i have a picture of Ranma-yousei up on my webpage, that
is a clickable link to the entire story, as it is
rewritten.

as for this chapter of the rewrite, some scenes
removed, additional clarifications given, a new pun
shamelessly inserted. those who read, enjoy, take care,
and beware of haboos (desert duststorms, we're having
one as i send this.)

Featherbrite's Tale, the Bet. v2.5
by Gregg Sharp based on Rumiko Takahashi's
situations/char
other char TM other authors.  minor citrus flavoring in
one scene.
Metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/

"Ah, a long hot soak. One of the few redeeming things
of civilization." -Garnn, barbarian

"Is Shampoo's turn to fire wave motion gun. Akane
already have her turn. Is only right for womans of
Amazon village..." Shampoo, A Very Scary Bet.

4: Arrested? No. Captured!
     OR... Shampoo the Vampire Slayer
--------------Tendo-ke,
Nerima---------------------------------
 Ranma sat back and enjoyed the simple luxury of a hot
soak. Rinsing had put him in yousei
form, which he hated for its alien appearance and
attendent sex change. (Though he _would_ admit
that the flight stuff and enhanced senses were cool.)
The hot water had instantly restored both gender and
species, and was welcome for other reasons.

 For much of his life, bathing had been done in lakes
or streams, or an old oil barrel at best. It was a
simple pleasure, allowing one's aches and pains to
slowly ebb, muscles to relax, and nerves to unfrazzle
in the steaming hot water. This, an actual furo or
soaking tub, was something that Ranma felt he could get
used to.

 He didn't have much respite tonight, though. He knew
that at some time during the night there would be
another attack by the vampire. Having tasted Akane's
blood once, the vampire would return again to sample
the same prey and increase his influence on her. If he
did so three times, Akane would die and rise three
nights later as a vampire herself.

 There were further preparations still to be made to
greet the vampire. Now, however, Ranma could spend a
few moments in quiet appreciation of a long hot soak.

 The moment was broken as the door slid open.

 "OH my!" Kasumi blushed and covered herself with a
towel. Oddly enough she didn't look away.

 "Shampoo agree with friend Kasumi." Shampoo covered
her eyes, the effect being somewhat spoiled by her
spreading her fingers a moment later.

 "Mine!" Nabiki's reaction was so intense it was almost
violent. This brought a stare from Kasumi and Shampoo.

 Ranma lowered himself further into the water and
wondered if he could possibly learn invisibility.
Featherbrite seemed to think he could do it.

 Featherbrite, having flipped the "Occupied" sign
earlier, thought it was only fair for the Candidates to
get a good look at what faerie magic, good genes, and a
good diet while growing up could do.(1)

 "A man among men, indeed," snickered the faerie.  With
a rather lighter heart, Featherbrite turned her
attention to her own preparations for the upcoming
battle.
-----Furinkan SHS, Nerima-------------
 "Got it!"

 "You've still got your touch, my dear Hitomi."

 "Isao, you say the sweetest things. Now shut up."

 The catburglar riffled through the files until she
found the required information. It had been years since
she had been in the infamous Catseye gang, but this
Isao had shown up with evidence of her involvement.
Worse, her sisters were plainly visible on the photos.
Now this person kept coming up with little jobs
requiring her talents. Each job offered her the option
of buying a little more of the evidence. His apartment
had nothing. None of his haunts revealed the secret
cache these photos and films and other such bits came
from.

 Quickly finding the requested info, Hitomi flipped the
notebook out to where Isao could read it. She wanted
this over with as soon as possible.

 Isao flipped through the papers as he was handed them.
"Name, address, curse? Jusenkyo, eh? So it's real..."

 "If the minotaur shows up, I'm outta here." Hitomi
didn't even look up from where she was sorting through
the files. She'd seen the minotaur once. Once had been
enough. "Hmmm. Looks like Hisagawa-sensei has been
collecting panty shots of his students."

 "Somehow it doesn't surprise me." Isao spread papers
out, then quickly used the school
photocopier to make duplicates of the important bits.
"Okay, we've got what we want. Now you split."

 "What you gonna do?" Hitomi was opposed to having her
hand in anything that involved murder or big time
larceny.

 "I've got a few more things to take. Make it look like
a real robbery, where they broke into the files looking
for loot. The stolen items will turn up in the
possession of a few juvenile delinquents, and the
police will be happily satisfied with solving yet
another crime."

 "The bad side of the Japanese legal system," Hitomi
nodded. She and her sisters had used that a few times
to their own benefit. "The accused have to prove
themselves innocent as opposed to having the accusers
prove guilt. Well, you're the boss (for now)."

 "And don't you ever forget it."
----Nichieju, China----------------------
 "<Rink!>"

 "<Pink?>" The Healer (apprentice, second class)
blinked at the presence of her sister the Herbalist.

 "<News!>" Pink held up a newspaper. It had a story
about whoever that guy had been who
had beaten Shampoo and vanished. For some reason a
number of Elders had taken enormous interest in the
guy.

 "<Shampoo? Honestly, your rivalry with her is...RANMA
SAOTOME??!>" Rink blinked again,
her jaw hanging open. She'd caught a glimpse of a tall
and handsome young man during the event, but her
reaction at that time had been more along the lines of
how Shampoo might finally have a life outside of
beating on people all the time.

 "<What do you say NOW, sister? She is stealing YOUR
fiance as arranged by our mother.>"
They knew all about it. Pink had no interest in the
boy, other than as something to take away from Shampoo.

 Rink looked up at her sister, crumpling the newspaper
in her hand. "<Shampoo, I will steal your happiness!>"
----Tendo-ke, Nerima-------------------
 A few hours later, Ranma-yousei was sleeping. The poor
boy had been exhausted by some ritual he'd prepared
that (he hoped) would weaken the vampire and keep him
from shifting forms while inside the house.

 Nabiki was glad that the sylph didn't snore at least.
She, however, wasn't able to sleep just yet. Having a
boy (even if he was a she at the time) sleeping THAT
close was...distracting.

 Maybe it had been the earlier scene in the furo. Maybe
it was just she wasn't used to having a nightlight.

