This is to be read after Replaced, Desperation and Doing What's Right

-----

Shan Pu swept the floor absently in the Cat Cafe after hours.  Another
day had born and died without bringing Ranma to her.  It had been busy
with the school year rapidly coming to a close.

'Less than a year,' she sighed to herself.  A year that had uprooted
her from the life she knew and thrown her into a much bigger world she
didn't really care to know.  At home she was respected and known.  Out
here she was merely a foreigner with a pretty face that could hardly
speak the language.

"Stupid Japanese," Shan Pu muttered in her native tongue as she swept
the floor, agitated.  "They think I'm some sort of idiot because I
can't speak their language.  Let's see them speak my language.  Oh,
but I guess that doesn't really count as I'm the one who's left home.
As if I had a choice.  Nobody cares that all I want is to go home with
Ranma."

Her tirade ended with an unintentional bump of her elbow into a vase
sitting on the counter.  Shan Pu watched in fascination as the vessel
tottered on the counter for a few moments before tipping over the
edge.  The vase smashed into thousands of pieces on the floor.

"Shan Pu?  You ok?" Mu Tsu asked, rushing into the cafe in an instant.

The amazon ignored him, staring at the pieces.  Her life had been
tottering on the edge all this time and it was unmistakenably as
broken as this vase was.  There was no way Ranma would ever love her.
There was no way she could go home with him as her husband.

"Mu Tsu?  Do you think Ranma will ever go home with us?" she asked,
her voice quavering.

There was a pause.  "No," he answered simply.

Shan Pu stared at the broken shards, her eyes wetting with tears.  "I
want to go home," she stated softly.  She sensed her would-be lover
moving up close behind her, but he made no move to touch her.

"We can stay here," he suggested nervously.  "This really is a much
better place than home anyways."  He paused before adding quietly,
"I'm treated much better here.  I would go so far to say equal but as
a rival of Ranma it seems I'm even more respected."

"Don't you even care what I want?" Shan Pu asked in a breaking voice,
still not facing him.  "I want to go home."

"You can't go home," Mu Tsu sighed.  "We both know that.  As long as
Ranma doesn't love you, you can't."

Shan Pu turned on her heel and slapped him on the face.  "Why?" she
demanded.  "Why?  What's wrong with me?  Why am I not good enough?"

Mu Tsu hung his head.  "I don't know," he replied.  "You ask me
questions that I can't hope to answer.  I have never seen anything
wrong with you."

Shan Pu grabbed him by the collar yanking him as she pointed to the
pieces on the floor.  "That is my life," she declared, shaking him
violently.  "Completely broken.  There may have been a time for me to
prevent it but it's long gone now.  All I can do now is sweep up the
pieces and throw them away!"

The young man steadied himself, rolling his eyes.  "That's not true,"
he stated.  "Even if you are 'broken' it can still be fixed or pieced
back together."

"Three weeks," Shan Pu said coldly, still holding him by the collar.
"Three weeks and not a word from him."

"You wrecked his wedding," Mu Tsu shot back, losing his temper.  "What
did you think he'd do?"

Shan Pu shot her eyes down to the floor, seething.  "It's not fair,"
she growled.  "He mocks my loss."

"Talk to Kuh Lon," Mu Tsu suggested.  "Maybe she can arrange a way
that you can go home."

"I'm a disgrace, a failure," Shan Pu breathed heavily.

"Only in their eyes," Mu Tsu admitted.  "It will take time to rebuild
your honor but it can be done."

Shan Pu shoved him back, releasing him.  "Forgiven, even reconciled,
but never forgotten!" Shan Pu snarled at him.  "I worked too hard for
my reputation to let it be destroyed by some outsider!"

"Shan Pu!  Just let it go!" Mu Tsu shot back, annoyed.  "I don't know
how long it will take for you to realize you can't make him love you!"

Shan Pu slapped him again, jerking his head back hard.  "Don't talk
like a hypocrite," she growled.

Mu Tsu turned back, her words igniting a fire in his eyes.  "Shan Pu,
if you hit me one more time," he started but was cut off with another
slap to the face.

"What, Mu Tsu?" Shan Pu demanded.  "You're going to hit me back?  Go
ahead.  See if I care."

Mu Tsu's fists clenched but he looked away.  "I am only trying to help
you," he said through gritted teeth.

"Only because you think it will make me love you," Shan Pu accused.
"I'm not that easy, Mu Tsu.  You know what Ranma means to me.  It's
over!  You can sit back and smile because your dreams may still have a
chance but mine is over!"

"Your dream was childish and unreasonable," Mu Tsu scoffed.

"What are you two fighting about at this late hour?" protested a tired
voice.

