[FFML] Quantum Destinies 26

[Jurai Knight]

*** Heaven +2.615, -1.494



Belldandy sighed softly as she absently watched the system monitors, noting
the ebbs and flows of the various energies of the universe as the numbers
were processed through Yggdrasil. She sometimes disliked the occasional
solitude of her duties, but someone had to do them. Along with her two
beloved sisters, she maintained Yggdrasil in its proper working order, and
she was proud (in her own way) to sustain this sacred trust. As the System
Administrator, it was her vital duty to work the long hours necessary for
keeping all its functions in stable working order. After all, her work here
was all she had left, since the day not too long ago when Kami-sama
unexpectedly turned the Goddess Relief Office over to Peorth’s control for
an indeterminate duration. Belldandy’s current duties at least kept her
occupied, but they were not as fulfilling as the ones she had once
performed.



Tapping away at the interface before her (appearing as a keyboard composed
of solid light), Belldandy called up one of the Earth Realm monitors
available to her. A life-like image appeared in midair, and she smiled
somewhat sadly at the face revealed to her. She had never met the
particular mortal she now watched, yet his life had somehow fascinated her
for several years now. Today was his wedding day, if she understood the
significance of the ceremony he was currently involved in correctly. She
watched as he took the small cup of sake from the robed and veiled woman
before him, her face covered with thick layers of white makeup so that it
appeared to be that of a porcelain doll. A single tear rolled down one of
Belldandy’s cheeks as she saw him drink from the cup and smile at the young
woman before him.



However, despite her unexpected melancholy at the sight, the young goddess
was not worried for his future. She had watched their first meeting and the
following marriage arrangements made between the two families, all done in
the traditional manner. She had witnessed both young mortals explore a
hesitant courtship with each other as they shyly fell in love. Now, she saw
the culmination of their tender passions for each other in matrimony.
Another tear slowly rolled down her cheek, and Belldandy absently rubbed it
away, chiding herself for growing so attached to a mere mortal. She was
very happy for him, yet strangely wistful all the same. She knew that the
mortal woman would love him as deeply as any woman could, even as deeply as
the young goddess watching found herself wishing that she could.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



*** Earth +2.615, -1.494



Unaware of the benevolent witness to their nuptials, a nerve-racked Keiichi
Morisato stood next to his shy, new bride, now known as Kasumi Morisato.
The kneeling pair turned to face their friends and their respective
families, who had come to share in this happy event. The bride,
understandably unwilling to disturb the white perfection of her makeup,
could only show her happiness through her eyes, but every guest could see
that they shone brightly with her emotions.



The view briefly panned around the audience, showing another young couple
seated near the front for a moment. Both teens were dressed in a
traditional manner for this solemn occasion. The boy, a seventeen-year old
youth named Kinagi Tendo, wore his brown hair tied back into a tight
pigtail. He was only recently returned to his family from a grueling,
decade-long training trip studying the martial arts under his father’s
friend, Genma Saotome. On his right sat a black-haired girl, Ranko Saotome,
his fiancée and primary sparring partner of late. While she was mainly
watching the proceedings, occasionally she glanced at the boy seated next
to her, and, more wrathfully, at the Chinese girl clinging to Kinagi like a
limpet. She also watched the windows and doors, as if expecting intruders.



Hanging by her fingers outside the window, Sakura Kasugano watched the
proceedings with envy, occasionally turning a spiteful gaze at the girl
seated with her Tendo-senpai, the boy she loved with all her being. A long,
still-healing cut ran down the side of her face, one certain to leave a
scar. She ached with her need to attack the Saotome girl, to avenge herself
for her injury. She could not imagine hating anyone more than she hated
Ranko Saotome. Only her promise to the Tendo boy to not disrupt his
sister’s marriage held her at bay.



In the back of the room, Asuka Saginomiya struggled against her bonds and
tried to work the gag free from her mouth, seething within for being bound
like this by her nemesis, that miserable Ranko Saotome strumpet. How dare
that lowly commoner treat one of her breeding like this? She was the White
Lily! She was the one true love of her precious Kinagi-sama!



Perfume spent most of her time sighing happily as she watched the ceremony
while clinging to the arm of her Airen. Occasionally, she stared daggers at
the dark-haired Saotome girl. Once the wedding couple departed, the truce
Kinagi had asked for would be done. Then Perfume would attack and try to
finally end her rivalry with the shorter girl once and for all.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



*** Heaven +2.615, -1.494



So intent was Belldandy on watching all aspects of the wedding that she did
not sense the sudden intrusion into the datacore. A solitary figure slowly
materialized next to one wall in the chamber, appearing in a swirl of amber
light. It stood completely cloaked in dark robes, its head concealed from
view behind a hood. Without hesitation, it strode over to one of the nearby
consoles and stretched forth a gloved hand. Runes began to scroll across
the display in a blur, the figure studying them very intently. As it did
so, the face was finally revealed: the Shogun of the Dark.