 Ranma's faerie form put out a slight glow. It was only
noticeable during periods of great stress, or like now
where there was no other source of light. A slight
sparkly glimmering that shifted continually in hue and
brightness- reflecting Ranma's emotional state.

 "This has GOT to go," Nabiki muttered at the ceiling.
Pink and purple flickering answered her quiet comment.
"Great. Just great." More multicolored flickering
shifted with each syllable.  Nabiki was vaguely
reminded of that foreign movie "Close Encounters" by
the odd color shifts.

 A little smile crossed Nabiki's face. Annoying, but
also amusing in a way. "I really value my privacy,
Saotome. Just wanted you to know, I'm REALLY beginning
to resent your presence." The colors flickered to a
more dark blue. "You also smell, you know that? Sort of
a baked cinnamon. Men are _not_ supposed to smell like
baked goods. I'd noticed that earlier. I can tell what
mood you're in by the scent." The colors had faded down
to violet.

 "Well, maybe I'm not resenting your presence *that*
much." Nabiki watched colors flicker and tried to relax
for a moment. "Though that cinnamon smell is making me
hungry. I just wish I knew what to do about you. You
act so damn nice one minute, then you do something just
totally weird the next."

 "Nabiki?"

 Nabiki turned her head slightly to look at the figure
standing on the edge of her bed. "How come I can see
you?"

 "You're in the state between awake and asleep, the
twilight between reality and dream. You're open to a
lot of things you wouldn't be normally." Featherbrite
walked up to the girl's shoulder and sat down.

 "I don't get it, but okay." Nabiki filed the
information away for later retrieval. "What's the deal
with cold iron, anyway? The old stories conflict about
the effects and don't go into why."

 "I'm not sure. The faerie way is to accept things, not
to do as you humans do and concern yourselves with the
why." Featherbrite sighed. "I think it's like this
tamed lightning that you humans have come to use."

 "Electricity?" Nabiki yawned as she started thinking
about this. Grounding effect? Magnetic fields? "Can you
turn off the nightlight effect at least?"

 "Oh, Ranma's glow? He won't have it in his uncursed
form." Featherbrite looked into the young girl's eyes.
Practiced eyes took in the details of the mortal girl's
aura and came to conclusions. "Do you want to sleep? I
can help you there."

 "Of course I want to sleep. I've got school tomorr..."
Nabiki's eyes abruptly closed and she slept.

 Featherbrite smiled and walked up to the girl's head.
"Sweet dreams," the faerie said. It was a promise.(2)

 Nabiki's lips curled up in a little smile as she
dreamed.
---------Myou no maru, Sea Of Japan---------
 Tolkein watched the wake behind the ship and smiled.
It was easy for him to picture the
same wake behind a galleon as when he first had come to
these waters over 200 years previously.

 He was aware of the ship almost as if it were a part
of him. It was his lair, after all, and a dragon was
aware of every part of his lair.

 Tolkein had wondered if there were other dragons out
there, doing the same thing. Or was he the last of his
kind? He hadn't seen another dragon in over four
hundred years, and that had been an ancient one
preparing to leave this world behind.

 Upon seeing the albino and sensing the strangeness,
he'd hoped that here was another. It
had taken some time to determine that she was NOT a
dragon but was a half-breed. Of WHAT he was
not sure yet.

 Tolkein smiled because one of the dangers of such a
long life was getting bored. He had been ready to find
a nice out-of-the-way cave, cast a glamourie, and spend
a few centuries in dragonsleep under the spell's
concealment.

 Things were looking less boring.

 The transformed dragon's ears twitched slightly as
Captain Fujii reported to her superior, Tiger Tanaka of
the Japanese Secret Service. She was cooperating with
those MiB and their mystically oriented counterpart in
the United Nations, Section Z.

 "So, these aren't the bug critters you know from that
Well World?" Tolkein rumbled in a deep voice more
appropriate for his real shape then a short British
seaman.

 "No. These guys showed up last reset. This one really
got bizarre quickly." Nathan's presence was given away
by the ruddy glow of yet another cigar.
"Extradimensional meddlers, or just a new lifeform, I'm
trying to determine. Something that new and old at the
same time is kind of bizarre."

 The dragon chuckled. "Now there's the pot calling the
kettle..."
---------Tendo-ke, Nerima------------------------
 Ranma awoke when the disturbance hit the first set of
wards. Featherbrite settled onto his shoulder and
lightly touched his mind, adding her own sensory input.
That sometime during the night he had shifted back to
male form was noted, and he sensed that the little
faerie had had something to do with it.

 As Featherbrite's perceptions added to his own, the
darkened room seemed to suddenly
come into color. A pale yellowy glow surrounded the
softly murmurring Nabiki, and the various wards had a
fitful white flickering around them.

 Ranma snuck towards Akane's room, where the attack
would begin, stopping only long enough to open Kasumi's
door. Featherbrite briefly conjured a blue glow into
the room which was enough to awake the two occupants.

 Sounds of a window being opened reached Ranma. "Now."

 Ranma opened the door, interrupting an attempt to give
the entranced Akane a hickey that would do more than
break the skin. His opening remark was a flying front
kick.

 Akane dropped as the vampire turned his attention to
the newest victim. The shock was
enough to bring her to full wakefulness. Her reaction
to seeing a slavering, fanged, middle-aged
European businessman fighting Ranma in her room at
midnight was about what one would expect.

 Her scream got everyone up but Nabiki.

 Nabiki merely put her head under her pillow and
mumbled something about ice cubes and ostrich feathers.
Ranma's name came up a couple of times.(3)

 "Oh...my..." Kasumi managed to say, holding her cross
to bar passage into the rest of the house. Watching
over Shampoo's shoulder the scene of Ranma fighting a
vampire in Akane's room, she couldn't believe she'd
ever thought that younger men were boring.

 Shampoo stood guard in front of Kasumi. She knew the
plan. She also knew that no plan ever
survived contact with the enemy.

 "What's going on..." Genma saw the vampire, remembered
Akane throwing him down the stairs the previous night,
and decided to leave this fight to the boy. About time
Ranma stood on his own two feet anyway.

 Soun saw one of his daughters being menaced by a
vampire and started to squeeze past Kasumi. He would
not allow this to continue. Thereby proving Shampoo's
point about battles not allowing a plan to survive.

 Featherbrite took the opportunity afforded her by
Ranma's battle and sat on Akane's head. Magic flowed
like a stream from the faerie to the young girl.

 Vladimir was unused to this level of interference, but
wasn't letting any of the cattle get in the way of his
plans. Unfortunately, the martial artist didn't seem
inclined to stand
still and let the vampire get to business. "Slave,
attack." Let the girl take some of the heat off of him.

 Akane watched but didn't hear the command.
Featherbrite had turned off the sound. Akane saw
everything going on, but couldn't move even if she
could hear the command.

 A vicious backhand with a vampire's supernatural
strength managed to throw Soun Tendo the length of the
room, a demon head attack just beginning to form. He
slumped and went still.

 Vladimir finally managed to grasp the young man whose
harmless blows had proved such a distraction. One hand
was enough to hold this worthless creature up and would
be enough to crush his neck in front of his family.
Then Vladimir could find the faerie and gain the power
needed to avenge himself against Dmitri.

 "Shampoo want to know if she can cut in?" Shampoo
ducked under another swing from the vampire, to come up
behind him. She moved.

 Vladimir looked down at his chest noting that there
appeared to be a wooden practice sword
sticking out of it.

 "Technically, Shampoo, that doesn't qualify as a 'cut'
at all. More of a thrust." Kasumi smiled at her friend.
It was so nice that she was getting the chance to vent
some of her violent impulses.

 "Oh," Shampoo stepped back and regarded the impaled
vampire. "Shampoo think maybe big sister Kasumi is
right. Just moment please."

 Ranma thumped to the ground, feeling that his neck had
taken WAY too much abuse today. Even with the minor
healing spell he knew.

 "Kasumi please to look other way briefly?" Shampoo
smiled at her "big sister" who was almost like the
mother she'd never had.

 Vladimir dropped to his knees, trying to push the
wooden sword out of his chest. He was too close, he
couldn't be stopped NOW.

 A Chinese sword made a whispering noise as it cut
through the air. "Shampoo have to thank Razor. He very
good weaponsmith, put good edge on sword. Even if he a
very weird male, he know his business." A thump
punctuated her statement

 "Shampoo. Why?" Kasumi blinked, puzzled over her
friend's actions but grateful there was no blood to
mess up the floor.

 Shampoo began cleaning her sword and smiled at her big
sister's confusion. "Ah, Kasumi not know? Shampoo know
how deal with vampires. First have to use stake or wood
through heart. Then have to cut off vampire head. Then
leave head and body out for sun. When turn to ash must
use running water to flush ashes or throw in sea. Then,
very important, must celebrate three nights
later to honor ancestors and spirits who help bring
victory."

 "Oh, a party?" Kasumi nodded to indicate she
understood. She'd have to go shopping.

 "You...saved me." Akane looked at the amazon with a
completely different viewpoint. "He...he would have..."

 Shampoo nodded and smiled. After all, she had just
proven that she was a thoroughly kick-butt Amazon
warrior who had the tools and the talent. She was
feeling every inch the champion. Hah, let the rest of
her village know that Shampoo was now entitled to have
the title Vampire Slayer. Shampoo the Vampire Slayer,
she rather liked the sound of that.

 "And I thought you were just a stupid violent bimbo,"
Akane murmurred.

 Shampoo frowned and took out her Japanese-Chinese
dictionary. "Just when Shampoo think she getting hang
of language..."

 "It's not important, Shampoo," Kasumi quickly covered.
Akane was just feeling a bit free with her tongue after
having just escaped being a vampiric slave. No reason
to spoil the moment. "Come on, Featherbrite can put
wards around the head and body."

 "You are NOT leaving that in my room, are you?" Akane
swallowed hard, turning a pleading gaze from one person
to the next. She was supposed to trust her safety to
Ranma's imaginary friend? "C'mon. Kasumi? Ranma?
Shampoo? Please? Can't I sleep with one of you guys
tonight?"

 Downstairs, Genma was draining his third bottle. He
had *not* seen what he'd thought he'd seen. It had to
have been a hallucination, so there was nothing to get
worked up about. Ranma could *not* have been fighting
some snarling fanged guy with glowing red eyes in
Akane's bedroom. Absolutely not.

 Lots of sake helped. Years of denial gave him a lot of
practice. Hard enough to accept a Chinese curse that
turned him into a panda and his son into a winged
daughter. Vampires could *not* really exist, just myth
and superstition.

 Had Ranma been making advances on Akane? Yeah, that
was it, and she'd been fighting him off. If this thing
with Nabiki didn't go off as planned, they could try
for a few illegitimate children on the side. The lines
would still be joined and the mother wouldn't mind
shoving an embarrassment off on a long training
journey.

 Genma would have found Soun and explained the
sake-granted insight, except that the sake was finally
having the intended effect. He would wake up in the
morning with a rather severe hangover and only fuzzy
recollections of the night.

 Besides, Soun Tendo was still unconscious himself,
though Shampoo and Kasumi had carried him off to his
own bed where he'd be more comfortable. At least more
comfortable there than
imbedded in the wall he'd impacted.

 In her room, Nabiki was smiling and mumbling something
about whipped cream and strawberries.

 Ranma glanced over at Nabiki as he prepared for bed.
He hadn't known that she liked strawberries. Maybe he
ought to pick her up some as a peacekeeping gesture,
after all she couldn't be happy about these living
arrangements.

 Shampoo stared at the ceiling on her futon, listening
to Akane on HER futon. Kasumi kept her bed. Life in
Japan was so different from the village. A warrior's
life was hard, because an
Amazon had to be tough and ready to fight for
everything. Her eyes caught the frills and lace around
her friend's bed. If she dressed more like Nabiki or
Kasumi would Ranma pay more
attention to her?

 Featherbrite checked on Nabiki, and wondered at some
of the strangeness the girl was dreaming of. Well, the
ostrich feathers weren't THAT bizarre, she'd heard of
that back in that Sultan's harem. After a moment's
deliberation, she decided that she ought to see if
Kasumi or Shampoo had the same sort of reaction. Maybe
it was some Japanese thing...
==================
(1) Featherbrite has been listening to washerwomen,
harem girls, and other gossips for centuries. Does she
want her friend to suffer from these complained about
lacks or being substandard? No! She therefore used
magic to correct these perceived
inefficiencies/problems during Ranma's development. If
you need more details and still do not understand, you
are too young for that information. This note is
because some people still don't get it.

(2)  This is just Featherbrite using magic that causes
her to fall asleep and ensures pleasant dreams.
Everything else is supplied by Nabiki.
       As to the morality of Featherbrite engaging even
in such minor mind control, her morality is of an alien
nature. She doesn't "get" humans, even with her years
of experience.

(3) Don't ask. See also note #2 above.

------------Tendo-ke, Nerima-----------------
 Nabiki woke up, stretched, and realized she felt GOOD.
Fully awake, fully energized, and ready to take on the
world (or at least Furinkan.) Also somewhat ravenous
and not entirely sure WHAT had happened last night.

 There was a sleeping Ranma over there, in male form.
>From the look of things, he'd been in a fight last
night.

 "Oh no, Akane!" Nabiki hurried to her youngest
sister's room. Akane wasn't there, but there *was*
Shampoo sweeping up what appeared to be some sort of
black dust.

 Shampoo spotted the pajama clad girl and wiped the
scowl from her face. "Nihao, Na-bi-ki. Shampoo just
cleaning up here. You have good sleep with airen?"

 Certain details of certain dreams came back to Nabiki.
She blushed. "Y-yes. We...I slept fine."

 There was a snapping noise and Shampoo noted that the
broomstick she had been holding had
somehow broken. "Oops. Shampoo not know how that
happen."(1)

 Nabiki nodded absently and left the amazon to the
cleanup, wondering briefly at the intensity of the
dreams she had experienced the previous night. She also
completely missed the look Shampoo shot at her.

 Ranma passed her on the stairs as he headed for the
kitchen. The sound of Kasumi happily humming was
briefly interrupted by Ranma's request for food.

 Nabiki glanced into Kasumi's room and noted that Akane
was sprawled out over a futon and snoring. She wouldn't
admit how relieved that made her feel.

 Genma's room had the odor of liquor emanating from it,
as well as the annoying smell of damp panda.

 Nabiki shook her head. She'd get the details later.
Right now she had to get ready for school, and it
looked like getting a ride from Ranma would be out of
the question for today.
------------Furinkan SHS----------------
 Hikaru Gosunkugi was torn. He could collect a few hair
samples, maybe a piece of wing, and he was sure he
could use the faerie magic to make Akane love him. He
knew that they would then be happy together. Well,
maybe.(2)

 Instead, there was a problem. It was easy to overhear
conversations when almost everyone ignored your
existence. Such as the conversation between
Hisakawa-sensei and certain others.

 He could warn Ranma, and try to get the boy to change
to his yousei form so that he could get those
ingredients as repayment. Alternatively, Gosunkugi
could see himself just waiting for the rescue attempt
and then capturing the pixie.

 He could see the faerie, and he knew what that meant.
He, Hikaru Gosunkugi, had magic in his blood. That he
finally had some confirmation of what he had always
felt to be the case had done wonders for his
self-esteem.

 Now if he could just figure out what to do.
-----------Myou No Maru, Tokyo
Harbor-------------------
 "<Praise all the gods, LAND!>"

 Vanilla's red eyes regarded Shammi with her usual lack
of emotion. "<You do realize that we've got to make the
same trip on the way back home?>"

 Tiger sniffed the air. "<Eeeeeewww. What IS that
smell? How can people bear to live in such foul
conditions?>"

 Di Na didn't say anything beyond a mumbled plea for
someone to please stop making the ship move up and down
like that.

 Observing the amazons with a smirk, Nathan nodded to
Tolkein and sniffed at the freshly brewed coffee in his
hands. "Long shift?"

 Tolkein shrugged slightly and continued to study the
waterline. "We managed to do okay last night. Netted
more fish, so we can do the sale. Looks like Lao met up
with the Dutchman last night if the traces were
correct, we stayed clear, of course."

 Nathan Brazil nodded again. Those two were considered
"Hazards To Navigation" and did not get along together.
They never actually fought a battle but would get
really careless with their
"warning shots." Being in the immediate vicinity of
both would be bad.

 "The amazons mainly slept, I got 'em blankets out of
storage. Tried to figure out the albino. You ever see
anything like her before?"

 "Yeah," Nathan sipped at his coffee again. "Last reset
was in 2015. End of the world because of one man's
hubris. He had a clone of his deceased wife running
around. She was a lot like that girl."

 "Oh dear," said Tolkein, remembering again *why* it
was a bad idea to ask Nathan these questions. Still his
curiosity was going now. "Now *that* sounds like a
story. Coffee?"

 "You make it?"

 "After the last time Ro made it? Of course!"

 "Well all right, then."
---------Tendo-ke, Nerima-----------
 "Shampoo is taking the ashes to the harbor to dispose
of them." Kasumi smiled at her sister. "Ranma's out
training. Nabiki wanted to get to school early today.
Father and Mister Saotome are both still asleep today."

 Akane nodded. She'd wanted to thank Shampoo. She found
herself with an entirely new appreciation for the
Amazon. The bouncy girl with the kawaii voice that
spoke in pidgin had proven herself a capable warrior.
The two times she had made an attack it had been with
grace and strength. The bokken had been thrust at a
precise angle so that it had missed Ranma yet had  gone
straight through the heart of the vampire.

 Each blow had been precise, with no wasted movements.
Akane had reviewed the scene several times in her mind
and had come to one inescapable conclusion. Shampoo
would be a MUCH better friend than an enemy.

 Ranma hadn't been bad either. He'd risked his life to
distract the vampire so that Shampoo could strike the
killing blow. Certainly, even with his fast healing,
being hauled up by the neck like that HAD to have hurt.
Even though it *was* his fault for drawing the vampire
in the first place.

 Akane brightened. She could show her appreciation for
both of them by making them cookies! From overhearing
Shampoo talking to Kasumi, Akane knew that her home
village was a little on the primitive side. She'd
probably never had homemade cookies before. As for
Ranma, being dragged all over Japan and China, he
probably hadn't had them very often himself.

 Akane smiled. Just as soon as she got home from
school, she'd be sure to whip up a couple of batches of
cookies.
------------Tokyo Harbor, Dock 47-------------------
 Shampoo looked up at the sky. Had that been thunder
rumbling ominously? There was some overcast, but it
didn't look like thunderclouds to her practiced eye.(3)

 She finished tapping the ashes into the water below
the pier. Shampoo didn't want to get too much closer to
that water, as the water didn't look that clean to
begin with.

 Smiling, Shampoo tossed the box into a trash
receptacle, and began her trip back to the Tendo
household. She needed to help Kasumi out, then she
could get registered for school! Many, many, hours
spent with her airen, and she could ask him for help
with her homework!

 She was so distracted by this vision that she failed
to notice that she was being followed. This was also a
testament to the skill of the tracker.

 Di Na grinned. They would find out what was going on,
check on Shampoo's progress, then leave. They'd be back
in the village within the week! Using the special jar,
Di Na could bring the pixie home and Elder Di Mon would
have a way to increase her power beyond that of her
rival Cologne!

 Tiger, having swapped the "demon catching jar" for a
pickle jar earlier in the journey, wondered exactly
what was going on anyway.
-------------Another rooftop in Nerima-----------------
 "So why not just run a quick Snatch job," the thug
said as he straightened his jacket. "Just go in real
quick, beat the snot outta the girl, then throw her in
the back of a van and off we go. Happens alla time." He
spoke from experience, having done this several times
in the past year himself.

 Isao sighed. He chose to let one of his other
associates talk to the Talent.

 "Because, my strong but slow friend," Yotsuya spoke in
his usual smarmy tone. "The girl in question is
actually a boy martial artist of considerable speed and
talent with a shapeshifting curse."

 Unari considered that, at least as well as he was
able. "I thought she was some kinda fairy..."

 "The girl indeed has both human and faerie
characteristics," Yotsuya agreed. "While your own
skills make you invaluable to our grandfather in the
Yakuza, the girl has...other qualities our associate
wishes to study."

 Unari nodded. He still didn't understand why they
didn't just run a Snatch but understood that they had a
reason for doing it another way.

 Yotsuya watched the big man go off to join the other
low-level thugs. "I'm ashamed to actually have kinship
with such clods."

 "You know what they say," Isao remarked. He raised the
binoculars to watch the house. "You can choose your
friends, but you can't choose your... family."

 Yotsuya shrugged. That was certainly something the
oyabun might agree with.

 Isao grinned. That had given him an idea. "Leave one
man behind to monitor, we've got a couple of errands to
run, boys."
---------A small park, Furinkan ward, Nerima----
 Kasumi blinked as they came up to an unremarkable area
in between two old trees. She couldn't see why this
place was special.

 "Pardon me, but are you sure about this? Why here?"

 "Shampoo thought Big Sister was leading..." Shampoo
clapped a hand over her eyes. Sometimes she thought her
new friend might be lovable but was not entirely there.

 "Now, Shampoo, I'm sure Kasumi was following someone
ELSE." Nabiki kept watching the way Kasumi's eyes
focussed on some point that flitted around in midair.
While Nabiki couldn't see the faerie, she knew that
everyone here believed in it at this point. Akane was s
till sure everyone was just humoring Ranma, and that it
was an imaginary friend.

 Featherbrite flicked from one of the girls to the
next, then began the tricky part.

 Nabiki drew in a startled breath as sparkling motes of
light shot around all three of them, a technicolor
comet whose tail grew longer as it continued to move.

 A circle, Nabiki realized, the tail of the "comet"
would lengthen to the point where the head would catch
it in a few seconds.

 Shampoo dropped into a defensive posture, having an
instinctive dislike for being contained - even if it
was merely multicolored sparkles of light that faded
out a few moments later.

 Kasumi merely waited patiently. How nice. A faerie
ring.

 The comet became a circle then faded. The wind whipped
through the empty area in Ichi-koo Park.
---------------Somewhere in Furinkan---------------
 "<You shall not bar my way!>" Shammi drew her
nunchaku. "<How dare you (a mere male)
interfere with the mission of a member of the
Nichieju!>"

 "Huh? Hey, speak Japanese!" The boy glared at the
oddly dressed woman. "Better yet,
leave me alone, I'm on a Quest For Vengeance."

 "You tell him, Shammi!" Tiger called out in Japanese,
then realized that her companion did
not speak that language. Really, it was so rude to go
to another country and not learn at least some of the
native's language. "<Don't accept him talking back to
you like that!>"

 Swinging her nunchaku in a complicated pattern, Shammi
snarled. So he _was_ talking back to her. She'd show
him! She'd show all of them! She was just as good a
fighter as Shampoo.

 "<We don't have time for this, Shampoo is getting
away!>" Di Na pointed towards the park. She was sure
that they could catch up with them soon, but if this
was going to be a protracted fight...

 "Look, whoever you are, I don't fight girls. So just
go away nicely, will you?" Ryouga tried not to show how
miffed he was at having some girl slam into him with
enough force to bowl him over.

 "<Hey, he just said that he didn't consider you a
worthy opponent?!>" Tiger wasn't completely sure, the
boy had spoken too quickly, but that was what it had
sounded like...

 Shammi began to glow a fitful blue. "<You... YOU...YOU
DARE!!!>" This was hitting her right where it hurt. She
knew others considered her skills to be less than
stellar, and it rankled. "DIE!"

 Ryouga took a step back. "Uh oh."
========================================
(1) Anyone believe this? Nah, I didn't think so.

(2) Gosunkugi is mean, petty, spiteful, cowardly, and
has no sense of honor. His preferred method of attack
involves the victim being unaware of his presence or
incapacitated. That does not mean he can't be salvaged,
just that it would require some work.

(3) A village of warrior/farmers in a mountain region.
As i understand it, the Bayankala range is mainly rocky
mountains with little in the way of topsoil and
vegetation. In some ways this could be similar to the
area near Canyon du Chelly. Flash floods are likely.
Weather sense becomes a survival trait.

-------------Faerie Realm, Outer Wanders----------
 Shampoo and Nabiki stared at the glowing winged shape
of Featherbrite who was laughing as she sat on Kasumi's
shoulder and pointed out a trail off to the side.

 "So..." Nabiki managed as she looked around. "Where
exactly are we? And how come we can see you now?"
Nabiki noted that Kasumi was her usual unflappable
self, while she had her "Ice Queen" persona on.
Shampoo, on the other hand, looked like she had gone
into defensive mode and was hanging nearer the eldest
Tendo. Interesting.

 "This is the Faerie Realm, Nabiki, even if it IS one
of the outlying regions. Naturally you can see me here,
as that you can't in your mortal realm because of the
restrictions laid upon faerie interaction with that
world." Featherbrite shrugged. She didn't know much
beyond that, it simply WAS, and faerie generally didn't
question such things. That which was, was, that was the
faerie view.

 Shampoo tore her eyes away from the little figure to
take in some of the odd sights around her. A grassy
plain, with a number of trees. A four winged bird
hovered briefly far above before proving it was a
predator by making a dive at something off in the grass
to her right. "Where we go?"

 Nabiki noted that the plants weren't varieties she was
familiar with. She started collecting samples as
surreptiously as she could, sure that the Botany Club
would pay through the nose for these.

 "A friend of mine is not too far off," Featherbrite
answered. "We're getting supplies for the celebration
of your victory over the vampire."

 "Free?" Nabiki asked hopefully. She wasn't sure she
wanted to know what kind of currency was used here.
Maybe a free lunch was too much to hope for.
-------Near Ichi-koo Park, Furinkan Ward----------
 Shammi charged and brought her nunchaku into a
sweeping double strike that should have caught the boy
on both sides of the head.

 Ryouga blocked both. "HEY! Knock it off!"

 Tiger flipped through her translation book. "Knock?
<Ah, to strike a light blow! He's threatening to fight
you!>"

 "<Tell him that he's already fighting me!>" Shammi
whipped the nunchaku back and produced a broom out of
nowhere.

 Ryouga almost laughed until Shammi started using bo
staff manuevers with it. "HEY!"

 "He is tougher than he appears," Vanilla raised an
eyebrow without any other outward show of emotion.

 "Oh, to heck with it." Ryouga lashed out, grabbing the
broom and flinging it off to the side. "Now what are
you going to do...uh oh."

 Shammi pulled out a set of Ginsu knives. "<Very well,
male, you have earned enough of my respect that now I
shall use my ultimate attack, the Sashimi Sendoff! Pray
to your ancestors that you...>"

 At that moment the broom returned at high speed,
having been accidently flipped in a manner that he had
been practicing with his umbrella. Eventually he might
be able to throw his umbrella and have it return to his
hand should he miss. He still tended to be a little off
on the return. That it worked with a broom was not
something that he'd have expected anyway.

 The broom struck Shammi right between the eyes, and
she dropped without a sound.
-------------Holly's Wood, Faerie Realm------
 Kasumi, Nabiki, and Shampoo watched a laughing reunion
between a four foot tall wood nymph
and a six inch tall pixie. Kasumi was amused. Nabiki
and Shampoo were...startled by seeing a naked woman
with green hair and skin the color of birch bark.

 "Shampoo not going to ask."

 Nabiki almost asked what Shampoo was talking about,
but decided she'd rather not know.

 "But of course, Bri'te! I have plenty of such things
available to me, but what are you giving me in return?"
Holly arched an eyebrow, knowing that the pixie
wouldn't give up that male changeling of hers, but she
felt she should be polite and at least make the try.

 "You can't have Ranma," Featherbrite folded her arms
and huffed as well as she could considering her
stature. "These three are also under my protection and
are only here to help me carry stuff back."

 Nabiki and Shampoo instinctively moved a little closer
to Kasumi. All three noted that Holly was interested in
Ranma, but apparently couldn't have it. All three came
to the conclusion that less competition was a good
thing.

 "No doubt," Holly nodded. She saw her opportunity for
a little mischief and excitement. "So, if I make a
request..."

 Featherbrite groaned, she had a feeling the bargaining
on this was going to be a problem...
-------------------Ichi-koo Park, Nerima------
 Ryouga ran. He didn't care where, at present. Just as
long as it was AWAY.

 "Wo ai ni! Wo da airen!" Shammi bounced along behind
Ryouga, using a number of phrases she remembered from
watching a similar scene in a cartoon years ago. "Wait,
bay-bee, wait for your lil' Shammi!"

 "AAAAAaaaaaaaaa!" Ryouga went THROUGH a set of stacked
construction drainpipes, leaving a little trail of dust
in the air behind him as he attempted to break the
sound barrier.

 Vanilla noted that Shammi was making progress in what
looked like a lazy bouncing gait,
where Ryouga was running flat out and destroying
obstacles in his way. Shammi was somehow managing to
close the distance with Ryouga despite the apparent
differences in their velocity. Interesting.

 "I am coming for you, my little studmuffin!" Shammi
was pleased. That cartoon turned out to be an accurate
summation of Japanese mating practices. Strange, but
"when in Rome..."

 "I am NOT your studmuffin!" Ryouga  went through a
wall, the backyard of some old man who was busy with
bonsai, and out the front gate. Stopping when he saw
that Shammi had gotten there first.

 Shammi looked up, having used her Martial Arts
Housekeeping skills to produce a cafe table, two
chairs, two glasses, a nice (but not pretentious)
bottle of red wine, and a loaf of french (of course)
bread. "Ah, a jug of wine, a loaf of bread, .... and
me?"

 Ryouga screamed, turned, and fled. In that order. It
had to be a trick. There was a pretty girl interested
in him. It just HAD to be a trick.

 By then, he'd managed to pique Shammi's interest.
--------------Faerie Realm, Holly's Wood---------
 "WHAT?!" Nabiki blinked as she listened  to the offer.
She wondered what all this had to do with party
supplies. "No! Absolutely not! I am NOT the one that
hates boys! You want Akane!"

 "Nabiki!" Kasumi managed to sound both startled and
disapproving at the same time.

 "Oh, well then, maybe someone else?"

 "Shampoo not think so."

 "Oh my. No. No, definitely not."

 Featherbrite understood that this was the opening
salvo of negotiations that could easily take a mortal
decade. "Holly, my dear old friend, could we 'cut to
the chase scene' as mortals say? What is it that you
REALLY want?"

 Holly blinked and began to slowly smile. "Well, since
you put it THAT way."

 "Shampoo no like that smile," the Amazon whispered to
Kasumi. "Dryad not strike me as bad sort, but not
Shampoo's type."

 Kasumi nodded. She quite agreed. Nabiki noted the
opinions and had also figured out this was just the
opening salvo of negotiations. The wood nymph was
throwing out requests that she knew would be refused.

 "I want," Holly said brightly, "a changeling of my
own!"

 "Sorry, they're not THAT common, y'know."

 "Oh," Holly mused. "Don't know anyone who was abused
as a child who could use a long period of healing in
the Faerie Realm?"

 Nabiki stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I happen to
know someone who fits the bill, but you're gonna have
to get his agreement to come here."

 "Really?!" Holly brightened by three degrees. Just the
thing to put off the tedium and refresh the spirit.
"He? You distinctly used the male pronoun. Where is
he?"

 Nabiki smirked. "I'll give you the details, but...
there's something I want thrown into the deal." That
the dryad wanted this so badly proved that Nabiki would
be the superior negotiator here.

 "Oh dear," said Shampoo and Kasumi in an eerie unison.
---------------Tendo-ke, Nerima-----------------
 A few hours later, Shampoo,  Kasumi, and Nabiki (the
last whistling cheerfully) were walking in with large
bulging satchels. Nabiki was clutching one in
particular close to herself.

 "Akane, have you been cooking?" Nabiki sniffed the air
and immediately wished that she hadn't.

 Kasumi rushed into the kitchen. "Aiyah!"

 Shampoo and Nabiki both blinked at the odd
exclamation, well at least it was odd coming from
Kasumi. It was sufficient for them to find the disaster
area that had once been a kitchen.

 Blackened pots that would require the use of
sandblasting to restore them to anywhere near their
original condition were lying about the kitchen. Small
unidentifiable lumps of multicolored material were
spattered over a number of the surfaces. The microwave
that had quite obviously been used to heat up one of
the heirloom serving dishes that had once contained
metal foil in the print design.

 Everywhere one looked, the sign of some great natural
disaster had occurred. The eye tended to jumble them
all together rather than catalog each and every one of
them, there were so many.

 Shampoo came up behind Kasumi and gave her "big
sister" a squeeze on the shoulder.

 Nabiki looked at what Kasumi was holding in her hands.
"Say, isn't that Mother's..."

 Kasumi lay the shattered pieces of the large mixing
bowl carefully in the trash, taking
a moment to point out to her new "little sister"  the
kanji on the bottom that read "Tendo."

 "Oh, Kasumi's mother make bowl? Oh. Maybe Ranma can
fix?"

 Kasumi's head snapped up. There was hope after all.
Maybe that trick of Ranma's...

 "Oh, Shampoo!" Akane breezed in, apparently not
noticing the wreckage. "I made you
some cookies! To thank you for saving me!"

 Shampoo idly noted Kasumi and Nabiki were backing off
and wondered what that meant.

 "Cookies?" Shampoo turned her gaze to the plate of odd
things sitting on the plate that Akane held up. "Is
food?" It didn't LOOK like food.

 Akane nodded with a little sound of agreement. "Yes,
it took me a really long time to make them. Try one,
they're good!"

 Shampoo wondered what the panicked looks she was
getting from her big sister meant. Certainly she didn't
want to insult Kasumi's little sister by refusing some
odd cultural dish. Shampoo plucked one up and made a
show of popping it into her mouth.

 "Oh no," Nabiki managed.

 "Oh, Shampoo, we hardly knew you..."

 "HEY!" Akane managed to glare and look hurt at the
same time. "Shampoo likes them, I bet. Don't you,
Shampoo? Shampoo?" Why was the Amazon turning purple?

 "I'll call Doctor Tofu," Nabiki ran for the phone as
Shampoo crumpled to the floor.

 "Why is she doing that? They can't be THAT bad!"
----------------------------------------
 By the next morning,  Shampoo had recovered from her
NDE (Near Death Experience). Thanking her mother for
her Amazon constitution and powers of recovery, Shampoo
decided to avoid the youngest Tendo daughter rather
than tempt fate. After all, she might make something
else as an apology.

 Akane wasn't quite sure why her sugar cookies had THAT
sort of reaction. After all, they
couldn't be too bland after she added the tabasco and
blackstrap molasses. She was hoping that the oregano
was counterbalanced by the subtle mango flavoring she'd
added, and it had turned out this nice purple color
that had matched Shampoo's hair...

 But then, so had Shampoo until Doctor Tofu arrived
with Mister Stomach Pump.

 As for the next day, nothing much really occurred.
Nabiki spent quite a bit of time with
her new reading material. (Symple Spellcraft For The
Apprentice, Divinations & Protective Magicks)

 Ranma had a long talk with his imaginary friend, which
made Akane wonder if she was the only sane person in
the household.

 Ryouga managed to get lost, while Shammi considered
this level of resistance to possibly mean that: a) he
wasn't interested in girls, or b) he was already
married. Ryouga continued to wander while Shammi
continued to track him. Tiger continued to follow
Shammi, as she felt that this particular soap opera was
of more interest than a quick return to the village.

 Vanilla and Di Na went on to find the Tendo residence
and Shampoo. Di Na wondered why her magic jar had
"Vlasic Pickles" written on it, and seemed not to be
working. She wondered about
this for an entire ten seconds before starting off on a
tirade about little girls messing with their betters.

 Vanilla calmly and quietly interviewed one of the
household who was out jogging in the morning, reasoning
that since the girl in question seemed to be something
of a warrior (judging by the punches and kicks  she
threw while jogging) that she'd be the most calm and
reasoned member of the family.

 Vanilla was quite surprised to be attacked, and was
still trying to find a better translation dictionary as
the one she had was quite obviously flawed.

 Akane woke up shortly thereafter, knowing that with
those red eyes and pale skin, that she was being hunted
by yet another vampire. How this one managed to survive
being out on a sunlit day, she had no idea,  but she
would be ready THIS time.

 Everyone else tended to avoid Akane's room due to the
large amount of garlic hanging from all available
surfaces.
-------------------Tendo-ke, Nerima--------------
 Three days after the vampire attack, Genma and Soun
exchanged a glance with raised eyebrows. Their plan had
gone a little off track, but was otherwise still deemed
viable.

 One keg of sake sat at their end of the table. It was
holding up quite well, as the two had merely been
sipping for most of the night.

 There had been some reluctance from the various
others, which had gradually eroded. Between Shampoo and
Kasumi, there had been considerable amounts of food
made, which had required something to wash it down
with.

 Kasumi had been sipping at some warm sake, but was now
spending a lot of time with a little smile on her face
and staring at some point in midair.

 Nabiki had protested at first but was currently
flushed and had loosened her top as if she were quite
warm. She was also leaning against Ranma in what Genma
viewed as a promising manner.

 Akane had passed out, which had disappointed Soun
considerably. He still had considerable hopes on Akane
as backup if the Ranma + Nabiki attempt failed.

 Shampoo was refilling cups again, and looked like she
would be joining Akane in slumberland at any moment.

 "Well, Saotome," Soun said to his longtime friend. "I
think we probably ought to go check out that new bar,
don't you?"

 "Quite right, Tendo." Genma smirked. "We probably
won't be back until morning."

 "Karaoke?" Nabiki's eyes tried to focus on her father.
She hadn't drunk THAT much, why was her head so fuzzy?
She felt her body relax itself against Ranma. She felt
SO warm. So relaxed, so... naughty.

 Featherbrite watched all this with some satisfaction,
now if the fathers would just get out of the way, she
could get on with her main task. Neither could see her,
but if she started weaving magic there was no telling
what would happen.

 Ranma excused himself, gently moved Akane and Nabiki
off of him, and made his way to the toilet.

 Soun noted the way Ranma wobbled and smiled.
Everything was going as planned.

 "Aiyaaa, Shampoo need to get something to eat. Not
used to drinking this much..." Shampoo  realized that
maybe she should take a nap first.

 Genma waved his friend into the back yard where they
could have a more private conversation.

 "The drugged sake is working," Genma whispered to
Soun.

 "We'll leave briefly, come back when they've all
passed out. If we put Nabiki and Ranma to bed, surely
the boy's shyness will be overwhelmed." Soun nodded. If
nothing else, he knew Nabiki. If Nabiki wanted
something, she wouldn't hesitate to go after it. At
least she didn't go around finding things and signing
her name on them to indicate they were HERS. Keeping
her away from magic markers had been a problem that
year.

 "Then, with grandchildren on the way, they'll HAVE to
be married, and our plan to train the grandchild as the
Anything Goes Heir will be assured."

 Back in the house, Featherbrite was weaving and
shaping the spell energies as she'd planned. It was
really too bad that Ranma had kept her from adding all
those wonderful little additives. If she could have
done that, Featherbrite saw no reason that Ranma
couldn't have married the whole group and taken them as
lifemates. Why if it was good enough for that
overweight Sultan, then it was good enough for her
friend Ranma!

 Though with the barely suppressed libido she saw in
that Kasumi, (no wonder she didn't notice a lot of what
was going on around her, the mental effort of
suppressing THAT must be enormous) Featherbrite thought
it likely that Ranma would be too exhausted to be
coherent for quite some time.

 What a pity that Featherbrite hadn't been able to
sneak any of that in. Featherbrite sighed as the
unfairness of not taking advantage of this situation
hit her, it would certainly have cut some of the
tension level down.
-----Bar District, Nerima--------
 Genma came to a stop as a shape appeared out of
nowhere before him. The shock cleared most of the
sake-induced haze from his mind. Soun was already on
his way back, Genma would join him at the torii, then
they'd ensure the Tendo-Saotome Alliance!

 "Mister Saotome, I have a business proposition for
you." The man lit a cigarette and placed his back
against a lightpost, calmly gazing at the martial
artist in front of him.

 "Business? I don't know what you're talking about."

 "It's quite simple, Mister Saotome. Your son is a
minor, under YOUR authority. I represent a group of
people who are...interested in some of the properties
of that cursed form of his."

 "So what's that got to do with me?" Genma tried to
clear the rest of the haze from his mind. He had the
feeling that this was something important. He was also
aware of others surrounding him. This many, while he
was impaired by the alcohol, might be more than he
could handle.

 "I have here a contract, Mister Saotome. You sign your
son over to us, assist in his capture, and you get a
considerable sum of money. In addition, we'll assist
you with some of the costs involved in child raising as
this is something else we're quite...interested in
seeing."

 "I don't know, the boy's my only heir, I..."

 Isao smirked at the man before him. "We're not that
Hisakawa person. Ranma is worth FAR more to us alive
and unharmed than vivisected. We want to do this
legally, however, at least as much as possible."

 "Hisakawa?" Genma couldn't remember the name. Taking
the contract he scanned over the first page but was
having trouble focussing on the packed text. It looked
okay, he'd sign over his parental rights to Ranma for
the next two years, and he'd get...

 Genma looked up at the businessman before him and
licked suddenly dry lips. "Is this...accurate?"

 "Yes," Isao said with a nod. His eyes never left
Genma's own gaze. "Two million now, plus we assist in
the childbearing and childrearing costs, even throw in
something for the happy couple when they marry in two
years."

	Genma blinked. "Do you have a pen?"
=======================================
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