"Mu Tsu is acting out of line as usual," Shan Pu huffed, grabbing her
broom and sweeping up the shards into a pile.

The old crone yawned before striking Mu Tsu in the head with her
ever-present cane.  "Getting to be that an old woman can't get some
rest around here," she muttered.

"Shan Pu wants to go home," Mu Tsu offered in explanation.

Kuh Lon nodded, stifling a yawn.  "She can as soon as she marries
Ranma," the old woman agreed.

The sound of a broom snapping filled the room for an instant.  Shan Pu
tossed the broken thing into the pile and shoved Mu Tsu aside as she
made her way to the door.

"Shan Pu?  Where are you going?" Kuh Lon asked.

"I'm going to the Tendou's," Shan Pu called back over her shoulder,
kicking down the door in her anger.  The poor thing rattled off its
hinges and fell out the cafe.

"Wait, Shan Pu," the old matriarch ordered.

Shan Pu paused and looked sternly over her shoulder.  "I'm going home
or I'll die trying," she hissed.  Shan Pu leapt out of the cafe onto a
nearby rooftop and pounced away.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Kuh Lon turned on him angrily.  "What did you say?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Mu Tsu answered, quickly moving his hands up in a warding
gesture.  "She just wanted to go home."

The matriarch's eyes narrowed.  "Follow her now and make sure she
doesn't get herself killed," she ordered.

Mu Tsu blinked.  "Killed?  Akane can't best Shan Pu in a fight," he
balked.

"I'm not worried about Akane," the old woman stated.  "Go."

Mu Tsu grumbled but decided it was best not to anger the elder.
'Besides,' he added silently.  'It's not everyday SHE gives me
permission to follow Shan Pu.'

*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Ranma paced the room nervously, unable to word what he wanted to say.
This last week had been quite disturbing and he needed to tell
someone.

He regarded the girl on the bed, lying down yet facing him, her head
face cupped in her hands.  She was wearing a faded yellow tank top
with short jean shorts, her legs crossed at the ankles and bent up at
the knees so her feet were off the bed.  He really hated telling her
anything but Akane wouldn't understand and Kasumi would only nod
dismissively.

"I don't know how to say it, but I feel like I've done something
wrong," Ranma managed, shooting an approving glance at her.

"Go on," Nabiki urged him.

"I mean, why should I feel like I did anything wrong?" he demanded.
"She helped wreck my wedding."

"Are you saying you wanted to get married?" she asked slyly.

"Look, I'm still mad at you for what you did so don't play with my
words, Nabiki," Ranma shot back at the middle Tendou daughter.

"Just answer the question," she returned, unfazed.  "You are paying
for my help."

"I don't know what I want," Ranma admitted, crossing his arms over his
chest, looking away.  "But I can honestly say at the time I didn't
mind if it had worked."

"What did you do?" his hired confidant asked flatly.

"She confronted me and somehow made it sound like it was my fault,"
Ranma continued.  "My fault!  She was completely unreasonable!"

"What did she say?" she pressed.

"That we could never be friends," he answered. "She didn't care how I
felt about that."

"Ranma," Nabiki said sternly.  "This was bound to happen sooner or
later.  The failed wedding has everyone on edge.  I heard Ukyou beat
the hell out of Tsubasa for issuing a challenge to Konatsu just the
other day."

Ranma blinked.  "Tsubasa's back?" he stated in disbelief.  He pondered
for a moment, a grin spreading across his face.  "Alright!  Ukyou will
be begging me to help get rid of that jerk!"

"Are you sure about that?" Nabiki drawled.  "She has banned you from
her restaurant."

"Oh I'm sure," Ranma stated with a nod.  "Tsubasa is as persistent as
they come.  I'll just have to keep an eye on her restaurant and drop
in when he's around."

"I see how this solves all your problems," Nabiki commented
sarcastically.

"Now we can be friends," he started but the sound of broken glass cut
him off.  He spun into a defensive stance, facing the shattered
window.  A familiar woman dusted off glass particles, standing in the
debris, dressed in a lavender, silk cheongasm patterned with white
daisies.

Nabiki sighed from her bed.  "Shampoo, that was MY window you just
broke," she stated, throwing the amazon a half lidded glance.

The amazon ignored Nabiki's complaints.  Her eyes stayed fixed on
Ranma as she strode her way purposefully towards him.  "Ranma," she
said quietly, stopping short of him.

Ranma blinked.  Shampoo had not glomped him.  He had counted on that
considering how long he had been avoiding her and her not-so-subtle
attitude towards him.

The martial artist held both of his hands open palmed up between them.
"Shampoo, go home," he ordered.

