Hiya Folks!

I've been away from creative writing for a couple of months and am feeling 
rather rusty, so I thought I'd toss out the beginnings of a story idea I've 
had kicking around before returning to tackle Relatively Absent once again.

The going is slow, very slow. It's taken me a full week to put out barely 
ten pages.  Oh well.

Please C&C this, I need some feedback to tell me where I'm drifting off 
course. This is a first cut rough draft, so technical editing 
(spelling/grammar), style comments, and factual error stomping are all 
appreciated. MSTings, 'Look, Ma. I'm a comedian!', and 'I'm So Clever' 
quips and snipes will be cheerfully ignored.

This is a straight Ranma fanfic, so it's time for the Standard Fanfic 
Disclaimer.
------------------------------------------------------------
All previously existing characters taken from anime series
and used in fan fiction stories are owned solely by their
respective copyright and trademark holders. I don't own them
and I don't make any claim to them. Original characters are
owned by myself and I reserve all rights to their use.
------------------------------------------------------------

The HTML version of the story can be found at: 
http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic/miko/

And now, without further ado, Gaijin Productions presents:

============================================================
MIKO, a Ranma fan fiction by Togashi Gaijin
============================================================
Chapter 1: The Fight Against Perversion

--- West of Tokyo ---
*Swish*
*Swish*
*Swish*
*Swish*

The sound of the broom echoed against the long shrine stairway. It was a sound
Hisamatsu Michi enjoyed creating in spite of the labor involved because its
presence meant that she was here, out in the countryside at her aunt Chikako's
shrine instead of being stuck with the faceless masses of the overcrowded 
city.
Michi loved the countryside, loved everything about it, so learning a miko's
duties and helping out with the chores at the Ishiyama shrine was a very small
price to pay indeed.

*Swish*
*Swish*
*Swish*

Of course, nearby Ome City was becoming less and less rural every year. 
What had
once been a small textile and machinery manufacturing outpost had rapidly
evolved into yet another 'bedroom suburb' of Tokyo. Ome's prime location, 
forty
five kilometers west of downtown Tokyo on the Tama River, was also rapidly
turning the small city into a crowded tourist destination. The picturesque
railway up the mountainside to Chichibu-tama National Park and the numerous 
golf
courses dotting the area were popular attractions, and the increasing 
hordes of
amateur athletes kayaking the rapids on the Tama created interesting traffic
jams all of their own.

*Swish*
*Swish*

Fortunately, it would be a long time before the development began to 
encroach on
the mountainous and heavily forested northern hillside where the shrine was
situated. A long time before the hustle and bustle of the city could reach out
to disturb the serenity of the countryside Michi so adored. She would have 
years
and years to enjoy the natural beauty surrounding the shrine, nothing but 
peace
and quiet and ...

*BOOM*

... explosions?!?

*BOOM*

Yes, definitely. Explosions.

*BOOM*

"Damn it, you little freak!"

*BOOM*

Explosions that were getting closer, too.

Deciding discretion was *definitely* in order, Michi ran up the stairs to the
shrine's big Torii arch. She stopped suddenly as two figures fell out of 
the sky
to land softly in the shrine's central courtyard, cutting her off from the
safety of the main building.

--------------------

Ranma was *pissed*. It was bad enough the little pervert had managed to follow
him and Pops out on their training trip, but to then go and steal part of a
sacred outfit from a local Buddhist temple was just too much. That the locals
blamed Ranma for the theft was something Ranma had come to expect whenever
Happosai was involved, but it didn't make it any easier to retrieve the 
articles
in question when the letch automatically considered the 'silky darlings' to be
his to do with as he pleased. And the splash and grope the pervert had managed
to get in at the start of the chase hadn't helped Ranma's mood any, either.

Whatever Happosai had purloined must have inspired him to new heights; the
Happodaikarins the letch had been tossing her way were both more powerful and
*much* more accurate than usual. Ranma had been hard pressed to avoid the
numerous explosions on her long chase through the hillside - her tattered 
outfit
showed the evidence of the frequent near misses. Happi was also acting 
extremely
levelheaded in this fight, making things a lot more difficult than it normally
was to battle the ancient Grandmaster. Ranma's normal girl-form tactic of
exposing a pair of pert breasts and then punting the letch into Lower Earth
Orbit on the attempted glomp had failed miserably when Happi had simply failed
to respond properly to the offered bait.

