***********************************************************************

	Ranma found the walk back to the house fairly boring
as well as embarrassing.

	He had to suffer the looks of not one, but dozens of
women, who looked at him, the huge package he carried
in his hands, and Kasumi with absolute adoration in
their eyes. No doubt, they all wished for a stooge...
err... a husband, or a boyfriend just like him.

	Kasumi, well, she was lost in her own little world,
which anyone, even an idiot could have easily
identified from the glazed look in her eyes. Shopping
for a fortune's worth did that to you, Ranma supposed,
but then, this was the first time she had really gone
out shopping and even he was little shell shocked by
the amount that she had managed to spend in the space
of three hours. Thirteen million, seven hundred and
ninety seven thousand, three hundred and ninety seven
yen was a lot of money. It was nothing compared to the
fortune that he had at his fingertips, but it was a
lot of money.

	"Hey, Kas-chan..." Ranma said, shifting the 'hoard'
of goodies on his hands just a little to maintain
perfect balance. Most of the goodies were tucked
inside his clothes, thanks to the Hidden 'Weapons'
technique, but he carried some, just to show off to
the ladies and make them a little jealous of Kasumi.

	"..."

	Ranma smirked and with no little amount of juggling,
freed his left hand from underneath the pile, which he
then used to tap Kasumi on her shoulders.

	"Earth to Kas-chan, come in, Kas-chan."

	"Eh! Oh, Ranma-kun, did you say something?" Kasumi
asked, dropping out of her stupor at first contact.

	"Nothing, Kas-chan. You seemed a little spaced out
there and I thought I'd help you..."

	Kasumi blushed. She hadn't been so lost in her
fantasy, had she?

	"It was just thinking about the money I spent over
there, Ranma-kun. I think I went a little over the
top."

	"Nonsense, Kas-chan," Ranma said, emphatically.

	"But..."

	"Kas-chan, what is the purpose of money if you can't
use it?"

	"Still..."

	"Don't worry, Kas-chan. There's a lot more from where
that came from... In fact, your shopping most probably
didn't even put the tiniest dent in the Qin fortune."

	Kasumi noted the Qin part, but decided to keep her
thoughts to herself - for the time being. She would
take it up with Ranma-kun later.

	"Are you sure, Ranma-kun?"

	"Absolutely, my fair and sweet princess of the
flowers," Ranma said with a bow and a flourish,
somehow managing to keep the pile balanced in his hand
as he did so.

	"Thank you, Ranma-kun."

	"As my little brother would so eloquently say: It's
nuthin'," Ranma said with a smile. "Now, let's get
going. We don't want to miss the lunch now, do we?"

***********************************************************************

	They arrived at the Qin residence half-an-hour later
and just in time to join the others for lunch. Nodoka
and Cologne had cooked the meal, much to Ranma's
surprise, and all of them chatted away through lunch,
laughing and sharing anecdotes and such.

	Finally, everyone had had their full and it was time
to remove the dishes and clean them. The men, all four
of them, left to their devices, withdrew to the shoji
board and the women retreated to the kitchen.

	"So, how was your shopping, Kasumi-chan?" Nodoka
asked, images that were completely the opposite of
chastity floating around her head. She had really
believed the morning gag about sex between her very
manly, eldest son and Kasumi.

	"Well..." Kasumi blushed, catching the look in
Nodoka's eyes. She couldn't be thinking of that, could
she?

	"Yeah, how did 'shopping' go?" Cologne asked,
obviously trying her utmost to maintain a steady face.
Her grandfather's mother was turning out to be quite a
character.

	"You needn't be shy about telling us, Kasumi-chan. We
are women, after all," Nodoka said with a reassuring
smile, which somehow, did not reassure Kasumi.

	"Yes, you can, dear," Cologne said from the
sidelines. She did not know for how long she could
hold her laughter. It was bound to come out sometime
and it looked like it was going to come out sooner,
rather than later. Now, if only she could keep silent
for a minute or two and get the Saotome-matriarch to
embarrass the eldest Tendo some more.

	"Nothing happened, auntie."

	"I'm sure, dear, but you'll tell auntie all the
details, won't you?"

	"Yes, do tell us, dear. We're all ears..." Cologne
added, keeping as straight a face as she could.

	Kasumi let out a sigh. This was going to be one very
embarrassing afternoon.

	"All right."

	"So, how was it?" Cologne asked, noticing the sigh
and deciding to let the girl alone for the time being.
There was an innocence about the girl that made it
hard to poke fun at her.

	Blush.

	"Eh... Maybe I should've rephrased my words a little:
How did the shopping go?" Cologne repeated, noticing
the blush and realizing the other meaning that could
be inferred from the question.

	"It was nice..."

	"Nice?"

	"Well, I got a lot of things and..."

	"Lot?" Cologne said.

	"I did not see you bringing anything when you
arrived..."

	"Oh! Ranma-kun has it all... somewhere..."

	Cologne nodded. It was customary for men and women to
keep their stuff inside their clothes once they
learned the Hidden Weapons.

	"So, tell me, dear, what made Ranma change his
mind... I thought that he was thinking things over
yesterday... Don't tell me he'd made his decision
already?" she asked.

	"He has... He came to my room late at night yesterday
and took me to his wife's shrine where we talked
things over..." Kasumi explained.

	"Where is it?" Nodoka asked. She wanted to visit her
long dead daughter-in-law's shrine at least once in
her life.

	"It's in China, auntie."

	"China?" Nodoka asked incredulously. Surely, she had
heard wrong. No one could travel to China and back in
a single night, right?

	"Yes, auntie, China," Kasumi repeated for Nodoka's
benefit.

	"But..." Nodoka begun, before Cologne cut her off.

	"I think we should give Kasumi a little time to
explain," Cologne said.

	Kasumi shot Cologne a grateful look.

	"Thank you, grandmother."

	"You're welcome, dear."

	"Ranma-kun took me to this mountainous region in
China where his wife's shrine is located."

	"Can you tell me about this shrine, dear?" Cologne
asked, curious about the shrine that her great
grandfather, the dragon, had created.

	"You couldn't call it a shrine, per se," Kasumi
explained. "There was no building or such, but
Ranma-kun had used his ki to do something to the area,
which made it indestructible and he had made some
other changes too... The air hummed with music and..."

	Nodoka looked surprised, but Cologne did not.

	"This mountain that he took you to wouldn't be The
Yellow Mountains, now, would it?" Cologne asked.

	"Wha... How did you know, grandmother?" Kasumi asked.

	Nodoka's eyes shared the same sentiments as Kasumi's.

	Cologne cleared her throat - an action, which caused
the other two women in the room to blanch
involuntarily. Cologne snorted in disgust at the
display, but decided not to comment on it. She knew
that her voice was not a soprano's, but the least they
could do was keep their emotions to themselves.

	"I've heard stories... legends, really, of a mystical
place in The Yellow Mountains where one can hear the
music and songs of an age long gone... I'd thought
that those stories were just that, but it seems I was
wrong..." *Very wrong.* "From what young Kasumi has
told us, it would appear that such a place... this
shrine does exist and I've been wrong all along."

	"Oh!"

	"Do go on, dear," Cologne enthused.

	"Ranma-kun told me about her, and he said that he
wanted to give us a chance and see how things work
out..."

	"That's wonderful, Kasumi-chan," Nodoka said
joyously. Truly, the kami had listened to her prayers
and answered them. Her dreams of seeing grandchildren
were coming true right before very eyes!

	"Indeed, it is, dear," Cologne agreed happily. *I
wonder what made him change his mind so quickly... I
should ask him about that sometime...* she thought.
Her ancestor was turning out to be more normal than
she had ever thought he would be and always seemed to
be full of surprises.

	"I feel so happy, auntie, that Ranma-kun has decided
to give me... give us a chance," Kasumi gushed,
happily.

	"We are all happy for you, dear," Nodoka said,
warmly.

	"Thank you, auntie."

	"You are welcome, dear."

	The two women hugged and Cologne let them have their
moment, opting to stay in the sidelines. It was at
times like these that she truly hated her body, which
being two foot tall made it almost impossible for her
to hug anyone.

	"C'mon, you two, we've dishes to clean and a meal to
prepare," Cologne said, trying to look uninterested
when Nodoka and Kasumi were done with their hug.

	"Yes, great grandmother," Kasumi said, flashing a
smile and moving to hug Cologne. She had noticed the
longing look in Cologne's eyes.

	Cologne was caught by surprise when Kasumi took her
in her arms and gave her a hug. Tears came unbidden to
her eyes and she let them fall, uncaring about what
the world would think about the matriarch, who cried.

	"Thank you, dear. I needed that," Cologne said when,
finally, Kasumi released her from the hug.

	"You are welcome, honored elder."

	"Call me grandmother, dear. I would like it very much
if you would call me so," Cologne said, her voice
laden with emotions.

	"I will, grandmother."

***********************************************************************

	Juuban High...

	The final bell of the day rang, signifying the end of
another long day of classes. Almost immediately, the
school became alive with students, rushing out of
their classrooms and out into the streets on their
bikes and legs.

	Ryuu opted to stay behind, waiting for his new tutor
to finish her work so that he may take her and
introduce her to his parents - or were they going to
her house for the lessons. He sincerely hoped that
such wasn't the case. Girls were so... girlish and
even though his hormones welcomed the chance to be
alone with a girl in her house, his mind did not.

	*Eeeeew! What am I thinking?* Ryuu asked himself as
he realized where his train of thoughts was heading.
He was becoming more like the pervert that Akane had
once imagined him to be with the passing of each day.

	"Ryuu, aren't you coming with us?" Akane asked,
startling Ryuu out of his thoughts.

	Ryuu looked at Akane for a second as he got his
bearings and tried to bring order to his startled
mind. How the hell had Akane managed to come so close
to him within his noticing it?

	"Ummm... No... I don't think so. I got my study with
Ami-chan and I think that I will be late tonight.
So..."

	Akane smiled understandingly.

	"I understand, Ryuu-kun. I'll tell Ranma-sensei that
you're in a study session and will be late. Is that
enough?"

	Ryuu nodded vigorously.

	"That'd be great, Akane," he said, his left hand
unconsciously moving to the nape of his neck.

	Of course Akane, like all other women, found that
move entirely adorable. *Oh, he looks so adorable like
that... I wish I had toys that are as cute as he is,
when he is this way.*

	"See you later, Ryuu-kun," Akane said and reached out
to his cheeks with her right hand. He was a younger
than her and therefore, it was okay to pinch him,
right? Her mind debated that thought, but for a single
moment, before she decided to go ahead with it.

	And she did.

	Ryuu's hand immediately went to the offended spot on
his cheeks, which had reddened on contact. It was not
sore, though and the reddening was more out of
embarrassment than anything else. He watched Akane's
form disappear around the corner, remaining still like
a statue - a very red statue. *Geez! What's the matter
with her? She is acting more like a woman by the
day...*

	Ryuu, thus lost in his thoughts, did not notice the
arrival of one Ami Mizuno behind him and was
therefore, customarily startled for the second time
that day when she announced her presence by clearing
her throat. He turned around and spied her standing by
the classroom door, her friends nowhere in sight.

	"Hi, Ami-chan."

	"Hi, Ryuu-kun, what're you doing here?" Ami asked,
the words coming to her mouth almost automatically.
Normally, she and her friends would be the only ones
left in the school once it was over and therefore, she
was surprised to see Ryuu standing before her.

	"..."

	Ami caught the confused look in Ryuu's eyes and it
didn't take a second or two, before her mind made the
necessary connections. These connections made, her
brain summarily called her an idiot and she blushed,
realizing her blunder. *This is so embarrassing.*

	"I'm supposed to meet you at school... We've a study
session, remember?" Ryuu tried, having got his
surprised and confused thought processes in order.
Ami-chan was human, after all, and humans sometimes
made mistakes.

	"Ummm... Yeah! I forgot about that, Ryuu-chan, My
apologies..."

	Ryuu shrugged it off. It wasn't a big deal, now, was
it?

	"Naw! It's all right. I've a problem remembering
stuff myself," he lied. It was a white lie, though and
everyone said one of those, didn't they? Now, if only
she'd believe him.

	Ami, in her embarrassment, did. She opened her mouth
to say something when her friends arrived.

	"Hi, Ryuu-kun," Makoto and Minako chorused. Rei and
Usagi were not far behind, though they were a lot less
enthusiastic with their greetings.

	"Hi, guys," Ryuu said, returning the greeting, though
he felt nervous inside all of a sudden. There was
something about the girls that was dangerous and yet,
not dangerous. What was it? His mind wondered,
struggling to come up with an answer.

	Minako immediately closed the distance between the
two of them.

	"So... Ryuu-kun... What're you doing this Saturday?"
she said in her most sultry voice.

	Naturally, alarm klaxons in Ryuu's mind sounded. He
would have known that she was coming onto him even if
he had never laid eyes on the Amazon village. Being
the slightly shy kind did not help matters any and
memories from the village did not help matters at all
- the girls in the village were all too forthcoming as
well as too deep into the destructive side for his
tastes, which still remained the same. Information
processing centers in his brain shut down and a
trained and tested sub-routine from his somatic memory
was launched. The sub-routine was the one of the most
dreaded in Ryuu's arsenal - it had never failed before
- and it's name inspired dread in everyone who had
ever faced him - well, for the first time, that is. It
was called The Saotome Secret Technique and growing up
with his father had given Ryuu many opportunities to
practice and perfect it to a level that even an
grandmaster of the art would be amazed at.

	Without conscious thought, Ryuu did an about turn and
executed the technique.

	Whoosh!

	Silence.

	"Umm... Where did he go?" Minako asked as she looked
around, her body occupying the space where Ryuu had
been, a few moments before.

	"He ran away... You chased him away," Ami said,
quietly.

	"Umm..."

	"I am going to go after him, Mina-chan. I'm sure that
you're now happy since you have ruined everything,"
Ami said in the same quiet voice. She knew that Minako
had only been trying to play with Ryuu, but still it
was a mean thing to do. *Maybe after today, Minako
would think twice before playing such dirty tricks on
people,* she thought and without another word left her
friends to search for Ryuu.

	Minako looked at Ami's retreating form with a baffled
look. She had been playing a practical joke, right?
There was no way Ryuu would have thought that she was
serious now, would he?

	"Umm..." she turned to her other friends for support.

	Makoto looked a little pissed at her and Rei was
definitely pissed at her. Usagi, well, she had that
neutral 'I-am-so-disappointed-in-you' look on her
face.

	"Aww! C'mon, guys, I was just trying to have fun..."
she tried.

	It did not work and their expressions remained the
same.

	"You went a little too far, Mina-chan," Makoto said
finally. She was not sure whether even she would have
pulled off such a stunt.

	"But it was harmless..." Minako tried in a meeker
tone. *It was harmless, wasn't it?*

	"You went too far, Mina-chan," Rei replied firmly.

	"Ummm... I'm sorry."

	"Saying sorry to us is not good enough, Mina-chan.
You'd better go find Ami-chan and Ryuu-kun and
apologize to them," Rei replied in a less firm tones.

	"Oh, all right..." Minako said and turned to go after
the duo.

	"Wait, Mina-chan," Usagi said at the last moment,
stopping Minako in her tracks.

	"I've some errands to run today... Umm... Could you
stop by the shrine this evening after you've
apologized to Ami-chan and her boyfriend?" Usagi said
in a quiet voice.

	Minako thought about it for a second.

	"Sure thing, Usagi-chan," she said.

	"Oh, could you also tell Ami-chan what I told you,"
Usagi said and paused. "Scratch that. I don't think
Ami will be able to come to the shrine this evening,"
she added.

	Minako nodded.

	"And good luck with your apology, Mina-chan," *I'm
sure you're going to need it.*

	"Thank you, Usagi-chan," Minako said and ran off.

	Usagi smiled faintly at her two remaining friends.

	"See you, guys, later," she said and she too made her
exit. *If I hurry, I might still make it in time for
the meeting with the outers.*

***********************************************************************

	Ami found Ryuu at the school front gates. It looked
as if he had remembered about his study session
halfway out of the campus and had decided to wait for
her there. She joined him and both of them walked for
a couple of dozen yards without saying anything.

	"So, where are we going?" Ryuu asked finally.

	"To your house, of course," Ami replied.

	That caught Ryuu off-guard.

	"Huh? But I thought that we were going to your
house."

	"Why, Ryuu-kun, do you not want me in your house?"
Ami asked in a hurt voice.

	"No... No, no, no." *Why do girls always take things
the wrong way?* "I didn't mean it that way, Ami-chan."

	"Then what did you mean?" Ami asked with a playful
pout.

	"Well..." Ryuu said, slowly. "I thought that we were
going to your house to, you know, study."

	"We'll go to my house tomorrow, but today, I get to
see yours," Ami said, brightly.

	"Okay," Ryuu replied, dubiously. Could Ami-chan be
interested in him? He was not sure, though he thought
that it was worth checking out. It was times like
these that he was glad he had spent three years in the
Amazon village. Without those years and the experience
that came with them, he was sure that he would not
have even thought about the ongoing conversation that
way. He supposed that he should be thankful to the
Amazons for that... And a lot of other things, not all
of them concerned with the art, that he had learnt
while he was there. Smile.

	"Ryuu-chan?"

	"Yes, Ami-chan?"

	"I'm sorry."

	"Sorry?" Pause. "About what?"

	"About Minako's behavior..."

	"Oh, that..."

	"Yeah!"

	"It was nothing, Ami-chan." *Now, what did the elder
say I should do... Oh yes, try to make her feel
comfortable...* "In fact, I should be the one
apologizing... It was rude of me to run away in such a
fashion, after all." *Please, kami, let this work!*

	Ami smiled at that.

	"How did you run so fast, anyway?" she asked.

	"Oh, I trained for it."

	"You trained to run away from women?" Ami asked,
unbelievingly.

	"No, no, no!" Ryuu said, waving his arms in denial.
"Well, I don't think he taught me with that particular
thing in mind..."

	"Huh?"

	"Argh! This is all my old man's fault!" Ryuu declared
suddenly, shaking his hands at the sky.

	Ami giggled at that. Somehow, Ryuu made the
'shifting-the-blame' thing look cute. Blush.

	"How is running away from Minako, your father's
fault, Ryuu-kun?" she asked.

	Ryuu sighed.

	"I suppose that you wouldn't leave me alone if I
refuse to explain it to you..."

	"Unhuh!" Ami shook her head for emphasis.

	"Oh, well, it was worth a try. It's a long story
though. Are you sure you want to hear it?" Ryuu asked.

	"Yes, I most certainly would," came the reply.

	"I suppose, I can tell it to you. I mean, it is a
long walk back to the house and it would help pass the
time while we walk there..."

	And so, Ryuu told his story, minus some of the less
believable adventures that he had, during the
'training' journey with Genma and they walked, slowly,
but surely covering the distance that stretched
between themselves and the Qin residence.

***********************************************************************

	The Juuban park...

	"She is late," Michiru said, a slight trace of
annoyance creeping into her voice as she stared at her
wristwatch.

	"That she is," Haruka agreed.

	They had been waiting at the park for nearly twenty
minutes now, and still, there was no sign of their
liege-to-be. Naturally, both of them were growing
restless and irritated.

	"Maybe we should go home..." Michiru suggested.

	Haruka paused to think about it. They could do that,
but what if Usagi came after they were gone. Then, she
would be really pissed off. No, they would wait for
some more time.

	"No, I think we should wait for another half an hour,
at least..."

	Michiru nodded and Haruka returned to pacing back and
forth, while Michiru sat in the bench, wondering about
the meeting and nervously twiddling with her fingers.

	"So..." Haruka said after a couple more minutes. "Why
do you think she called us here?" she asked.

	"Yesterday?"

	Haruka nodded.

	"Most likely."

	"What do you think she is going to say?" Michiru
asked.

	"I don't know. I'm not a mind reader, remember?"

	Michiru smiled at Haruka's attempt at easing the
tension in the camp.

	"Me neither... Do you think that she's angry with
us?"

	"Oh, yes. The question is: How mad is she?" Haruka
said.

	Michiru opened her mouth to reply, but Usagi arrived
then and beat her to it.

	"Very," Usagi said.

	"Huh?"

	"She's very angry with the two of you," Usagi
replied.

	"Usagi..." the two outers said in unison.

	Usagi quieted them with a wave of her hand.

	"Hush! I'm not here to listen to your excuses," she
said.

	"You've to give us a chance to defend ourselves,
Usagi," Haruka replied.

	Usagi tapped her lips with the forefinger of her
right hand, for a couple of seconds, as she thought
about it.

	"Very well, you've your chance. But make it quick."

	Haruka nodded and begun.

	"Usagi, I know what we did yesterday looked like we
were trying to hurt you..."

	"Spare me the mindless prattle," Usagi said,
interrupting the blonde senshi of Uranus. "I haven't
the time for that. If you have any good excuse to
offer, then do so right now, else keep quiet."

	Haruka looked at Usagi for what seemed like an
eternity. Finally, she nodded.

	"We were trying to save you... to protect you,
Usagi..."

	"By shooting at me?" Usagi said, sarcastically.
"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

	"You know that we'll never try to harm you..." Haruka
countered.

	"Do I, now? I mean, you tried to kill a member of
your own team once before and by accounts, you tried
to do it once again with Mercury... And yesterday, you
deliberately attacked me. Give me one good reason as
to why I should believe you?"

	"We're sailor senshi and it is our sworn job to
protect you..."

	"Is it?" Usagi asked, eyeing Haruka right in her eye.
"Then why, may I ask, did you take a shot at me?"

	"..."

	"I am waiting for an answer here!" Usagi said,
impatiently tapping her foot on the hard ground
underneath her feet. "Well..."

	"That... that thing, which was standing beside you
stole Pluto's powers from her," Michiru said, standing
up to her lover's defense.

	"And you saw it take place with your eyes?" Usagi
asked, calmly.

	Michiru hesitated.

	"No..."

	"Then whatever gave you that stupid idea?" Usagi
asked, raising her voice a little.

	"Pluto..."

	"Go on," Usagi said, narrowing her eyes, though her
voice dropped back to normal.

	"Pluto told us that, that thing is the enemy right
before the first attack," Haruka said, continuing for
Michiru.

	Usagi shot the two of them an incredulous look.

	"And you believed her?" she asked. Her voice well
matched the unbelieving look that she was giving them.

	"Yes."

	"What kind of idiots are you?"

	Silence.

	Usagi continued when no one answered her.

	"Pluto was the one, who told you that Saturn must be
killed... Pluto... Geez! If you two had half a brain
together, you'd have stopped paying attention to her
babble," Usagi said, raising her voice again.

	"We..."

	Usagi stopped Michiru in the middle of her speech,
with a wave of her hand.

	"I'm not done yet. Where did you feather brains get
the idea that you had to trust everything Pluto told
you?" she asked.

	"She is the senshi of time, Usagi," Haruka replied,
softly.

	"And..." Usagi paused, waiting for Haruka to
continue.

	Haruka did not.

	"So what? What if she's the senshi of time? Don't you
two think for yourselves? Or does that part of the
brain, which others use for thinking, fried?" she
asked.

	Silence.

	"Answer me, goddammit!"

	Michiru started. She had never expected Usagi to use
strong language when talking to them. Hell, she had
not even known that Usagi used strong language when
she spoke.

	"She knew the future, Usagi. I think that gives me a
good excuse to believe whatever that she told us and
she's my teammate. Are you telling me that I shouldn't
believe my fellow teammate?" Haruka replied, defending
herself and Michiru, and trying to take the fight back
into Usagi's camp.

	Usagi paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

	"Do you remember anything at all from the Silver
Millennium?" she asked in her normal voice.

	"Why?" Haruka asked, confused at this sudden change
of subject.

	"Do you?" Usagi asked, again.

	"Yes."

	"Well, tell me then, why did the Silver Millennium
collapse when Almighty Pluto was there to warn us
about the dangers that lurked  around the corners?"

	"Because she couldn't see some of them..." Haruka
said.

	Usagi shook her head, slightly.

	"Fools. That's what you two are. Have you ever
stopped and considered the fact that monitoring the
future wasn't Pluto's job?" she asked.

	"Huh? Then why was she the senshi of time?" Haruka
asked.

	"The senshi of time's job was to protect the time
gates from being messed with. It was never her job to
mess around with it. She was supposed to protect the
river of time from external influences and let it flow
its natural course."

	"But... Setsuna..."

	"She wasn't doing her job the way it was supposed to
be done," Usagi finished. "I've been thinking things
over and I'm pretty sure that what I'm saying is
correct."

	"So..."

	"Crystal Tokyo and everything else were all possible
futures, but Almighty Miss. Pluto decided that Crystal
Tokyo should be the only probable future."

	"..."

	"What do you have to say for yourselves, now?" Usagi
asked, having finished her explanation.

	"..."

	"Are you gonna ask forgiveness or..."

	"I still say we were only doing our job," Haruka
said, after a moment of thought.

	That made Usagi mad.

	"Screw your job!" Usagi shouted. "Even now, you
willfully disobey me. Am I not your liege?"

	Silence.

	"Answer me, you stupid, nincompoops."

	"Usagi..."

	"Silence," Usagi barked, shooting Michiru a cold
look. "Even now, you disobey me..." she said, again.
Her hands formed fists at her sides until her knuckles
whitened. "Fine," she said at last, as though she had
made up her mind about something important. "If that
is the way you want things to be, then hear this.

	"I'm going to say this only once and I'm going to
make it short and sweet. So, you'd better pay
attention," she said, coldly. "Your behavior yesterday
was disgraceful and there is no doubt in my mind that
you'll continue to do the things you have done till
now. I refuse to stand by and let you do the things
you have done in the past and insist on doing again in
the future. Nothing can be done to change them, and
though efforts will no doubt be made to rectify them,
I'll see to it that nothing like that ever happens
again.

	"Hear this, proud princesses of Uranus and Neptune:
>From now on, you will not engage anyone until it is
clear that they are your... no, our enemy. You will
not make decisions in the field. I will make them and
you will abide by them. You will assume that everyone
and everything is innocent until proven otherwise. You
will never, ever attack anyone unless I tell you too.
Is that understood?"

	Michiru and Haruka nodded numbly. They had expected
some amount of anger towards them, but they had never
expected this level of unadulterated hostility.

	"Good. 'Cause if I see any member of your team
pulling off the same stunts that you did yesterday, or
if I even think you're trying to pull one, then you
can consider your sweet, little asses officially fired
from the team. Understood?"

	Again, the two stunned outers nodded.

	"Goodbye!" Usagi said and retreated the same way she
had come, without so much as a backward glance.

	The two outers stared at her retreating form,
wondering whether the angry woman they had seen just a
few moments before was their princess. They had been
too shocked to object when she had pronounced her
decree and even if they had, they realized, it would
not have helped them any.

***********************************************************************

	"We're home," Akane hollered from the front gate as
soon as she had entered the compound.

	And as usual, Kasumi was there to receive her.

	"Welcome back, Akane... Shampoo. How was school
today?" she asked.

	"Okay," the two replied, simultaneously.

	Kasumi smiled at that.

	"I've prepared some cookies for you. It's in the oven
and should be ready in a few minutes..."

	"That's great, Kasumi," Akane said.

	"Shampoo can't wait to taste cookies," the Amazon
said.

	"Shampoo, what have I said about speaking proper
Japanese?" Ranma said, overhearing Shampoo's words as
he entered the room.

	"Sorry, sensei," Shampoo said, apologetically.

	Ranma waved it aside.

	"See that such mistakes don't occur in the future,"
he said.

	"Hai, sensei."

	"So, where's Ryuu?" Ranma asked, turning his
attention away from his second granddaughter.

	"He's staying behind at school," Akane replied.

	"Why would he want to do that?" Ranma asked,
quizzically.

	"He's getting one of his classmates to help him with
his studies."

	"Oh! Which one would that be?"

	"Ami Mizuno."

	"That girl, huh? Well, she's a good student... Okay,
he can study with her. Did he say when he'd be home?"

	"I'm afraid not, sensei."

	"Too bad," Ranma said. "He'd be missing Kas-chan's
wonderful cookies, tonight, then."

	"I think not!" came the reply from the compound
gates.

	"Ryuu, what're you doing here?" Akane asked, as she
turned around.

	"Ryuu, I see you're home and you brought your friend
with you," Ranma said at the same time as Akane.

	"Good evening, Ranma-sensei," Ami said, shyly from
the door.

	"Please come in, Ami-chan," Ranma said, amicably.
"Kas-chan, this is Ami Mizuno, one of the brightest
girls in all of Japan, I suspect. She's a student of
mine, and is also, Ryuu's classmate and from today
onward, his tutor. Ami-chan, this is Kasumi Tendo,
Akane's eldest sister."

	"How are you, Mizuno-san?"

	"I'm fine. Please, call me Ami, Kasumi-san."

	"Only if you call me Kasumi."

	"Well, now that the introductions are all done, I'll
take my leave," Ranma said, "and let you kids alone to
do your stuff. Kas-chan, you want some help in the
kitchen?"

	Kasumi shook her head.

	"No, Ranma-kun. I've already completed my work in the
kitchen and I just need to run to the grocery store
and procure a thing or two at the grocer's."

	"I can run the errands for you," Ranma volunteered.

	"I can take care of it, Ranma-kun," Kasumi assured
him.

	Ranma nodded.

	"Shampoo, will you go and help Kas-chan with her
errands?"

	The said girl nodded her head vigorously. Yes, she
would very much love to help Kasumi in any way she
could.

	"Is it okay with you, Kas-chan?"

	Nod.

	"Excellent," Ranma said. "I'll be in the dojo should
anyone need me."

	"I'll be off to the grocer's then," Kasumi said,
flashing a smile at Ryuu's friend. "Please, make
yourself at home and feel free to do anything you
want, Ami. I'll be back in a couple."

	"All right, Kasumi," Ryuu replied.

	"Oh! I almost forgot. Ryuu-kun, would you please take
the cookies from the oven and distribute them when
they are done."

	"I'll do that, Kasumi."

	Kasumi nodded.

	"Come, Shampoo, we've got grocery shopping to do,"
she said and exited, towing the Amazon teenager with
her.

***********************************************************************

	Akiruno yawned. Out of all the jobs that he had ever
done for the oyabun - and he had done them all at one
time or another, this had to be the most boring, he
thought to himself.

	*I'll be so embarrassed if the rest of the guys see
me like this,* Akiruno thought embarrassedly, as he
looked at his nerdy civilian clothes and shuddered.
He'd never hear the end of it and the tough guy image
that he had worked so hard to build, for the past
decade, would be destroyed if anyone saw him in the
dress, he was wearing at the moment.

	It could have been worse, Akiruno knew. In fact, it
could have been much worse and he could have been
struck with one of the really weird ones like that
psychopathic Ken-something guy. If only the job that
he had been assigned was so humiliating. He had been
standing in the street all day long, observing the Qin
residence and reporting back through cell phone what
he saw. Intel, the gaijin and his friends called it,
and he supposed they were right. You needed good
information to execute a mission perfectly and in that
respect, this mission was no different from any other,
though in almost every other respect, it was.

	His job was very important to the success of the
mission and Akiruno knew it only too well and he
supposed, so did oyabun. Perhaps that was the reason
why he, one of the best men under oyabun's payroll,
had been assigned this job. Oyabun must have thought
that he was the best man for the job and thus, had
assigned him to the Intel gathering role.

	The gaijin and his friends seemed to know what they
were doing and Akiruno left them to their devices. The
realm of high-powered martial arts was not his own and
he would let those qualified to deal with such things
to take care of it. He had his mission parameters and
he would do everything to achieve them, the gaijin and
his friends be damned. If the gaijin succeeded then,
he'd be out of Akiruno's life. The same also stood
true should the mission fail.

	Either way, Akiruno did not care. All that mattered
to him was oyabun's and the family's safety, and the
only one that was powerful enough to threaten both,
Ranma Qin, was about to be taken care of, one way or
the other. And that was enough for him.

	Thus thinking, Akiruno shot a fleeting glance at the
Qin residence, just as he had done every five minutes
and noticed the primary target - the eldest Tendo
daughter, leave the house alone... no, with another
girl by her side. *For the grocer's,* Akiruno thought
as he quickly removed his cell phone from of his
pocket and speed-dialed a very special number.

	The phone on the other side of the connection rang,
but a single time, before it was picked up.

	{{The target is heading south... to the grocer's, I
think,}} Akiruno added, after a momentary pause.

	{{Is there anyone with her?}}

	{{Ummm... Yeah! A purple haired girl... I don't think
she'd pose any problem to the guys though.}}

	{{Good.}}

	Click.

	Akiruno removed the mechanical instrument from his
ears and shot it a hateful look. Those gaijin bastards
were not even cultured enough to say goodbye or some
such thing before closing the line. How barbaric!

	So engrossed in his thoughts, Akiruno did not notice
another man across the street shoot him a strange
look, take out some kind of walkie-talkie and speak
with someone, somewhere, after which the man started
his car and drove off.

***********************************************************************

	"Tell me, Shampoo, how was life in the village?"

	"It was... how do you say it? same as everywhere
else," Shampoo said, slowly choosing her words so that
her grammar was perfect. She had promised Ranma-sen...
grandfather that she would try to perfect her spoken
Japanese and she had meant every word of it.

	"Oh!"

	"The air was much fresher there," Shampoo continued
at the same snail's pace. *And the people much less
racist,* she did not add. It still amazed her that
these Japanese, for all their shortcomings, thought
that she and her people were primitive barbarians,
when they were the ones, who regularly behaved like
uncouth animals.

	"I suppose. Tokyo is a big city and there are all
these cars..."

	"Yes, cars and heaters and..." Shampoo trailed off.
"We never had any use for many of the things you use
here. We took what we needed to survive from the
forest."

	"Some of these modern amenities are not that bad,
Shampoo," Kasumi said in defense of the modern way of
life.

	Shampoo nodded.

	"You live your way of life and we live ours. Your way
of life is best suited to survive in this jungle and
our way of life is best suited to survive in ours,"
Shampoo said with a shrug. "The village isn't
completely in the... ah, stone age, as you call it. We
have our trained doctors and we have our radios and
electricity generators, but our lives don't revolve
around these modern appliances."

	Kasumi smiled, surprised at Shampoo's words. She had
not expected such wisdom from the Chinese teenager.

	"You certainly are wise for your age, Shampoo," she
said with a warm smile.

	Shampoo returned the smile with a warm one of her
own.

	"Thank you, Kasumi... -chan," she said. "People here
think that I'm stupid just because I cannot speak your
language well..."

	"You're welcome." Pause. "And not all of them think
that way, Shampoo."

	"You wouldn't say that if you saw the looks that the
other students at school give me when they think that
I'm not looking..."

	"I'm sure they do not mean it, Shampoo."

	Shampoo smiled, thinly.

	"I wish it were, Kasumi-chan." *I really wish that
were true with all my heart!*

	"Sha..." Kasumi begun, but was cut off as two men
suddenly blocked her path. "Excuse me..." she said,
trying to find a way around them, or at least, get
them to move out of the way.

	The one to Kasumi's left, smiled and punched Kasumi
across her face without any preamble, knocking her
out. Immediately, Shampoo jumped back a couple of feet
to gain some distance and got into a stance.

	"You shouldn't have hurt her," Shampoo said, coldly,
as she eyed the two punks in front of her. Both were
novices in the martial arts department and she could
have taken on a dozen of them without any trouble.

	"What're you going to do about it?" the first one
sneered.

	"I'm going to beat the living daylights out of you,"
came the reply.

	"Oh yeah!" the man said, looking sure of himself.
"You and what army?"

	As soon as he had spoken, Shampoo moved, too fast for
his inexperienced eye to see, and hit him with a
three-finger strike to his solar plexus. The man was
pushed back by the force of the blow, but Shampoo
wasn't in a merciful mood to leave him alone. He had
hit Kasumi and in her book, that deserved a slow and
painful death. Without the least bit of hesitation,
she moved forward, grabbing his right arm just below
the elbow and pinching the muscle group located there
with as much force as she could apply. The man let out
a strangled squeak and involuntarily moved to stand on
his toes to alleviate the pain in his arms, but
Shampoo did not relent as she twisted the hand and
pulled at it at the same time. There was a pop as the
bones were dislocated and the ligaments torn to
shreds. The guy's eyes rolled into his head and he
fainted. Shampoo withdrew from the unconscious heap of
flesh and bones that lay on the ground to face the
remaining punk.

	"I, alone, am more than enough for the likes of you,"
she said.

	The second punk's eyes widened at the display of
martial arts, so far above his own that it made his
own skills seem completely irrelevant and
non-existent. He decided that discretion was the
better part of valor and backpedaled a couple of
yards, unsteadily, all the while whistling at the top
of his lungs. Where was the backup when you needed it?

	Immediately, a dozen goons appeared, all dressed in
the same way as the first two and all with tire-irons,
bicycle chains and such in their hands. Almost all of
them had a mean, animalistic look in their eyes - the
sort of look that promised lots and lots of pain
before death - and all towered at least half a dozen
inches above Shampoo. Everyone of them was built like
a brick, and each weighed roughly fifty pounds more
than her. And finally, everyone of them looked more
were rabid animals than humans.

	"Oh! Would ya lookit the bitch?" one of them said.

	"She looks like a real slut. Heck, I might even try
this one before I off her," the tallest one said.

	Shampoo appeared not in the least bit disturbed by
this new set of additions to the enemy camp. All the
fools looked like they were monkeys and acted like
they had the brains of one too, which was just fine in
her book, since it would make her job all the more
easier.

	"I no can stop you if you want take trip to
hospital," she said, her speech patterns falling back
to the grammatically imperfect one that Ranma had
asked her to get rid off.

	"She talks cute too, Kensuke," one of the punks
standing near to Kensuke - the tallest one - said.

	"Yeah! Well, I think I'm gonna die and go to heaven
when I take her," Kensuke said.

	"Less talk, more fight," Shampoo said. She could not
understand everything that was being said as her
command of the Japanese language was not that perfect,
but she could understand the gist of what they were
speaking through the lustful sneers they shot at her.
If the fools thought that they could rape her, then
they were in for a huge surprise. Shampoo relaxed her
body and extended her arms into a traditional crane
stance, her bonbori's appearing miraculously in her
hands, thanks to the Hidden Weapons.

	The hoods appeared slightly unnerved at the
confidence that Shampoo radiated, as well as the mean
looking bonbori that had miraculously appeared in her
hands, but they still had the superiority in numbers
and were foolish enough to think that it would be
enough to turns the odds overwhelmingly in their
favor. They attacked as one, their meager skills at
the art and their previous experiences with brawls of
this kind, helping them to work as a cohesive unit -
different parts working in harmony to form one
complete, but imperfect whole.

	Shampoo bent her left leg, the one she was standing
on, a little and pushed up, releasing the energy
focused in her body in one fluid motion and focusing
it into a three-inch area in her right foot. The leg
swung, as graceful as a ballet dancer's, and arched,
hitting one of the goons dumb enough to come within
striking distance right across his chin. The blow was
powerful enough to launch him into the air, head,
trunk and body, stretching his spinal cord, though not
quite breaking it and sending him into the blissful
oblivion of unconsciousness. This turned out to be a
mercy, as the goon's head hit the streetlight with a
metallic clang that resounded across the far end of
the street. The sound itself was sufficient was to
bring his friends to a stop, as their neural networks
finally realized that they might have bitten more than
they could chew on.

	A normal opponent would have backed a little and
waited while they organized their thoughts, but
Shampoo was no normal opponent. She had been trained
to be a warrior from the day she could walk. And as a
warrior, Shampoo had no qualms, and she brought her
bonbori down, very hard, on an over-extended arm that
held a tire iron with a serrated edge on it. The bones
were pulverized on impact and Kensuke, to whom the arm
belonged, screamed like a puppy, his voice striking
all five octaves. Shampoo, unmindful of the
soprano-ish scream of pain, shifted her balance to her
other leg and swung her leg into Kensuke's groin. The
blow launched Kensuke a couple of inches off the
ground and into the air, crushing his pubic arch on
contact and raising his soprano voice by just that
much. Kensuke's scream died out at the apex of his
journey into the air and his knees crossed, his toes
curling into his body in agony. He flew back a couple
of feet and landed, or rather, crashed unceremoniously
onto the hard asphalt, where he lay, silent, with his
mouth open in a scream that no one, least of all
himself, could hear. His eyes brimmed with tears as
raw tendrils of pain shot from his groin and up his
body.

	*Take that, bastard!*

	"Next," Shampoo said, invitingly, shaking the others
out of their trance.

	The men, once again, reacted as one, attacking once
more, knowing in their hearts that any failure on
their part would not be tolerated. In effect, they
were caught in a catch-22 situation, but there was
nothing they could do about it. Well, there was one
thing they could do about it and that was beat up
Shampoo, but they had as much chance of accomplishing
that as having a piece of Mars crash right on top of
their heads. It was a chance, remote as it might be,
still and they took it, their minds crazed with fear
of what oyabun would do to them should they fail, and
what the purple haired girl would do to them before
one of them took her out of the game.

	Shampoo ducked under a tire iron and blocked a
bicycle chain with the bonbori in her right hand. The
chain twisted, its momentum greatly increased by the
decrease in length and snapped, with a swoosh, and
continued in its new trajectory towards Shampoo's
head. Shampoo reacted just in the nick of time and
snapped back her head, the metal missing her eyes by
centimeters. The chain, with nothing in its path to
block it, continued until it had wound itself up
around the stalk of Shampoo's bonbori.

	The goon, a six foot three animal in human disguise,
at the other side of the chain, grinned, thinking that
he had cornered or at the very least, removed one of
the bitch's weapons. Shampoo noticed the grin and she
returned it, though her grin was that of a predator,
which had its prey right where it wanted, and pulled
the extended bonbori back to defend herself from
further attacks. The goon, strong as he was, was no
match for Shampoo's inhuman strength, honed through
years of pushing her body to the very limits and
beyond, and he flew, chain and all, into the bonbori.
The collision made a nice thunk, denting his face and
rendering him unconscious. The chain, with no one at
the other end, loosened and followed its slumbering
master, as he collapsed onto the ground.

	Another goon seized the chance and got near to
Shampoo to grab her shoulders, but before he could
make use of the leverage he had on her, Shampoo
reacted, dropping the bonbori she had in the hand
attached to the offended shoulder and grabbing his
fingers in a vise-like grip. She bent, ducked and
weaved at the same time, evading a tanto without
seeming to and twisting the fingers she had in her
hands out of their sockets. The goon screamed, his
fingers already ballooning to macabre proportions, but
Shampoo did not let go. Instead, she bent her body
back and pulled at his fingers, and he obliged her
pull, screaming as he moved forward. Shampoo's
remaining bonbori descended on his shoulder blades,
hitting with a crack and splintering the bone to so
many little pieces that it might as well have been fed
to a stone crusher. She released his fingers and
backhanded the one to her left, applying as much
strength as she could into the blow.

	This new one, having seen the fate that had befallen
his comrades, jumped back and brought his arm up to
block the blow, but he was no where near fast enough
to evade it. The blow connected, and strong as he was,
he was not strong enough, and the bones in his forearm
caved in, breaking through the skin and tearing, flesh
and ligament apart. The goon stared at the two jagged,
reddish-white protrusions sticking out of twisted and
bent mass that had once been his hand, for two
seconds, before he fainted in shock.

	Shampoo let her body relax and fell to the ground,
avoiding another bicycle chain by the barest of
margins as it swished through the air, just above her
nose. On contact, she rolled immediately, clearing the
area by the scantest of margins as another chain hit
the ground where she had fallen, and back flipped to a
standing position, her hand clutching the serrated
tire iron that had been dropped to the ground by one
of her earlier victims - Kensuke, to be exact. She
twisted her mid-section, bringing the tire iron in
front of her and facing her attackers, ready to attack
or defend at a moment's notice.

	Her opponents hesitated and therefore, she attacked,
moving forward like a gazelle across the African
plains. She brought her free arm forward, raising it
to hit the goon immediately near her at a point just
below his elbow to kill the momentum that he had been
building into his tire iron. The hand came to a
screeching halt and the goon's eye widened slightly in
surprise, but Shampoo did not pay attention. She was
all motion, showing no emotional reaction of her own
as she attacked. She moved into his defenses as though
he had none, which was not very far from the truth,
and lashed out with her tire iron right across his
ribcage. The force applied behind the blow was just
enough to make the goon double over, and that was all
Shampoo needed. She brought her knee into play,
smashing it against his face, in the process knocking
a couple of his teeth out of their positions and
snapping his head back. Another goon tried to tag her
with another tire iron, but Shampoo sensed him just in
the nick of time and pushed at her victim with her
body and with her tire iron, driving him between
herself and her attacker. The tire iron hit the goon
on his head with a mighty crunch and the goon
collapsed, insensate to the ground.

	The other goon, shocked at having hit his teammate,
instead of his intended target, hesitated, but for the
merest fraction of a second, and that gave Shampoo the
opening she needed. She launched herself into the air,
spinning around, her left leg extending as she did.
Her rate of spin decreased as the laws of the physical
world dictated they should, but it did not decrease
enough to spare his tire iron when it hit. Shampoo's
leg hit the hastily raised tire iron, breaking it into
three separate pieces, which went careening through
the air, and tumbled and clattered across the asphalt
until they came to rest against the walkway. Shampoo's
leg proceeded, unhindered, albeit at a slower speed,
and hit the side of his head, snapping it to the side
and sending him immediately into unconsciousness.

	Shampoo landed lightly on her feet, her tire iron
still clutched softly in her hands and got into a
stance.

	"Next," she asked in her most courteous voice.

***********************************************************************

	Shankara had watched the two goons step into the
street and move towards the primary target, from the
sidelines, though he felt that he could be of better
use from the command center that he and his people had
established with the help of the oyabun.

	He had watched the two goof it up, and get beaten by
the girl, who had accompanied the target
what'shername. The other fool had summoned for help,
but Shankara had known that help, no matter how
numerous it might have been, would be of no use
against a warrior of the girl's caliber. And he had
been proved right in the past three minutes. The girl
was mowing through the thugs as though they weren't
there and it looked like he would have to step in to
rescue the fools from having their asses kicked all
over the place.

	For the umpteenth time since he had put the plan in
motion, Shankara felt that he could have done better
without the fool oyabun and his 'family'. But there
was no going back now, was there, and he decided to
make do with what he had.

	Having made up his mind to intervene, Shankara walked
out of the shadows, just as the girl beat up yet
another goon and took her stance.

	"Next," she said courteously and Shankara was only
glad to oblige.

	"Here," Shankara said, causing her to turn around.

	Shampoo eyed the man before her with a raised
eyebrow. He looked human enough, but there was
something about him that she could not quite lay her
fingers on and that set her senses on the edge.
Whoever this guy was, he was dangerous, every fiber in
her being screamed and she was willing to believe
them.

	"Who are you?" she asked.

	<My name is Shankara. I'm honored to be your opponent
in battle,> he said.

	<Huh? You know Mandarin?> Shampoo asked.

	<Yes, I do. I've been blessed with the gift of
tongues.>

	Shampoo nodded. Great grandmother had told her once
that such kind of boons were common in times long past
and if they were common once, then it made sense that
someone would have them now.

	<Why do you want to fight me?> she asked.

	<I have my reasons.>

	<Very well then,> Shampoo said, getting into a
stance.

	<You're very skilled, warrior, but you're not skilled
enough,> Shankara stated and got into a stance of his
own.

	Shampoo attacked first, not waiting for Shankara to
complete his sentence, and moved in at blinding speed,
throwing a maelstrom of punches at her opponent.

	Shankara blocked and dodged them all with apparent
ease, his smile never leaving his body. She was good,
but she wasn't good enough to even touch him. *Oh
well, her death wouldn't be too great a loss to this
world,* he thought.

	Shampoo angered at her loss of progress, focused on
her ki.

	"Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she declared loudly, her
fists disappearing as hundreds of blows pounded
Shankara all over his body.

	Caught by surprise, Shankara could not dodge all the
blows and several dozen hit him in less than a second,
propelling him back and launching him into the air. He
hit the side of a building, whose wall cracked, and
bits of masonry and bricks splintered and fell to the
ground. Shankara got back to his feet, looking none
the worse for wear, though now, he had a very big grin
on his face.

	<I'm very much honored to face you in combat,
warrior,> he said. There was no question about it now.
He would let the girl live, for talent such as hers
was rare to come by and it would not do to kill the
strong ones among the lamb. Perhaps one day, when she
had grown strong enough to face him in single combat,
then he would face her like a warrior and give her a
warrior's death.

	<And I, to face you,> Shampoo replied, recognizing
the old code of conduct that the stranger was using.

	<Shall we fight then?> Shankara asked.

	Shampoo nodded.

	Immediately, Shankara leapt into the offensive,
kicking at her chest at a speed, which Shampoo found a
little hard to follow. She brought up her arm to block
it, only to realize at the last instant that it was a
feint to leave her defenses on the left flank
vulnerable. She brought her hand down to protect
herself, but Shankara was too fast and she was too
slow. The first blow connected against her lower
ribcage with enough force to pulverize pre-stressed
concrete. Shampoo's air was immediately knocked out of
her and she stumbled, dropping her defenses for a
crucial second.

	Shankara moved into her open defenses and unleashed a
furious assault. The first decisive blow was a chop to
her shoulder, which broke the shoulder joint with an
audible snap. Shampoo's eyes dimmed and she staggered
back as another kick connecting with her solar plexus.

	Shankara stood where he was, watching her stagger and
struggle to remain conscious. Yet, she did not give
up, getting into a stance, intent on fighting him. He
admired her for that. She was truly a warrior.

	<Sleep now, warrior, there will be another day and
another place where we will meet and fight again,>
Shankara said, just as Shampoo collapsed unconscious
to the ground.

	Immediately, one of the goons approached her, licking
his lips in anticipation. Shankara was upon him in an
instant, squeezing his neck so hard and lifting him
almost a feet off the ground with a single hand.

	"You will treat her with the utmost respect,"
Shankara growled. "She is a warrior and should you
hurt her in any way, I will tear your heart out with
my bare hands and feed it to the dogs."

	The goon nodded, or rather, tried to nod, as he could
not move his head in the position he was in.

	"Good. Now, get her and get out of here," Shankara
said, dropping the goon to the ground and pointing to
the unconscious form of Kasumi.

	"My friends..." the goon gasped, clutching his
throat.

	"Your remaining friends will take care of them. You
do what I tell you to do," Shankara snarled.

	The goon nodded and moved to comply, rubbing his
throat in pain and wheezing as he did so. He was
slightly shaken that one of their own allies would do
something like almost kill him for wanting to rape the
gaijin-bitch whore, but he managed to hide his fear
and the new found respect for the gaijin 'bastard'
that oyabun, most assuredly in a moment of madness,
had chosen to run the mission. However, cowed down as
he was, he was not sufficiently cowed down to run off
whining, his tail tucked neatly in-between his legs.

	He shot Shankara a hateful glance, which Shankara
returned with eyes that seemed to burn hellish red and
radiate death for the barest fraction of a second.
That sent shivers through the goon's spine, though he
did well to hide it from showing in his musculature.
Frightened by the unnatural display of power, he
closed the distance between him and the unconscious
Kasumi and spat on the ground near her feet, a crimson
mixture of blood and saliva. He shot Shankara another
hateful look for hurting him so and bent down to turn
her over. Kasumi looked so peaceful and innocent in
her slumber that even his hardened heart felt a tinge
of guilt and sadness, but he pushed them aside with
cold indifference and hefted her body on to his back.
He straightened himself, taking care to wipe his
slightly bloodied lips across the back of his right
hand and shifted his cargo a little to achieve better
balance. Having made himself comfortable, he walked to
the other side of the street, limping as he did so.

	An unmarked Toyota sped out of an alley near the
street end, where it had been waiting, and pulled by
him, whence upon he got in and shut the door, throwing
Kasumi into the vehicle as he would a piece of
garbage. He pushed Kasumi's body roughly to secure
enough room for himself and sat down, shutting the
door as he did so. Immediately, the car sped away,
leaving a cloud of dust and smoke in its wake.

	Shankara turned to the other goons, who were watching
him as though he was a monster or something.

	"What are you fools waiting for? Take these..."
Shankara kicked one of the insensate goons lying at
his feet. "Thrash out of here."

	The goons nodded and scampered out of the way. To
them, any place was better than being a hundred yards
near oyabun's new ally. The man seemed to be insanely
powerful and was truly a monster in every sense of the
word.

	Shankara watched them go and when everyone was gone,
leapt onto the roof of a four-story building beside
him and disappeared into the Juuban skyline, leaving
Shampoo lying wounded and unconscious, in the middle
of the road.

***********************************************************************

	As soon as Shankara and the goons were gone, two men
darted out of a building across the street and ran up
to Shampoo. One checked her pulse, while the other
brought out a Hechler & Koch MP-10 submachine gun [2]
and took point, covering the skyline incase any other
super-powered martial artist showed up.

	~John, is she alive?~ the one with the submachine gun
asked.

	John nodded.

	~She's alive, though barely, I think. She's badly
beat up... Heck, I think that guy would have
pulverized a tank with his fists...~ John trailed off.

	His partner nodded.

	~Yeah, me too. So, what're we going to do?~

	~Call the paramedical services... What else?~ John
replied, taking out a walkie-talkie from inside his
coat. ~{{This is honeybee#1 calling hive.}}~

	~{{This is hive. Go on, honeybee#1.}}~

	~{{I've one of the subjects... subject#8, unconscious
and badly beat up. She was involved in a... ah...
tussle. I need back up and I need you to send the
emergency services to take care of her.}}~

	~{{Roger that, honeybee#1. Am sending reinforcements
to your position, right now.}}~

	~{{Copied, hive. Over and out.}}~ John turned to his
friend. ~They're coming Hale.~

	Hale nodded, his eyes darting furtively across the
rooftops.

	~Good.~ Hale paused. ~What do you think is gonna
happen now?~

	John shrugged.

	~Beats me. I've been working for the 'company' as a
field agent for seven years, man. I ain't never seen
anything like this.~

	~Me neither.~

	~The guys at the top will know what to do. Miss.
Palmer is good at this sort of stuff... Maybe she or
some of the Japanese geeks can come up with something
to deal with this mess.~

	Hale nodded.

	~Probably.~

	Just then, the klaxons of an ambulance sounded and
the two agents melted into the building they had come
from. Their job was done for now and they would the
para-professionals do their job.

***********************************************************************

Notes:

	[1] The part about the spider is taken from Trigun
Music video called 'Eden'. I have never seen the
video, but I got the information from one Icsis from
the Delphi forum in the 'Which quote do you want to
see in a fic?' thread in the Question and Polls
folder.

	[2] I have no idea how this gun looks like... got it
from 'Rainbow Six' by Tom Clancy. :) If any of you
know the web addy of the company or have seen the gun
please e-mail me with the description. I'll need the
description in the chapters to come. :)

	More about Ranma's past has been revealed in this
chapter and I hope that it made his character more
believable to some of you. :)

	I know that some of you might think that Usagi is
acting very OOC, but I humbly beg to defer. She's been
under a lot of pressure and I think that she is acting
in a perfectly normal manner given the stress she's
been under.

	I would also like to thank Peter Blundell
(peterblundell@operamail.com) (That's Yakumo_au for
all of you, Delphi forumers), for the help he gave me
in bringing this chapter to life.

	Pete, like they say, it takes two to make music and
I'm very glad to have a partner like you. :p



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