The girl licked her lips nervously.  "Airen, come with," she uttered,
barely audible.

Ranma gritted his teeth, recovering from the initial shock of
Shampoo's entrance.  "I am not your airen," Ranma declared firmly.
"Go home."

Shampoo grabbed him and hugged him tightly, pressing her face into his
chest.  "Can not," she sobbed.  "Want go but no allow because of you."

Ranma fought back every urge in his soul to comfort the crying girl as
he disentangled himself from her iron grip.  He held her back from
him, a pang of sympathy coursing through him at how pathetic she
looked.  Ranma gritted his teeth.  "Shampoo, I'm not falling for
this," he said flatly.  "I want you to go home.  Now is not the best
time for me, especially after what you did."

Shampoo's eyes turned on him hotly.  "What I did?" she echoed angrily.
"Ranma ruin Shan Pu.  Take Shan Pu's honor.  Can only get back from
Ranma to go home.  You want Shan Pu go home?  Then give Shan Pu back
honor!"

Ranma blinked.  "Um ... how do I do that?" he asked, fairly certain he
knew the answer.

"Marry Shan Pu," she answered quickly.

"No," he replied firmly.  "There is always another way.  You just want
me to think that marriage is the only way."

Shampoo nodded slowly, tears slipping down her cheeks.  "There another
way," she agreed caressing his cheek, much to Ranma's distaste.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Mu Tsu dove into the room rolling to his feet.  He glanced about the
room, quickly evaluating his surroundings and potential adversaries
for his intrusion.

Ranma looked up at him, cheek held in Shan Pu's hand.  Mu Tsu seethed
with anger, taking one step forward, but Shan Pu's words stopped him
cold.

"Die Ranma," Shan Pu said in Chinese.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Shan Pu held her breath, knowing full well Ranma hadn't understood her
words.  Her heart cried out, as she knew what had to be done.  Killing
him would restore her honor but she hoped against all hope that he'd
just end this once and for all.

"Mousse?" both Ranma and Nabiki said in surprise.

The name shot ice through her.  He would only get in the way.  Shan Pu
knew she had to act fast while Ranma was still surprised.

Shan Pu barreled into him knocking him down to the floor.  Ranma
sputtered some protests as she straddled him but she cut them off by
grabbing at his throat and squeezing.

"You ruined me!" she yelled in her native tongue.  After several
moments, she felt his hands grab onto her wrists and attempt to pry
them off but he was already weakened from her efforts.  "I can't go
home with you and there's only one way I can go home without you!"

Hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her up off of Ranma.  She
attempted to kick at her new assailant, writhing and thrashing in his
grasp but he would not let go.  "Let me go, Mu Tsu!" she screamed.
"This is the only way!"

Ranma weakly rolled up, coughing and holding at his throat.  "What,"
Ranma gasped, "are ... you ...."  His sentence trailed off in a
coughing fit.

Shan Pu whimpered, tears blurring her vision.  "No!" she screamed,
ramming her head up to catch Mu Tsu in the jaw.  The grip on her
relaxed enough for her to throw herself back down on her feet and toss
Mu Tsu over her back.

Free again, she pounced on Mu Tsu's stomach and used him as a
springboard to dive into Ranma, who was only now managing to get back
on his feet.  She smashed into Ranma, hurtling him back into the door,
causing it to splinter.

"Shan Pu," Mu Tsu wheezed.

Shan Pu grabbed Ranma by the shoulders and started slamming him back
into the door.  "Fight back!" she screamed, repeating it over and over
every time she thumped him back into the yielding wood.

The door finally broke under the abuse, sending her sprawling atop
Ranma out in the hall.  Ranma groaned weakly, his eyes unfocused as
they stared back up at her.  She felt him stir beneath her, attempting
to get back up.  She grabbed the top of his red, chinese-styled, silk
shirt to lift his head up, pressing her weight down onto him to hamper
his progress.

"What are you doing with Shampoo, Ranma?" a voice demanded angrily.

Shan Pu nearly cried in outrage at the stupidity of that remark.
'Nothing,' she thought.  'Nothing is what he ever did with me.'  She
balled her free hand in a fist and punched Ranma squarely in the face.

She heard Akane squeal in surprise.  Shan Pu shrieked, punching out
again, this time drawing blood.  She went for another strike but a
strong hand snatched her forearm.

"Stop it, Shan Pu!" Mu Tsu demanded, yanking her bodily off of her
airen.

Shan Pu got her footing and pivoted into him, kneeing straight up into
his groin.  As Mu Tsu doubled over in surprise, she grabbed him by the
ears and rammed his head into the hallway wall.  She shoved him aside
and spun back to Ranma.

Akane knelt over Ranma protectively, glaring up at Shan Pu with
determination.  "I won't let you hurt him," Akane said defiantly.

Shan Pu paused, clenching her fists tightly.  She lowered her head,
trying to think clearly.  "Step way, Akane," she said.

"No," Akane shot back.

Ranma shifted a little, his wits finally seeming to return to him.
The dazed martial artist passed a nervous glance between the two.
"Akane?" he whispered in a confused voice.

Shan Pu bit her lip, knowing her advantage of surprise was steadily
slipping away.  "You no understand," she said softly.  "He ruin Shan
Pu life."

"Go home, Shampoo," Akane said firmly.

Shan Pu screamed in frustration, charging the youngest Tendou.  Her
rival hadn't even gotten to her feet before Shan Pu struck Akane with
her shoulder, bowling the girl over.  She heard the breath rush out of
Akane's lungs as they hit the floor with her on top.

Akane twisted beneath her trying to kick at her but Shan Pu elbowed
the Tendou daughter in the gut.  Shan Pu quickly pressed her
advantage, latching her hands onto Akane's throat and tightening her
hands.  Akane writhed, managing to get a hold on Shan Pu's wrists and
to squeeze painfully into them.  Shan Pu gritted her teeth,
unyielding.

"Oh god, somebody help!" she heard Nabiki cry out from behind her.
Shan Pu tightened her hold despite Akane's iron grip on her wrists.
Akane gasped and kicked, unable to gain advantage.  The youngest
Tendou's efforts weakened steadily with each passing second.

Shan Pu was hurled off Akane with surprising force, cracking the wall
that her back met.  Her wrists screamed in agony, Akane's grip and the
unexpected attack having likely snapped them both as she couldn't move
her hands anymore.  She glanced up to see Ranma hovering over her, his
eyes blazing into her with unmistakable hatred.

"Don't you ever," Ranma began, punching out.  The first blow cracked
her nose and sent her reeling back into the wall.  "Touch Akane," he
continued.  The second strike struck her high in the center of the
chest.  Shan Pu wasn't sure what it was that broke but it suddenly
hurt to breath.  "Again!" Ranma finished.  Shan Pu vaguely felt the
last blow to her temple.

For some strange reason, she felt like smiling as she let herself
slide down the wall.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Akane choked, rolling over onto her stomach.  She dimly heard Ranma
saying something far off, her senses seemingly detached after her near
brush with death at Shampoo's hands.  She looked up towards the noise,
witnessing Ranma land a blow to Shampoo's temple.  She stared at the
scene as if watching a movie, not fully understanding why Shampoo was
slipping towards the floor with a smile on the amazon's bloodied face.

"You son of a bitch!" a voice yelled distantly.  Mousse stepped into
view, shoving Ranma aside.  Mousse quickly leaned over the fallen
warrior, caressing Shampoo's bloodied face.

"What?" Ranma said detached.

Mousse leaned his cheek close to the fallen girl.  He sighed, "She's
still breathing."  He relaxed a little before firing a burning gaze at
Ranma.  "Go get help, Ranma.  I doubt the damage done here will be
easily fixed."

"She tried to kill me," Ranma balked.  "She tried to kill Akane!"

"And you have no clue why," Mousse shot back angrily.  "She can't go
home, Ranma.  Not without losing her honor entirely.  And as you can
clearly see, she's willing to die to regain her honor."

"Your people have a sick sense of honor," Ranma scoffed.  "Murder is
not honorable."

"I didn't say Amazon society is perfect!" Mousse snapped.  "But it's
all she knows.  It's her home, her life.  And you took that away from
her in a day.  Wake up Ranma and take a look at this from her side for
a change.  How would you feel if you were uprooted from everything you
knew because somebody had destroyed your integrity?"

"Get out!" Ranma growled through gritted teeth.

Mousse snarled back, "I would but I'm scared to move her."  Mousse
shot a stern gaze at Akane.  "Akane?  You think you could find it in
your heart to call for help?"

"I'll go get help," Ranma stated before she could answer.  Ranma
walked off slowly, his footsteps sounding heavily as he descended the
stairs.

Akane scooted over to Mousse, peering at Shampoo's injuries.  She
tried to speak, but only managed a ragged wheeze.  She swallowed, the
act drawing tears to her eyes from the pain.  "Do you think ... she'll
be ok?" she managed weakly.

Mousse nodded, closing his eyes.  "I hope so."