Needless to say, Ranma was in an extremely foul mood when the chase 
temporarily
halted in the middle of a woodland shrine courtyard.

"Give it back, you old letch!"

"Not a chance, boy. Do you have any idea what this is?" Happosai proclaimed as
he pulled the long silken undergarment out of nowhere and waved it around
proudly.

"I know it don't belong to you. Stealing from a temple is bad enough, but then
usin' my name to shift th' blame is real cheap, even for you."

Happosai continued on as if he hadn't even heard Ranma's response. "This is 
the
silk underwear of the immortal Kikusha herself. It's taken me *decades* to 
track
this down, and no young punk is going to steal it away from me now, let alone
you, boy!"

"It ain't stealin' trying to return somethin' you stole in the first place, ya
stupid freak."

"You aren't man enough to take this from me, punk."

"Oh, yeah?" Ranma's flashing attack occurred with her exclamation. She closed
the distance in a single bound, only to be thrown hard against a tree with a
deceptively simple flick of Happosai's wrist. She rebounded instantly and the
two martial artists were once again throwing punches and kicks in an almost
invisible blur.

While this was nothing new to the two participants, the fight in the courtyard
was viewed rather differently by the resident spectators.

--------------------

Ishiyama Chikako hurried out of the shrine when the sounds of combat finally
penetrated to the back of the building. The elder priestess would have been
quite irate that her meditations had been interrupted if she hadn't been so
worried instead. The remote location of the shrine usually kept it free from
almost all dangers of the two-legged variety; conversely when such dangers did
manifest themselves the shrine's inhabitants had to deal with whatever had
arisen without any ready help to call on. The bo staff Chikako carried in
defense held hidden equalizers, as did her numerous hard-won abilities as a 
miko
of the third order.

What Chikako saw when she reached the courtyard was not something she had ever
expected to see outside of a cheesy Hong Kong martial arts flick.

A beautiful redheaded girl about her niece's age in a tattered Chinese outfit
was battling a small oni, and losing. Both were unbelievably fast and were
bouncing and leaping around the courtyard like demented superballs. The
priestess was reasonably proficient in several martial arts forms, but the 
level
of martial skill on display was way beyond anything she had ever even imagined
being possible; the girl's leaps were practically superhuman and her movements
so quick they left nothing but blurred afterimages behind. Unfortunately, the
oni that she was battling was easily her equal; Chikako winced in sympathy 
when
the girl was hurled against a tree with enough force to crack the trunk.
Amazingly, she bounced right back into the conflict as if nothing at all had
happened.

Chikako noticed with approval that her niece was being smart; hiding behind 
the
Torii instead of attempting to wend a way around the courtyard. The battle was
so chaotic that any attempt to move around in the combat zone would be too
hazardous to contemplate.

She readied one of her more powerful ofuda and waited patiently for an opening
to strike.

--------------------

Ranma was rapidly running out of gas - her battles with Happosai usually ended
rather quickly as the old letch was often distracted before the fight could go
any distance. This was not the case here. Happi was totally ignoring Ranma's
freely bouncing mammaries to concentrate on the exchange of blows - an 
exchange
that was slowly favoring the diminutive grandmaster. Ranma had been tossed
forcibly across the courtyard far too many times for her liking, and all of 
the
sudden landings against the surrounding trees and rocks were taking their toll
on the youngster.

She dodged a triple pipe thrust with a set of contortions that were so rapid
they could barely be seen. Her own riposte, a spin kick / knife hand combo,
failed badly and left an obvious opening at her left shoulder. Instead of 
trying
to block the responding punch she used the force of the blow to twirl around
even faster and finally landed a solid two handed axe handle on her opponent's
ribcage. The force of the hit knocked Happosai clear across the courtyard 
to the
top of the stairway. Ranma landed softly and used the temporary respite to 
catch
her breath.

She growled in frustration when an all too familiar cry filled the courtyard.

"SWEETOO!!"

*Glomp*

Michi shrieked in fear when the oni suddenly attached itself to her front 
after
being punched practically in her lap. This shriek rapidly turned to outrage 
when
she felt certain delicate parts of her anatomy being roughly manhandled and 
the
oni in question turned out to be an old shriveled dwarf of a man with an
extremely lecherous leer on his face. Before Michi could do anything to 
rectify
the extremely unpleasant situation the old man hopped off and stood in 
front of
her, waving a bra and a pair of panties around in his hand. *Her* bra and
panties, as a matter of fact.

"Thanks for the recharge, sweetie!"

"YOU PERVERT!"

Michi's reflexive broom swing connected perfectly, swatting the little troll
directly over to the other girl.

Ranma's eyes widened as she saw a perfect opening. Gathering most of her
remaining energy, she quickly concentrated it into a small ball between her
hands.

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

The blue ball of confidence ki flew true to its target. The resulting 
discharge
smashed the old grandmaster down hard into the courtyard. Ranma ran over to 
her
stunned opponent and quickly retrieved the purloined artifact, stuffing it 
into
an invisible pocket. She wasn't a master - yet - like Mousse was in hiding
weapons and other things in 'weapons-space', but she certainly had learned 
most
of his technique by now. She gathered the girl's scattered undergarments and
bounced over to the young miko.

"Here, these're yours. You might want to clear out a ways; things are gonna 
get
a bit rough now."

Michi's eyes were wide as she meekly retook possession of her own 
underwear. The
short redhead was battered, bruised, bleeding from numerous cuts and 
abrasions,
covered with ground-in dirt and debris, and barely had any clothes left on 
her,
yet she calmly stated that things were going to get rough *now*?

A loud chant from across the courtyard caught both girls' attention.

--------------------

Chikako was furious on seeing the oni's attack on her niece. As soon as the 
red-
headed girl was clear of the center courtyard the elder priestess began her
norito.

"Izanami, great mistress of the underworld, retrieve the evil spirit who
pollutes these sacred grounds with its unwelcome presence."

Chikako flicked the ofuda at Happosai, which flew in a straight line to attach
itself to the old man's forehead.

"EVIL EXPULSION!"

The actual results of her spell were not exactly what she had expected to
happen.

"IEEEEE! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Flames erupted from the ofuda, causing the oni to run
around in a little circle while slapping at the charm with its arms.

Ranma smirked. She had *just* the thing to take advantage of THIS 
situation. She
began the spiral, leaving a trail of frigid ki in her wake.

Happosai finally swatted the burning ofuda from his forehead. That had 
HURT. He
glared at the elder priestess, and then suddenly noticed the all too familiar
pattern the young whelp was tracing around him.

"OH, NO YOU DON'T, BOY! HAPPODAIKARIN BARRAGE!"

A veritable blizzard of bombs was tossed in every direction. Ranma broke the
spiral off in a panic when she saw a good dozen of the explosives headed
directly towards the younger miko near the arch. She ran as fast as she could
towards Michi, praying she'd make it in time.

"LOOK OUT!"

Michi barely had time to blink before she was scooped up in Ranma's arms, who
quickly planted both feet on her next step and pushed off as hard as she 
could.
Four happodaikarins struck her torso in the small of her back just as the 
two of
them left the ground.

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

--------------------

Chikako was now practically incandescent with rage. Holding her bo out in 
front
of her with both hands, she started a different chant.

"Immortal Susano-wo, lord of thunders, visit your wrath on this defiler of 
holy
grounds."

She pulled the staff in half, which separated to reveal the twin ninja-to 
blades
hidden inside. Holding one blade up to the sky while pointing the other at
Happosai, she yelled.

"DIVINE RETRIBUTION!"

A large bolt of lightning arced out of the clear blue summer sky, striking the
Anything Goes Grandmaster dead center on the top of his balding head. His eyes
crossed briefly before he fell over in a charred heap.

Chikako sheathed the twin blades by reforming the bo staff before slinging the
bo across her back in its holder. She pulled out a pair of ceremonial fans and
began an intricate dance.

"Susano-wo, lord of thunders, cleanse these holy grounds of the evil that
defiles it. Gather the dragon to expunge this miscreant and return it to 
whence
it came."

She pointed both fans at Happosai as she reached the end of the ritual.

"Fury of Osano-wo!"

A strong whirlwind formed around the old man, lifting him off the ground. It
continued to carry him aloft, heading east over the trees towards Tokyo.

Chikako collapsed onto her knees, breathing hard. The blood pounding in her 
ears
slowly subsided as the rush of the battle left her. She stood up slowly and
looked around, slipping the fans back into their pockets. Her adrenaline 
started
to spike once more when she saw no sign of her niece or the red-headed girl 
who
had been the other main participant in the just-concluded battle.

--------------------

"Ooooh," Michi groaned when she regained consciousness. She wasn't sure 
exactly
how long she had blacked out; the last thing she remembered was flying through
the air after being ...

The young miko's eyes snapped open as she felt weight pressing down on her. 
The
girl who had shielded Michi from the brunt of the explosion was lying 
crossways
on top of her and was still out cold. She carefully wriggled an arm out from
under the redhead and was about to roll the girl off of her chest when she
stopped suddenly. Her hand had come away bloody, and she doubted that much of
the blood was hers - the redhead was likely injured more than she had been
before, possibly seriously. She'd have to be very careful in moving her.

Michi carefully put both arms back under the girl and gingerly shifted her 
down
until she was lying across her upper legs. This allowed Michi to sit up and 
look
around. She was obviously somewhere on the stairway hillside; she could see 
the
shrine's Torii up the slope to her left. Michi glanced back down to the figure
still straddling her legs and immediately turned several shades of green. The
redhead's back was shredded - there was no other term for it. When her eyes
touched down on the thickly matted blood soaking the girl's hair and she 
finally
registered the unnatural stillness of the girl's body, Michi did the only 
thing
possible for someone in her position.

--------------------

Chikako ran when she heard the panicky scream from the stairway beyond the 
Torii
arch. It took little effort to zero in on her niece's voice; a lot more effort
was needed to fight her way through the thick underbrush of the overgrown
hillside to the spot where the younger girl was sitting.

"I'm here, Mi-chan. Are you hurt?"

Chikako could see the raw panic in her niece's eyes when the girl's head 
snapped
around.

"Auntie I think she's dead please tell me she isn't dead oh God Auntie she's
hurt real bad ..."

Chikako finally fought her way through the brush close enough to her niece to
see what the girl was freaking out about. Her eyes widened when she saw the
badly battered condition of the red-headed martial artist. She quickly knelt
next to the two girls and carefully felt for a pulse.

Thank the kami, the girl was still alive. Nothing looked to be broken, either.

"... know I shouldn't have moved her I didn't know what to do I hope I didn't
hurt her more ..."

"Mi-chan?"

"... she's all covered in blood and I don't un..."

"Mi-chan?"

"...derstand how she could survive be..."

"MICHI!"

The yell had the desired effect.

"Auntie?" Michi responded in a trembling voice.

"The girl's still alive, Mi-chan, but I need your help to get her to the 
house.
Do you think you can help me, Mi-chan?"

The young miko hesitantly nodded her head.

"We can't treat her wounds out here; we're going to have to move her to the
house first. I want you to gently roll her into my arms and support her head
when we carry her up the stairs. Can you do that, Mi-chan?"

"Yes, Auntie," Michi responded as she visibly gathered her composure.

--------------------

Chikako was somewhat surprised at how heavy the short redhead actually was. 
She
couldn't be more than a hundred and fifty five centimeters tall, yet she 
easily
weighed over fifty three kilos, indicating a significant and densely packed
muscle mass. Her build was also a puzzling contradiction. Unlike most serious
female martial artists, the girl was ... well ... buxom was the only term that
could be used. The generous female curves and ample bosoms weren't normally a
part of the wiry and lanky frame exhibited by nearly all master martial 
artists,
yet the girl's demonstrated proficiency in the Art could not be denied.

To be able to throw ki balls as an attack took a level of training so high 
as to
be almost unbelievable. Chikako's sorcery was guided by her own spiritual
strength, but it was fueled by the kami. She knew first hand just how 
difficult
it was to actually project one's own life force in such a manner without the
assistance of the spirit world.

She sighed in relief as their small procession finally reached the doorway of
the house attached to the shrine. Once inside the house the priestess went
directly to the guest room and gently laid the injured girl face down on the
large futon. Chikako winced when she got a good look at the extent of the
redhead's injuries.

"Mi-chan, go get the large basin and fill it with water. Make sure it's no 
more
than lukewarm; we don't want to make her burns any worse. Gather every clean
towel you can find and get a couple of the white guest yukata from the closet."

"Yes, Auntie."

Chikako began carefully removing the tattered remnants of the girl's clothing.
The shirt was almost completely destroyed, and the drawstring pants weren't in
much better shape. She arched an eyebrow when she saw the oversized boxer 
briefs
the girl wore as undergarments.

