared 
at Genma and said, "I know a delicious recipe for panda okonomiyaki, 
sugar.  Would you like some?"  
   
"No, I will not tolerate such joking about my husband.  If he has 
actually done such a dishonorable deed as selling out his own son, I 
will be the one to decide his punishment," Nodoka announced, stopping 
all threats against him with her pronouncement.  "Genma, turn yourself 
back before I decide that you should stay a panda."

Running towards the Guide's hut, the retreating panda held up a sign 
that read, "Yes, Dear!"

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While Ukyo nursed Ranko during the day, she tried to visualize being the 
husband of the woman laying next to her, but just couldn't do it.  She 
loved Ranma with all of her heart and knew that Ranko really was Ranma 
on the inside.  However, all of her dreams as a child had been for 
vengeance so that she could regain her womanhood and become a wife and a 
mother.  Willingly becoming a man for her friend and love was something 
that she thought that she could do, but now with the means and the 
opportunity, she found herself hesitating.  The suffering that Ranma 
volunteered to undergo to make her and the others happy simply baffled 
and amazed her; she wanted no one to go through that just so she could 
be happy.  However, now that she had time to think about it, she didn't 
really want to become a man either.  Ranko would always be her friend, 
but she wanted to be the one to birth and nurse their children, not just 
be the one to hand out cigars.  She knew that Ranko's feelings might be 
hurt, but she had to be honest with herself; besides, Ranko had said 
herself that she didn't want her to be cursed.    

Nodoka and Kasumi quickly took charge of the temporary encampment. While 
a fiancee was directly attending each of the Saotome siblings, Kasumi 
made absolutely sure that each girl knew exactly what to do and to call 
her if anything happened.  She continually checked on them, going from 
one to another verifying that their needs were being met.  

Nodoka busied herself with preparing a means of getting her children 
back to the village.  She had Genma, Soun, Kuno, and Ryouga each prepare 
a travois with which to pull the four back when they were awake again.  
Unsurprisingly after seeing her temper flare earlier, no one complained 
at her orders. 

The sun was setting, dropping directly behind the home of the Jusenkyo 
Guide when the four Saotome children again stirred to wakefulness.

"Aiyah!  Ranma, you awake now.  We get married tonight!" Shampoo eagerly 
said when her patient groggily looked up at her.  Glomping him in relief 
at his recovery and anticipation of finally winning her husband, she 
allowed herself a moment of weakness and cried in relief.  

Still disoriented, her patient alertly said, "Uh, Shampoo, good 
morning?" 

"No, it evening now, husband," Shampoo giggled as she lovingly held him.

Akane watched as her patient began opening his eyes and decided to treat 
him with a wake-up kiss.  With a mischievous grin, she leaned over and 
began kissing Ranma on the mouth.  

Still asleep, he reached up, grabbed her, and pulled her into a tight 
embrace, deepening the kiss all the while.  As she began to resist, he 
roused enough to realize what he was doing and with whom.  Immediately, 
he jumped back and said, "Akane, heh, um, I didn't mean to, um, you 
know, um..."

Angry a little at his reaction, Akane looked at his face.  The abject 
fear she saw written there made her laugh out loud.  "That's right, 
Ranma.  You didn't mean to anything, I was kissing you!"

"Huh?  Oh, yeah!" He said while trying to cover his confusion.

"K-K-Kodachi?" stammered the other male Ranma as he regained 
consciousness and saw who was caring for him.  

"Yes, my Ranma-sama?"  Kodachi demurely asked him.  "What may I do for 
you?"

"Uh, why is my head in your lap?" he asked in bewilderment.

"The pillow that the Amazons provided was insufficient for your noble 
head.  With nothing else suitable, I used my humble self as your 
pillow," she said as she wiped a cool cloth across his brow.  "I hope 
that my lap was sufficiently soft for you."

"Yeah, I guess," he carefully answered.  

At the same time as the others awakened, Ranko also came back to 
consciousness.  Opening her eyes, she saw Ukyo sitting a short distance 
off to her right with a basin of water and short strips of cloth ready 
to be put onto her forehead.  Taking the cool swathe off of herself, she 
handed it to her friend as she said, "Thanks, Ukyo.  I don't think I'll 
be needing these anymore."

"I'm glad, sugar," was the softly spoken answer.  Ukyo smiled at Ranko, 
but avoided looking her in the eyes.  She felt almost dirty in not being 
able to use the Spring of Drowned Boy water on herself.  Even though 
Ranko had specifically requested her to not use it, her feelings of 
guilt and failure made her afraid to look her friend directly.
  
Seeing that their charges were now awake, Nodoka said, "Genma, I'd like 
you to pull Ranko back.  Soun, why don't you pull Akane's Ranma back?  
Kuno, would you please take Kodachi's Ranma?  Finally, if you don't mind 
Ryouga, would you pull Shampoo's Ranma?" 

Upon hearing her mother's words, Ranko immediately yelled, "There's no 
way that I'm going to let him near me!  I want nothing to do with the 
man who betrayed me!"  

"It wasn't my fault, Ranko!" Genma begged of his daughter.  "You know 
how the master is.  He knew something was up and threatened me if I 
didn't tell him."

"Pops," Ranko's voice softened, but the vehemence and hate in it 
intensified until it hung palpable in the air.  "The 'Master' wouldn't 
have known anything was up unless he was told by someone.  You sold me 
out... again." 

"Ranko, you know how the Master is!  He can take one look at me and see 
that I am hiding something!"  Genma was getting very worried; he'd never 
seen his child like this.

"Because of you, old man," Ranko's venom poured forth.  "I'm now a girl.  
You raised me to be a man among men, and now I'm a girl.  Even if I use 
the Nannichuan, I'll only be a girl CURSED to be a boy.  For your own 
sake, stay away from me."

"Ranko, forgive your father!"  Genma desperately asked.  He was on his 
knees, bowing for forgiveness.

"No, I'll never forgive you, father," Ranko's fury blazed as she stood 
facing her father.  "I'd rather die than be helped by you."
 
Genma didn't know how to respond to her and decided to stay quiet.  The 
others were shocked and slightly ashamed from overhearing Ranko's angry 
outburst.  

Feeling sorry for her, Ryouga moved his travois next to Ranko.  "Mr. 
Saotome, why don't you carry Shampoo's Ranma?  I think I'll pull Ranko 
back to the village."

Genma silently acquiesced and began dragging his sled towards Shampoo.  

Shampoo felt her husband-to-be start to tense as his father came closer 
to where they sat.  Jumping up, she grabbed the travois from him, while 
saying, "Let Shampoo show how strong she is for husband.  Shampoo will 
bring him to village."

With broken eyes, Genma looked up at the others.  Only Cologne and 
Nodoka would look him in the eyes and the anger he saw inscribed on 
their faces made him shiver in fear.  There was nothing that Happosai 
could have done to him worse than what he saw promised in the eyes of 
his wife.  

As everyone made ready to leave, Nodoka turned and told him, "Pack 
everything up and bring it back to the village.  I thought I knew you, 
Genma.  I didn't.  How could you sell out your own son to Happosai of 
all people?"  Eyes turning to steel, she glared at him and continued in 
an icy voice, "We have much to discuss Genma.  The least of which is 
this betrayal."

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"Halt! Who goes there?" came the Guard's voice from above the gate.

"Cologne, an elder of the village seeks admittance for herself and her 
party," she answered in a way that bespoke of a ritual greeting.  

"Welcome back, Elder!  May your journey have been victorious!" was the 
happy answer. "Open the gates!"

As they all came through the gates, Cologne stopped and spoke to Nodoka 
in a voice that all could hear, "I see that your children are again 
asleep, daughter.  My new grandchildren need their rest this night.  I 
suggest that we all go to bed and face the new day fresh."

"Who will watch after my Ranma-sama?" Kodachi asked protectively.

"I will send for healers to sit with them all night.  They will be well 
taken care of, do not worry child.  Please, all of you, go to your rooms 
and try to sleep.  Tomorrow will be another long and arduous day, as the 
last male Ranma must be split."  With that said, she dismissed them to 
their beds.  "Ukyo, would you stay for a moment?"

"I'd be happy to, Cologne," Ukyo answered politely.

After everyone else left, Cologne again spoke, "So child, are you going 
to use the Nannichuan on yourself?"

"I thought I could and would.  But as I was helping Ranko today, I found 
that I don't want to father children or to be a husband.  I want to be a 
woman, wife, and mother.  I asked Ranko to marry me last night, but she 
turned me down and took half of my water."  The young chef started 
crying softly.  "I don't Ranma to go through that torture again just for 
me, but I don't want to be a man.  I don't know what to do."

"Child, you are brave, braver than most.  Not many would even consider 
what you have offered.  Do not be ashamed if you cannot fulfill a pledge 
that was turned down," Cologne said soothingly, while reaching out to 
hold the confused young woman next to her.  "Shh, Ranko would forever 
feel guilty if you were to curse yourself.  It is better this way.  When 
one feels guilt too long, it turns into anger.  Eventually, you and she 
would have broken apart from it.  I didn't live to be as old as I am, 
child, without learning a little about how the heart works."

"You gave Ranko a chance to help save her own self-respect today.  How 
would you feel if you had to watch part of yourself go through that 
torment without helping in some way?  You gave her that chance and she 
will always be thankful for it."  Cologne continued to comfort Ukyo.

"Do you really think so?" stammered Ukyo.

"Yes, child.  I know so," Cologne said as she led Ukyo to where she was 
staying.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, the sun cheerfully lifted over the Chinese plains to 
the east of the Amazon village.  Another glorious day began spreading 
itself across the countryside.  Ss if a painter had spread every 
imaginable shade of color from red through yellow across the bottom of 
the sky, the sun dutifully rose.  The farmers paused in their labors to 
admire the show.

Ravenous, Ranko and her brothers made their exhausted way towards the 
dining room of Cologne's home.  There they found everyone already 
gathered.  

Spotting Genma, Ranko said, "Get him out of here.  I won't eat with him 
in here."

"Daughter, I'm sorry.  I..."

"DON'T CALL ME DAUGHTER!" Ranko yelled in anger.  "The only reason that 
I'm a girl is because of you.  Do you even know that? Or care?  As far 
as I'm concerned, you are not my father and I never want to see you 
again.  From now on you are just some jerk who always used to use me as 
a child."

Cringing back from her anger, Genma slowly retreated out of the house.  
He knew when to fight and when to run.  This was definitely a situation 
to retreat from.  

Watching him leave, Ranko didn't notice the tears tracking down her 
cheeks.  She'd always loved the old man and forgiven him his sins.  He 
was her father, after all, and children always love their parents.  This 
time, he'd sold her out one time too many and too cheaply.  If he had 
allowed her to be cured and not let Happosai interfere, she'd still love 
him and acknowledge him.  Letting, no... helping Happosai get her stuck 
forever as a woman, was unforgivable.     

Turning back to the others and trying to smile, still unaware of her 
tears, Ranko said with false bravado, "Have you told them your names 
yet?"

"Uh, no, I haven't.  Have you?"  Shampoo's Ranma asked Kodachi's Ranma.

"No, I've been asleep, remember?" the other responded sarcastically.

"Hey, you don't have ta insult me!"  the first started to stand.

"Hey, cut that out!" Ranko frowned at them.  "Just tell them what you've 
decided to be called, okay?"

Abashed, they both hung their heads, while saying, "Sure."

"Since I'm going to be Shampoo's husband, I decided to take the Chinese 
version of my name and be called Luan Ma."  Luan Ma said wistfully 
glancing at Akane.  As soon as he said Shampoo, she glommed onto him 
with a sigh of happiness.  

"Well, I'm going to be called Shima.  I kinda like the sound of 'Death 
Horse'," Shima said as he sat next to Kodachi.  He never raised his eyes 
from the floor, while reaching for his rice bowl and quietly and slowly 
began to eat.

"When I jump into the spring again today, I'm going to be creating 
Ranchan for you Ukyo.  Your pet name for me will be his name," Ranma 
smiled at Ukyo while embracing Akane.  Ukyo smiled back, not missing the 
irony of the situation.

"There is much to be done today.  Please, eat quickly so we can get 
started.  Ranma, you need to go to Jusenkyo and be split one final 
time." Cologne paused with obvious sympathy written on her face.  Her 
features hardening, she spoke again, "Ranko, I will begin your training 
for your upcoming challenge with Myrrh.  As a Musk warrior, he is almost 
equal to Herb in skill, his strength surpasses Ryouga's, and he is very 
adroit in defending against chi attacks.  He cannot to be taken lightly 
and you must train hard to win.  You must win for both your and Ryouga's 
sake."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Ja ne,

Mike Allen
http://home1.gte.net/allenmk

Congratulations to the Name the Ranma Contest Winners:

Ranko: Paul Steele, Trom, Lord Archive, Brian, Rob Barba (Bonus points 
to Rob for coming up with the Little Orchid variation.)
Shima: Lord Archive
Luan Ma: Disruptor (Bonus points for most variation), SKJAM, Bombadil 
Goh


Last, but not least, thanks to my pre-readers.  


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