*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Shan Pu sat in a bench, her bandaged wrists in her lap as she stared
at the fountain.  It had been four days since the incident at the dojo
and surprisingly nobody had showed up at the hospital or the cafe to
arrest her.  Not that going to jail scared her in the slightest.  Shan
Pu didn't care what happened to her anymore.  She knew she was never
going home.

Mu Tsu had told her upon her release from the hospital two days ago
that the story that had been given was that she had fallen badly and
had been moved by Ranma.  She understood Ranma hadn't liked the story,
apparently Nabiki's idea, as it made him seem like an idiot.  Still it
seemed to be the best way to explain her injuries without telling the
truth.

The damage was not as bad as she thought it had been upon losing
consciousness.  Both of her arms just below the wrists were fractured
and her nose had been broken, but other than that she was ok.  It hurt
to breath sometimes, Ranma having bruised her sternum, but it was
nothing that needed bandaging.  She was released with casts covering
her forearms with a gentle reprimand from her doctor to be more
careful next time.

Shan Pu sighed.  She hadn't seen Ranma or Akane since the incident but
she understood that both had visible bruises from her attack.  She had
no idea how they explained that and really didn't care.

Shan Pu shook her head slowly, thinking about Mu Tsu.  Other than
biting his tongue and getting his nose flattened into a wall, her
would-be lover was in perfect health.  She knew deep down that it was
good that he had been there, despite the punishment he had gotten from
her.  She hadn't been thinking clearly.  She realized now that killing
Ranma, though regaining her honor and enabling her to go back home,
would only haunt her for the rest of her life as much as the thought
of having attempted it.

"Shampoo?" a voice asked from behind her, a voice she knew all too
well.

She stiffened at his voice, really not wanting to talk to him now.
"You here to marry?" she asked, not looking back to him.

"No," he answered firmly.

"Go way, Ranma," Shan Pu stated.  "Shan Pu have no use for you."

"Shampoo, I want to be friends," Ranma stated with feigned calm.

"Friends not get Shan Pu home with honor," she said stiffly.

"And murder does?" Ranma retorted, the sound of his voice suggesting
that he was walking around the bench.

"Shan Pu realize could not go home that way," she admitted.  "Could
not live with self.  But Ranma no love so Shan Pu no go home.  Shan Pu
learn Japanese and accept fate as outcast."

"I'm sorry," Ranma said softly.

"Shan Pu sorry too," she said, looking up at him with her eyes
threatening to spill tears.  She trembled as she added, "Shan Pu sorry
ever meet you."

"What do you want from me?" Ranma asked in a small voice, shaking his
head a little.  "You know I can't change the past.  And I don't feel
for you the way I think I'm supposed to if someone loves someone.  I
can only offer my friendship."

"You take everything Shan Pu have and offer friendship as if
consolation prize," she declared, looking away to the fountain.  "Shan
Pu dead to amazons.  As well be dead in life."

"Don't speak such nonsense," Ranma said firmly, placing a hand on her
shoulder.  "Cologne hasn't left you.  She still thinks there's hope."

"Don't care," Shan Pu returned, wanting to turn from his touch but not
caring enough to bother.

"Look," Ranma quipped, settling down on his haunches, forcing his face
into her view.  "So you can't go home.  That doesn't mean your life is
over.  Living at the Tendou's this past year has been the first home
I've had in what feels like a long time.  But I've lived on the trail,
I've moved from place to place and I know life does go on without a
home.  I know I held onto a hope that someday I would go back and live
with my mother but I've found that the Tendou's is as much a home to
me as my first home was.  You can hold onto your hope if you must, but
please let yourself find a home elsewhere until you either can go back
or no longer need to."

"Ranma," Shan Pu spoke, her voice trembling.  "Thank you."

Ranma nodded, allowing himself a small grin.  "Thank you, Shampoo," he
returned.  "It's not everyday that I feel like something I say makes a
difference to anybody."

Shan Pu rewarded his words with a half-hearted smile.  "You should go
now," she declared.

Ranma sighed and nodded.  "Yea, must be off before Akane miraculously
appears and demands to know what I'm doing," he agreed.  "I'll see you
sometime."

Shan Pu listened to his retreating footsteps, not saying a word.  Her
thoughts turned to his words about making a new home.  Her life here
as a foreign delivery girl was far too inadequate to replace her old
life.  But for now, she supposed it would have to do.

-----

This was written in response to my own doubt that I could write a decent 
Shan Pu fic.  I hope I did the amazons justice here.  I really hope I did 
Shan Pu justice.

It has been noted that I'm still writing Akane as violent as ever.  Yes and 
with good reason.  She's had attempts on her life and her wedding wrecked as 
of late.  That isn't something that makes a person passive.  Maybe when 
things calm down a bit, she'll get over what happened.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Death threats?

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