"Your sister, Kurumi?" the fox girl asked,
pausing in the trip to the "kitchen."
       "Not by blood," she said.  "Someone pretending
to be her father claimed to be mine."
       "We saved the Mistress's sister," the cheetah
girl said.
       "Cool," was her partner's add on.
       "She's got my dagger!" the wolf-girl shouted.
       "It's too late to do anything about it," Kurumi
said.
       "But I bet I can get it back!" she insisted.
       "Leave it," Kurumi instructed.
       "I made that dagger," she insisted.  "It's..."
       "Shampoo!" Kurumi interrupted.  'It's an item,
it's not important."
       "She'll never know I was there," Shampoo
insisted.
       "Most likely not," Kurumi agreed.  Trying to
ignore it as the cheetahs quietly started a tickle
duel.  "But it isn't worth the risk for just a
replaceable tool.  I can understand how you feel about
being stuck down here.  I spent most of my childhood
wandering Japan with just my sister.  But we need to
be cautious when..." She picked up a glass of water
and tossed it at the increasingly louder cheetahs. 
"Ranko, Ranma.  There is a time and place for games,
but its not while I'm lecturing."
       "Sorry, Mistress," they said in one embarrassed
voice.
       "Cats," the wolves muttered.  Kurumi just
rolled her eyes and turned to the fox-girl.
       "Ukyou, what's for dinner?" Kurumi asked.  
       "Yuck!" the fox-girl closed the fridge door,
gagging.  "Food's all spoiled."
       "I think I may have spoiled you all," Kurumi
said.  "There's no such thing as food that can't be
eaten."
       "The milk is purple," Ukyou said.  The other
fox walked over to look over the fridge.
       "On second thought," Kurumi said.
       "No milk?" Ranko whined.  Ukyou glanced up from
the fridge and traded a look with the other fox.
       "What do you think, Mousse?" she asked.  He
stood up and shook his head.
       "Busted," he said.  "Freon's all leaked out. 
And it short circuited to set the thaw function on
overdrive.  That's why it all spoiled so fast."  All
eyes turned to the dark skinned, human-looking girl. 
She sighed resignedly.
       "I'll order the pizzas," she said.
       "Good, now that that's settled," Kurumi said,
the thought of coming food easing her mind somewhat. 
"While we wait for the food, I think that we should
meditate on the events of the..."  Kurumi was
interrupted by the sound of music, and leaned her head
on her hand and arched an eyebrow at her students.
       "It's sorta the same," Ukyou said.
       "Uh huh," Kurumi said, doubtfully tapping her
fingers against her temple.  Not that there was much
she could say about it, remember Natsume's own efforts
to get her to sit still long enough to meditate.
       "I'm going for a walk," Shampoo declared,
snatching a heavy, hooded coat and walking out of the
sewer-apartment.  Kurumi shook her head as she watched
the girl leave.  The wolf-boy glanced at Kurumi for a
moment and then after Shampoo.  
       "Don't worry about her, Ryouga.  She needs some
time alone," she told him.  
       "I think I'll just follow her to be sure," he
said anyway, and got up to follow Shampoo.
       Kurumi shrugged and said, under her breath,
"Kids."

*******

       "What are you doing out here, Mousse?" the dark
skinned girl asked.  "If someone sees you there'll be
trouble."
       "What's it like, Kodachi?" he asked quietly. 
"You know, walking around with the humans?  Even
Mistress Kurumi can't do that and she is human."
       "What do you think it's like?" Kodachi asked. 
"I'm always afraid I'll be caught in a lie and someone
will want to do a blood test or something."
       "You don't feel like you fit in?" Mousse asked.
       "Of coure not," Kodachi huffed.  "They're
human, I only appear to be."
       "One other question," Mousse said.
       "What is it?" Kodachi asked, tapping her
fingers irritably.
       "Why do you always have the pizza delivered to
this place?" Mousse asked, gesturing around at the
abandoned storefront.  "Its not like you can't go down
to that convenience store and wait there."
       "Because there has yet to be a pizza delivery
person who can find it in less than thirty minutes,"
Kodachi answered honestly.
       "Oh," Mousse said.

*******

       "Mommy!  Look at the werewolves!" a boy said,
shouting excitedly.  After hours of actors speaking in
Shakespearian dialect he had finally found something
that interested him.
       "Those are just some statues, Eric," his mother
said.  "You'd think they'd put them somewhere easier
to see, you could walk into them before you saw them."
 In fact she would have walked about three feet to
left of them if her son hadn't pointed them out.
       "They look so real!" he said.
       "Don't be silly," the mother said.  "There's no
such thing as werewolves."  She looked over the two
"statues" that were placed just out of the light
beyond the park theater.  "Besides, real werewolves
would be bigger, and wouldn't be dressed in those cute
matching outfits."  She looked over Shampoo's
cheongsam, noting the definite humanoid figure from
the neck down.  "Must have been a post-adolescent
sculptor."  She muttered before herding her son away
from the suggestive "sculpture."
       "Why do the kids always find us?" Shampoo
asked.
       "I don't know whether to feel insulted or
what," Ryouga said as the two humans moved off.
       "Is there a reason that Kurumi gave us matching
outfits?" Shampoo asked.
       "Well you know how she gets," Ryouga muttered. 
"At least the cheetahs enjoy them."
       "Somebody might think we're a couple," Shampoo
agreed.  They looked at each other.
       "Ewwww," they said unison.
       "I just had a disturbing thought," Ryouga said.
       "Do I want to know?" Shampoo asked.
       "What if Ranko and Ranma DID get together?"
Ryouga asked.
       "Lots of cats," Shampoo said.
       "All saying parts of one sentence," Ryouga
added.
       "Bouncing all over the place," Shampoo said
       "Cats," they said in unison with a touch of
frustration.

*******

       Ranko and Ranma sneezed.
       "Some one..."
       "...must be..."
       "...talking..."
       "...about us."
       "Just for one moment," Ukyou said irritably. 
"Can you two talk as if you're two different people."
       "Of course we can," Ranko said.
       "It's just that that's more fun!" Ranma added. 
Both smiled.

*******

       "So that would be twenty-five pizzas," the
delivery man said to a surprised Kodachi.  He was a
college-aged boy with dark brown hair, and nearly
black eyes that glittered in the dark.
       "Just how did you find me so quickly?" Kodachi
asked.
       "I almost didn't," the man said.  "And that's
impressive.  So anyway, you owe me about two hundred
sixty dollars."  Kodachi looked mournfully at her
wallet, she was expected free pizza.  "But, I'll pay
for it if you promise to tell me how you learned to
hide your mind like that."
       "I do not know what you're talking about," she
said, eyes narrowed.
       "Fine," he said, smiling.  "I'll do it anyway,
don't worry, I can afford it.  I just do this job for
the chance to meet interesting people."
       "I see.  Thank you," Kodachi said.  "Mister..."
       "Lamont Cranston," he said.  "I was named after
my grandfather."
       "Fine," she said.  "I'll see about repaying
you."
       "I'm in the phone book," he said.  "I'll look
forward to hearing from you, Foxy."  He walked off.
       "Good guess," Kodachi muttered as soon as he
was gone.  "Mousse are you still out there?"
       "He was coming on to you," Mousse said.
       "Really?" Kodachi asked dryly.  "Can we
concentrate on getting the pizzas home?"

*******

       "Ready?" Ukyou whispered to Mousse and Kodachi.
 Both nodded and tensed, staring ahead.  She glanced
at Ranko and Ranma, who also nodded and indicated
their readiness.  All eyes turned to Kurumi and waited
for the signal to do battle.
       "Itekadimas," Kurumi said cheerfully.  And the
battle over the food began.  
       All of them blurred into motion.  When it was
over a happily sated Kurumi sighed pleasantly and
looked to her suddenly haggard looking students.  
       "You know, one of these days, you'll be able to
keep up with me one on one."  She stood up stiffly and
stretched out as much as she could, leaning heavily on
her cane.  She then walked to the big recliner they
had recovered for her and sat down with a sigh of
relief.
       "Just how fast is she?" Ukyou asked, catching
her breath.
       "Too..." Ranma started.
       "...fast." Ranko finished.

*******

       A woman screamed as the man stepped out of the
shadows and produced a switchblade.  He waved at her
with his other hand, gesturing for the purse and
glancing around.  He was moving to open his mouth and
say something when something moved out of the corner
of his eye.
       "What the-?" he asked.  His prey took the
opportunity to run headlong away from him. screaming. 
"Hey, you come ba-!"  Something brushed past behind
him in the darkness.  He turned around to see what it
was, and as soon as he turned around, something
grabbed the back of his shirt and tossed him away.
       The thug hit the ground and groaned as he stood
stiffly back up, noticing that, somehow, he had been
stripped to his boxers
       "What the hell was that!" he asked.
       "It appeared to me that you were in the process
of assaulting that woman," a voice said.coolly.  A man
stepped into the shadows tapping a cane against his
shoulder.  "It seems that I cannot even attend a
viewing of one of The Bard's more triumphant
productions without encountering some form of human
filth such as yourself."
       "Are you the asshole that did this?" the thug
demanded.  "Because if you are..."
       "Do not be foolish," the man said.  "I have a
much more painful lesson to teach you."
       "Just try it pops..." The man rushed forward in
a blink and slammed his cane into the thugs get.  He
then reversed the grip and used the hook to toss the
thug across the clearing.
       "Stop that!" a girl's voice demanded from the
shadows.
       "Yeah, it ain't like a he's out to kill
people," a boy's voice added.
       "Perhaps you would like to voice your concerns
in the open," the man asked.  "Or do you wish to
continue skulking in the shadows."
       "You don't give us commands," the girl's voice
shouted, from a different space.  The thug was looking
around, every motion of the leaves seeming to be
someone just barely held back in the shadows.  "We
punished him enough as it is.  There is absolutely no
reason to beat him to within an inch of his life."
       "Such embarrassments are for children," was the
answer.  "They are not effective for such as him." 
The criminal took the example of the woman he had
tried to mug earlier and turned to run.  The man with
the cane turned to follow, leading with his cane and
found his strike blocked by a thick staff weilded by
someone in a heavy coat and a deep hood.
       "Enough already," the boy said.
       "Good work, Ryouga," another figure said,
dropping down out of the trees and weilding a bokken. 
The man with the cane arched an eyebrow, both at the
weapon and the name.  A gloved hand extended outward
to point at the man.  "Now you get out of here, we
don't want to hurt you."
       "Shampoo," Ryouga said, frustrated.  The other
wolf had a tendency to give commands to her fellows
rather than requesting anything.  
       "Perhaps something else is in order then," the
man said, pulling back and tapping his shoulder with
the cane again.  "It has been far too long since the
Blue Thunder has been tested against a worthy foe."
       "The Blue Thunder?" Shampoo repeated.
       "Is that like a sad fart?" Ryouga asked.
       "Well, this is not a bokken," the Blue Thunder
said, glancing at his cane.  "But it has some
advantages.  It'll do to punish your impertinence to
Kuno Tatewaki."  
       He slashed out at the figure with the male
voice and the boy predictably blocked him.  Kuno
reversed his grip and grabbed the boys staff pulling
back.  He was surprised when the smaller figure didn't
even budge.  The staff swung down and narrowly missed
a side-stepping Kuno.  The hook of the cane came free
of the staff and Kuno was about to strike again when
the legs were swept out from under his feet.
       "You shouldn't ignore me," Shampoo said.  "I am
the chief student of the Shinkiro Style, not some
useless female."  
       Ryouga fought the urge to ask the usual
question one of them would ask in response to that:
"When did Kurumi name a 'chief student'?"  It was well
known that Shampoo's bossiness had earned her her
name.  A fact which made some of them wonder what the
original Shampoo was like.
       Kuno kippuped to his feet and smiled, dusting
himself off.
       "Perhaps I should cease playing," he said,
stepping back into stance.  "Care to test your skill,
Miss...?"
       "Shampoo," Shampoo said readying her bokken. 
Kuno laughed and tapped his shoulders.
       "Of course," he said.  "But are you certain you
can take me without help?"
       "Easily," Shampoo said.  Then the wolf was
launching forward in a strike.  Kuno's cane flashed
out and hooked the bokken out of her hand.  And into
Kuno's.
       "You show promise," Kuno admitted, quirking an
eye as the girl produced a Manriki-Gusari she had
apparently been wearing as a necklace.  That wasn't
what surprised him though.  Her hood had fallen back,
revealing the very canine head.  "What manner of demon
are you?"
       "You don't need to know!" Shampoo shouted. 
       "Do you need help, Shampoo?" Ryouga asked,
hefting his staff.
       "Ryouga, stay out of this!"  Shampoo ordered. 
She moved forward swiftly, and kicked out.  The cane,
now in Kuno's left hand, came down, and Shampoo caught
it with the chain.  Her kick, unfortunately, moved
smoothly past the other fighter though, and the bokken
slammed squarely into her back sending her into a
tree.
       "Shampoo!" Ryouga shouted, moving in and
starting a series of attacks with the staff, assisted
by occasional unarmed strikes.  Kuno's cane and bokken
combination seemed to present a formidable defense,
however.
       "Impressive," Kuno said.  He hooked the staff
again and saw the wolfish grin under the head.
       "That doesn't work, remember?!" Ryouga shouted,
ripping back on the cane.  And rolling completely out
of balance when Kuno merely released the cane.  From
there it was an easy two-handed strike for Kuno to
slam him into another tree.
       "Whatever sort of demon or spirit you may be,"
Kuno said to the dazed wolves.  "You are obviously
children, and I have no time to waste with such cubs."
 Saying that he impaled the bokken into the ground and
snatched up his cane on his way away from the scene.
       "Cubs!?" Shampoo shouted angrily, getting
dazedly to her feet.  And starting to chase after the
man.  "Cubs!?
       "Shampoo! Stop!" Ryouga shouted, grabbing her. 
"He's on the street!  We can't go out there!"
       "Great!  Great!" Shampoo snapped angrily,
grabbing her bokken.  "First I lose the dagger and
then we get humiliated by an old man with a cane."
       "What is it with the dagger?" Ryouga asked. 
"You have tons of throwing daggers."
       "Well, I made THAT one," Shampoo said.
       "So, make another one," Ryouga said.  "You act
like you marked that thing with the symbols of the
foundation schools."
       "Uh, heh," Shampoo said, scratching the back of
her head.  "Well, this was relaxing, better go home
before they start getting worried."  Ryouga stared at
her.
       "You didn't," he said.
       "There should be a record of the style's
history," Shampoo said, embarrassed.
       "Yeah, right," Ryouga said.  "Except that
Kurumi said NEVER mark ANYTHING with those symbols!"
       "Don't you shout at me!" Shampoo protested. 
"I'll get it back!"
       "How!?" he asked.
       "She's not a martial artist," Shampoo said. 
"You just can't stand to be optimistic about anything,
can you?"  Ryouga covered his eyes with his hand and
shook his head.
       "Don't worry, it'll be easy," Shampoo ended.

=====
"Caffeinated Kender?  What's that, a berserk spell?" - 
Tribble, Kender Warrior of the Celestial Kingdom
"God has to have a sense of humor, it's the only explanation for sex." - my father
"I have to write a how-to paper for class, so I'm writing a paper on how to be psuedo-evil." - my brother

http://members.aol.com/thrythlind/snake.html

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