[FFML] Quantum Destinies 30

[Jurai Knight]

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-12.15237 Years)



Kimiko watched over her daughter Nabiki as she lay unconscious on the bed,
both of them in a room on one of the lower levels of the Ministry of
Science. It had been sixteen hours since the Eucharist serum had been
administered, and her daughter’s fever had been holding steady at
thirty-eight degrees Celsius for the last twelve of them. She waited and
worried. In the next bed, Akane slept comfortably, experiencing a far less
severe reaction to the serum. Her fever had been milder, and the doctors
were certain she would recover very quickly.



Not so with Nabiki.



She had been warned it could happen, even after the tests confirming her
middle daughter’s compatibility with the serum, but the warnings had not
deterred her. While her eldest was already too old to receive the
treatment, she had chosen to go forward with her younger daughters who
still could. She reached out and took Nabiki’s small hand gently in hers
and bent her head down as if in prayer. She had never imagined that someone
like her, a woman raised to be a soldier, a person who had killed many
times in her life and survived the horrors of battle, could feel like this,
the love she had for her children.



“It’s difficult, the waiting, isn’t it?” suddenly asked a female voice
behind her.



Startled, Kimiko turned to see who had spoken. Standing there just behind
her was a tall, solemn Japanese woman wearing a pale blue kimono, her long,
straight hair flowing down past her shoulders. She noted that the door was
open, so the stranger must have just walked in from the hall. Sensing no
malice towards her or her daughters, she looked back down at Nabiki. “Yes,
it is hard.”



“Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do sometimes. When there is
a crisis, we want to act.” There was a pause. “But sometimes waiting is all
we can do.”



“I suppose so.” Kimiko eyed the other woman. While she felt no malice,
there was something a little off about the woman, like she was some kind of
fey spirit in mortal form. “Are you a doctor or something?”



“Something like that,” Bernkastel replied. “I’m trying to fix something
that went wrong a very long time ago.” She raised her hand, and a thin
streamer of light jabbed into Kimiko’s skull before she could react. She
eased the other woman back down into a sitting position, erasing the last
few minutes of memories and leaving her asleep.



Bernkastel eyed Nabiki and then flipped off the alarms a few moments before
the small girl was going to go into cardiac arrest. “No, little one, you
can’t die yet. I have need of you, and Ranma will need you someday as
well.” She gestured and light bathed Nabiki’s body, healing her of the
organ damage caused by her body’s immune system trying to fight off the
Eucharist invader. It also suppressed her immune response, allowing the
symbiote to finally overpower it and take up residence within her. The
monitor showed the girl’s heart rate gradually settling into a steady,
regular rhythm once again and her temperature began falling.



“Are you a magical girl?” asked an awed female voice from the other bed.
“You have powers.”



Bernkastel turned around, surprised to see Akane awake. “Not quite. You
should be asleep, child.”



Rubbing one eye with a fist, Akane said defiantly, “I’m not sleepy.” She
looked at her mother. “Mommy’s been really worried about ‘Biki.”



“Your sister’s going to be fine.” Bernkastel turned the alarms back on, now
that the moment of danger was past. “I’ve altered her fate.”



“Who’s Ranma?” asked Akane suddenly, not understanding what the woman was
talking about. She was just happy that Nabiki was going to get better.



“Oh, aren’t you just the inquisitive girl,” commented Bernkastel with a
smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She sat down on the edge of Akane’s bed,
tucking her back in. “I’ll tell you a bit about him, if you close your eyes
and go back to sleep.” Smiling, Akane laid back and let the strange woman
put the sheets up against her chin.



As she drifted back off to slumber, in a soft voice the woman told her a
tale about a very clever boy named Ranma and the adventures he would have
someday, exploring faraway places, solving puzzles and fighting villains.
It brought a smile to Akane’s face to hear about him, and she hoped she
could meet him someday. He sounded like someone fun and exciting to know.



As the girl drifted off to sleep, Bernkastel touched her mind gently with a
faint glimmer of light. Instead of fully erasing the last several minutes,
she merely blurred Akane’s memories of this night, rendering their clarity
to that of half-remembered dreams.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight (qd_author at hotmail.com)



Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is
inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic
authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer’s “Shampoo 1/2”, Jim Bader’s “A Very
Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2”, and John Biles’ Elseworlds series. All C&C
is welcome.





Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email
the author for them:



http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3764932/





The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)





What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you
understand what is going on):



On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over
five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and
has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to
alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist
named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention,
accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version
of himself. Professor Saotome and Soun Tendo encounter difficulties and
possible allies in the Solnoid Matriarchy. Ranma began his week in the
Arena, meeting Ryu Kumon, Tarou and Running Deer. The Arena Director had
some visitors. Nabiki Tendo had a fight with Ryoko and a second one later
the same day with Kodachi. Cologne met with Cherry, Nodoka and Frost.
Gosunkugi’s two fiancées have developed a violent rapport with each other.
Ukyo and Tsubasa began a possible new friendship, and Kinnosuke Kashuoh
made some new friends as well. Ryoga and Perfume met briefly before he was
taken away back to Nerima.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Chapter 30 – Relationship Upgrades



     Wonderful girl! Either I’m gonna kill her, or I’m beginning

     to like her!



                                   -Han Solo



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





*** Earth 0.000, 0.000



Her arm lying gently across her beloved fiancé’s chest, Frost snuggled up
against Gosunkugi’s side as they both slumbered. Her dreams were always
pleasant when she was near him like this, and the nightmares that had
plagued her for so many years were kept far away by his comforting
presence. He somehow took away her loneliness by his mere nearness, and for
that alone she loved him more deeply every day. She had never known what it
meant to care about someone like this before, other than her parents.



Minami sat hunched over by the wall, watching them and looking quite
miserable. She was unable to sleep any longer, woken up by Gosunkugi’s
mother’s loud snoring, so she had come here to try and assuage her
loneliness, wrapping herself in a blanket. Since she could not sleep, she
kept watch over her fiancé instead, to ensure that he was behaving himself
properly in the presence of the vile, Chinese temptress. Robot Girl was
proving to be a challenging rival for his affections, she mused grimly.



She envied the couple on the two pushed together futons, wishing it was her
now enjoying such closeness with the boy slumbering peacefully there. With
dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, she glared daggers at the
interloper who stood between her and her long-planned lifetime of happiness
with her Hikaru-kun. She had lost last night’s brawl with the other girl,
resulting in her exile to the other bedroom, to share it with her fiancé’s
mother and sleep after casting a healing spell on herself to deal with her
injuries.



Despite her slender frame, the woman snored rather loudly.



“Stupid Hikaru,” she muttered. Scowling at the Chinese girl, Minami knew it
was up to her to drive away the annoying trespasser. Her Hikaru-kun was
apparently too obtuse to see through the other girl’s schemes, or, even
worse, may already be growing enamored of her.



After a minor mishap Minami had caused in the kitchen, Frost was now the
only one allowed to help out with the cooking. She had also taken to
wearing an array of slinky, cheongsam-style dresses with short skirts
around the house, the outfits emphasizing her exotic beauty and coltish
legs. It was probably only a matter of time before the Chinese hussy
seduced him, Minami thought bitterly. She had caught the boy staring at
Frost more than once. Each time she saw them together, it made her back
teeth grind.



However, the fact that she had also caught him staring at her too gave the
young Ghost Sweeper hope that she could seduce him before the sorceress
did, to gift him with her virginity and take his in return, but Frost kept
getting in her way before she could get very far with him. Of course, she
was doing the same thing to her rival, so it was like a three-person tango
among them. Other than exchanging a few brief kisses with him, nothing much
else had happened for either girl, and they took out their frustrations
over this on each other. Both of them found it cathartic.



It just wasn’t fair, Minami grumbled in her thoughts. It was extremely
aggravating that Frost already had the favor of Hikaru-kun’s mother. Why
was she the one being treated like the unwanted outsider and not the
Chinese girl? She was his childhood friend and knew him better than any
other girl could, and also what was best for him. She had worked tirelessly
over the years to make him a better human being, and she could give him all
the love and passion that a boy could ever want. And with her recent
mastery of cosmetic sorcery, she would retain her youthful beauty for
decades. What could Robot Girl, that emotionless, soft-spoken shell of a
woman, give him? She barely even smiled.



The whole thing made her so angry; especially now that her fiancé’s typical
male perversions were starting to show again. She was tempted to hit
Gosunkugi when they did, like the other morning outside the bathroom when
he had ‘accidentally’ (or so he had claimed while giving out a stuttering
apology) fallen in such a way as to end up lying on top of Frost with his
hand groping her breast, or on Friday evening when he had opened the door
to the bath and seen the Chinese sorceress totally naked as she arose from
the tub. On both occasions, instead of hitting him, Minami had gnashed her
teeth and managed to withhold her righteous fury at him.



He had experienced numerous such accidents with her over the past few
years, since they both hit puberty, and she had corrected him with an
appropriate level of violence. She wasn’t sure how much of his current
clumsiness with Frost was an act or reality. Her fear was that he was
backsliding into being a typical male pervert, or, even worse, a womanizer,
right before her eyes, now that she was no longer keeping him firmly on the
path of righteousness with her slaps and punches.



Minami was seriously considering going back to hitting him whenever she saw
him doing anything perverted to ease her stress levels, but only when such
impulses were not being directed at her. Now that they were engaged, it
would be quite all right with her if he groped her or saw her naked, she
mused. After all, he was a teenaged boy with the frothing urges inherent to
all of his gender and needed a healthy outlet for them, so maybe she should
use those masculine impulses of his to her advantage. Perhaps she would
even try arranging for some minor ‘accidents’ that would give him
opportunities to grope her instead of Frost. Engaged couples were expected
to be intimate with each other, right? She secretly feared that her
tireless campaign at controlling his male idiocy ever since they both hit
puberty might have driven him towards satisfying his needs with an easier
target, namely a certain Chinese sorceress of unknown morals.



Currently, she took out her frustrations with her fiancé on Frost, winning
the resulting brawls with the other girl about half the time. She had never
suspected the existence of such atavistic drives within herself before, but
then she had also never had any female rivals for Gosunkugi’s attention
before. She really didn’t like the idea of sharing him with any other girl,
especially a pale-skinned freak like Robot Girl, who had never expressed
any interest in boys before. Why did she have to pick him?



No matter. She was not going to lose to the sorceress, and she found it
unexpectedly satisfying to fight with her newfound rival and win. The first
time she had beaten the other girl into submission had been like an
epiphany. She wondered if this was what it felt like for the martial artist
jock-type girls when they faced off against each other.



Thankfully, Yohko Mano, her friend and one of the best of that type of girl
on campus, other than Nabiki Tendo and Ukyo Kuonji (who was a
cross-dressing weirdo in Minami’s view), was going to help her improve her
fighting skills. Even if she increased her combat abilities just a bit, she
felt sure it would put her ahead of Frost, tipping the scales firmly into
her favor. Maybe then, after losing regularly to her for a while, the
albino sorceress would take the hint and finally go away, leaving Gosunkugi
with the girl who loved him the most and only had his best interests at
heart.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



She liked watching him while he slept.



Kyosuke Kasuga laid there in Yohko Mano’s bed, his mouth open a bit as he
snored lightly, a sheet covering his lower body. Beside him, Yohko was on
her side with her portion of the sheet pulled up to cover her breasts, her
head propped up by one bent arm, just watching him. There was something
fascinating to her about how his chest slowly rose and fell, the small
twitches his face made and the occasional movements of his fingers as he
slumbered. Even after several hours of sleep, a satisfied languor still
filled her body as she recalled with supreme contentment the passionate
conclusion of their date last night.



She was now a woman, she mused, laying her hand gently on Kyosuke’s chest,
feeling his heart beating steadily. Love for him filled her soul, and tears
of joy welled up in her eyes. After all of her many spectacular failures at
relationships with boys, she had finally found someone special, someone who
could not only survive the dangers she had to deal with as a Devil Hunter
but also keep his sanity intact from the horrors her enemies were able to
inflict upon the human mind.



Idly, she wondered if anyone would be able to tell she and Kyosuke were no
longer virgins. If Nabiki noticed, it might cause her best friend more
stress over her relationship with Ranma, since Nabiki could be kind of
competitive lately and might look on it as some kind of a challenge, and
Yohko really didn’t want that. She also didn’t want to become known as one
of _those_ girls, the ones other girls gossiped about with disdain for
being overly free with boys, like she had heard some of them talking about
her new friend, Minami. Her mother had also gotten that sort of a
reputation as a teenager, and she knew there were girls at the Academy who
viewed her the same way, since she had been with several other boys before
Kyosuke. But none of those relationships had ever reached this point due to
them becoming possessed, their sanity blasted into dust by seeing something
“Man Was Not Meant To Know”, dead, or, one time, all three.



Nibbling her lower lip, she was suddenly worried that Kyosuke might act
macho and brag about what had happened to the other boys in school. But
then she thought about it and realized she was being very untrusting of her
boyfriend. Besides, other than Ranma and Gosunkugi, Kyosuke wasn’t really
that close of a friend with any other boys at school, and she doubted he
would say anything to either one of them. He had earned her trust over the
past few months, and he was gradually winning over her grandmother with his
kindness, which was something none of her other boyfriends had ever done.
Of course, all of them had ended up insane, possessed or dead before ever
meeting her.



Perhaps because she was getting to like Kyosuke, her grandmother had left
her alone this weekend to attend a conference in Hong Kong and hinted that
he could visit, so Yohko had invited him over last night and made him
dinner. The meal had turned out so-so in her view, cooking not being one of
her better skills, but he had eaten what she had made for him and even
asked for seconds. After eating, they had started watching a movie on the
couch, but before too long it was forgotten. Holding hands had led to
kissing and then... other things. While neither of them had planned it, the
moment had just felt right to take their relationship to the next level.



So they had.



Their first attempt had been fumbling, slightly painful for her and a
rather embarrassingly unskilled effort on both their parts, more sweaty
exercise than anything else. It was hardly the stuff of fantasies like it
was portrayed in romantic stories or movies. Even so, Kyosuke had been
gentle and loving with her, treating her like the most precious thing in
the world. She felt safe in his arms, and she trusted him.



The second time was better.



By their third and fourth time, it was a _lot_ better.



When he woke up, she would see if he could be coaxed into doing it with her
again. She did not imagine it would be a difficult task, she mused with a
grin. Luckily, his mother was away on assignment for the next few days, so
nobody would miss him at home if he spent the morning here with her. Maybe
they wouldn’t even get out of bed until she had to get ready to leave.



She would prefer to spend all day with him, but she had promised to help
Minami improve her fighting abilities today. The other girl had been a bit
evasive about the details as to why she needed to be able to fight better,
other than to say she had some hussy to contend with over Gosunkugi and
wanted to drive away from him, a Chinese girl named Frost. That sort of
thing seemed to be going around, since Nabiki was also dealing with a
similar problem.



Kyosuke rolled over to face her, still asleep, and his arm fell across her
body at her hip. He snuggled up against her bosom in his sleep, and she
sighed happily. She was grateful that Kyosuke was all hers, with no rivals
for her to have to contend with. She laid her head back down on her pillow
and just enjoyed his nearness, her hand softly caressing him.



She drifted back off to sleep as she watched him slumbering.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Ranma stared up at the ceiling of his room as the sun rose outside, his
hands behind his head, feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. All of
his injuries were gone, his body healing even faster than it ever had
before. Considering how fiercely he and Shampoo had fought each other
Friday night, he was grateful for that. He felt ready to train with
Lee-sensei today, to begin preparing himself for what now seemed inevitable
in his life. He needed to grow stronger. The physical challenges he faced
kept getting harder, and he had to be better able to face them.



Images of the girls in his life floated across his mind’s eye as he looked
upwards at the stark white ceiling. When he defeated Shampoo in their
upcoming match, he would be engaged to four different girls, each
engagement he now knew had been engineered by the fake Genma. Their faces
he knew very well through the memories he had gained from those other
worlds, but the personalities driving this timeline’s versions of them were
very different, sometimes radically so. None of them was exactly as he
expected them to be from his acquired memories, and the sometimes stark
differences he had seen perplexed him sometimes.



There was also the added issue of the powerful physical attraction he felt
towards them all, and also towards some of the other girls he had met over
the past few months, such as Utena Tenjou and Sakura Kasugano. He strongly
suspected the involvement of Project Phoenix was affecting him in this with
his three fiancées, but that just didn’t seem possible with Shampoo. She
was from a very remote corner of the Empire and not a citizen. Maybe he was
simply genuinely attracted to her. That was a comforting thought: that his
feelings towards her were not being generated by some sort of induced
biological imperative from the Eucharist symbiote in his body, but were
instead being caused by normal factors of attraction between a boy and a
girl.



After all, she was really beautiful, he mused for a moment, smiling.



Out of all the girls, the one most like her analogs was Ukyo, and likely
why he felt so much more at ease with her when compared to the others,
enjoying her bokukko (masculine) manner of speech, which was how he talked
as well when he was in female form. They had settled pretty quickly into a
very solid friendship, and he felt comfortable with her. In another world,
the one where he had been an astronaut, friendship had blossomed into love
and then eventually marriage, and that version of him was even going to be
a father. He smiled ruefully at the thought of having a child with Ukyo.
His mother would certainly approve of him being a father though, sooner
rather than later.



Spending time with Ukyo as ‘Ranko’ had been a lot of fun too, letting him
begin exploring being a girl, not that he was trying really hard to be
feminine. He hoped she would not be too mad at him when she finally learned
he was not really her cousin, but he could not tell her about his curse
without revealing Yumi’s secret as well. He would have to talk to the
cursed woman about this when things got a bit quieter.



With Kodachi, the changes were a definite improvement. While he knew she
had a warrior side to her and was able to fight at a high level, the
personality she displayed towards him was more gentle and demure. She
carried herself like a highborn lady of elegance and sophistication and
possessed great intelligence as well. The computer code she had written for
use with the resonator was very sophisticated, and she also shared his
interests in the sciences and other more academic matters. Her personality
was infinitely better than the manic and casually vicious insanities
displayed by her analogs, and he was extremely grateful he didn’t have to
deal with such an unbalanced mind and a sadistic personality in his own
life.



It had also felt very nice, stimulating actually, to hold her and dance
with her, to feel her nubile body moving rhythmically with his to the
music. He suddenly recalled with guilt the time in her bedroom not too long
ago, wrestling her down to the floor, not knowing it was her, and he felt
guilty at the arousal generated by that memory. This world’s Kodachi was
not the Black Rose, that maniacal girl infatuated by his analog to an
unhealthy degree. That version of the Kuno girl would have likely loved
wrestling on the floor with that other world’s Ranma, and probably would
have been very sexually aroused by the act. No, the shy, rather sweet girl
he was engaged to was a demure lady born of wealth and social privilege,
nothing like the mentally ill mockeries of her on those other worlds, and
he was very grateful for that.



Nabiki was somewhere in between, sort of like her analogs but also a bit
different. While she was definitely attractive with a well-formed figure,
she also possessed a highly-insightful intelligence he greatly respected.
While he didn’t approve of her many unsavory activities on campus, in the
process of regaining control of her organization, she had closed down the
most troubling endeavors she had been involved in and seemed to be making
an effort to be less of a selfish opportunist than the analogs he had seen.
The main problem he had remaining with her was that she still wanted to be
the one in charge of their relationship, ordering him around like some kind
of a follower or sidekick.



Well, Ranma Saotome was no girl’s sidekick, he mused. Not in this world, at
least.



However, the fact that she was so strong and was such a challenge to him
for the right to call himself the heir to the Anything-Goes School had a
strange appeal. She had forced him to get better by presenting him with an
unanticipated rival to compare himself to. And while he didn’t like it and
loathed admitting it to himself, there was a certain appeal to being with a
self-confident and take charge woman like her. She was certainly better
than he was at looking at the practical issues of life and planning for
them.



Maybe that was why Shampoo attracted him so much. This version of her had
not been content to stay in her home village and live out her life there.
Instead, she had left and battled her way through literally scores of foes
to reach where she was, and now she was within sight of becoming a Citizen
of the Empire. She had accomplished this through the strength of her body
and her incredible martial arts talent. She was a girl worthy of great
respect for her achievements.



And she was really beautiful, he reiterated in his mind, as if he could
actually forget that about her.



Shampoo was still very much an unknown in many ways. She was not quite as
playful or innocent as the analog of her that had pursued a version of
himself from China, or the one that another analog of his had married. He
had sensed a greater complexity to her personality from their conversation
yesterday at breakfast, one reminding him of her analog that was cursed to
turn male and was dealing with that. This Shampoo had a more tempered
maturity in her manner than the other analogs of her with which he was
familiar, likely brought about due to whatever events she had gone through
to reach Tokyo’s Battledome, some of them probably unpleasant. She had
unknown depths of thoughts and feelings within her, and he found within
himself a sincere desire to explore those depths and come to know her much
better.



That surprised him a bit, and he suspected it was the influence of Ranko’s
memories within him, driving him to look at all the girls he knew as more
than just cute faces and shapely, attractive bodies. Could he be falling in
love with some of them? That rather unexpected thought shocked him, and he
backed away from it hastily like it was a flame that would burn him.



No, he was not in love. His feelings for the girls were just the result of
youthful hormones at work within him, nothing more. Besides, he didn’t know
any of them well enough yet to fall in love. It wouldn’t make any logical
sense. He needed more time getting to know them before he could take that
step. Yes, he just needed more time.



When he thought about it, he had similar feelings of attraction towards
Utena. She was another confident, competent, amiable sort of girl, and he
would be lying to himself if he denied liking her. He knew he did, and he
was fairly certain she liked him back. But he was also positive she was
another subject of Project Phoenix, which made his feelings a bit suspect
to him.



Even so, their date had been a lot of fun, at least up until the point when
Mikado had attacked him after getting him half-drunk on spiked punch. She
had looked so enticing to him in her dress that night too, his mind
recalling the sight of her cleavage, her long, coltish legs, her athletic,
bared back and her shapely derriere. He hastily backed away from that
memory; feeling embarrassed at focusing on her physical charms like that,
his body responding to his thoughts with potency. He struggled to tamp down
his unexpected arousal, moving his thoughts on to the next girl and
attempting to regain his composure.



Ryoko was another young woman he could admit he found interesting, and not
just for her athletic and shapely figure. However, he was extremely leery
of ever admitting it. He knew his mother wanted him to marry the daughter
of her long-time friend. The fake Genma’s actions had derailed that, but it
was possible the issue would return to face him again. He suspected the
Masaki girl liked him, but if he showed her any serious interest, it was
possible there would be a wedding between them before the summer was out.
His mother seemed quite adamant on him getting married and having children.



As long as he was considering girls he wasn’t engaged to, he ruminated
about Akane. Variants of her existed in many of his analogs lives, and all
of the ones he had seen were fighters of some skill. In tangents he had
visited where she was also present, they almost seemed destined to argue or
fight with each other. Even his own life wasn’t immune to this. When they
had first met months ago in this timeline, he wasn’t the martial artist he
was now, so she had beaten him up and generally treated him with contempt
for many weeks.



The accidental download of his analog’s combat skills had changed all that,
transforming her disdain for him seemingly instantly into desire after the
match they had together that day. Their relationship had suddenly been
inverted when it was over. Now she wanted to be his girlfriend,
determinedly so. After he had gotten cursed and met her in that form, he
discovered she also wanted to be friends with his female aspect as well,
showing him that she did have a kind side behind the tough front she had
always projected before. Since she didn’t know they were the same person,
he wondered what her reaction would be if she were to learn the truth. The
way his luck had been running lately, she might even like him more instead
of being repelled by him being able to turn into a girl.



Would that be so horrible?



The question arose unbidden in his mind, and he wasn’t sure where it came
from. He suddenly realized, somewhat fretfully, that there was a part of
him that liked Akane (only a little, he amended very hastily) despite the
revulsion he had once held towards her, a part that wanted a chance to
explore a relationship with her. She had been so nasty to him in those
early weeks at the Imperial Academy, but was she really nothing more than
this spiteful, horrid thug he had built this mental doppelganger of within
his mind?



The honest answer to that was that he wasn’t sure anymore, when he looked
at the additional insights he had gained in more recent weeks of who she
was. He had seen a much different side of her when they met at the skating
rink, of a flesh and blood girl who liked going skating and was actually
kind of fun to spend time with, not the horrid monster he had built up in
his mind that only existed to torment him and reveled in inflicting
violence on others. Unlike other versions of her that his martial artist
analogs were engaged to, she was proud to be a warrior and felt no need to
worry about more traditional female activities like cooking or cleaning.
And the way she had looked at him at the skating rink, clearly pleased to
see him, made him feel confused.



Another aspect of Akane had been revealed to him at the park when he had
met her as Ranko, and he had seen the friendship the Tendo girl had with
Sakura. It just didn’t fit the mental image he had held of her for so long,
seeing the easy camaraderie they showed, or the way she had smiled. And
when she had offered ‘Ranko’ friendship and clearly meant it, it had been
simply astonishing to see her being so open and nice.



He sat up suddenly in his bed, shocked to realize that this version of
Akane might not really be much different from Shampoo in certain ways. She
had even told him so to his face soon after their fight, clumsily but
sincerely, that she wanted to be with a strong man. He had been too upset
to listen or even try to understand what she had been trying to tell him.
The undeniable truth he now had to face was that she wasn’t really a
monster. She had developed strong feelings for him after he had defeated
her. How was that different from Shampoo? She had told him she liked him in
a rather direct fashion, and he had run away from her, not wanting to deal
with it.



Shortly after that, she had transferred to Furinkan, and he hadn’t seen her
again for weeks, not until that day in the skating rink. He had
demonstrated for her that martial arts could be used on skates, and she had
been thrilled and happy to fight at his side. Remembering her smile and
excitement, realizing how much she loved the martial arts, he found himself
smiling as well. The fight at the rink had been fun for both of them.



That was also the day he had been introduced to this world’s version of
Sakura Kasugano, Akane’s friend, who was a strong fighter, possibly even
more capable than Nabiki. It was difficult for him to tell. If he had still
been in the same condition he was before his plunge into the vat of
Jusenkyo water (if that’s what it was), he wasn’t sure if he would have
been able to beat her as easily as he had the other day. After the fight,
Sakura had held hands with him in his Ranko form and honestly offered her
friendship to the girl who had just defeated her roundly.



Lastly, there were his nascent friendships with Mai Shiranui and Madoka
Ayukawa. While they weren’t romantic relationships, it had felt nice to
make friends with them. Madoka had helped him out a lot to prepare for the
dance at Ohtori. And Mai seemed like such a nice girl. She was cute too,
with her glasses on.



When he considered all the girls he knew, he found himself wishing once
again that he had a few more male friends. Kyosuke was pretty much the only
one he had right now at the Academy, and while Yumi was okay to spend time
with when she was in her cursed form, she wasn’t really a guy. It would be
good to have one or two more friends who were male, but it seemed like
every other boy his own age he met and might deem a peer just wanted to
beat him up. All the other boys in his class left him alone. He knew he was
far ahead of them academically and could outperform any of them physically,
so maybe he intimidated them all. If it wasn’t for Kyosuke, he’d probably
be feeling totally ostracized by those of his own gender.



Oddly, for a few brief moments he found himself regretting his initial
treatment of Ryoga when they had first met, letting himself fall into
patterns established on other worlds instead of trying a different
approach. But then Ranma realized that was the Hibiki boy’s fault, not his.
This version of Ryoga had started it, he decided. He was just as much of an
overly-aggressive, muscle-bound oaf as his analogs were. He was hardly any
sort of intellectual powerhouse that Ranma could deem a peer.



The pigtailed boy knew that his analogs, while they were wily sorts and
often outsmarted opponents instead of merely outfighting them, were hardly
the greatest of thinkers themselves in his view. If they could outwit their
versions of the dimwitted Hibiki boy by using simple disguises and childish
tricks, then dealing with his own timeline’s version of Ryoga should be
simplicity itself for someone of his greater intellect. It wouldn’t even be
a fair fight, he mused.



Thinking about the other boy further, Ranma still didn’t like it that Ryoga
was a childhood friend with Ukyo and had now become friends with Ryoko and
also Nabiki as well. And he was certain the other boy had to be the one
pretending to be Kodachi’s pet pig, and that was incredibly annoying. It
felt to him like Ryoga kept invading his territory and pushing at him,
daring him to strike back.



How could he even imagine being friends with a guy like Ryoga Hibiki? What
could they talk about? Other than their mutual interest in martial arts,
they really had nothing else in common. Ranma suddenly snickered mentally
at the thought of how hapless the Hibiki boy would be if they ever engaged
in any sort of intellectual contest together, like a game of Go. And he
could never forget the other boy was responsible for his girl curse, the
one who knocked him into the vat at the warehouse and robbed him of his
manhood. His mind made up on the issue, Ranma moved on.



Even though other boys probably envied him his problems with women, how was
he possibly going to deal with all these girls in his life? At least two
analogs had experienced plenty of trouble in their lives from trying to
settle into a relationship with just one girl. But he was legally engaged
to three, highly likely to soon be four, and the laws of the Empire allowed
him to marry them all. And what about the girls he wasn’t engaged to? He
still wanted to spend time with them, like Utena. Could he do that without
Nabiki or one of his other fiancées taking a swing at him? And aside from
that, was he even ready for marriage? Despite his intelligence, he was
still only a teenager.



His musings were interrupted by a sudden knock on his door. He got up from
his bed and opened it up. He was startled to see who was there, dressed
casually in a T-shirt, shorts, ankle-high socks and gym shoes.



“Sh-Shampoo,” he said, surprised to see her. Then he suddenly felt like an
idiot, realizing he was staring at her and had stammered her name out in
shock. After all, she only lived one floor away from him. Why was it a
surprise to see her? “Good morning.”



“Ranma free for breakfast?” she asked, smiling. “Great-grandmother giving
Shampoo training all day today, so not free for long.”



“Uh, sure.” He looked in the hall. “Just the two of us?”



“Running Deer busy with manager today,” the Amazon said with a smile,
moving a little closer, enjoying the pleasant feelings he was igniting
within her. “Ranma take Shampoo on date, yes? Have nice breakfast with
Shampoo?”



He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great.” He saw her smile get brighter.



While she waited for him at the doorway, he slipped on his shoes and
pocketed his key. The two of them then walked to the elevator together. As
they did so, Shampoo slipped her arm around his and kept walking at his
side, looking happy.



“Ranma happy to see Shampoo?” she asked him, pressing the button to call
the elevator.



“It was a nice surprise,” he said, patting her hand on his arm.



“Great-Grandmother plan special training for Shampoo this week.” Her tone
was casual, like discussing the weather.



“Uh, should you be telling me this?”



“No worries. Since Ranma use Joketsuzoku technique, Great-Grandmother
prepare Shampoo to counter. Is Ranma one-trick pony?”



He frowned. “No, I have more in my arsenal I can show you the next time we
fight.”



“Good. Shampoo want strong husband.” She pressed up against his side,
holding his arm tight. “When Ranma fight Shampoo, no hold back, okay?”



He nodded, swallowing once in nervousness at her nearness, feeling her
breast pressing against his arm, and she looked happy. The elevator dinged
when it arrived, and they walked in together. The doors closed slowly
behind them, the elevator dropped one level and then stopped once again.



The doors opened to reveal Ryu Kumon and Shenhua standing there dressed in
casual outfits. The two couples gawked at each other briefly and then
Shenhua stepped forward boldly, starving after spending the night with Ryu
in his room. Her hold on the other boy pulled him in after her, and he
walked in with apparent reluctance.



“Oh, Shampoo spend last night with new boyfriend?” Shenhua asked with a
smirk as the elevator doors closed. She was annoyed when she felt Ryu tense
up next to her. “You two do sexy stuff to each other?”



The elevator began its slow descent. Ranma felt Shampoo tighten up her grip
on his arm and heard her softly grumbling several shockingly coarse words
in Mandarin and a strange language he was not familiar with. He was amazed
to hear her talking that crudely, swearing under her breath like a
dockworker.



“W-we didn’t do anything like that,” the pigtailed boy said after a bit,
looking at Shenhua. He wasn’t sure what else to say in reply.



Ryu glared at him dangerously. “You’d better not have.”



“Shut up, you.” Ranma was getting tired of Ryu’s attitude towards him, as
if he had done something horribly offensive to the other boy when they had
never even met each other before yesterday. The two couples broke apart at
that point, the two boys facing off against each other as the two girls
stepped closer together. Glares were exchanged and hands closed into fists.



“You don’t tell me to shut up, Saotome,” growled Ryu. “Don’t act so high
and mighty that you think you can just order people around.” He gave Ranma
a contemptuous look. “Keep talking like that and I’ll rip your head off.”



“Oh, is too, too bad.” Shenhua turned her attention fully to Shampoo, still
smirking. “I hear from Mina that you is frigid bitch, afraid of men. I feel
sorry for Ranma. He fight so hard to win you, and what he get for his
trouble?”



“Shut up,” murmured the Amazon, tensing up even more.



“Just try something, Kumon.” Ranma glared more fiercely at the other boy.
He ached to attack, barely able to hold himself back. The advice from
Lee-sensei, to pick his battles more carefully, was far from his thoughts
now. There was something about the other boy that rubbed him the wrong way,
much like how Mikado Sanzenin and Touga Kiryuu annoyed him on an
instinctual level.



“Ryu end up with better girl,” Shenhua said with a sly grin. “I show him
great time last night. We go long, long time. It feel so good.”



“Shut. Up.” Shampoo spoke a little louder this time, blushing now.



“I’m not scared of you, Saotome.” Ryu stepped closer to Ranma, their chests
nearly bumping together.



“Maybe you should be.” Ranma intensified his glare at Ryu.



“New boyfriend know about Hong Kong?” Shenhua asked the Amazon very
suddenly, leaning in and speaking more softly, so that only Shampoo could
hear. “That poor, poor girl. Maybe you kill him in fight too, if he push
you too hard?”



“SHUT UP!”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened in the lobby, and a couple
stepped out, the two of them arm in arm with each other. Behind them, the
battered forms of Ryu and Shenhua laid there on the floor. The pair headed
to the cafeteria without a single backwards glance, both of them
preoccupied with their thoughts.



“That could have gone better,” Ryu groaned as the elevator doors closed.
“You okay, Shenhua?”



“How you think I am?” The Taiwanese girl grumbled. She muttered under her
breath, “I hate that Chinese bitch.” Thoughts of gutting Shampoo occupied
her mind for several moments. She now understood why Mina Li hated the
other girl so much, and she agreed with the sentiments. The uppity Chinese
girl needed to die, as painfully as possible. She had never disliked
another girl on such an instinctual level before, and now that dislike had
evolved into intense hatred after getting beaten up like this.



The doors opened and a Japanese woman in a blue kimono stepped into the
elevator calmly. She eyed the two youths as they helped each other up off
the floor. With a slight smile, she pushed the button for one of the upper
levels.



“You two need to get stronger, it seems,” Bernkastel mused aloud. “I can’t
imagine you want to let those two get away with humiliating you like this.”



“What?” Ryu looked at the woman in puzzlement along with Shenhua. He
started dusting himself off. “Who are you? Why do you care?”



Instead of answering, the woman tossed him a roughly-bound book. The covers
were blank and discolored by large swathes of long-dried blood smeared
across them. Ryu caught it by reflex and then leafed through it in
curiosity, Shenhua standing right at his side. The pages detailed a
collection of martial arts techniques. Seeing what lay within the pages,
Ryu grew excited, quickly realizing how lethal they could be. They seemed
to call out to him, like it was his destiny to learn them.



“Master this, the Yamasenken, and you’ll become a fighter that others shall
respect and even fear,” said the woman with a wicked smile, glancing once
at Shenhua. “The girl too, if she wants to.” They reached the floor she had
selected, and the doors opened. “With these new abilities, you’ll have the
strength to face those two.” She then stepped out regally, and the doors
closed behind her.



Ryu jabbed his thumb on a button on the elevator control panel, and the
doors opened. He was shocked to see that the woman had vanished in the
interim. He felt Shenhua lean against him from behind as he looked out into
the corridor, her hands laying gently on his shoulders as her full breasts
pressed warmly into his back.



“What you thinking?” she asked, her breath gusting past his ear. “We get
revenge?”



“Shampoo is not to be seriously hurt,” Ryu stated, standing up straight and
looking at the book he held, smiling at the thought of standing triumphant
over Ranma and taking the Amazon from him by force. He was certain the
other boy would not be able to counter the attacks of the Yamasenken. They
looked lethally powerful. “Other than that, I’m in.”



Shenhua gave him a gentle kiss and nibble on the ear. The techniques
appeared to be difficult ones to master, likely taking many weeks to do so
when working from a written work instead of having a living master to teach
them. But in the time it took to ready themselves for their revenge against
the other couple, she felt confident she could turn his heart completely to
her and completely extinguish his feelings for the Amazon. She would not
lose him to any other woman, and she would fight to her last breath to keep
him.



She smiled at the thought of killing Shampoo in an appropriately brutal
fashion and then Ranma afterwards. To her, the Chinese girl deserved it
after what she had just done, and the pigtailed boy could join her in
oblivion. She and Ryu would give them a blood-soaked, pain-filled death,
sealing their own relationship together in the process. She mused happily
about having the Kumon boy’s love all to herself as she continued to nuzzle
Ryu’s ear and neck, pressing herself against him from behind.



As they descended to the lobby once again, he turned to her and began
kissing deeply with her, pretending it was Shampoo in his arms. Shenhua
sighed softly with pleasure and responded eagerly to his kisses, both of
them ignoring the pains in their bodies for the moment, enjoying their
momentary closeness.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



On the way to the cafeteria, Shampoo suddenly pulled Ranma into a secluded
alcove. They moved back out of sight of the main corridor.



“Sham-?”



He was unable to finish his question before she grabbed the front of his
shirt, pulled him close and pressed her lips tightly against his. Ranma was
shocked at this, but then memories of his analogs kissing other versions of
the Amazon swirled up in his mind. Instead of resisting and shoving her
away as some of them would have done reflexively, once he was over his
initial shock he gradually put his arms around her and began kissing her
back, holding her gently as his hands lightly gripped the back of her
T-shirt.



Shampoo had only intended a brief kiss and then to explain to Ranma that
she wasn’t like Shenhua had taunted, that she hated or feared men.
Unexpectedly, the kiss with him brought up Ensign Shan’s memories of being
with that other Ranma, the memories coming unbidden to her mind when the
pigtailed boy put his arms around her. She ran her hands up and down his
back, enjoying the pleasurably arousing sensations of kissing with him, her
fingers occasionally gripping his shirt. One hand tugged playfully on his
pigtail as their kiss deepened further, their tongues beginning to gently
wrestle, the two of them embracing each other warmly. Their kissing quickly
became much more passionate and open-mouthed, and their breathing was
interspersed with soft sighs and groans.



Several minutes passed. Then Shampoo reluctantly broke off from the kiss,
pushing herself back from him gently, realizing that if they continued like
this for much longer, she would not be able to keep her promise to her
Great-Grandmother. She was trembling a little, her libido demanding
satisfaction she could not yet give it.



“R-Ranma,” she said softly, gazing into his eyes. She felt a sense of
almost rapturous wonder come over her as an image of that other Ranma that
Ensign Shan had known was overlaid on the boy in front of her. Her
heartbeat was rapid, fluttering in her chest like a bird. She had never
felt this way about a boy before. Was this love?



The pigtailed scholar was a bit overwhelmed as well by the sensations and
emotions she had ignited within him by the kissing, almost overcome with
desire for her. None of the other girls he knew had ever kissed him like
that, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Memories of his analog
who was married to a version of Shampoo occupied his mind for several
moments and of being intimate with her. During the kiss, he had totally
forgotten about all the other girls he knew, his heart yearning only for
the Amazon.



“Sh-Shampoo promise more for after fight, okay? N-no think Shampoo hate or
fear men, okay?” She freed herself from his grasp, needing to step back
even further from him, her voice husky with desire. Her feelings towards
him were unexpectedly intense, and her mind kept summoning up images of
Ensign Shan entwined passionately with that other Ranma, the two of them
moving together in an intimate fashion, each of them striving to help their
partner reach the Clouds and the Rain. Her cheeks became bright red.



“What?” he blurted out. “O-of course not. Is that what got you so mad in
the elevator?” Ranma was confused by her questions, his mind still a bit
enthralled by their kiss. He began blushing brightly as well when he
realized he was having trouble standing up straight, immediately trying
hard to hide the reason why but also not be obvious about what he was
doing. Thinking back while in his present state of mind, he could not
exactly remember who threw the first punch. The melee had caught all four
of them up in it in a flash, the two couples fighting each other savagely
within the enclosed space.



Without thought, he had quickly moved to defend Shampoo’s flank, and she
had done the same for him, both of them throwing punches and kicks into
each other’s opponent when there was an opportunity, working together in
tandem. Ryu and Shenhua had gone down quickly as a result of their
impromptu teamwork. It had felt so natural to work with the Amazon in a
fighting array like that, and he briefly wondered if he and Nabiki would be
able to achieve with each other that same instinctive level of coordination.



“That good.” Shampoo straightened her clothing a bit, still blushing,
fighting down fantasies of hauling Ranma back to her room, tossing him on
to her bed and slaking her libidinous desires for him for the next day or
two. It was easier said than done, and she could not recall any other boy
ever making her feel this way. While Ryu had aroused her interest, the
feelings Ranma awakened within her were even more primal and powerful.



She also did not want to bring up the Taiwanese girl’s comment about Hong
Kong’s Arena and what had happened there. She would tell him someday, when
the time was right and things were calmer. When her outfit was finally
straightened, she said to him, “We go have nice breakfast now, okay?”



Ranma nodded, and they left the alcove together.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Perfume held the newspaper in front of her as she sat in her seat on the
train, now speeding across the Japanese countryside. It certainly was a
much more comfortable experience to her than trains in her native China
were, at least those that catered to locals there, not the cars that only
Japanese citizens were allowed to use. The ride was very smooth and
air-conditioned in those, as it was on the train she was currently riding.
When she was done reading, she folded it and set it down across her lap,
smoothing her features of all signs of irritation. Across from her, Mousse
snoozed in a nap. She frowned briefly at the sight of the idiot, another
boy hopelessly enamored by her rival.



She understood the situation with Shampoo much better now, and what the
Seer had told her. Her rival’s fight with the Saotome boy had been the crux
point leading to events the blind prophet had warned her about, and now
those events were cascading forth like falling dominoes. If Shampoo then
lost to the boy in their rematch, the next domino would fall, bringing her
rival one step closer to eternal fame in the annals of Joketsuzoku history.
If Shampoo was then able to win the Emperor’s Tournament in a few months,
then the women of the tribe would become full citizens of the Empire,
securing the other girl’s legacy for all time. As the Seer had said, her
name would never be forgotten. Shampoo would become a legend.



Perfume found herself on the horns of a horrible dilemma. If she took down
her adversary, then the Joketsuzoku would remain vassals of the Empire and
treated no differently than any other people in China. But if she waited
and let things play out along the path the Seer had told her of, Shampoo’s
story would become eternal. As the other girl’s most fervent rival, it
angered her greatly to be put in this position, but there was one possible
way out she could see.



She had to deal with Ranma Saotome first, and soon.



Her plan was simple: to enter the Battledome in Tokyo where he was now
being held, find him and then challenge him to a fight. If she defeated
him, which she felt reasonably certain she would, she would then disable
him. She wasn’t planning to do anything permanent, just giving him a
serious enough injury to prevent him from facing Shampoo at the appointed
time, thus losing by default and preventing that domino from falling. But
if she was unable to beat him easily, then she would reluctantly have to
kill him. After all, obstacles were for killing.



The boy’s death could have the added benefit of arousing her rival’s rage.
An infuriated Shampoo would make more mistakes and be even easier to defeat
by a cooler-headed opponent. Then her rival would die, ending the
infectious corruption by outsider men she would otherwise bring back to
their people.



The Joketsuzoku would still lose their opportunity to be citizens this
year, but there was always next year. And with Shampoo out of the way, she
was certain her skills would allow her to ascend to the Battledome before
the next Emperor’s Tournament and then perhaps the Emperor would allow her
the honor of freeing the Joketsuzoku at that time. After all, she too had a
Japanese boy as her fiancé. Admittedly, it was a pretty long-shot gamble.
But it was better for the Joketsuzoku to remain pure to their ideals of
female superiority and be ignored by the Empire until its inevitable fall
than to be corrupted by following Shampoo’s perverse example, flaunting
their bodies for money and male attention and performing like some kind of
carnival act. That was not the true way of their tribe.



To follow Shampoo’s path would lead the Joketsuzoku to becoming debased
shadows of their former selves, ending up being little better than the
common whores Perfume had seen plying their trade on the streets of
Roanapur. No, the women of their tribe could not cheapen themselves like
that, like Shampoo had willingly done to herself. Her rival might as well
be selling herself on a street corner now like any other whore, and it
deeply saddened Perfume to see how far from the proper way a Joketsuzoku
woman should behave that Shampoo had strayed. Killing her rival had become
the moral thing to do, practically an act of mercy, like putting down a
rabid animal before it could infect others.



Perfume was certain, if she chose to enter the life of an Arena fighter
herself, she would do it the correct way, as a true Joketsuzoku warrior
would. She would do it without ever flaunting her beauty for the tawdry
amusement of bestial males and prostituting herself like Shampoo had. No,
she would simply defeat her foes one by one, methodically and skillfully,
until she finally won the Emperor’s Tournament at the end.



However, if she somehow lost to Ranma, then Perfume realized she would have
other issues to face. One would be that there would then be two men in her
life who had defeated her. This had happened sometimes to Joketsuzoku in
the past, but it was a rare occurrence. Controlling two strong males would
be difficult as men tended to be aggressive towards each other, especially
over a woman. Their primitive, brutish minds, basted constantly by male
hormones, simply made them that way. They could not help it and Perfume
pitied them for it.



Another problem would involve her relationship with Shampoo. If Ranma
defeated her before she could bestow a Kiss of Marriage upon Ryoga, then
she and Shampoo would both be his brides. Fortunately, killing Shampoo
would still be a viable alternative at that point, but she was uncertain
she would be able to control Ranma once the deed was done. The other way
out of that would be if Ryoga defeated or killed the pigtailed boy. Either
option would nullify Ranma’s claim upon her.



Truthfully, she felt quite content with her current Airen and did not
desire another, and she was looking forward to finding him again and
bestowing the Kiss of Marriage upon his lips. He was a very handsome boy,
physically powerful and ruggedly built, and she was certain he would have
adequate amounts of endurance to satisfy her needs as a woman. Just
thinking about claiming him made Perfume feel strangely giddy inside,
something she had never imagined feeling over one of those she had been
raised to see as the inferior gender. No other boy had ever provoked within
her such interest before. Even her ploys at seducing Mousse away from
Shampoo years ago had been done due to her rivalry with the other girl, not
out of any particular interest in him.



Fortunately, far from being a stupid brute like so many males were prone to
being, Ryoga’s skill at Go spoke very well of his intellectual abilities in
her view. She looked forward to having him as her husband, and she idly
wondered how difficult he would be to convince to let her lead the family
they would make together. She sincerely hoped he could be persuaded by
gentler means to obey her will.



There were special herbal concoctions commonly known to women of the tribe
she could give him, as well as scrolls detailing pressure points and
special sexual techniques the women of her family had passed down for
centuries she could study and use, to bend him gently into obeying her
without resistance. But, if those gentler methods failed, she would
reluctantly summon her mother and other female relatives to brutally beat
him into submission and tame him by force. Her own father was happy now to
obey her mother after receiving such treatment at her relatives’ hands many
years ago. Ryoga would be happy too; at least once he understood his proper
place as the husband of a Joketsuzoku woman and learned to mind his manners
around those of the superior gender.



She would see to his happiness and be the mother of his offspring, she
mused with a smile. Contemplating the children she would have with him, she
even considered names for them. To have three girls was felt to be a very
auspicious number for a family among the Joketsuzoku, a holdover from
ancient times. She found herself looking forward to having a few daughters
of her own to raise and teach to be proper Joketsuzoku, once her business
with Shampoo reached its conclusion and she was able to retrieve Ryoga and
take him back home with her to warm her bed and father children upon her.



Gazing out at the countryside, Perfume felt certain that she was doing the
right thing. Someday the tribe would praise her for saving them from the
false path that Shampoo would have led them down to their ultimate
destruction. Her clear sense of purpose invigorated her.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“You may take a break now, Frost,” said Cologne, seated on a rock as she
watched the pale-skinned girl puffing and sweating her way through the
combat drills she had been assigned. She noted the position of the sun in
the sky, wondering what was keeping Shampoo. It had already been a few
hours since dawn.



The Chinese sorceress promptly collapsed where she had stood. She gasped
for air, sweat streaming down her face. She was dressed in light but sturdy
clothing for her practice, now dampened like her hair with perspiration
from the June humidity. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on regaining
control of her ragged breathing.



Frost reminded herself that she was doing this for Gosunkugi’s sake, to
prove her fitness to be his wife by dealing with the threat to their future
happiness. It was clear to her that she must deal forcefully with the
troublesome Minami, who kept getting in her way and making an obstacle of
herself, despite Frost’s initial magnanimous willingness to not oppose the
other girl’s somewhat questionable claim upon him. She had tried to be nice
and allow Minami’s claim, but now it was going to be a fight to the finish
between them. Well, Minami had picked a battle with the wrong girl. When a
woman of the Joketsuzoku tribe set her sights on a man, other women should
just get out of the way if they knew what was good for them.



She didn’t like it one bit that her Airen was clearly aware of the other
girl’s obvious endowments, and she had been annoyed to catch him staring at
Minami’s chest and derriere more than once. It deeply irritated her, one of
many new emotions she was unfamiliar at having to process, all being
brought about by her relationship with Gosunkugi. She did understand he was
a teenaged male and probably couldn’t help himself, especially since the
redheaded bimbo kept dressing in such a provocative manner with her
wardrobe choices now that the weather was getting warmer. Short pants and
low-cut, midriff-baring shirts and blouses were her usual choices. Frost
strongly suspected the influence of Minami’s new mentor, Ayaka Kisaragi, a
woman of reputedly low morals herself, or so she had heard.



It was probably only a matter of time before the tawdry redhead in glasses
seduced her Airen, she mused bitterly. Frost wanted to gift him with her
virginity (and to be the one to claim his), so she had headed off a few
such attempts the other girl had already made. Not at all surprisingly,
Minami had blocked hers. To try and counter the Ghost Sweeper’s outfits
(and also deal with the warmer weather herself), the Chinese sorceress had
taken to wearing cheongsam-style dresses with very short skirts to better
show off her legs, which she had recalled hearing some boys at the
Institute saying were shapely. Pleasingly, she had caught her Airen staring
at her several times in her new wardrobe. That gave her hope he would
choose her first and not the shrewish Minami.



The young Ghost Sweeper had proven to be a menace in the kitchen within
days of her moving in, so Frost had requested of Gosunkugi’s mother that
she no longer be allowed to help with the cooking, purely out of
self-defense. She shuddered briefly at the memory of Minami’s ghastly
culinary crime against nature, and she knew she would never be able to eat
rice pudding again. Food should not move of its own volition, let alone
attack with such ferocity. While she had been trained to be able to stare
down nameless eldritch horrors that could blast a man’s sanity to dust
without flinching, true horror had come over her by what had faced them in
the kitchen that night, and the smell had been nauseating beyond belief.
She had been proud to see her Airen firing attack spells into it,
destroying the unholy creation with purifying blasts of magefire.



One extra benefit of now being the only one helping with the cooking had
been scoring even more points with Gosunkugi’s mother. That was important,
since she wanted to have a good relationship with her future mother-in-law.
Things seemed to be going quite well in that regard. The woman had seemed
to like her from the first moment they met.



There were a few signs that fortune might be working in her favor in other
ways. The other morning, while she had been dressed only in a bathing robe
and slippers and heading from the bathroom to get dressed for the day, her
Airen had stumbled against her and fallen on top of her, and his hand
landed squarely on her breast. She had never had a boy grab her there
before, and the sensations had been... intriguing. And on Friday night, she
had just finished a nice bath when he came in without knocking, but she
knew it was not his fault since she had forgotten to hang the sign saying
it was in use. Both times had then resulted in him making a stuttering
apology and running away, which had puzzled her as she had not been upset
with him, merely surprised.



After his departures both times, she became aware of Minami’s glowering
presence, first glaring at him then at her. That had explained much. She
had confronted the Ghost Sweeper over the matter after the second such
incident, but it had just provoked a brawl. The other girl had lost, and
Frost had been pleased at her victory.



Minami was rather amusingly easy to provoke, Frost had soon discovered. For
someone who normally held such a tight rein on her own emotions as the
Chinese sorceress usually did, it felt unexpectedly cathartic to engage in
physical violence, and a part of her secretly enjoyed her clashes with
Minami. She suspected it was a remnant of her childhood among the
Joketsuzoku, or maybe something bred into her genes from her warrior
ancestresses.



Since she was not able to use her magic to crush the arrogant girl in
glasses right now, she knew she would have to drive her despised rival away
from her Airen by physical force, and that knowledge gave her the endurance
to carry on with her training. After all, the other girl couldn’t possibly
love him as much as she did, and she was sure things would be better once
Minami was gone. Then she and Gosunkugi could get married and begin having
beautiful children together. She became briefly lost in her thoughts,
imagining how much more pleasant things would be for her and Gosunkugi in
that wonderful future together.



“Great-Grandmother, I here!” suddenly was heard Shampoo’s voice, the girl
coming over the hill at a run. She came to a stop, not winded at all after
the full-speed sprint from the subway station two kilometers away.



Frost looked up from where she was seated on the ground, envying the other
girl her fitness. She felt like she wanted to pass out, having been at it
for a couple of hours. Shampoo looked at her in curiosity. Neither had been
aware that the other would be there.



“Great-Granddaughter, this is Frost, a girl from our village who has been
staying in Japan for many years,” said Cologne, introducing the sorceress.
“I don’t know if you remember each other. Frost, this is Shampoo, the
eldest daughter of my eldest granddaughter.”



Frost stood with difficulty, her muscles complaining from being unused to
so much strenuous activity. She bowed to the other girl. “It is an honor to
meet you, Shampoo. You’ve grown strong, and you honor your ancestresses
with your strength.”



“Is honor for Shampoo, too,” Shampoo said with a bow of her own. “Is nice
to see another villager.” She turned to Cologne, looking puzzled. “Is Frost
my sparring partner?”



The Chinese sorceress blanched at that question. Cologne had not known that
the girl could even get any paler until she saw that. Frost went as white
as the finest porcelain for several moments.



“Oh no, Shampoo,” said the elderly Amazon with a chuckle. “I am merely
helping Frost improve with the basics. She has herself a rival, you see.
Fortunately, the other girl is not much of a fighter from what I am told.
Dealing with her and driving her off should be a fairly simple matter.”



“Oh, Frost have man to love?” Shampoo smiled at the other girl.



Frost blushed and mumbled something. She looked down at the ground.



“He’s apparently a young wizard who defeated her in an arcane duel,” said
Cologne, standing up. “The other one interested in him is another
spellcaster. She is a Ghost Sweeper, a girl who fights evil spirits. To
avoid collateral damage, the two have been dealing with each other on a
more physical basis.”



Shampoo nodded in sympathetic understanding and came over to Frost, placing
her hands on the other girl’s shoulders. Startled, the sorceress looked up
at the taller girl. She saw Shampoo looking seriously at her.



“Shampoo have similar problem,” said the young Amazon. “Have rival to man
she like. Maybe we help each other?” She gave Frost a smile.



“I would be honored to work with you, Shampoo.” The sorceress smiled back
faintly, grateful to meet someone her own age that seemed to understand
what she was going through, especially someone from her home village.



“Well, now that that’s settled, you go back to your practice, Frost,” said
Cologne with a smile, earning a dismayed look in return before the
sorceress began struggling through her training again. “I will return in a
few minutes to check on you. Come, Great-Granddaughter, walk with me.”



As Frost began her exercises again, Shampoo followed Cologne as they went
over a different hill. “Where we go, Great-Grandmother?”



“As your suitor used an advanced Joketsuzoku technique, it shows it is time
I began passing along my more advanced lore to you, starting with the very
same technique he used.” Cologne paused next to a campfire she had built.



“You mean-?” Shampoo held her breath, her eyes widening.



“Yes, I shall now instruct you in the Amaguriken, Great-Granddaughter.”
Cologne flicked a few sparks from her pipe into the unlit campfire, and the
small stack of wood promptly burst into flames. “We shall see how my
prospective son-in-law does in a battle with you after we negate his speed
advantage. It should prove instructive to us both if he is truly worthy of
you. In the next few days, I plan to interrogate him on how he came to know
it.” The old woman smiled reassuringly at Shampoo’s concerned look. “Don’t
worry. I promise to be gentle, if he keeps a civil tongue in his mouth when
speaking to me.”



Relieved to hear that, Shampoo turned to look at the flames, her gaze
solemn. To have advanced Joketsuzoku techniques added to her arsenal would
all but assure her win at the Emperor’s Tournament. She would demonstrate
to the entire world the strength of her people, winning citizenship for all
the women of her village and great honor for her family. She nodded
suddenly and looked at Cologne very earnestly, an unyielding determination
now burning in her gaze. She had never before failed to learn anything her
great-grandmother had taught her, and she was not about to start now.
“Shampoo ready.”



“Excellent.” Cologne picked up a bag of sweet chestnuts from a small pile
of supplies. “Let us begin.”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



While standing in the men’s locker room near one of the lower sublevel
training areas in the Mobius Institute, Hikaru Gosunkugi thumbed a small
button on his wrist, and the loose fabric of his outfit quickly snugged
tightly to his thin frame. Its blue and white material clung to him like a
second skin. He involuntarily shivered at the sensations it caused as it
hugged tightly to areas he personally felt clothing should not cling, now
fully understanding why Minami had always complained about wearing hers
whenever she had to have her magic ability tested each month. He knew the
skintight outfit was designed to allow special instrumentation built into
it to read his body’s ability to convert ambient mana into magical effects,
but it felt indecent to have on.



Unbidden, the thought of what Minami or Frost might look like wearing the
female version came to his mind, the thin material clinging to every curve
of their nubile bodies-



Wait. What was he doing?



He hastily shook his head to clear it. He had to be more focused, or his
imminent combat training was going to hurt a lot more. He could not let
himself get distracted by thoughts of Frost and Minami.



Sighing, Gosunkugi once again regretted offending whatever spirit or god he
had disturbed to be put into this situation. All he had wanted was to
worship the beautiful and fierce Akane Tendo from afar and also protect her
from the attentions of Ranma Saotome. Now he was engaged to two powerful
young sorceresses (who also despised each other), he had new abilities he
had never expected to have, and his entire life had been turned totally
upside down as a result of these events. It was like being trapped inside a
harem comedy story.



Why was this happening to him?



The worst part about it was that he had nobody his own age he could even
talk to about this. Who would understand what it was like to wake up with
new abilities one day and then also have to deal with being engaged against
your will to girls who fought with each other over you?



He had considered speaking about his problems to his senpai, Kyosuke. They
were sort of friends, but he was worried it would come across as whining.



It was times like these that he missed his father most and wished he was
still around. But the man had been declared dead by the Empire a long time
ago, lost on a mission to find an ancient artifact, something called the
Nanban Mirror. His father had gone into a remote part of China looking for
it and was never seen again. It had been so many years that he had trouble
even remembering what the man looked like, the face in old pictures
becoming more of a stranger each day.



Sighing once again, Gosunkugi opened the door to the hallway and walked to
the training room. Maybe blasting a few robots would help him burn off some
of his stress. If that didn’t help, then he would stop at his favorite
manga store on the way home and see what was new this week. He hoped he
could find something fun to read, to take his mind off his life for a while.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“Just what are you doing?” Lee asked Ranma-chan, watching his young
companion peeking around yet another corner. It was taking them forever to
leave the Arena complex.



“I’m keeping an eye out for hostiles, Lee-sensei,” said the pigtailed girl.
“In the brief time I’ve been here, I managed to upset a couple of people. I
don’t want to run into them.” While she was worried about Mina Li, she
mainly wanted to avoid a fight with Shampoo. She hoped she could smooth
things over with the Amazon before there was bloodshed between them. She
didn’t know why the other girl was so mad about missing out on some
cheesecake.



“Well, stop it. You’re acting paranoid and we’re wasting valuable training
time.” He grabbed the girl by the back of her collar and hauled her along
with him.



The pair marched to the door leading out of the complex. Lee presented his
ID to the bored-looking guard. The man glanced at it and then handed it
back. He held out his hand to Ranma-chan. “ID?”



She smiled cutely and handed the guard her ID, now showing her picture and
associated information for ‘Ranko Kuonji’ instead of Ranma Saotome.



“Ok, you can go,” said the guard, handing back the ID card. Ranma-chan and
Lee strolled out of the complex.



“So, where are we going?” asked the pigtailed girl when they were outside.
“I thought we were going to train in the Arena’s facilities.”



“Too many eyes watching there,” replied Lee. “I’m going to train you
somewhere else.”



Ranma-chan nodded. She wondered if anyone would notice she was gone.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“What do you mean, you can’t find that boy?” asked the Arena Director in a
fury. “He can’t have left the facility! His picture is posted at every
guard post at the exits! What, did he turn invisible and walk out?”



“Sorry, sir,” said the hapless guard.



“What about Lee? Where is he?” The Arena Director felt pain radiating from
his chest, spikes of agony from his injured ribs and bruised internal
organs. He was getting too excited, and he knew he needed to calm down. It
was still too early to take another pill to quell his suffering.



“We show him leaving a little while ago,” the man replied, sweating a
little. He presented a still photo showing Lee following Ranma-chan out.
“He didn’t take the boy with him. We’re certain of that.”



Waving the man away to leave, the Arena Director collapsed heavily into his
desk chair, glaring at the color photo for a moment before angrily tossing
it into the trashcan. He had been hoping to record Lee training the boy,
but the famed Dragon had left and his young disciple was nowhere to be
found. The stress was aggravating the pains of his injuries.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“Can we stop now? I’m dying!”



Yohko glanced over at Asuka, continuing to jog in place to keep her heart
rate up, feeling extremely happy and energized this afternoon. She was
looking forward to seeing Kyosuke again tonight for some more intimacy
before her grandmother got back tomorrow. He had given her his vow that he
would be back by nightfall for dinner and picking up where they had left
off. His earnest expression had been so cute.



“You’re not dying,” Yohko said with a sudden frown, her good mood dimming a
little. “We’ve only been at it for a couple of hours.”



The young Ghost Sweeper shook her head, feeling like her lungs were burning
up from all the running and calisthenics she had been asked to do. She
collapsed to her hands and knees on the grass. She was dressed in her
Academy PE clothes, her shirt damp with sweat and clinging to her body in
the humidity. “Sure,” she puffed. “This... is just... hard.”



“You asked me to help you improve,” Yohko reminded her. “Did you think this
was going to be easy? Nabiki and I train hard every day to be as good as we
are.”



Thinking about Nabiki, she found herself worried about her friend again.
The Tendo girl had been almost frothing with rage when she had called her
on the phone Friday night after Ranma’s incident at the Battledome, even
worse than how she had been over the Tenjou girl. Truthfully, Yohko could
understand Nabiki feeling threatened by the young Arena fighter. Shampoo
was famous and glamorous, a superstar and one of the hottest commodities to
come out of China since Jun Fan Lee. What girl wouldn’t feel threatened to
have the boy she liked around someone like that?



“Yeah, but I’m... just a beginner.” Minami wiped sweat from her face.



“Well, this is how it is when you’re starting out.” Yohko frowned down at
the other girl. “We’re building up your body and your endurance for
fighting. Come on. You want to be able to beat this Frost girl, don’t you?”



Minami nodded, sweat dripping from her body. “I do.” Her enmity against the
Chinese sorceress had enabled her to keep putting one foot in front of the
other. Every step brought her closer to her goal of driving her nemesis
away and finally having the boy she loved all to herself once again.



“Get up then,” said Yohko, pausing her running for a moment to place a pair
of fingers on her neck and looking at her watch, checking her pulse. “We’re
going to do three more kilometers and then go grab a bath and some soak
time in a hot tub.”



“Three more?!” Minami wailed.



When Yohko looked at her unrelentingly, she got up with a grumble. The
other girl started jogging off, and the Ghost Sweeper puffed along after
her.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Gosunkugi raised his arm in front of him and murmured a quick phrase, and a
bluish ball of magefire formed in his hand. Scorch marks covered the walls
and the current robot he was fighting with, which was armed with a wand.
Sweat ran down his face from his efforts.



“Training cycle complete,” said a computer-generated female voice.



Letting his shield spell and ball of magefire dissipate, Gosunkugi sat
heavily on the ground. He wiped at the sweat dripping down his face. Across
the chamber, the surviving training robot slowly sank into the floor.
Several others had been too damaged by accumulated damage to keep attacking
him.



“You did very well, Gos,” said his new mentor, Tsubame Ozuno, when he came
into the room, clapping slowly and lightly. The man stopped a few feet
away. “Your score went up almost ten millimerlins from last time. How do
you feel?”



The ability of an intelligent being to convert ambient mana into actual
magical effects was measured by the Mobius Institute in thousandths of a
Merlin, the name coming from the fabled sorcerer of Arthurian legend. The
value of a Merlin had been set many years ago based on readings taken of
different supernatural entities and humans who could wield magic and
extrapolated from that. It was the magical community’s unit of ability
measurement, much like how Ohms, Joules or Newtons were used by the
sciences. Frost herself had a score of just over nine hundred and twenty
millimerlins and Minami was almost nine hundred millimerlins herself, which
meant the pair possessed very powerful potential as sorceresses.



For comparison’s sake, Gosunkugi’s score had previously been fifty-two, but
it was now a little over nine hundred with the latest increase. It had
fluctuated quite a lot since they started measuring him, and it had even
reached well over a full Merlin in value for several minutes during the
initial testing. It was uncertain what it would eventually stabilize at,
but it had the Institute buzzing to think there might be a cadet of such
power potential suddenly appearing amongst their ranks from such a
surprising source as him.



“I’m tired,” Gosunkugi replied with a groan, falling to lie on his back. He
knew his recent boost in power had the higher-ups at the Institute
intrigued and wanting to study him, hence his new mentor, an agent of the
Institute who specialized in the same sort of Hermetic magic that Gosunkugi
now possessed. They had been unable to determine exactly what could have
caused it, but the current view was that it was some sort of a spontaneous
breakout. That had meant tests and more tests. And also combat training to
teach him how to use his magic.



“Ah, are your two fiancées keeping you busy at night?” Tsubame said with a
grin.



“What? No!” Gosunkugi blinked. “It’s not like that at all.”



Tsubame frowned. “You’re treating Frost well? And the Minami girl?”



“Of course, sir,” Gosunkugi said with a nod. He knew from experience that
Minami would slap or punch him, if he ever dared treat her at all unkindly.
There was a pause.



“Are they getting along with each other yet?”



“No, sir.” Gosunkugi closed his eyes. “They’re still arguing and fighting.”



“A shame,” said Tsubame regretfully. “Well, they’ll have to get used to
each other eventually, given your situation, being engaged to both of them.
They’re both intelligent young women and two of the best young sorceresses
at the Institute, so we’re all expecting you to take good care of them.” He
eyed the sullen teenager and then sighed. “Go take a shower and head on
home, Gos. We’re done with training you for today.”



“Yes, sir.” The recently-minted mage stood up and headed dejectedly out the
door and walked down the quiet corridors towards the locker rooms. His
shoulders ached from the combat training he had been doing all weekend, and
he had never realized how much endurance a mage needed in their arms and
shoulders to cast spells during a prolonged fight. No wonder Minami’s
punches always hurt so much.



Behind him, Tsubame considered Gosunkugi’s situation. There were some
elements of the Mobius Institute’s community that were concerned over how a
magical cipher like Gosunkugi could have experienced such a radical
increase in potential power. While spontaneous breakouts were not unheard
of, they were extremely rare and usually involved contact with some
supernatural cause. Unfortunately, there was also a greater chance of
insanity eventually arising in such cases.



Frost’s presence in the boy’s life had eased many such concerns. If the boy
did go insane and his powers became a danger to the Empire, they felt
certain that Frost would do her duty to the Emperor and either contain
Gosunkugi until he could be placed into the Institute’s vaults, or kill
him, should that become necessary. With Minami’s aid, the two girls should
have more than enough power at their disposal to be able to deal with him,
even if he exceeded a full Merlin in mana conversion ability. The inhibitor
collars they wore were secretly programmed to unlock if he used too much
magic in their presence.



Unaware of such concerns about him, Gosunkugi made his way to the locker
rooms and pondered his situation at home. He had now been living with Frost
for about a week and Minami had moved in several days ago. His mother had
panicked that first day when the Ghost Sweeper and the Chinese sorceress
first confronted each other and had called the Institute to do something
about their spellcasting abilities before they blew up the neighborhood.
Both girls were now fitted with slender collars that prevented them from
using very much magic, but he had been told they could be unlocked if their
full powers were needed.



However, their mutual enmity had not stopped. Both still glared at each
other lethally at times. However, without being able to use their magic to
settle their differences, they got into savage brawls with each other
instead. They would then use magic to heal afterwards. Oddly, if one of
them was too injured to heal themselves, the other would cast the healing
spell. It was an unspoken accord they had formed.



Gosunkugi knew firsthand that Minami had a somewhat violent temper, but,
before Frost appeared, she only ever seemed to show it to him. Ever since
they were little kids, she would slap or punch him whenever he did
something that displeased her, acting like it was her job to supervise him.
He would sometimes argue with her about this, and some cadets at the
Institute had even teased them as being like an old married couple. Such
comments infuriated Minami and made him feel embarrassed.



The past few years she had hit him less often, seeming to focus her efforts
more on correcting anything he did which she saw as him being a pervert,
like if he stumbled and ended up with his face planted in her bosom,
falling down in front of her and seeing her panties by accident, or his
hand coming to rest on her derriere while he struggled to keep his balance.
Puberty had seemed to make him even clumsier, with his arms and legs
growing much faster than his ability to control them. Since they spent so
much time together, she had borne the brunt of his clumsiness. In return,
he had been brutalized by slaps and punches, accompanied by her accusing
him of perversion in an angry voice.



Secretly, he had long admired her fiery approach to life, perhaps why he
had been so attracted to Akane Tendo’s fierceness, but he had known Minami
so long she was kind of like a sister to him. He had never been aware she
liked him as something other than a close friend until the night she had
presented herself as his new fiancée. Now that he was mindful of her
interest in him, he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about her. She confused
and frightened him now, especially with her living in such close proximity
to him.



He just didn’t know how he should act around Minami anymore. Now that they
were living together, he was even more aware of her femaleness, since she
wore rather skimpy outfits around the apartment because of the warmer
weather. She claimed to wear them for her comfort, but they really tended
to draw his eyes to dangerous zones on her. Lately, he couldn’t seem to
stop himself from staring sometimes when he saw her cleavage or how nice
she looked from behind if she bent over to pick something up while wearing
short pants. She had always been kind of plumply cute before, but lately
she had changed. Now she was... sexy.



Then there was Frost. She was a far quieter girl than Minami, who could be
quite brash and loud, and the Chinese sorceress possessed a solemn
intensity to her that contrasted with the young Ghost Sweeper’s more
boisterous approach to life. She never raised her voice and rarely smiled,
but Gosunkugi did not believe she was some kind of emotionless robot like
Minami would frequently taunt. He felt Frost was kind of like him,
uncomfortable when dealing with other people and not very graceful socially.



She also wore outfits that drew his eyes, especially to her legs and
derriere. Seeing her working in the kitchen, wearing one of her short,
cheongsam-style dresses and an apron, kept attracting his gaze to look at
her. She was really cute with nice legs, he had soon realized. And while
she had a bustline that was more modest than Minami’s, she was at least as
gifted as Akane Tendo in that regard.



As the days passed, the less resistant he was getting to having her as his
fiancée. He wasn’t sure why, but she was the one now bearing the brunt of
his clumsiness. He had tripped and fallen on top of her the other morning,
his hand landing squarely on her breast. While she was modestly endowed,
she was still a pleasant handful, and he remembered staring down into her
widened eyes, uncertain what to do, his brain frozen. Maybe he had been
expecting an immediate slap, something he was sure Minami would have done
in such a situation, since she used to always hit him if he ever touched
her there or on her derriere.



He had been very reluctant to remove his hand, finding himself doing
something with Frost that he had sometimes fantasized about doing with
Minami but had never found the courage to risk her wrath and try. Then,
after a few moments, some preternatural sense of self-preservation had made
him aware of the young Ghost Sweeper’s menacing presence looming nearby. He
had managed to stutter out an apology to Frost and made his escape before
the redhead could do more than snarl imprecations at him.



At least the Chinese sorceress was less frightening than Minami in that
regard, and last night he had been so exhausted from school that week and
his new training regimen that he had let Frost snuggle up against him
during the night, no longer having the energy to avoid her. It had actually
been very nice, feeling her nubile form lying so close to him. He had been
tempted to touch her, awakening during the night to find her lying there
dressed in white silk pajamas. But he had glanced over to see a dozing
Minami in the room and restrained himself, fearful of arousing her wrath if
she opened her eyes and saw him doing anything untoward with Frost.



Individually, they both intimidated him. Together, the two young women
terrified him to the bottom of his soul, but he also felt attracted to them
too. It was like a perverse form of torture to have them around, so close
to him. The way they dealt with each other was part of what kept him from
trying anything with either of them. He was afraid if he ever favored
either one, there would be bloodshed, maybe his own blood being spilled as
a result.



Girls were scary, just so scary. Even after so many years of being around
Minami, he had never realized before how terrifying and alien they were.



Since training had not eased his stress enough, he decided to spend some of
his weekly allowance on a new manga. He hoped that there was something good
at the store on his way home.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Hearing a bird chirping close by, the sound awakening him, Ryoga slowly
opened his eyes and then blinked several times. An unfamiliar ceiling was
above him. He gazed up at it, puzzled.



Where am I?



The last thing he remembered was feeling several darts thud into his body
and then nothing. Now he was lying on a futon in a strange place. Somewhere
nearby, he suddenly heard a girl’s voice giving a kiai yell.



Surging up to a sitting position, he glanced around frantically. With a
sigh of relief, he saw his pack and umbrella resting in a corner of the
room. Glancing down at himself, he discovered he was dressed in clean
clothes from his pack.



Wait. Someone changed my clothes?



After standing up, he walked to the window, looking out on a yard with a
koi pond. He realized he was in someone’s house instead of some detention
facility. More of his clothing hung on the lines outside, freshly washed
and now drying.



Someone did my laundry? What’s going on?



Hearing more kiai yells and the unmistakable sounds of someone training in
the martial arts, Ryoga decided to investigate. He shouldered his pack and
briefly wondered where his shoes were before shrugging. He could just buy
another pair, if he needed to. Jumping out the window and landing easily on
the ground, he made his way over to the small dojo attached to the house.
He saw a familiar girl inside it, throwing punches and kicks into a heavy
leather bag.



“Oh, you’re awake,” said Akane coolly, seeing him standing in the doorway.
She ran a hand through her hair and flicked sweat from her fingertips. The
heavy bag she had been pummeling leaked driblets of sand from a few spots.
“Before he left last night, Daddy told me you were going to be staying with
us for a while, Hibiki-san.” While polite, she didn’t sound pleased.



“I am?” Ryoga looked at her in amazement.



Akane gazed at him neutrally, her head cocked slightly to one side. “I
guess nobody told you?” She turned and went back to throwing punches and
kicks into the bag. “Anyway, don’t try leaving the grounds.”



“Why not?” Ryoga set his backpack down in the doorway and came in to
inspect the dojo. When he passed near Akane, both of them felt a faint
tingling sensation, an enhanced awareness of each other’s presence. He
sidled away from her quickly, embarrassed at feeling attracted to a girl he
barely even knew, ashamed once again at his fickleness. His mother had
always told him that a man should stay faithful to one woman, like his
father had been faithful to her before-



-No, he wouldn’t think about that. He didn’t want to think about that.



Suddenly irritated at his presence, remembering her last encounter with him
and his annoying refusal to fight with her, Akane glowered at Ryoga for
several long moments before speaking again. “The peaceforcers who brought
you here are assigned to keep a watch over you while you settle in and make
sure you stay put, so don’t try running off.” She stalked away over to the
middle of the dojo and began doing some stretching exercises, troubled at
her unwanted feelings of attraction towards him and concerned about Ranma.



Her face hardened for a moment at the thought of his name. She knew he was
all right, but not much else other than that he was preparing for his
rematch against Shampoo. The notion of him and the Chinese girl being
together troubled her. While she was a card-carrying member of Shampoo’s
official booster club, and had been a hardcore fan ever since her debut in
Hong Kong, she didn’t like the idea of Ranma being with her, being so close
to her. Having her own sister stab her in the back and get engaged to him
had been bad enough, but to have the girl she idolized as a role model with
the boy she wanted to be with was simply agonizing for her.



“I’m a prisoner?” asked Ryoga, surprised. “But I didn’t do anything!”



Distracted from her musings, Akane shrugged and turned to face him,
ignoring his question. Her hands closed into fists. “Since you’re here,
maybe we can have a little sparring match? You’re probably not as good as
Ranma, so I’ll go easy on you.”



“What did you say?” Ryoga asked, unsure he had heard her correctly.



“I thought we might do some sparring, since you’re staying here now.” She
put her hands on her hips. “Don’t tell me you’re still stuck on that macho
load you were spouting the last time I saw you about not fighting girls?”



“No, not that part!” he shouted. “Did I hear you right? Do you know Ranma
Saotome?”



Blinking at the question, Akane frowned thoughtfully at the mention of the
Saotome boy’s name, wondering how Ryoga knew him. “Well, sure. He’s the
best martial artist in the area. He’s also the only guy who’s ever beaten
me in a fight.” She smiled at that. “So, are you up for a match against me
now?”



Ryoga was startled at her sudden smile. She’s cute, he realized. Then he
shook his head, irritated with himself once again at his betrayal of his
feelings for Ukyo. Why was he so fickle? Why?



“Uh, I don’t know,” he said, feeling reluctant. But he also wondered why he
was being so resistant. After all, he had been fighting with Ukyo since
they were both little kids, admittedly while not knowing she was really a
girl (and still felt quite foolish over that), and his time traveling with
Ryoko had shown him that a girl could hit hard and take a punch as well as
any guy. “Just sparring?”



“I’ll go easy on you,” Akane teased, her expression going more serious
again. She took up a ready stance.



Ryoga frowned and popped his knuckles. Maybe a little workout would help
clear his head, he mused. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”



Without any further preamble, he launched into an attack, testing Akane’s
defenses. She responded ably, the intensive training she had undergone over
the past several weeks with Sakura having improved her abilities greatly.
For the first couple of minutes, she just evaded and blocked, staying
defensive as she observed Ryoga’s timing and read his patterns of movement
like her mother had once taught her to do. At the end of that, she then
began launching attacks of her own, testing his defenses.



Seeing she was much better than he initially suspected, possibly even near
Ukyo or Ryoko in ability, Ryoga backed off and studied her as she started
to attack back, not wanting to let himself get suckered into a trap. The
Kuonji girl was a master at that, letting him think he was winning before
she did something unexpected that left him wide open. He decided to pace
himself and let her wear herself out.



Several minutes passed, and Akane and Ryoga fell into a rhythm with each
other. Both of them began smiling wolfishly as they started going at each
other harder and harder. Ryoga quickly realized that Akane fought very much
like Ryoko did, coming at him straight on instead of dancing around him
like Ukyo preferred to do. She was strong for a girl too. Before either of
them realized it, their sparring match became even more intense and heated
with each passing moment.



He’s really good, Akane thought happily as she blocked and attacked,
feeling excited at fighting with him. Her fist scored hard against his
jawline during one exchange of blows, her shoulder fully behind it, and she
was astonished when he simply shrugged it off instead of dropping
unconscious like other boys had that she had struck so, although she could
tell he had felt it. His snap kick a few moments later impacted against her
blocking arms, and she slid back along the dojo floor. After she came to a
skidding stop, the two of them eyed each other with greater respect.



“You’re not a bad fighter, Akane Tendo,” said Ryoga during the pause,
moving his jaw slightly. He reevaluated his initial estimates of her
upwards. While she was slower than Ukyo, she was also stronger than the
Kuonji girl. When compared to Ryoko, it was the opposite, with Akane a bit
weaker than the Masaki girl but somewhat faster. He gave her a more serious
look, realizing he could treat her like any other capable opponent, even if
she was a girl. “I’m going to win though.”



His boastful attitude irritated Akane, and she came leaping at him, aiming
a kick at his chest. “We’ll see about that!”



Three minutes later, a bruised Akane was flat on her back on the floor, and
a somewhat less battered Ryoga had his fist cocked back and ready to strike
and finish her off. Both of them gazed at each other for several long
moments and then Akane broke the silence. “You beat me,” she said softly.



“Uh, I guess I did,” Ryoga replied. He quickly got up from kneeling over
her and then offered her a hand to help her up, not really looking at her.
“That was, uh, fun.” When she stood up, he put his other hand behind his
head and then chuckled somewhat nervously.



When Akane didn’t immediately let go of his hand and gave him a warm smile,
he immediately froze up like a statue. “Yes, it was a lot of fun,
Ryoga-kun,” she said sincerely and then stood back and let go of him.
Unconsciously, she put her hands behind her back and held them together, a
coquettish pose that accentuated her physique. “I think we got off on the
wrong foot last time. Maybe we could be friends?”



Having been watching in hiding from outside, Nabiki nodded and chose that
moment to make her appearance. Before he left on some mysterious errand
last night, the false Soun had asked her to watch over Ryoga. With their
housekeeper Kyoko out on another date with her handsome new boyfriend after
hanging up the laundry, it was up to her as the older sister to play
chaperone. She saw Akane frown at the sight of her.



“Welcoming our new guest, sis?” said Nabiki with a smirk.



“N-Nabiki,” Ryoga said in shock, hopping back from Akane as if she was
radioactive. “Wh-what a n-nice surprise it is, uh, seeing you.”



“I live here, Hibiki-kun.” Nabiki continued to smile slyly at him.



Akane narrowed her gaze at her older sister. First she stole Ranma, and now
she’s flirting with Ryoga too? Despite having a wonderful fiancé, Nabiki
had lately become more flirtatious with boys. She had even gone on a date
with someone like Touga Kiryuu, who was admittedly handsome, she
reluctantly had to admit. Even so, it disgusted Akane to see her sister be
so friendly with other boys, as if she didn’t really care about Ranma. She
would never be so unfaithful after she won Ranma back from her sister.



Her hands clenched tightly into fists at her sides, her nails almost
puncturing her skin. When she realized that, she quickly relaxed them back
open as she observed Nabiki chatting with Ryoga. Now was not the time to
fight with her sister, not with the Hibiki boy around. She didn’t want him
to get the wrong impression about her. Then she felt confused, wondering
why she even cared what Ryoga thought about her. After all, Ranma had
already won her heart.



“I’m going to go take a bath,” she announced. She then stalked off.



After watching her sister leave, Nabiki said, “Hibiki-kun, can I ask you
for a favor?”



“Anything!” he blurted out. “Uh, I mean, I’ll be happy to do whatever I can
for you.” He blushed and looked shyly at the ground.



“You might have noticed that Akane’s a little fixated on a boy named Ranma
Saotome.”



“I noticed,” he growled out. He then wondered why he suddenly felt so
jealous and forced himself to calm down. “Uh, I mean, really?”



Nabiki smirked again. “Well, I was hoping you could spend some time with my
sister. I can tell she likes you.” She patted Ryoga on the shoulder with
one hand. Being near him like this, she felt a pleasant tingling surge
along her nerves and was more aware of the broadness of his shoulders and
how handsome his face was, and it was somewhat of a struggle to ignore the
distractions they caused her to concentrate on the matter at hand. It
appeared she had the problem of Akane dealt with by giving her a new boy to
focus on. Now she could work on countering Shampoo’s unexpected presence in
her life, greatly complicating her efforts at dealing with Ranma. “Can I
count on you, Hibiki-kun? I’ll be ever so grateful.”



“G-grateful?” He found himself staring at her face, struggling to keep his
gaze from dipping down to look at her chest like he was some kind of
lecher. The green, Chinese-style blouse she wore accentuated her figure
rather nicely, and he ached to glance lower but knew it was not the
gentlemanly thing to do.



“Yes, very grateful,” Nabiki said softly. She leaned closer to Ryoga and
whispered softly into his ear, “Can I count on you, Hibiki-kun?”



“O-of course.” Ryoga’s voice was soft as he felt the warmth of her breath
on his skin, smelled the delicate perfume Nabiki was wearing and felt a
powerful thrill running along his nerves. “Y-you can count on me, N-Nabiki.
A-always.”



“Great!” she said with a smile, standing back. “I just know that we’re all
going to be very good friends.”



“Y-yeah.” Ryoga felt like the vertebrae of his neck were going to fracture
from the stress of keeping his gaze away from her chest.



Nabiki noticed his tension and decided to give him a break. She turned
around, feeling flattered by his obvious interest in her and wondering why
it couldn’t be this easy with her fiancé. She knew Ranma was very attracted
to her too, but he managed to hide it better than Ryoga did.



It was nice being around boys that either didn’t know her family’s (or her
own) reputation, or didn’t find them to be intimidating, like Ranma and now
Ryoga. And also Touga Kiryuu, she added with a thoughtful look, recalling
how enjoyable her repartee with the young nobleman was. She sauntered out,
putting a little extra sway of her hips into each step. At the doorway, she
suddenly turned around, and Ryoga’s eyes snapped back up to her face
instantly.



“Oh, Hibiki-kun,” she said sweetly, pretending she hadn’t noticed but
secretly pleased that he had been looking. “When Akane’s done in the
bathroom, feel free to use it yourself. After all, this is your home now
while you’re going to be attending the Imperial Academy. You’re our guest.”



“Okay.” Ryoga smiled at her. He felt extremely happy to be here now, her
words washing over him without leaving much impact at first. Then he paused
a moment when they sank into his awareness.



Wait. I’m going to attend the Imperial Academy? Since when?



Then he smiled. That meant he would be able to see Ukyo again, since they
would be going to the same school, maybe even being in the same classroom.
He hoped she accepted his apology for the misunderstanding that had
occurred between them. After all, he had only tried to kill her because he
thought she was really a boy.



He paused, considering how that sounded. Perhaps it might not be such an
easy thing to smooth over. He would give the matter some thought and try to
come up with a better way to put it.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Her eyes widening in shock, Yumi read the letter she held in her hand a
second time. When she was done, she gripped it more tightly, feeling the
paper crumpling in her hand. A mixture of amusement and anger was in her
gaze.



“Why those annoying old bastards,” she muttered, shaking her head.



“What was that, Aunt Yumi?” asked Ukyo, putting away some supplies during
the lull in activity for the restaurant. The two of them were the only ones
present.



Before answering, the older woman went over to lock the door and flip over
the closed sign. She laid down a letter and a second document on one of the
tables. “You’d better come over here and read these, Ukyo.”



Puzzled, the girl came over and read the letter written to her from her
great-grandfather. When she reached a certain point, her eyes went very
wide. She read the passage a second time more slowly.



“What?” she muttered. She forced herself to continue reading onward.



Yumi idly counted seconds, watching her niece and waiting for the expected
reaction.



“What?!” Ukyo cried out more wrathfully. She snatched up the second
document and began reading it intently. Almost a minute passed.



“WHAT?!!” Her fury was so great, she began glowing. She glared at her aunt
as if looking for someone to attack with a savage rage. She was already
dealing with stress from Ranma’s current predicament with Shampoo, and now
this?



Yumi held up her hands in front of her. “Hey, don’t take it out on me. For
whatever it might be worth, I’m really sorry you’ve been put into this
position.”



“ARGH!!” Ukyo threw down the papers and stormed off, grabbing up her
spatula and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m going to go train on the
roof for a while!”



“I hope you know what you’re doing, you senile old man,” Yumi muttered to
the empty restaurant. She gathered up the papers and stuffed them into the
envelope and then went to flip the sign back again.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Yusaku Godai sat a bit uneasily in Ayaka Kisaragi’s apartment, grateful for
the cool breeze being provided by the air conditioning as he tried watching
a movie with her. A glass of iced tea rested on the table in front of him,
condensation dripping down its sides. The redheaded Institute agent was
leaning up against him as they sat together.



They were both dressed casually for the warmer weather, but Ayaka’s outfit
kept drawing his attention away from the television. Her summer dress was
displaying an eye-attracting amount of cleavage and much of her thighs, and
he kept finding himself looking away from the screen and at her instead. He
dipped his gaze downward again.



“See anything you like?” Ayaka teased gently. She had been noticing him
looking at her chest now and again, secretly pleased at his attention.
After her previous failures in seducing him, she had decided to set the
stage more carefully in her favor this time. That was why there was no
alcohol around. She wanted to keep her wits about her and be ready to
pounce.



“Ah, sorry!” he blurted out, snatching up his iced tea and taking a deep
drink to cover himself. “Your dress is nice.”



Ayaka smiled at him as she met his gaze. His shyness was compelling to her
for some reason. He was just so very different from the type of men she
usually dated. “Godai-kun, would you like to kiss me?”



He coughed as iced tea almost went down the wrong way. “K-kiss?”



“Well, this movie’s kind of dull, so I thought we might spend our time
together another way.” She smiled warmly at him, turning herself to face
him more fully. Seeing the uncertain look on his face, her smile faded. She
suddenly felt worried that she was being too forward and looked down,
surprised to feel herself so apprehensive that she was going to scare him
off. “Sorry. We’ve been out on a few dates. I just thought you might like
to kiss me by now.”



Inwardly, Godai was uncertain. While he was very attracted to Ayaka, there
was also Kasumi to consider. But they were just friends, not a dating
couple like he was with Ayaka. He felt confused, and the redhead was so
warm and inviting, drawing him in like a moth to a flame. He was afraid of
being burned by her but also enticed by her sensuous warmth as well.



“O-okay,” he finally said nervously. He closed his eyes and turned to face
her, slowly leaning down, intending just a brief, gentle touching together
of lips. He didn’t want to appear to be too eager and come across as being
needy.



Seeing her prey finally coming within reach, Ayaka grinned and put her
hands softly on either side of Godai’s head. She moved the last portion of
the distance separating them and then gently pressed her slightly parted
lips against his. Unexpectedly, she felt herself sigh into the kiss, and
that surprised her a little. She mused that it was probably because it had
been a while since her last boyfriend and her body just missed experiencing
such tender intimacy with a man.



She should not read any more into it than that, like she loved him or
something. No, she was just attracted to Godai and feeling lonely. That was
all it was.



Godai felt her lips touch firmly against his and then tipped his head
slightly to one side when their noses bumped. Inside, he felt happy. It had
been a long time since his last girlfriend. A brief image of Kasumi came to
his mind again, but it was banished almost immediately by Ayaka’s nearness
and the passions he felt roused by their kiss.



The two of them wrapped their arms around each other and slowly slid to lie
down on the floor, kissing more deeply as minutes began passing. After a
while, their hands began roaming on each other’s bodies. In the background,
unnoticed by the pair, the movie continued to play.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“If I may say so, you have a most lovely home, Hibiki-san.”



Soun Tendo raised the cup of tea he held in his hands to his lips and
sipped at it as he looked around. In truth, the house was immaculate and
almost gleamed with cleanliness. Over in one corner, he saw the family
shrine, its doors closed right now.



Across the table from him, Shizuko Hibiki, Ryoga’s mother, smiled at him
and gave him a polite bow. “Thank you for saying so, Tendo-san.”



“I’m grateful to you for seeing me on such short notice.”



“It is no bother. The house is quiet without Ryoga around.” She sipped her
tea and looked a little sad. “How is my son?”



“Oh, he’s doing well,” Soun answered. “He’s a guest at my house.”



“I’m relieved that he has a place to stay in Tokyo. He’s all that I have
left of my husband, and I worry about him being away from me so long. He’s
never gone so far away from home before.” She sipped her tea again, sitting
tall and straight in her kimono, her hair worn long in a single ponytail
hanging over one of her shoulders. She was the very personification of the
idealized Japanese woman.



“Your husband?” Soun asked. He had read through the family’s file on the
flight last night, but the matter of how and where Ryoga’s father had died
was redacted. “I know he was in the military.”



“Yes.” She sipped her tea before speaking again. “He was an honorable
warrior fighting bravely in the service of the Emperor. After I was
informed of his death, I was told by some of his friends on an unofficial
basis that he perished on some top secret mission down in Antarctica. I was
told...” She paused and tears filled her eyes, her voice losing its
strength for a few moments. “I was told he died a hero, that the efforts of
him and his fellow soldiers prevented something terrible from happening to
the world.”



Soun almost dropped his cup due to his own upwelling emotions, setting it
down in trembling hands. “I see.” He bowed to her and struggled to calm
himself. “You have my sincerest condolences on your great loss,
Hibiki-san.” There was a pause. “I believe my wife was on that same
mission. She... died... also.” Tears welled up in his eyes, but he managed
to avoid breaking down.



Shizuko bowed back to him respectfully. “You are most kind, Tendo-san. I am
sorrowed to hear of your loss as well.” She sniffled slightly. “The years
may pass, but the loss grows easier only gradually.” She dabbed at her eyes
with a handkerchief and then picked up her teacup. “Ryoga took the matter
very hard when he was told the news. It has been difficult, raising a boy
without a father.”



“I understand what you mean,” Soun said softly, looking down at his tea,
striving to maintain some level of poise. “I have three daughters myself.
It has been... arduous raising them without their mother.” He then shook
his head to clear it. “Perhaps we can help each other in some small
fashion. As our families are already joined in loss, perhaps this will give
us both a measure of joy.” He set down an engagement contract on the table.
“If you accept this agreement, we can join together our two families, and I
promise I will treat Ryoga as if he was my own son.”



Shizuko gasped and blushed. This was so sudden! She wasn’t sure what to
say. Through eyes suddenly tear-filled again, she gazed down at the
contract. Yes, she recognized the kanji for the Hibiki and Tendo family
names on it, but the rest was blurry. She looked up at Soun and saw his
earnest face, that he sincerely did want this. She felt her heart seem to
melt within her.



“I-I accept,” she said softly and then bowed to him. “I am honored.”



Within minutes, it was done, and both of them had placed their marks on the
contract. Shizuko bowed deeply to Soun again. Six years a widow, enduring
the loneliness, she had given up hope of having a husband again. And now
this stranger, one who knew a similar sort of loss himself, had come to
assuage her lonesomeness, offering her the chance to be an honorable wife
again and to take care of a household.



“I would like to visit my son,” she said calmly, bowing to him again.



“Of course,” Soun replied immediately. “I can arrange for you to come back
with me tonight, if you’d like. We should be there by tomorrow.”



“I shall pack some things then.” Gracefully, she unfolded herself from
kneeling and stood up, every movement elegant and sure. Inside her chest,
Shizuko’s heart thumped nervously. She would have to be very careful to
avoid getting lost outside the safety of her village and its aids for those
of Hibiki blood. To visit a large city like Tokyo was frightening but
thrilling as well, and she looked forward to having an adventure.



Perhaps this would prove in the end to be good for her as well as for
Ryoga. She hoped he was making friends. Up until the time he had last left
their home, his only real friend had been the Kuonji boy he always talked
about, Ukyo.



Soun relaxed and sipped his tea, pleased that things had gone so well with
Ryoga’s mother. The engagement contract rested safely in his pocket now,
promising Akane to Ryoga. Everything was working out even more flawlessly
than he had planned.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Hinako Ninomiya opened the door to her apartment to answer the bell,
thinking it might be one of her neighbors, and she was surprised to see
Kasumi standing there. The woman gave her a brief bow.



“Ono-san?” Hinako asked, quickly regaining her composure. “What brings you
here?”



“I thought you and I might talk, woman to woman.” Kasumi gave her a neutral
look, her face betraying nothing. “May I come in?”



“Of course.” Hinako stepped aside and let the younger woman enter. In her
mind, wheels were turning, wondering at Kasumi’s sudden appearance. She
suspected she knew the answer, but she did not want to reveal her hand just
yet. She closed the door and followed. “What did you wish to talk about?”



Settling herself at the main table into a kneeling position, Kasumi removed
from her purse several photographs and set them down. “I’d like to discuss
my husband and his affair with you, if you don’t mind.”



“I see.” Hinako came over to the table and kneeled across from Kasumi. She
picked up one of the pictures and nodded when she saw the subject matter.
She met the other woman’s gaze. “You are indeed your father’s daughter.”
She suddenly stood back up, causing Kasumi to start ever so slightly,
anticipating violence. “I’ll make tea.” Hinako went into the kitchen,
coming back after putting the kettle on to heat and kneeling down. Both
women regarded each other warily.



“Do you love him?” Kasumi’s eyes were steady.



Hinako nodded. “It was an unexpected thing.”



“This puts up both in a difficult position, you realize.”



“I make no apologies.” Hinako’s gaze was solemn. “What are your intentions
in coming here?”



“For now, simply to confront you with your actions and see for myself what
manner of woman could sleep with another woman’s husband,” said Kasumi
calmly. “And not merely another woman, but your own subordinate. You shame
the honor of the Security Directorate by your actions.”



Hinako’s gaze narrowed. “Have a care, Ono-san. Don’t overwhelm my patience.
I am still your superior.”



“In rank only, Ninomiya-san,” said Kasumi politely. “From where I’m
sitting, you are nothing but an adulteress, a thief stealing from more
honorable women than yourself.” She raised an eyebrow slightly, her voice
remaining calm and collected. “Perhaps I am not the only woman you have
dishonored in such a manner during your life, adulteress.”



The teakettle began whistling in the kitchen. There was the sudden sound of
a fierce commotion in the main room.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Ginseng paused, remaining a pace from the battered body of her latest
opponent, the muscular man standing there with a stunned look on his face,
weaving in place. She considered her handiwork, pleased that he had not
been able to touch her even once during their match. Her foe was a hot
commodity from the American Prefectures, and she had been expecting more of
a challenge. But he turned out to be a lecherous braggart who had undressed
her with his eyes at their introduction before the match, so she had
enjoyed taking him apart a piece at a time.



The crowd was quiet, collectively holding its breath after seeing what she
had just done to her foe and waiting expectantly for the conclusion of the
fight. With a sudden, explosive burst of strength, she grabbed his head
with both hands and drove her knee up into his face, breaking his nose and
causing a tooth to spurt upwards from his mouth. He fell to the ground
immediately when she let go, lying there motionless.



All at once, the crowd went wild, chanting her name from the stands. She
waved at them and gave a little bounce in her step as she exited the
concrete slab they had been fighting on. She grabbed a clean towel from the
stack just outside the exit and wiped sweat from her forehead and neck.



“<You’re a challenging woman to find, Miss Tseng,>” came a male voice
speaking somewhat accented Mandarin. She uncovered her eyes and saw a
middle-aged Caucasian man standing there. He had a cigarette hanging from
one side of his mouth, now mostly gone, pulling it out momentarily to talk
before replacing it between his lips. “<But I figured I’d eventually find
you at one of these.>”



“<And you are?>” She wiped some sweat from under her armpits and then
tossed the used towel into a bin. She eyed the stranger neutrally.



“<My name’s Shane Caxton, but most people just call me Shane. I’m here to
scout you for Hong Kong’s Arena for my employer, Jun Fan Lee.>” He took one
last drag on his cigarette and then dropped it to land at his feet,
grinding it out under his shoe. “<Do you speak Japanese?>”



“I do,” she replied in slightly accented Japanese. She began walking to the
dressing rooms. “We can talk and grab some food after I take a shower.”



Shane nodded. “Not a problem. After what I saw back there, I think you’re
everything your rep said.” He looked at her calmly. “I’ve been around the
Arena for a while, and I’ve seen a lot of fakes and poseurs. I think you’re
the real deal. I want to work with you, and I promise on behalf of Lee-san
that we’ll take good care of you in Hong Kong.”



Ginseng considered him for a moment, the same expression on her face as
when she studied her last opponent. She met his gaze. “Tell you what,
Caxton-san. I’ll be one of your boss’ fighters, okay?” She patted his
cheek, her smile hidden by the cloth mask still covering her lower face.



“You won’t regret this, Tseng-san,” he told her. “We’re going to make you a
star.”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Kasumi grunted as Hinako slammed her back against the wall, but she held
her grip on the other woman’s carotid artery. An elbow caught her low in
the ribs, and she struggled to ignore the pain, realizing she was going to
have some colorful bruises for a few days. Finally, the other woman slumped
unconscious in her grip. As Kasumi regained her breath, wincing at several
injuries, she heard the tea kettle still whistling in the kitchen.



“That could have gone better,” she mused softly, disentangling herself from
the other woman. Keeping a wary eye on Hinako, she withdrew from her purse
a syringe filled with a pale yellow fluid. She held it up to the light and
tapped out a few air bubbles before ejecting a little fluid from the end of
the needle. She swabbed a spot on Hinako’s skin and then injected the full
contents of the syringe into her.



While the other woman remained unconscious, Kasumi went into the kitchen to
turn off the teakettle and then tidied up the mess made during their fight.
Luckily, nothing had been broken that she could see, making her task that
much easier. At the end, she hauled the other woman’s unconscious body into
a solid chair and shackled her to it with a pair of handcuffs, just in case.



Picking up her purse again, Kasumi removed an item used frequently by the
Mobius Institute. She pulled out a special pair of dark glasses and set
them aside next to the small metal cylinder after making sure the cylinder
was off. She hummed slightly as she worked, getting everything ready for
the interrogation.



Twenty minutes later, Hinako’s awareness swam back into wakefulness. She
saw Kasumi Ono seated at the table, drinking tea. “Wh-wha?” she managed to
get out. There was a gag of some kind strapped to her face, allowing her to
speak but muffling any screams.



“Welcome back, Ninomiya-san,” said Kasumi pleasantly. “We’re going to have
a little chat, just the two of us. Before you woke up, I gave you something
to make you a bit more forthcoming this time.”



Hinako realized vaguely that this had to be a dream of some kind, to see
Kasumi there. She chuckled, wondering if there was still a small sliver of
conscience within her to feel guilty. She hadn’t thought so until now.



“Okay,” she said lazily. “What do you want to know?”



“Well, other than my husband, tell me all about the men you’ve been
involved with sexually, starting with my husband and going backwards.”
Kasumi sipped her tea and turned on the recorder at her elbow. She then
listened as Hinako began to speak of her past conquests. When she got to
one name, Kasumi paid very special attention to the details.



At the end of the sordid recitation of liaisons, the earliest ones not
making much sense as the other woman was becoming more incoherent in her
speech due to the drug in her system, Kasumi knew her time was up. She
quickly cleaned up after herself, taking care to dry and place back in the
cupboard one cup. The other cup was left in the drying rack. She then
carefully wiped down all places she had touched as a bemused Hinako
watched. At the end, she put everything away in her purse and put on the
dark glasses before picking up the metal rod. She adjusted the time on the
device to cover the last couple of hours and held it up.



“Thank you for your cooperation, Ninomiya-san,” Kasumi said pleasantly.
“You’ve been most informative. Please look here.” As the other woman did
so, Kasumi pressed a button and a bright flash of light went off, erasing
Hinako’s memories of the last two hours. Her face immediately went
slack-jawed. “Thank you for your cooperation, Ninomiya-san. You’ve just
experienced a pleasant dream about spending time with one of your friends.”



After helping the stunned woman to lie down on the couch, she gathered up
all of her things and left. When Kasumi reached her car parked down the
block, she sat for a moment and let herself relax. She examined herself in
the mirror, pleased that her face was unmarked. Her injuries ached, and she
was glad that she had been training harder since losing to Nabiki. Her
fight with Hinako had been too close, and she had gotten lucky. She had to
work harder, perhaps start training with Nabiki, to improve herself even
more. Mother would not have approved of such a sloppy performance in a
battle.



She was unused to doing fieldwork like this, but it had been thrilling.
Perhaps after she was done with her plans for divorcing her betraying
husband and dealing with her man-stealing supervisor, she would consider
the occasional field assignment. She was glad at how well she had
remembered her training after all the time she had spent away from her
career. She knew her father would have been very proud of her performance,
if she ever dared to tell him.



After starting the car, she headed home, her expression thoughtful.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Nabiki was training in the dojo when a familiar person appeared in the
doorway.



“Kiryuu-kun,” she said with surprise. She paused in her workout. “What
brings you here?”



“I had some business in the area, but I thought I’d surprise you with a
visit, Nabiki Tendo.” He smiled warmly at her, the afternoon sunlight
making his flowing red hair seem like it was made of flame. His suit was
immaculate. “You haven’t been returning my calls since our date. I was
concerned if you were all right.”



“Sorry,” Nabiki said sincerely. “Things have been kind of crazy around
here.”



“Well, you can make it up to me by having dinner with me tonight.” He came
closer, his eyes locked with hers. “What do you say?”



Nabiki paused. She really didn’t have any plans for the night other than
brooding about Ranma and Shampoo. Yohko had called her that morning to
cancel plans with her, wanting to spend time with her boyfriend tonight.
She smiled.



“I accept.”



“Excellent,” said Touga with a smile. “I’ll be back in an hour to pick you
up for dinner.” He came over and took her hand, gazing into her eyes.
Nabiki felt a thrill run through her at his frank regard of her. “I promise
you a wonderful evening.”



Lost in his eyes for a moment, Nabiki was startled when Touga suddenly took
her into his arms and kissed her. Surprise passed quickly into amazement at
the pleasant sensations that swept over her. Her will to resist suddenly
abandoned her, and she gave herself into the kiss and enjoyed it.



In a corner of her mind, she analyzed the situation. This was only fair,
right? Ranma had let himself be kissed by Shampoo right in front of her,
right? If a handsome boy like Touga wanted to kiss her, she was entitled to
it.



Besides, Touga’s kiss felt so good. She idly wondered if kissing with Ranma
would feel as wonderful.



Touga released her and stepped back. “Until then, Nabiki Tendo.”



It took her a moment for her brain to reengage. She quickly composed
herself, standing tall, unwilling to let him see how much he had affected
her. “Until then, Kiryuu-kun.”



She watched him stride out, confidence pouring from him in his every step.
She found herself smiling. This evening would be just the thing to take her
mind off of a certain troublesome Chinese girl and a rather annoyingly
independent-minded pigtailed scholar. Maybe she would be the one to kiss
Touga later in the evening when they said goodnight.



She would show Ranma Saotome that Nabiki Tendo was doing just fine without
him. She drove one last punch into the leather bag next to her and then
went into the house to bathe and get ready for her date.



>From her window, Akane frowned down at the sight of Nabiki leaving the
dojo. The Kiryuu boy had just left with a contented look on his face.



What was her sister thinking? Hadn’t she learned anything from dealing with
the likes of Tatewaki Kuno? Noblemen, especially the ones their age, were
nothing but trouble. They looked at women like trophies they could collect,
bedding girls to put another notch on their bedposts to brag about to their
inbred, licentious friends.



None of them was as fine a specimen of masculinity as Ranma Saotome. He was
a paragon in comparison, a true man among men.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Tired, Ranma-chan walked into the elevator in the lobby and pressed the
number for her room’s floor, right before a sneeze suddenly exploded from
her. She absently rubbed her nose.



While training with Lee had not left her aching, she still felt a bone-deep
weariness upon her. All she wanted to do was have a shower and go to sleep.
Fortunately, she had already had a good dinner with her master.



When the door opened on her floor, she found herself facing Mina Li, the
Korean girl dressed to go out for the evening. Mina narrowed her gaze and
eyed her coldly. Neither of them moved.



“Either get out or move back,” Mina said in cool tones. “You’re blocking
the door.”



Hastily, Ranma-chan sidled past Mina, keeping a wary gaze on the other
girl. When she was at the midpoint, Mina’s hand suddenly lashed out and
grabbed the pigtailed girl’s throat. She succeeded due to Ranma-chan’s
exhaustion dulling her reflexes. Mina’s hand took a tight grip, almost
choking her.



“I don’t know who you are, or where you came from, bitch,” Mina said
softly. “But if I wasn’t wearing such an expensive dress right now, I’d be
breaking a few of your bones right now. I owe you a severe beating, and
Mina Li always settles the score. Consider yourself warned.” There was a
pause and then Mina leaned in. “And if you should find yourself around my
boyfriend, a rather handsome Chinese boy named Tarou, I suggest you don’t
ever speak with him. If you do, I’ll shatter a few of your ribs and maybe
break your pelvis. Do we have an understanding?”



“Yes,” Ranma-chan said levelly, meeting the Korean girl’s gaze, feeling her
temper rousing. She felt the boost lurking in the depths of her brain,
demanding to be let loose to rend and slay. She held it back.



“Good,” said Mina grimly. “I’m glad we had this little chat. Be glad you’re
still alive to enjoy the rest of your evening.” She then threw Ranma-chan
out into the hallway and got into the elevator. She did not spare a further
glance at the pigtailed girl as she pulled out a compact and began to check
her makeup.



Grumbling, Ranma-chan hopped back up to her feet and headed to her room. As
she did so, she checked the device Lee had given her, one which blanked out
security monitoring devices like cameras. It was apparently working quite
nicely.



When she got to the room, she slipped off her shoes, pulled off her shirt
and tossed it on the floor and began tugging her pants off as she made her
way to the shower. Naked except for boxers, Ranma-chan looked at herself in
the mirror. She frowned.



“Why don’t I just walk away from this? If I fight and win, I’ll end up
being with Shampoo on this world too. But I can just walk away.”



Then she remembered the kiss with Shampoo and the feelings they had
aroused, but there was more to it than that. It had felt right to be
fighting at Shampoo’s side earlier. To just have her around felt right.



No, she could not simply walk away.



Then, after the rematch, she would introduce Shampoo to her mother and wait
for her real father to finish building the beacon. She would then save her
father and Nabiki’s father, finally putting right what had gone wrong so
many weeks ago and sending the two fakes back where they belonged. She
would fix all of this and prove herself to be a man.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





To be continued...
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