The Shogun quickly found what he was looking for and paused the display to
study the runes on the screen, frowning at what he was seeing. That
damnable Washu had somehow managed to bring the equally irritating Doctor
back to life and combined forces with him! It appeared the pair would
stymie him once again on this iteration. After a few moments, he gestured
at the display with one hand in disgust, and the console went back to its
normal mode. Stepping away from the wall and turning around, his task
completed, he halted for a brief time and watched the scene that the
solitary goddess was watching, as well as Belldandy herself. While he did
so, he idly recalled once brutally ending the young goddess’ life on a
prior iteration and obtaining her access codes.



Perhaps somehow sensing eyes upon her, Belldandy quickly turned and glanced
around the chamber, but her senses detected nothing. She checked the system
logs, but she was the only one logged in right now. She frowned; a terminal
she had been using earlier was still logged into the system. She chastised
herself for her carelessness and shut it down.



Suspecting that it was only some sort of phantasm conjured up by her own
unexpected emotionalism, the Goddess of the Present eventually turned back
to her consoles. She felt safe in the knowledge that the security monitors
would sound if there was any unauthorized presence. She went back to
studying the young man displayed once more.



Behind Belldandy, the Shogun raised a hand and dissolved away into amber
light, a glow that quickly vanished into nothingness. He had already
formulated a plan to finally eliminate the Doctor and Washu from any future
opposition.



Perhaps on the next iteration he would finally win.





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.





The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

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

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 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. Mousse made his way back to Joketsuzoku after his ordeal at
Jusenkyo. Yusaku Godai began dealing with his own women problems. Ryoga and
Ukyo finally met and fought, and the truth of Ukyo’s gender was revealed by
Nabiki towards the end of it, earning the Tendo girl Ukyo’s wrath. Genma
visits the Arena and enrolls Ranma to participate in an upcoming Amazon
Challenge. Ranma began establishing his identity as ‘Ranko Kuonji’ with
Yumi’s help, and adjusting to the part of him that was now female. Kuno
gets a date to the upcoming dance at Ohtori. Ukyo acquires a familiar
admirer, and some individuals from Shampoo’s past begin travelling to Tokyo.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Chapter 26 – The Ohtori Gambit



     The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena

     of the Universe, the rules of the game are what we call the

     laws of Nature and the player on the other side is hidden

     from us.



                              - Thomas Huxley



xxxxxxxxxxxxxx





*** Earth 0.000, 0.000



The clash of blades sounded as Juri and Utena locked their weapons
together, each of them straining to push the other back. The rising sun
cast slowly moving shadows around the pair as their morning duel
progressed. Utena shifted suddenly and kneed Juri low in the gut. She was
feeling light, and it showed in her graceful movements, smiling almost as
brightly as the sun itself. Frankly, combined with what had happened at the
Kunos, it was irritating Juri and putting her off her timing.



Utena was happy because Ranma was coming with her to the Spring Formal.
Ever since he had accepted her invitation, it seemed like nothing could
bring down her mood, not even the likes of Nanami Kiryuu or Saionji
Kyouichi. After only a relatively brief time spent in the pigtailed boy’s
presence, she felt she now truly understood what it meant to find her
prince, an amusing thing since she considered herself a prince as well. Her
step was light as her heart seemed to sing within her as she battered Juri
backwards, her weapon ringing against the other girl’s.



The redheaded Juri was still in a bit of shock over what had happened
between her and Tatewaki Kuno: her parents were forcing her to attend the
Spring Formal with the Kuno heir. Judging by her mother’s state of
happiness over the past several days, it was also entirely possible that
their parents had made an engagement agreement behind their backs. She
wished the boy had given her some excuse to engage him in a duel, to see if
his reputed skill with a blade was undeserved, but he gave her no such
excuse. His manners were impeccable that night. While he spoke in an older,
courtlier fashion, it was an oddly charming affectation. And when he had
looked at her....



She shied away from her memories of that moment. She was not some weak,
swooning girl prone to getting faint-hearted over a boy like so many of the
spineless girls on Ohtori’s campus. No, she was Juri Arisugawa, a young
woman who prided herself on her strength and independence. Ask any of her
peers in the Student Council, and they would attest to that. When she and
the Kuno heir were together at the dance, she would just ask him outright
if he knew anything of an engagement. Right now, she was uncertain if she
wanted it to be true or not, which only added to her distraction and made
things even easier for Utena.



Off to one side, Miki Kaoru was absently trying to occupy himself with his
stopwatch, his attention was distracted. All he could seem to think about
was Kodachi Kuno and seeing her at the dance that weekend. He sighed
wistfully, his gaze distant.



While Touga Kiryuu was not one to sigh wistfully for any woman, he too was
thinking about the upcoming dance, his heart a bit lighter in his chest.
Fortunately for him, his troublesome younger sister had been assigned by
the family to be the escort for Mikado Sanzenin, so that should keep her
from getting under foot while he worked on wooing the eminently attractive
Nabiki Tendo. He considered again how best to combine his two goals:
seducing the Tendo girl and also eliminating Ranma Saotome from the picture.



Well, he still had a few more days to put a plan into action. He gave a
smile to Miki, but his co-conspirator was caught up in his pining for the
Kuno girl. That amused Touga.



It was promising to be the most interesting social event of the year.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



As was his usual routine, after completing his early morning workout,
Tatewaki Kuno was now meditating, striving to clear his mind of all
thought, to empty himself of all distractions. He failed. His mind was
troubled, preventing him from achieving serenity. He had not slept well at
all last night, not since meeting the Arisugawa girl.



His eyes suddenly opened at the mere thought of her name, seeming to blaze
within from the passions he felt burning inside him. He could not get her
out of his mind, not since meeting her. Yet how could he be so fickle in
his feelings? How could he let his noble, valorous heart stray from his two
fierce lionesses, the beautiful Tendo sisters? It was like he was bewitched
by the newcomer to his life, like the clever Nabiki and the spirited Akane
had previously bewitched him.



She had been dressed traditionally and been properly demure in her
movements, but she could have been naked for as much attention as he had
paid to her attire. In truth, he was hard pressed to even recall the color
of her kimono. He had gazed at her face, smelled the gentle perfume he
scented when they were first facing each other and then it seemed as if the
very heavens themselves opened behind her. He was lost to her, intently
aware of her on a visceral level that very few girls had ever been able to
arouse in his heart.



While at dinner, the two mothers had exchanged pleasantries briefly before
Kenseiko had begun making a series of inquiries to Juri on her suitability
for marriage into the Kunos. During that time, Kodachi had leaned over to
him and mentioned in passing that the vision before him was reputed to be a
swordswoman of great skill and that she had boldly rejected all previous
suitors, for none were apparently able to match her ability with a blade.
That had only inflamed his passions even more, for women of strength were
his one admitted weakness.



At one time, that would have been the White Lily, but her spitefulness and
shrewishness had eventually chilled his ardor. He was thankful to the kami
that he had since made the acquaintance of far superior girls since then,
young women he would someday have in his bed and his life, such as the
clever-eyed and athletic Nabiki Tendo and her fiercely powerful younger
sibling. Oh, how he yearned deeply for them both, but especially for the
middle Tendo daughter. Her physical strength and combat skill were a
challenge to him, a challenge he would someday master and bend her to his
will.



Aside from the two sisters, there was another he ached to offer his
attentions to, a girl he had caught only the briefest glimpse of. But what
a girl she was! A bit shorter than the youngest Tendo, her hair was a
lustrous red in color held back into a short pigtail, and her full-breasted
and callipygian figure would inflame any man to madness with desire. Kuno
felt his body respond powerfully at the mere thought of her shapely frame
and the angelic face she possessed. She was a mystery to him, a beautiful,
dreamlike, nameless wonder of a girl.



However, now there was Juri Arisugawa in his life, one who combined so many
of the features of his other true loves into a singular package of divine
womanhood. She was clever like unto Nabiki Tendo, a fact she ably proved
last night as she responded to his mother’s questioning. Yet her frame was
strong and well-formed, and her gaze carried within it a fierce challenge
that reminded him of the younger Tendo. Her face was the face of a goddess,
framed by reddish, lustrous hair like that of the mysterious pigtailed
girl, its fulsome fullness contained with clasps and worn straight down her
back.



How could one man love four women equally? Yet how could he restrain
himself and claim only one? His heart burned for them all, each one
arousing a unique form of passion within him. Perhaps, at the dance at
Ohtori, he would inquire of the Arisugawa girl her feelings on his having
mistresses. Although, as a precaution, he would ask his good friend Mikado
Sanzenin for advice on the matter first.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Nabiki focused her perceptions on a point on the ceiling as she pushed her
nemesis up again. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, the barbell in her hands
pistoned up from her body again, and she felt the increasing burn in the
muscles in her shoulders and upper arms. Several more drops of sweat fell
from her body to drip upon the ground.



“Forty-two,” she grunted out when her arm reached full extension and then
she lowered them and repeated the cycle. When she got to fifty, she pressed
the barbell up one final time and laid it in the rack over her head. She
then sat up a bit tiredly and wiped at her face with the towel she had
draped around her neck.



Eight sets of fifty repetitions with the weighted barbell brought back
memories of her mother working the younger versions of herself and her two
sisters until they were ready to drop. The three of them had been the
woman’s private training cadre, subjected to a regimen of weights, roadwork
and various combat exercises that would have made even most Imperial
Marines cry like a baby after a single session. Nabiki grinned at the
thought, feeling the lithe swell of muscles in her arm with one hand.



Ever since her experience with Ranma’s resonator, she had ratcheted up her
personal training, no longer content with simply having a good figure and
controlling her weight. She had let herself soften somewhat after her
mother’s death. But, since that day weeks ago, she had not only quickly
regained her old form but now far surpassed it. Every muscle in her body
was responding amazingly well to exercise, growing even stronger than they
had ever been before.



She was grateful that her body type was not one to grow bulky, as some
women did, but there was a much greater solidity to her frame now from
several additional kilograms of muscle. By combining her knowledge of diet
and modern scientific weight training methods with the much more ancient
knowledge from her other self, she had transformed her physique with
incredible speed. Not that she had been flabby before, but merely being
toned was not good enough anymore.



As she rested on the bench for a few moments, she thought about Yohko’s
concerns for her, that she was making a huge mistake in trying to make
Ranma jealous using Touga. She scoffed at the notion. Instead of being a
nice guy like her analog’s fiancé, Ranma was pretty consistently an
obstinate jerk towards her. He needed to be shown that she was not a girl
he could just take for granted, no matter how many other girls he currently
had vying for his attention. Even after his learning of their engagement,
he had never once asked her out on a date, not like he had with Ukyo. He
had never once spent lunchtime with her, not like he had with Ukyo and
Kodachi. He had never even bought her a can of juice. It was frankly quite
irritating to her, and it also hurt.



Thoughts of her rivals for his attentions confused her. Just what did Ranma
see in mannish cross-dressers like Ukyo or that Utena girl? Ukyo she could
sort of understand, since Ranma had been engaged to her on other timelines
he had visited, and maybe Utena was benefitting from his memories of
dealings with that other Ukyo as well. When they had shared their stories,
he had admitted to one of his analogs being good friends with the
okonomiyaki chef. Kodachi was an even easier analysis. Boys liked the
floozy look, and the Kuno girl was definitely one of those, right down to
her seductive build and dreamy-eyed gaze. Ranma had been oddly evasive
about what those other versions of Kodachi Kuno he knew were like, which
made Nabiki feel suspicious.



While thinking of her rivals for Ranma, her musings inevitably turned to
Akane, and she felt twinges of regret for what was happening between her
and her younger sister. They had not spoken very much since she was
transferred to Furinkan. At first, things seemed to be going according to
plan, but her hopes that Akane would find a boy to take her mind off Ranma
had apparently failed. It was amazing that with an Academy full of officer
trainees to choose from, not one had measured up to even Akane’s admittedly
high standards. She was still totally fixated on Ranma, the only boy who
had ever managed to overcome her physically.



That was the problem. Akane still only looked at Ranma on a physical level.
That was the way her sister looked at every young man. The pigtailed boy
was more than a body and more than merely his fighting skills. He had a
brilliant future ahead of him someday in the Science Ministry or one of the
corporations in the Empire, and he needed a wife who could guide him and
advise him to achieve his maximum possible level of success.



The main problem Nabiki saw was that Ranma apparently felt no threats to
his growing harem, so he could just take them all for granted. And she was
not going to be someone taken for granted. She was going to attend the
dance at Ohtori and spend some time with Touga. Without being blatant about
it, she would encourage the young nobleman to pursue her and at the same
time fend him off by figuratively placing the pigtailed boy between them.



The end result of this? Ranma acquired a strong rival, one handsome, rich
and well-spoken as well as being a strong fighter. He would have to pay
more attention to her then and be more aware of her feelings, or risk
losing her to that rival. Then she could gradually drive off her own rivals
for the pigtailed boy’s attentions before she finally ended her association
with Touga. At that point her relationship with the pigtailed boy could
then move on to the next level, the two of them dating each other
exclusively and beginning to plan together for their future, like how her
best friend Yohko was doing with Kyosuke.



Feeling confident she was on the right path to winning Ranma’s heart,
Nabiki stood in front of the full-length mirror and flexed, noting the
swell of taut muscles flowing under her skin. Her anatomy was more like
Kasumi’s than Akane’s, albeit a bit shorter than her older sister’s leggier
frame. She admired herself a little in the mirror before she pulled on some
sweats, strapped on heavy weights to her arms and legs and then headed out
to do her nightly roadwork. Now that Ranma had somehow lucked out and was
under the tutelage of a fighting legend like Jun Fan Lee, she knew she had
to work even harder and keep training even more severely to keep the
pressure on the pigtailed boy, no matter what.



After all, she was the true heir to the Anything-Goes School.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Standing in the midst of the lab space he had been given by Kodachi, Ranma
minutely adjusted the power settings on the device held in his hand and
waited as its digital timer counted down to zero. He started the video
recorder next to him while he waited. When the timer ran out, he pointed
the device at an empty area of the lab and activated it.



A thin stream of energy flowed to a point some three meters in front of him
and then a rippling washed outwards across the air before him, forming a
field of distortion in a rough circle a little over two meters in diameter.
A slight breeze immediately began flowing towards it. While he could still
see the far side of the room, the light that reached his eyes was slightly
blue-shifted as it passed through the region of distortion. He kept well
away from it and tossed a tennis ball into the center. The ball promptly
vanished through the wormhole.



Some thirty seconds later, the distortion vanished with a sudden snap, like
the breaking of a circuit, and the flow of air halted. Ranma made some
notes and adjusted the field settings again, even as the numbers on the
digital readout on the device’s face blinked several times. A new number
suddenly appeared and showed the time until the next window, some three
hours from now.



Seeing that, Ranma sighed and turned off the digital video recorder he had
been using and set the device down. He had been fortunate earlier to have
had several alignments take place in a rather short period of time,
allowing him to test variations in field strength and power levels. He made
a notation on the equation he was working on, Ranko’s equation, the one
that had led her to creating this device. It was proving to be a
fascinating adjunct to his own researches, and several areas of future
study had occurred to him, all because of his new memories from his female
analog.



The device only generated a portal when the paraequipotential flux energies
between two alternate Earths aligned just right, and even then the effect
was not very stable. As soon as the alignment slipped too far out of phase,
the portal would collapse, snapping closed and then contact between the two
worlds would be lost. Based on his findings, thirty seconds seemed to be
the maximum duration of a portal.



He had done as much as he could here. The rest would have to wait until
after his father finished building the beacon. He still had to get in some
more training time tonight before going home. After packing up what he was
taking with him, he powered everything down and turned off the lights. He
left and locked the door behind him.



Ranma stood in the empty hallway and looked down it in the direction where
Kodachi’s room lay, feeling an odd lump in his throat at the thought of the
young noblewoman. He resented the fact that Ryoga was pretending to be her
pet pig, but he was at a loss as to how to deal with it. Revealing the
other boy’s secret carried too big a risk of exposing his own, and he
wasn’t prepared to do that, not yet. But the next time he caught Ryoga
alone, he was going to pound him for taking advantage of Kodachi like this.
Maybe pig-napping was a viable option. Either way, he figured he still owed
the other boy for cursing him to turn into a girl, pig curse or not.



As for Kodachi, they had not spoken much in several days, and he had been
spending his lunches with Ukyo. However, he was sure, once he dealt with
the dance and this Miki Kaoru guy trying to come between them, that
everything would be fine with her once again. There was no way he was going
to lose to some bishonen with a stopwatch fetish like Miki.



At least his troubles with Nabiki were much simpler and more easily
resolved, without any romantic rivals involved to complicate things between
them. She didn’t spend any time with any guys other than him. Her
reputation as the Iron Bitch kept them all at a distance.



Except for Kuno, but he was an idiot.



Or that Kinnosuke Kashuoh psycho.



Or that smarmy Touga Kiryuu jerk.



Or Ryoga, who had seemed pretty familiar with her.



Hmmm.



Ranma shook his head. He was worrying over nothing and only making himself
feel paranoid. Besides, he was a much better choice than any of those other
guys. There was no way she was more interested in any of them rather than
him. While she had been friendly with that Touga guy when they were at
Ohtori, it was probably just some kind of one-time mind game she had been
playing on him, to try and make him feel jealous. Well, it wasn’t going to
work. He was not going to fall for anything cooked up by a bossy,
manipulative girl like Nabiki Tendo, no matter how strongly attractive she
was to him. They were fierce rivals, both of them determined to best the
other once and for all, despite their being engaged to each other. This was
as far as his interest in her went. This was the sort of thing he kept
telling himself when it came to her.



The matter settled for now in his mind, he turned his thoughts to the crux
of the trouble between them. No matter how much Nabiki wanted to claim the
top spot of being the true heir to the Anything-Goes School, he wasn’t
about to let her have it. The way he saw it, he definitely had far more
right to it than she did, and he was just going to have to prove it to her
through force. Her mastery of the Amaguriken technique was merely a
temporary setback in their ongoing struggle with each other. Once he added
it to his own repertoire as well, her small advantage over him would be
gone and then he would beat her decisively in their next match.



The matter decided, he turned and headed away from Kodachi’s room.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Kodachi was trying on dresses in her room, still trying to make her attire
decision for the upcoming dance. According to Konatsu, her new little pet
pig, P-chan, was out wandering the grounds and exploring his new home. She
would have liked for him to be here. He always seemed so attentive to her
when she was changing clothes, and she enjoyed having someone pay her
attention like that. If only her fiancé would be that attentive to her. She
sighed and removed her current dress to stand once again in only a bra and
panties.



She knew they were having a bit of trouble in their budding courtship right
now, and it saddened her. She didn’t want to be cross with him, but Ranma
made things so difficult with his thoughtlessness. Why could he not make
more of an effort to send away those other, far less worthy girls that
seemed intent on sniffing around him like animals in heat? That horrible
Nabiki Tendo was the absolute worst with her clever eyes and flippant
remarks, not to mention how infuriating it was to lose to her every time in
sparring matches. And the less she thought about that perverted
cross-dressing savage named Ukyo Kuonji the better. At least the vile and
brutish Akane Tendo had gone away, as well as the sluttish Utena Tenjou.



She picked up another dress.



She just wasn’t able to find the right appearance. Should she go for a more
demure look? After all, she didn’t want to give Miki the wrong idea about
where she intended their rekindled relationship to go. She wanted him as
her friend and to be her confidant like before.



However, maybe she should go with an outfit more bold and alluring? That
would make her feel more desirable and boost her confidence when it came to
attracting male attention, but she felt a bit shy about what Miki might
think. He might consider her to be interested in him, which, while it was
true, it just wouldn’t be proper for her to give him that impression, now
that she was engaged to Ranma.



Still, the notion of inflaming her childhood friend with desire for her was
a naughtily tempting thought. Miki was handsome, and her memories from
Sukeban-Kodachi of tender kisses and sweaty intimacies exchanged with the
version of the Kaoru boy from her timeline were very tempting. She nibbled
briefly on her lower lip and considered the next dress, one which would
require her to forego wearing a bra due to its very low-cut front which
would expose a truly daring amount of skin, not to mention it being
backless. She considered it for a long moment, holding it in front of her.



She just couldn’t decide. She tossed the dress on the floor where it joined
dozens of others.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Still fully dressed in his Whitehall uniform, Mikado fell to the bed
beneath Asuka, who loomed over him as she sat astride his hips. She was
still wearing her Blackhall uniform, having dragged him back here to her
private chambers when she found him waiting for her in her home upon her
return from school. She usually came home a bit late, due to her duties as
captain of Blackhall’s undefeated Rhythmic Gymnastics team. She gazed down
at him coldly.



“You’ve been missing for several days, Mikado-kun,” she growled low in
anger, even as her hands began removing her jacket. She swiftly tossed it
aside and began deftly unbuttoning her blouse. “Nanashi-sensei was not
pleased. However, even more importantly, _I_ was not pleased. When you
interjected your loathsome, philandering self into my private affairs,
volunteering to learn at my side the secrets Nanashi-sensei has to offer, I
should have expected your dedication to be weak.”



Mikado glared up at her. “Asuka-chan, my sweet,” he said in cold tones.
“You have no idea what I have been through these past few days.”



“Nor do I care to hear about the undoubtedly sordid details,” she said
grimly. She tossed aside her blouse, finding herself becoming aroused from
her dominant position over him. When he reached his hands up to fondle her
full breasts, she hastily slapped them away before beginning to undo her
brassiere. “You will not touch me unless I allow it, you philandering
Casanova wannabe. And I do not allow it now. So just lie there and keep
your hands away from me until I say otherwise.”



“Truly I am blessed by the warmth of your regard for me,” he replied
sarcastically, even as he felt his body responding to her nearness. After
the exquisite sight of Kodachi Kuno paraded before his eyes in various
states of dress and undress for the past few days, he needed relief. And
while Asuka was a spiteful, treacherous bitch that could not compare in the
least to the demure and innocent Kodachi, it was her abilities in the
bedchambers that he needed now. He smiled up at her. “I don’t know how I
was able to exist without basking in its glow.”



So far, he had been managing to attend his classes at Whitehall with the
help of the cross-dressing freak, Konatsu, sneaking out while Kodachi was
away at school and then quickly returning to her chambers before she
returned. However, after several days of that, he could stand it no longer.
While he was learning so much about his gentle goddess, his edginess had
been building, his need for a woman almost killing him. He needed relief,
even from a bitter, vindictive shrew like the White Lily. He would tolerate
her petty little power games only so long as he was able to satisfy himself
soon.



“Mikado-kun,” Asuka said, tossing aside her brassiere, her breasts bared
now as she reared back a little. “Do us both a favor and shut up. I have no
interest in whatever inane chatter you choose to spew out. I have other
needs for that tongue of yours.” And with that, she leaned forward and
began removing his jacket and shirt, casting them aside to join her own
clothing items. She then lowered herself on him and took his lips in a deep
and passionate kiss as she let her full weight come to rest on him.



Her hands slid down his arms, enjoying the feel of his muscles, her fingers
finally becoming laced with his. A fire was inside her as she kissed with
him, and she felt her body responding to his powerfully. Even though she
hated every single fiber of his being with a passion, she could not deny
the profound physical attraction she felt for him. Being with him was on a
plateau all its own. Even the hatred she felt for him seemed to make their
unions all the more intense and enjoyable.



Mikado groaned into the kiss, closing his eyes, feeling the weight of her
nubile body pressing down on him, light as it was. He despised her
personality and always had, even as his body yearned for her. She was a
paradox to him. Out of the many dozens of sexual conquests he had made so
far in his life, never before had he returned to one for more. Only the
wicked, unscrupulous Asuka Saginomiya had that singular honor, of receiving
his manly attentions again after he had already taken her virginity. Still,
he could not deny how she made him feel, the sheer bliss he felt when their
bodies were conjoined in sexual congress together. His hatred for her
seemed to make it all the more profound.



Someday, he would take Kodachi to his bed like this and make her his wife,
after he claimed the Tendo girl’s virginity and discarded her to the trash
heap of his other former lovers. Then he would be able to toss the shrewish
Asuka aside as well, without as much as a single backwards glance.



The thought of Nabiki fired his libido. There was something about the older
girl, beyond the incredible body she had, something he had felt in their
one brief encounter. He would not be satisfied until he had bedded her.



Yet there was now another girl he lusted after, the commoner bitch that had
almost unmanned him with her knee: Ranko Kuonji. The hours spent listening
to his beloved goddess had allowed him to finally learn her name; the girl
having once visited Kodachi’s class. His best friend Tatewaki had seen her
as well, waxing long and poetically about her fierce beauty. Mikado had
kept his knowledge of her identity to himself even as he had listened with
an inward shake of his head at his best friend’s stupidity. The girl was a
vicious peasant, not a paragon of femininity.



He already had special plans in mind for her, the thought of the pigtailed
girl giving rise to far darker passions than lust within him. Apparently,
she had been strong enough to defeat the Tendo girl. In turn, Nabiki had
beaten Ranma in a fistfight. That made his plans all the more needful of
caution. He would bide his time until his skills were at their peak,
sufficiently prepared by Nanashi-sensei’s teachings and training and then
he would challenge this Ranko Kuonji to a duel. He would then crush her
like the lowly insect she was. The commoner girl would pay for attempting
to unman him and pay dearly.



For once he had defeated her and beaten her unconscious, he would take her
home. He would ravish that beautiful body of hers until he was sated, for
the crime she had done to him, demonstrating the indomitable strength of
his virility. And once he had satiated his lusts for the girl, he would
bring her to a certain place he knew of, where the wealthy and the powerful
played dark games of pleasure, vice and debauchery. There he would offer
her to the Mistress of that place for proper training, to have her spirit
broken and remade into a proper plaything for a man.



When the commoner wench was properly debased and trained, her arrogant
spirit crushed for her many sins against him, for daring to cause harm to
his precious manhood and getting him cursed to turn into a pig, he would
then give her to Tatewaki. At that point, she would make a fine gift for
his oldest and closest friend in the world. It would be his token of
appreciation for the close bond of man-to-man friendship that they had
shared together for years.



The next to fall would be the fools pursuing Kodachi, such as that
miserable, low-born cur, Ranma Saotome. As to Miki Kaoru, he was hardly an
impediment, coming from an old but faltering noble family, one whose
business interests would be fatally damaged if the Sanzenins so much as
looked crossly in their direction. Once those two were removed from the
picture, Kodachi would surely become his. He would see to it that his
father made a significantly larger proposal of money and political capital
for Kodachi this time, perhaps even offering his thuggish younger sister in
marriage to Tatewaki to further cement their two noble families together in
a solid alliance, a proposal that Tatewaki’s sire would be an utter fool to
turn away.



The thought of his future victory made his blood sing within him. It would
be inevitable. Feeling his libido invigorated by his plans, he then turned
his full attentions to the vile but exquisitely beautiful Asuka, enjoying
her womanly charms to the fullest. She responded with proper eagerness,
even if she adamantly refused to cede him control of their encounter.



It was good to be Mikado Sanzenin.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



On Wednesday morning, there was finally a break in Fuyutsuki’s search for
the mysterious youth who had attacked Ukyo Kuonji on campus the other day
and demonstrated such physical might. One of the students he had heard
talking in the hall that morning had mentioned the boy’s name: Ryoga
Hibiki. He had gone back to his office immediately and done a quick search
for the boy in the Project’s records. The last name had been familiar.



Ah, yes, he remembered this one now as he read through the file. The boy
had responded quite well to the introduction of the symbiote to his body.
Unfortunately, while it had increased his natural abilities in strength,
endurance and, to a lesser extent, intellect, it had done nothing to cure
the genetic trait of direction dyslexia suffered by his family. It had been
in hopes of removing that inherited curse that had encouraged his parents
to enroll him in the Project.



The boy had grown up in a remote region of the Empire, but the Project
administrators had made sure that his home village’s school was given a
series of instructors who would inculcate the boy with a broad spectrum of
knowledge. He read through their reports and nodded. While he wasn’t quite
the genius that the Saotome boy was, he more than made up for it in
physical abilities. Even at his present age, the boy’s strength was
phenomenal, far beyond that of any other Adam in the Project and able to
lift nearly a metric ton of mass.



Fuyutsuki pondered how best to keep the boy around campus. He finally
decided that an implanted tracking chip in Ryoga was probably the least
obtrusive method to avoid his wandering off for extended periods of time.
The boy could live in the dormitories with the other students who had
families in more distant regions of Japan. Perhaps until Ryoga had settled
himself, he would assign Nabiki Tendo to make sure the boy learned and
understood the rules, and she could assist him to get to his classes and
take him off-campus with a minimum of fuss. He had no doubts that Ryoga
could pass even the Academy’s entrance exams. His instructors had given him
consistently high marks in scholastics.



Leaning back in his chair and picking up the telephone, he felt quite
pleased at this development. He dialed the Security Directorate and
requested Ryoga be picked up and delivered to him as soon as possible.
After the boy received his tracking chip, he could simply notify them
whenever Ryoga went beyond the boundaries of Nerima, and they could
retrieve him. Yes, that would deal nicely with the boy’s direction problems.



It would be nice to have another Adam on campus. Ranma could use a bit more
male competition.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



That afternoon, while sparring with Jun Fan Lee for the first time that
week, the previous days having been spent exclusively on flexibility
exercises and strength training, Ranma kept noticing the other man giving
him odd expressions as they went at it for a while. The two had been
sparring together intensely for about an hour when the older man suddenly
stopped.



“Hold,” Lee suddenly said, lowering his hands. “What is this? Were you
holding back with Nabiki last week?”



Ranma quickly glanced outside where Nabiki and Kodachi were going through
training exercises. A tap on his head brought his attention back to his new
master. He saw the man looking at him sternly.



“I wasn’t holding back,” the pigtailed boy finally said.



“Ranma, I’ve known a lot of high-end Arena fighters who couldn’t keep up
with me like you’re doing now,” Lee commented, his facial expression one of
puzzlement. “And I’m not talking your speed alone, but also your
flexibility, reflexes, endurance and bodily strength. So, if it wasn’t that
you were holding back, why are you so much better now?”



The pigtailed boy shrugged. “It’s... difficult to explain.”



“Try me.”



“I can’t. Not really.” Ranma looked away. At that moment, he wished his
real father was around to talk to. This was the sort of thing he had always
been able to speak to the man about, even something as strange as a
Jusenkyo curse or what happened to him with the resonator.



Master Lee sighed. “Then perhaps I should ask Nabiki to be my disciple,
after all. A student who can’t confide things to his master shows a lack of
trust in that master. If you don’t trust me, I can’t teach you.”



The pigtailed boy snapped his gaze back to the older man. He saw the other
man soften his expression a little.



“Perhaps you will find it easier to confide in me if I also confide
something to you, Ranma,” Lee said after a moment. “Something none of my
biographers even know. Come with me.”



The two of them went up the roof area. They were alone up there, the rest
of the student body currently in their classrooms. The weather was
pleasant, with a soft breeze rolling through the air. Cars could be heard
passing by on the street in front of the Academy. Down below, Ranma could
see Nabiki and Kodachi sparring, the Kuno girl taking the worst of it, but
not as badly as she once did. