Insertion

 Part 59

 Beware the evil of, FURINKAN

++++++++++++++

 Usagi blinked as she looked up at the figure standing over her and
frowned. "Mom? What time is it?"

 "Time for lazy martial artists to get up," said a firm voice in reply.

 The girl sat up, squinting her eyes as she tried to get her bearings.
Her sheets fell away, revealing a flannel nightgown. "Huh? What time is
it?"

 "Three-thirty," replied the woman calmly as she jerked the girl's sheets
away and smirked at her. "Come on, you've got training to do!"

 "Okay. Wake me up when the training is over," said the girl as she fell
back into her mattress. 

"Heh," said Yohiko as she flipped on the light switch. "I'm afraid this
is one class you can't sleep through Usa-chan."

 The girl sat up rigidly this time in response to the light. "Wha?"

 Yohiko grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the warm safety of her bed
forcefully. "Up! Now!"

"WAAAAAHHHHH!" cried the girl as she was tossed out into the hall and had
a pair of sweat clothes thrown onto her head. 

 "Get dressed young lady. You've got five minutes, those will have to do
until we can pick you up a dogi!"

 Usagi stumbled away, cursing under her breath. It was obvious that she
wasn't quite awake yet.

 "Well, that'll change soon," said Yohiko to herself with a slightly evil
chuckle.

++++++++++++

 Yusaku Godai sat up with his eyes wide with shock as his door was thrown
open forcefully. "What the?" he muttered as he blinked at the silhouette
of a stunning woman in his doorway. "Hey. Another one of these dreams?"
he muttered to himself lazily. He suddenly had a goofy looking grin on
his face.

 "That's really gross Godai," said a familiar voice as the woman strolled
forward and grabbed him by his collar.

 "What the? Miss Yohiko? What time is it?" he muttered in confusion as
she dragged him out of bed. 

 "Get dressed lazy boy, we're gonna have some laughs," said the woman as
she grinned to herself and tossed him against the wall. "You've got two
minutes, or else I come in and help you get dressed."

 The man blinked again and noticed that she'd tossed some of the clothes
strewn about on his floor into his arms. His head cocked as he thought
about her threat.

 "If you're thinking you might enjoy me doing that, I suggest you derail
that train of thought. You won't like it at all. I promise it'll hurt
quite a bit."

 That shook him at least partially awake. He jumped up and looked around
for a moment. "Okay...but why?"

 "You're the one who volunteered to be my student Godai. I suggest you
get used to it," she replied as she walked out the door.

+++++++++++

 Yusaku and Usagi stood out in the front lawn with sleepy expressions on
their faces. Yohiko paced back and fourth in front of them for a moment,
looking them both over. Neither one had the sense to even dress
themselves properly at the moment. They were clothed, but disheveled and
rough looking. 

 "Why are we here Mom?" asked Usagi.

 "You will address me as sensei," snapped the woman sharply. "As of this
moment, when we're in training, I am not Mom, or Yohiko, or Miss Hibiki.
I am Sensei, and Sensei only! Understand?"

 Both of them jumped a little at this proclamation.

 "Whatever personal relationship we might have, imagined or not, is gone
while in training," she said as she stopped pacing and stood in front of
them. "Training can take place at any time, and any place. Whenever I
happen to feel like it."

 The pair nodded numbly, not fully comprehending her words.

 "You will respond to me with words," she said firmly. "Do you
understand?"

 "Yes Sensei," the pair muttered quietly.

 "I CAN"T HEAR YOU!" cried Yohiko loudly.

 "Yes Sensei," said the pair a little louder, but still quietly.

 Yohiko growled, this was going nowhere. She needed to wake them up a
little. She calmly walked over to the side of the building and turned on
the sprinklers.

 Both of her students jolted awake quite rudely.

 "Now that I have your attention, we'll begin," said Yohiko as she turned
off the water and looked at her two dumbfounded and soaked students.

 "Oh my," said Usagi nervously.

 "What have I done?" muttered Yusaku as he looked at the woman and her
malevolent smirk.

++++++++++++

 Usagi and Yusaku grunted as they jogged along the road. Each of them
carried an armload of baseball sized stones against their chest.

 Yusaku stumbled and one of the stones fell out of his grip. 

 Yohiko responded by replacing the rock with two more of the same size.
"Yusaku dropped one. Another quarter mile before we finish our warm-up!"
she told them.

 The pair looked at her in shock, but continued to jog.

 "I can't take this!" cried Usagi pathetically.

 "Then you'd best not drop another stone," replied her mother calmly.

 "Waaaahhh! I miss my old mommy!" cried Usagi.

 Yohiko snorted and jogged beside her casually. "Stop."

 They all stopped and the pair gasped rather raggedly as they struggled
to keep hold of their armloads. 

 The woman took off the backpack she had put on before they started
jogging and tossed it to the ground at their feet. 

 "Open the bag," said the woman as she smirked at them.

 Usagi put down her stones and did so. She gasped as she saw that it was
full of the same kind of stones they were carrying. "Wha?"

 "I've been running circles around you two fools. Now, you're going to do
as I say. I was doing this exercise when I was half your age Usagi.
You're going to quit whining right now, and learn your family heritage!"

 "It's not my family heritage," grumbled Yusaku.

 "You volunteered to be here, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. I'm not
going to make you do anything you can't. Although it isn't going to be
pleasant either." She grinned at them again and snorted as she put her
pack back on. "Pick up your stones! Move!"

 They both did so, even if it was a little reluctantly.

++++++++++

 "Now what?" asked Yusaku as he stared down at the swimming pool in front
of them.

 "You're going to swim a few laps," replied Yohiko as she looked at them
calmly. "Twenty should be enough. It's a good sized pool."

 Usagi and Yusaku blinked. "We aren't wearing bathing suits," replied her
daughter.

 "So?" asked Yohiko with her eyebrow arched. "Get in, or I'll throw you
in."

 Usagi and Yusaku both moved to put their rocks down by the side of the
pool.

 "Who said you could put those down?" asked Yohiko as she stepped up
behind them and put her hands on their shoulders. "If you drop one, it's
an extra five laps."

 "What?" cried Yusaku.

 Before Usagi could voice her protest, they were both shoved into the
water.

+++++++++++++

 "Keep going! Don't drop those rocks!" said Yohiko as she watched the
soaked pair make their way across the playground she had stumbled across.
They were currently on the balance beam, and soon they would make it to
the climbing bars.

 Both of them were moving at a snails pace, and she could see the pain
they were feeling etched into their features. "Move! Faster! Harder!"
cried the woman as she walked up behind them and pushed them along.

 For every stone they lost, she'd replace it with two more. They soon got
the idea after only three fallen stones, and seemed to be concentrating
more on the stones than what they were doing.

++++++++++++

 "Newspaper delivery?" muttered Yusaku as he looked at the woman who was
standing behind them. "How can we do that without our hands?"

 "I guess you'll just have to improvise then," replied the woman with a
small shrug. 

 "Mother! How can we?" said Usagi in shock. 

 "Figure it out," replied the woman calmly. 

 "Can we put the rocks into the delivery bag?" asked Yusaku hopefully.

 Yohiko arched her eyebrow at this and smirked. "No."

 Soon, the pair was running down the street with bags of papers on top of
their piles of stones; gripping them with their teeth and tossing them
into the yards.

 "Heh. Not yet," said Yohiko as she jogged behind them.

++++++++++++

 "How are we supposed to weed these gardens?" cried Usagi as she glared
at her mother.

 "You tell me," said the woman as she smirked at her daughter.

 "We don't get tools, and we have to keep carrying these rocks, right?"
said Yusaku flatly.

 "That's right," said Yohiko as she grinned at them cheerfully.

 "Usagi, take off your shoes," said Yusaku as he turned towards his
fellow trainee.

 "Huh?" said the girl as she looked at him with a confused frown.

 Yohiko grinned at him, she was starting to get impressed.

++++++++++++

 "Ouch! Stupid rose bushes!" cried Usagi as she limped into the yard of
the apartment complex with Yusaku. Her legs were covered in scratches,
and her arms felt like jello. Yusaku was in much the same condition of
course, but he was bearing his grief in silence. 

 "Well. You two aren't as bad as I thought," said Yohiko as she jogged up
behind them.

 Yusaku landed face first in the grass after dropping his stones. "I
can't move," he muttered to himself.

 "Well, you're not going anywhere for a few hours yet. You should rest
some before you go to work," said Yohiko cheerfully as she knelt down
beside him and smiled.

 "Oh man. I've got school!" cried Usagi fearfully. "I don't think I can
make it! I'm gonna be sore for days!"

 "Well, a few weeks at least. It will pass though," said Yohiko
cheerfully.

 "What was the point of the rocks?" asked Yusaku as he managed to roll
over onto his back and glare at her. He ignored the uncomfortable
position of lying on top of the stones he'd been carrying.

 "That? This whole morning was just a test," said Yohiko as she smirked
at him.

 "A test?" said Usagi as she frowned at her mother.

 "I wanted to see how far I could push you before you gave up," said the
woman as she smiled at them both. "You both did better than I expected.
Much better in fact. Going to complete muscle failure wasn't something
I'd planned on."

 The pair groaned. "You mean, if we'd just given up, you'd have stopped
all this crap?" cried Usagi.

 "Probably, but now I know that I can push you both as hard as I want,
and you won't give up. That's a good thing to know, you'll both be good
students I think," said the woman as she stood up and turned away from
them.

 "The next lesson is tomorrow morning at four. Don't be late, you won't
like it if I have to wake you up again," she said as she walked up the
steps into the apartment's front door. 

 "Tomorrow?" said Usagi fearfully.

 "Yes. We do all this again tomorrow," said the woman calmly. "I don't
think our regimen will change much for a few weeks at least. After that,
we'll see."

 The pair groaned painfully before sitting up.

 "Anything to keep her from going back to the way she was! I'll endure
any humiliation, any pain if she's happy finally!" thought Usagi as the
fire of determination burned in her eyes.

 "Anything to be near Miss Yohiko!" thought Yusaku as he did much the
same. 

 Unfortunately, neither one of them could stand, and they merely laid in
the lawn pathetically for a while.

+++++++++++++

 Yohiko Hibiki stood in the gates of Furinkan and looked around. "Ah,
Another fine day!"

 "Good morning Miss Hibiki!" said a group of students that passed by her.


 She smiled at them and nodded. "Good morning."

 A familiar voice called to her from a short distance away on the campus.
"Yohiko!"

 "Ah. Mitaka, it seems you're here after all," said the woman as she
turned to greet the man cheerfully.

 "Yes. Good morning," said the man as he gave her a small bow.

 She returned the courtesy and smiled at him warmly. "So. When is your
first class?"

 "It's a second period class, I'll only be teaching three groups a day,"
said the man as he smiled at her. "I'd be glad to meet you after the day
is through if you'd like."

 "If you want too," said the woman with a small shrug. 

 "Great," he said with a smirk on his face. "I'll see you during lunch
then."

 "Yes," said the woman as she nodded her head a little. 

 "Knave! Who are you to speak to Miss Hibiki in such a manner?" said a
bold sounding boy from behind them.

 "Oh. Good morning Kuno," said the woman as she turned towards the boy. 

 "It is a fine day indeed. Surely the heavens have blessed us with this
meeting!" announced the boy. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must deal with
this blaggard!" He pointed his bokken at Mitaka and frowned. "Tell me
knave. Who might you be, to darken the halls with your presence?"

 "Pardon? Look kid..."

 Kuno narrowed his eyes. "I demand that you tell me at once! For look
upon me and tremble, I am the Mighty Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!
Tatewaki Kuno!"

 "What?" said the man dumbly. "Who is this guy Yohiko?"

 "Knave! Did I give you permission to speak to the goddess of the halls
in such a manner?" roared Kuno.

 "Kuno, calm down," said the woman as she shoved his wooden sword aside
casually. "Mitaka here is the new tennis coach for our athletic
department. He'll be running the tennis club with Miss Hito."

 Kuno narrowed his eyes at the man and scowled. "I see. What is your
relationship with Miss Yohiko?"

 "I'm her boyfriend," said the man as he grinned at the boy and narrowed
his eyes. His teeth sparkled, and female students suddenly took notice of
him. They swooned where they stood around him.

 "Oh my god!" 

 "He's a babe!"

 "He's Miss Yohiko's boyfriend?"

 "Well, I'm not surprised at that. Wow, I hope I can have a boyfriend as
cute as that one day!"

 "She's so lucky!" 

 "Wai! A babe!"

 Yohiko glanced around at the students and scowled. "Why did you tell
them that?" she said to Mitaka.

 "Are you saying it isn't true?" asked the man as he arched his eyebrow
at her.

 "Yes. Of course it isn't," said the man.

 "Trying to force yourself on Miss Yohiko! I shall not allow it!" roared
Kuno.

 "What did I tell you about fighting on campus!?" snapped Yohiko as she
glared at him.

 The boy froze in his tracks and faltered. He turned and gave Mitaka a
rather ugly glare before snorting and moving away from the pair silently.

 "Who was that? What do you mean fighting?" asked Mitaka as he looked at
the woman for a moment in confusion.

 "Kuno is one of our more...colorful students here at Furinkan, and he's
not even close to the most unusual thing you'll see here." The woman gave
him a grin that he didn't like much. "We'll see how long you last Mitaka.
Good luck."

 The man swallowed and looked at her in a sort of confused fear. "Why do
I get the feeling you aren't telling me everything I should know?"

 She simply chuckled and walked towards the building.

+++++++++++++

 "Oh now what?" asked Ranma as he walked into the gates of Furinkan and
noticed that no one was waiting on him.

 Akane frowned at him and looked around. "What is it?"

 "Kuno ain't here," said the boy as he glanced around. "I know somethin
is up."

 "Dolt. Maybe he has better things to do than bother you?" said Akane as
she started walking again.

 "Kuno? Yer kiddin right?" said the boy as he jogged after her.

++++++++++++

 "So. You bein da new tennis coach?" said Principal Kuno as he looked at
the man sitting in front of him for a moment.

 "Um. Yeah," said Mitaka as he shifted uncomfortably. He was wearing a
straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt. In his hands was a tropical drink of some
kind. The pair was sitting on a pseudo beach in lawn chairs. 

 "Dat's nice," said the large man with a shrug. "Okay. You can be goin to
da class now. I got da paperwork already."

 "Um. Okay," said the man with a shrug. He stood up and left the office
rather quickly.

 "Now. I go to see dat woman. Otah!" said Kuno as he jumped out of his
chair as well.

++++++++++++

 Yohiko smirked and looked down from the board at the students as she
taught her lesson. Ranma was snoozing lazily on his desk while Akane
glared at him.

 She spun around, throwing several sharp knives at the boy. He jumped
awake in an instant as the throwing knives stuck into his seat and jumped
around excitedly. "Mousse! You dirty..."

 The students were looking at him and the teacher in a sort of fascinated
horror.

 "Mr. Saotome. If you would be so kind as to do the problem on the board?
I'm sure your eyes were merely closed in concentration after all."

 The boy blinked and looked up at the woman. "Huh?"

 Akane was stifling a fit of giggles and suddenly became straight faced
as Ranma turned to glare at her.

 "Up. Come on now," said the teacher cheerfully.

 The boy hung his head and walked up to the board in defeat. "I guess."

 Yohiko smiled as he stood staring at the problem for a moment angrily. 

 "Stupid teacher..."

 "I can hear you," she said as she tapped the blackboard. "We also don't
have all day for you to complain. Just do the problem, and you'll be
finished."

 He sighed and slowly began to work it out.

 It took him about a minute to work it out. Writing the correct terms
that were missing from the sentence, and adding a little sentence
structure. 

 "Very good. You may sit down now. If you fall asleep again, I won't aim
to miss. I'm sure that if the lesson is boring, I am least, am not."

 The male students all nodded in agreement at this.

 Ranma grumbled and sank into his chair. Akane simply glared at him
angrily.

 "Miss Tend. Did I say something to offend you? I'm afraid you look upset
with Mr. Saotome."

 "That perverted jerk is staring at you!" she snapped.

 "Hey I..." started Ranma.

 "And here I thought he was just asleep. You must have been imagining
things," said the woman as she turned back towards the board.

 Akane looked at her for a moment and frowned. "No way! He was looking!"
she growled.

 Ranma was already nodding off again next to her. She turned her gaze
towards him and her scowl lost some of its heat. "Okay, so maybe he
wasn't...but still! He should stay awake like the rest of us!"

 "Well since you're so interested in Mr. Saotome's scholastics, which is
my concern by the way, I don't think you should have any trouble with
this problem then." Yohiko stepped away from the board again and held out
her chalk to Akane.

 The girl blinked and looked at the sentence. It was twice the size of
the one Ranma had done. "I..." She hung her head and stood up to accept
the chalk.

++++++++++++

 "No. This isn't a 'Martial Arts Tennis' course," said Mitaka in
irritation as he looked at the students around him. His first group was
boys, and they were beginning to grate on his nerves.
 
 "We hear you're going out with Miss Yohiko," said one of the boys near
the back of the group.

 "That's none of your business," said the man flatly. "I'm here to teach
a class. Now..."

 "Have you...done it yet?" asked one of the boys.

 "What?" said Mitaka dumbly as he began to notice that they were starting
to move in around him.

 "What's she like?"

 "Have you seen her naked?"

 "Are those...you know...really hers?"

 "I'll bet they're fake!"

 "So what?"

 "Come on! Tell us what she's like! Is she any good?"

 "You little perverts!" snapped Mitaka angrily. "That is none of your
business!"

 "Perverts? We're just wondering. You know, just between us guys!" said
one of the boys in the back of the crowd.

 "A real man doesn't worry about someone else's girlfriend!" snapped
Mitaka. "Worry about yourselves! You're too young for things like that!
Now, grab your tennis rackets, we're going to get started now!" called
the man firmly.

 "Not till you tell us about Miss Yohiko!" cried one of the angry looking
mob.

 "Do you have any pictures? Share the wealth man!"

 Mitaka was now starting to get very nervous. 

 "Hey. If we get rid of him, does that mean Miss Yohiko will be available
again?" said one of the boys out loud.

 "Oh shit," muttered Mitaka as he started to back away nervously.

++++++++++++

 "Miss Hibiki? Are you all right?" asked one of the students as she
walked up to the woman. 

 "Huh? I'm fine dear," said the woman as she smiled at the girl. She was
currently looking out into the schoolyard from the window, where a rather
odd scene had just taken place. 

 The boy's athletics class had just run by brandishing tennis rackets in
the air.

 "Now. Where were we?" she said to the class as she turned to face them.
"Oh yes. I remember now..."

+++++++++++++

 "Enjoying your first day?" asked Yohiko as she smirked at Mitaka in the
teacher's lounge.

 "Yes. It's been...interesting..." he replied with a fake looking grin on
his face. "I'm sure I'll adjust soon enough."

 "Adjust he says," snorted one of the older woman who was sitting near to
them. She chuckled and shook her head for a moment.

 "It takes a special breed of man to work at a school like this," said
one of the middle-aged men who stood near the coffee. 

 Yohiko had been given a rather large area of clearance by the men since
her dealings with Ranma and Kuno. Mitaka was the one sitting closest to
her.

 "Aloha!" cried a familiar voice that sent all the experienced teachers
scrambling for cover in an instant.

 "Principal. What brings you into our little world?" asked Yohiko flatly.

 "I come to see how tings be workin out wit da keiiki," said the man as
he waltzed into the room. "And to bring you dese flowas."

 Yohiko frowned as she looked down at the bouquet of flowers in her arms.
It was several leis made up to look like a bouquet. "No thanks." 

 "Well, I tink we should be gettin togetha to talk about tings," said the
man as he smirked at her with an evil gleam in his eyes.

 "Hey!" said Mitaka as he looked up at the man in frustrated confusion.

 "Well I don't think that would be a good idea. I can't date you, you're
my boss," said the woman calmly as she sipped on the tea she had sitting
in front of her. "Besides. I hate Hawaii, the whole place is too hot, and
they've got all those weird bugs."

 The principal blinked. "You not likin de islands?"

 "Not really. I'm not much for exotic things really," she replied with a
small shrug.

 Mitaka had calmed quite a bit at her refusal and was now ignoring the
scene.

 "Well den, you be fired! Now we can be goin on de date!"

 "I certainly wouldn't date a man who fired me from my job," said the
woman calmly. "I could never forgive a man for doing that to me. Besides,
you have to explain why you fired me to the school board."

 Kuno's face fell a little. "You're right. I gotta be thinkin on dis a
bit more."

 "Don't think too hard," she replied without paying much attention to the
man.

 "I know we is destined lovers! It written in de stars!" said the man
dramatically.

 "Well, I suppose Tatewaki had to get it from somewhere," grumbled Yohiko
flatly. "Look. I don't like you. You're an idiot, and obviously a bigger
pervert than your son. Honestly, trying to get all these young girls to
submit to your own sexual desire that way. Bowl cuts? What kind of sick
freak has a bowl cut fetish?"

 "I know you not be meanin dat," said the man with tears in his eyes.

 "Cry all you want. I'm not going to go out with you, and you can't make
me," said the woman flatly.

 "Den I be makin da new school rule! English teachahs must be goin out
wit da Big Kahuna!" said Kuno proudly.

 "Really? Well I'm sure Mrs. Tanaka will enjoy that, but I'm not sure if
her husband will like it," Yohiko pointed to the old woman sitting across
from her and smiled at him.

 "Well, den de single English techahs!" said Kuno as he glared at her for
a moment.

 "I'm faculty, you can't administrate me that way. It's also against the
law to make a rule like that," said the woman as calmly as ever.

 "Against de law?" said the man with a frown on his face. "I'll change de
law then!"

 "You can't, you're just a school principal. You don't have the authority
to do that." Yohiko was starting to look irritated.

 "No? How about dis! Two new school rules! One, dat law don't apply to
dis school, and two, dat you must date wit da Big Kahuna!"

 Yohiko sighed and grabbed the man by his shirt, pulling him down hard so
that his face hit the table. "Look you half wit. You can't make rules
that over ride the law. That's illegal too. You can't make me go out with
you, no matter how you rewrite the school rules. Go away, before I hurt
you very badly."

 The man stood up with more tears in his eyes. "I find de way to prove my
love!"

 "Prove it all you want. That doesn't change the fact that I don't love
you," she said as she kicked his knees out from under him and hit his
chin against the table. "Now go away."

 The man crawled out of the room pathetically.

 "That was harsh," said Mitaka.

 "Really? I suppose so. Just remember that the next time you feel like
telling people I'm your girlfriend."

 The coach swallowed and nodded. "I will..."

 "Good," said the woman as she smiled at him and drank her tea.

 Yohiko paused and looked around her. The teachers were on their knees in
awe. "Someone who can stand up to that madman!" cried one of the older
men. "At last!"

 "Right," grumbled Yohiko with a small sigh.

++++++++++++

 "All right class," said Mitaka as he looked at the group of girls in
front of him. The boy's class was rough, but this class seemed like it
might go his way.

 "Are you really going out with Miss Yohiko?" asked one of the girls that
stood around him. All of them were giving him puppy dog eyes. Well, all
but one of them. 

 Akane sighed in disgust as she looked at her two friends, Yuka and
Sayuri. They were acting like all the other girls were. "You guys..."

 "Oh hush Akane!" said Yuka playfully.

 "Yeah! You've already got Ranma! Let us have some fun!" agreed Sayuri.

 "You can have him," snorted the girl.

 "Miss Yohiko's relationship with me is private," said the man. He didn't
really want to admit to himself that they weren't dating.

 "So. In other words, you're still available?" squealed one of the girls
in the back of the crowd.

 "Um. No. Not really, no," said the man as he noticed that this group was
also moving closer to him.

 The girls moved in a little more. "Teach us!" said one girl.

 "Yeah. Teach us about boys!"

 "To heck with that! Tell us about men!"

 "What? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Mitaka in confusion.
He was starting to get scared again.

 "No way! Show us!" said another one of the girls.

 Finally, someone came to his rescue.

 Akane Tend stood up in front of them with a scowl on her face. "Have you
no shame!? You're as bad as the boys are! Look at yourselves!"

 The girls all looked uncomfortable.

 "Thank you," said Mitaka as he smiled at her.

 "Even if he is cute!" said Akane as she wavered under the sparkle of his
smile.

 "Huh?" said the man as he blushed suddenly.

 "That's no excuse!" snapped Akane as she turned to face the crowd.

 "Hey! Watch it!" cried Mitaka as he felt someone's hand on his rear.

 Akane was back in the crowd of girls again and he frowned. "All right.
If there's nothing else, we can begin our class."

 Akane wasn't really paying attention. She was looking at her hand in a
sort of confused disgust. "Why did I do that? I guess he kind of reminds
me of Dr. Tofu a little..."

 Mitaka was too busy to notice. "No! For the last time, this isn't
'Combat Tennis'!"

++++++++++

Yohiko smiled as she walked out of the building and found Nabiki Tend
waiting for her. 

 "Who are you?" snarled the girl as she folded her arms in front of her.

 "Yohiko Hibiki," said the woman as she smiled at the girl and started
walking towards the gates. Most of the students had long since left.

 "Why did you say you were Ranma then?" she asked her angrily.

 "I never said I wasn't Ranma Saotome at one time. I've been around a
while, and things change."

 Nabiki frowned at her. "So, you're saying that story about you being
from another world is true?"

 "Yes. At one time, I was Ranma Saotome. I know you already, quite well
actually." She smirked at the girl's expression.

 "Why then? How did you do this?" asked Nabiki as she shoved a folder in
her chest.

 "These are my personal records," said Yohiko with a smirk on her face.
"I could have you arrested for stealing them."

 "Stow it. If what you say is true, I know you won't," said Nabiki.

 "Don't count on that Nabiki. I may have been Ranma at one time, but I'm
not anymore. You'll find I'm quite a bit more vicious in dealing with my
enemies, and much more dangerous." She frowned at the girl and stopped
walking suddenly.

 "I couldn't find any discrepancies," growled Nabiki. "Not one!"

 "Good. I did a good job then," she replied calmly.

 "Even your daughter has records! This is insane! You don't have a
daughter!"

 "Don't I?" asked the woman coolly. "I don't want to introduce you to
Usagi. She's a very sweet girl, and I'm afraid I wouldn't want her
hanging around a girl like you."

 "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Nabiki sharply.

 "Miss Tend, let's stop playing dumb for a moment shall we?" said Yohiko
as she smirked at her. "I'm not the Ranma you know. You're not the Nabiki
I know, although you're close enough to be her twin, in more than just
your looks. I'd say I know everyone her better than you can possibly
imagine, but none of you know me. Don't assume that you do, or that you
can outsmart me. I've been around, and we've played this game of wits
before. You didn't win." She silently added that she'd never gotten
around to finishing it either to herself.

 Nabiki growled at her softly and turned away. "I don't lose."

 "You can't lose, if you don't play. I'm telling you now that it's the
only way you can really win," said Yohiko smugly. "Keep pushing it, and
I'll bring you down hard, Tend."

 Nabiki turned to frown at her and nodded. The look in her eyes told the
woman that this was far from over.

 "Interesting," commented Yohiko as she smiled to herself. "I could get
to enjoy this one."

 Mitaka walked up to her, passing by Nabiki as he went. "What was that
about?"

 "Just a battle of wills," said the woman as she smirked at him.

 "Can I give you a ride home?" he said as he hung his keys from his
finger in front of her.

 "No thank you. I'd rather walk. I don't have much need of a car."

 "Oh?" he asked her with a small frown on his face.

 "Walking back is good exercise. I could use it," she said calmly. "Using
a car for a mile and a half just seems lazy to me," she shrugged her
shoulders and walked by him.

 "Okay. I'll walk with you then," he said as he moved up beside her.

 "If you'd like," she said as she turned her head towards the east
suddenly. "On second thought, today might not be good for that. I'll let
you walk me home tomorrow."

 The man looked at her. "Pardon? Is something wrong?"

 "I'm gonna have to make a stop on the way home today I'm afraid. It's
nothing really, but it could take a little time," she smiled at him.
"I'll see you later."

 "What? No kiss?" he asked her.

 "Don't push it Mitaka. I've been nice enough to let you live so far,"
she said as she started to move away.

 As soon as she had rounded the corner, Mitaka fell flat on his face. "I
hate this place! Who could have known teaching these brats would be so
hard?" He slowly staggered to his feet and stumbled to his car. "Little
perverts..."

++++++++++++++

 Yohiko frowned as she stood on the street corner alone. It was a quiet
residential area. "All right! Come on out! I know you're here!"

 "Well, It's nice to see you too," said a familiar voice from the
shadows.

 "What do you want Jadeite? Why are you here?" said the woman as she
shifted back into Ranma Saotome again. He crossed his arms and smirked at
the man playfully.

 "I prefer Xellos these days," said the mage as he gave the boy a dark
smile. 

 "Why are you here? Come to pick us up?" asked Ranma calmly.
 "No. I'm afraid I have some rather bad news for you," said the man
calmly.

 "Bad?" asked Ranma with a frown forming on his lips.

 "Yes. There will be no pickup," said Xellos. "You're staying here."

 "I see," said Ranma with a nod. "I suspected as much."

 "Good. Then this won't come to much of a surprise then," said the priest
as he leaned on his staff. "You are to remain here as Yohiko Hibiki
indefinitely. Well, until you die anyway. We aren't sure how long that
will take."

 "Who cares," snorted Ranma. "You didn't come all the way here just to
tell me that did you?"

 "No," admitted Xellos calmly. "I came to tell you a few things about
what's going on."

 "Don't bother," said Ranma with a shrug. "I know where I am. The only
thing that bugs me is this new life."

 "That shouldn't be a problem. We used the information in the computer
that you typed up and made it a little more concrete is all."

 Ranma snorted at this. "A little?"

 "Well, you get the idea anyway," said Xellos cheerfully.

 "I suppose I do," said Ranma calmly. "So, that won't work again will
it?"

 "No. We aren't going to give you something that can change reality. That
would take all the fun out of this. Besides, this is a baseline universe.
You're pretty powerful by their standards. Don't let it go to your head
though, you can lose."

 "I figured as much," snorted Ranma casually.

 "Don't forget, here, you're only human," said Xellos calmly.

 "What took you?" asked the pigtailed boy irritably.

 "I decided to go to America and relax. They gave me a week off," said
the Mazoku with a shrug. 

 "How are things?"

 "Well enough. Pretty boring really, you're living with Hotaru, Usagi is
building her empire, and we just sit around doing nothing for the most
part. Not much of interest, but we are enjoying the time off."

 "And you wanted a vacation?" snorted Ranma.

 "Usagi has us doing diplomatic things," snorted Xellos. "It's a lot like
the good old days."

 "Good to hear. This place is interesting enough I suppose," said the
pigtailed boy as he glanced around. "I imagine Herb should be here soon."

 "He's on his way now," said Xellos with a small nod. "Predictability
goes down the more you change things though, remember that," warned the
Mazoku.

 "I know," said the boy as he turned away from him. "How long are you
here for?"

 "I'm leaving right after this conversation," said Xellos flatly. "They
don't want me around, messing things up too much. I'm far to strong for
this universe."

 Ranma nodded and sighed. "So a Super Saiyan would be too I suppose?"

 "Yes. Your power level has been shortened quite a bit. There isn't
anything you can't handle here with your skills though. It just might be
a bit harder than you think."

 "I'll remember that," said Ranma flatly. 

 "Yes, and one more thing," said Xellos calmly.

 "What?" 

 "I wasn't what you felt approaching from the west," said the priest
cheerfully.

 The pigtailed boy frowned at him as he faded from view. "What then?"

++++++++++++++

 Usagi looked at the news and gasped in horror at what she saw. "Oh no!"

 "Hi! I'm home!" said her mother as she opened the door. She paused when
her daughter took no notice of this and appeared glued to the television.

 "What? Mom! Look at this!" cried the girl as she finally noticed.

 "What is it?" asked the woman as she sat down and paused. "What the hell
is that thing?"

 On the screen was a large round object with an American flag on the side
of it. It was floating above Tokyo and simply sitting there.

 "The Americans are attacking!" cried Usagi.

 "That doesn't make any sense though," said Yohiko irritably. "Could this
be that power?"

 "Huh?" asked Usagi in confusion.

 "It's nothing dear. What is this?" 

 "No one knows, it just appeared over Tokyo today. It's not doing
anything but sitting there."

 Another blurry image appeared on the screen. This time on the ground. 

 "Oh this is just ridiculous!" said Yohiko as she narrowed her eyes.

 "It's Gojira!" cried Usagi fearfully.

 "Big deal," said Yohiko as she walked out into the kitchen.

 "The American thing is shooting at him," said Usagi fearfully.

 "So. It shouldn't last long," snorted the woman as she pulled out a
bottle of sake and poured herself a glass.

 The ship promptly exploded.

 The anchor then announced that the destroyed flying saucer was a joint
venture by the Americans and Japanese to destroy the giant monster. Up
until that point it was top secret.

 "Is there anything else on?" asked Yohiko as she sat down.

 "No. This is on every channel," said her daughter.

 "Stupid thing. Well, there go our taxes again. I really wish we'd stop
wasting money this way," said Yohiko as she relaxed in her chair.
"Insurance in Tokyo must be insane! I can't imagine trying to rent an
apartment in downtown Tokyo after this."

 "Um. It doesn't bother you that a giant lizard is destroying downtown
Tokyo Mom?" said the girl nervously.

 "I guess, but there isn't much I can do about it," said the woman with a
shrug. "He'll leave when he's finished, and everything will be back to
normal in a week or two."

 "I guess so," said the girl with an uncertain frown on her face.

 "If we'd stop building things to destroy him, we probably wouldn't catch
his attention near as often," said Yohiko flatly.

 "I guess so," grumbled Usagi.

 "Miss Yohiko! Did you see the news?" asked Yusaku as he knocked on the
door. 
 
 "Go away," snorted the woman as she looked at the door in frustration.
 
 "Mom," said Usagi as she frowned at her.

 "Fine, let him in. If he starts whining, I'll kick him out," said the
woman as she let out a small sigh and sat back.

 "Miss Yohiko. Are you two gonna be all right?"

 "He's in Shinjuku, and heading back out to the water," sorted the woman
as she frowned at him. "We'll be fine."

 "Oh," said the man with a small sigh of relief. "I hate that thing!"

 "Well, he has his uses," replied Yohiko with a small shrug.

 "I guess so," said Yusaku as he sat down. "What are you two doing
tonight."

 "I'll leave you two alone," said Usagi cheerfully as she stood up to
leave the room.

 "Don't bother, he's not getting lucky anyway," snorted Yohiko as she
took another gulp from her glass.

 "Mo-ther!" gasped the girl.

 "Well, it's true," snorted the redhead as she looked at the girl with a
small smirk on her face. 

 "I umm..."

 "It's better if you don't say anything," said Yohiko cheerfully.

 "Oh," said the man in confusion. "Well. I guess since you're all
right...I'll turn in now."

 "Yes. You're both getting up early tomorrow. Best get some sleep while
you can!" said Yohiko as she narrowed her eyes at the both of them.

 They seemed to vanish in a cloud of dust.

 "Heh. Well, here's to us, and being stuck here for the rest of our
lives!" said Yohiko as she raised her glass and finished it off.

 She frowned as she put it onto the table in the middle of the room and
sighed. She knew that they weren't going to give up on fixing the past,
but apparently they'd decided to keep this Universe around. Not that they
minded that, but it was a little disappointing. Still, they could whip
this place into shape soon enough. "Heh. Well, now we should start making
long range plans I suppose."

 She turned off the television, and went to bed.

+++++++++++++++

 TBC...

 Next Time: Spice of Life! 


 
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