By the time Michi returned with the various supplies, Chikako had retrieved 
the
med kit from the hallway closet and had already begun to clean some of the
wounds. The priestess frowned when she compared the extent of the injuries on
the girl to the amount of gauze and dressings in the kit.

"Is she going to be all right, Auntie?"

"I think so, Mi-chan. Nothing seems to be broken, but I'm worried by the shear
number of wounds she's sustained. Please go and give Doctor Matsushima a call;
ask him to bring lots of extra gauze and dressing. Tell the office it's very
urgent but not an emergency."

"It will take him over an hour to get here if he comes by car, Auntie."

"I know, Mi-chan, but we really can't afford to call in an airlift. The girl's
ki is *very* strong, so I'm pretty sure she isn't in any immediate danger. I'm
more concerned about infection with the number of open wounds she has."

"'K."

The process of cleaning and dressing Ranma's various injuries was lengthy but
fairly straightforward. The two miko had to resort to tearing up strips of 
sheet
linen when their supply of gauze ran dry. Chikako was just starting to 
clean up
when the doctor arrived.

--------------------

When Ranma opened her eyes, she immediately wished that she hadn't regained
consciousness. She had a *monstrous* headache and her back felt like it was on
fire. The last thing she remembered was ...

Ranma was fully alert in an instant. She was ... lying face down on a futon in
someone's house, still a girl, and it looked like it was sometime in the late
evening. Obviously the fight with Happosai was long over, judging by the large
number of bandages she was currently sporting. Relaxing, she took a brief 
mental
inventory of her injuries.

Back burned and cut up. Lower spine badly bruised. One cracked rib. Left ankle
sprained. Left wrist also sprained; several fingers dislocated and nicely 
reset
by someone. Probable concussion. Various minor cuts and bruises. All in 
all, not
too badly hurt.

Ranma tried not to groan as she struggled to sit up. Rolling over first was 
out
of the question the way her back felt, and getting up without putting any
pressure on her sprained wrist and ankle was a major chore. She finally 
managed
by dint of a few contortions that didn't do her injured ribcage and back any
favors.

A quick look around told her that she was probably in a guest room of an older
style house. She could hear several people talking on the other side of the
fusama doors, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. There was
barely enough light left to make out any of the details of the room, but the
yukata folded neatly next to the futon was a welcome sight. Ranma could tell
just how banged up she was by the fact that it took several minutes for her to
simply wrap the yukata around her body while she was sitting down.

Her attempt to stand up was a big mistake.

--------------------

"... do you have any idea who she is, Chikako-san?"

"Unfortunately I don't, Matsushima-sensei. I wasn't able to find any ID on 
her,
which isn't surprising considering the shape her clothes were in. I doubt 
she's
from around here; she's either a high grandmaster martial artist or a very
powerful devil-hunter, and we would have heard about her before if she was a
local."

"Well, whoever she is she belongs in a hospital right now. You two did a very
good job in treating the surface wounds, but she really needs a full set of x-
rays to make sure she hasn't sustained any serious internal injuries."

"That wouldn't be a good idea, Matsushima-sensei. If she is a devil-hunter, 
her
foes will be seeking her out during her time of weakness, and I wouldn't be 
able
to ward her hospital room sufficiently to provide her the protection she
requires. In contrast, the warding around the shrine and house is *very* 
strong,
and is powerful enough to even shield her presence from any evil spirit that
would seek her out."

"As far as any internal injuries, she has a slight rib injury and a mild
concussion. Neither is serious enough to require hospitalization judging by 
her
ki flows, and there was no indication of any internal bleeding. Since you were
able to supply us with enough dressing and ointment to treat her surface 
wounds,
I think the best thing for her right now is to get lots of rest and quiet. 
That
is certainly something we are able to provide in abundance here."

"At least until Suzu-chan gets home, Auntie."

Chikako's laughter was warm with affection. "Yes, well, there is that, 
Mi-chan.
I think I can keep Suzu-chan busy enough this next week to stop her from
bouncing off the walls in her usual manner."

Dr. Matsushima chuckled at the mental image the comment invoked. Chikako's
twelve year old half-sister was cute as a button and twice as energetic. He
could easily imagine the platinum haired girl careening wildly from wall to 
wall
like a ping pong ball on amphetamines. Shaking his head briefly in 
amusement, he
returned to the subject at hand.

"Do you really think she's in any spiritual danger?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Chikako replied. "The oni she was battling was extremely
powerful and quite strange; I still don't understand why my banishment spell
didn't work. There's also a very troubling echo in her aura, and she seems 
to be
inflicted with an enchantment or curse of some sort. I've never seen its like
and I really need to talk to her about it."

"OK. I don't like it, but it will have to do. The girl really needs a complete
EKG and a whole slew of tests to make sure she's really alright, but if you
think that the hospital can't be warded properly she's probably better off
staying here for now. The staff couldn't cope with another 'incident' just 
yet;
the administration *still* hasn't accepted the report from last year when that
lightning elemental you were chasing tore through the diagnostics lab. Not 
that
I really blame them for that; hell, I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't
seen it happen with my own eyes."

He looked at his watch and grimaced. "I'd better get going; it's bad enough
driving up here in the daylight. Give me a call tomorrow when she wakes up. 
The
sedatives and painkillers I've administered should keep her out until mid-
morning."

A loud thump and a round of faint swearing were heard from the guestroom.

"Then again, I could be wrong," he exclaimed as all three got up from the 
table
and rushed over to the room where the injured girl was supposedly sleeping.

--------------------

"Damn. Scratch probable, replace with definite," Ranma muttered to herself 
after
her attempt to stand up met with failure. She was lucky to have not passed out
in the process. "The old letch must have tagged me harder than I thought."

The doors to the room slid open, revealing three faces expressing various
degrees of concern. The two girls Ranma recognized from the fight earlier, 
while
the guy looked like he was a doctor of some sort.

"Err, hi?" Ranma's attempted smile came across as a pained grimace. She 
squinted
when someone lit one of the lanterns in the room.

Dr. Matsushima had dealt with 'difficult' patients before; it took very little
imagination to realize what must have just happened. "And just where do you
think you were going, young lady? You really are in no shape to be up and
about."

Ranma bristled at the 'young lady' comment but let it slide. They didn't know
about the curse yet, after all. "Feh, I've had worse. I'll be OK as soon as 
this
headache goes away."

She blinked in surprise when she felt a gentle hand cup her chin. When a 
bright
light was shone in each eye she realized what the doctor was looking for.

"Just a slight concussion, Doc. It'll be gone in a few days."

Dr. Matsushima frowned; most patients didn't realize how serious even a 
'slight'
concussion could be. "Even so, are you dizzy? Feeling nauseous? Do your ears
ring?"

"Just a bit hungry is all. I fell down 'cause my back spasmed when I tried
putting weight on my left leg. I was ..." Ranma's face pinked a little in
embarrassment. "... going to try and find a bathroom."

"Ah. Chikako-san, perhaps it would be best if you were to help the young lady
here; I'm sure she'd be much more comfortable with your assistance."

"Yes, quite right, Matsushima-sensei. Michi-chan, please start some rice 
and get
the fish-balls out of the fridge so they can warm up while I help ..." Chikako
put on a friendly smile as she cocked an eyebrow at the redhead.

"Saotome Ranma," Ranma replied as she flushed red.

"... Ranma-chan in freshening up a bit." Chikako knelt down next to the 
injured
girl. Ranma squawked in surprise when the priestess picked her up in both arms
instead of simply helping her to her feet. Her protests went unanswered as
Chikako carried her bodily through the house to the bathroom. The priestess 
did
make a mental note to follow up on Ranma's exclamation of "I ain't no weak
girl", however.

--------------------

Chikako never got to follow up with the query that evening. Ranma's 
appetite was
almost as unbelievable as her previous feats of martial prowess; either she
hadn't eaten in several days or, more likely, her metabolism actually 
*required*
the huge influx of calories she consumed. Both of the miko watched with 
envy as
the redhead devoured enough food to feed four normal people. Thank goodness 
the
shrine's pantry was well stocked.

Dr. Matsushima smiled knowingly when Ranma fell asleep over her fifth serving.
The girl was quite obviously completely spent, and he had been wondering how
long she could continue pushing herself before collapsing once more. He picked
her up and waited until Michi changed the linens on the futon and then gently
put the somnolent redhead to bed. He got home a lot later than he had expected.

--------------------
END CHAPTER


============================================================
Mark Shurtleff
   email: gaijin@sfcmd.com
   irc alias: Gaijin -or- togashi_gaijin
   fanfiction homepage: http://www.sfcmd.com/fanfic
============================================================


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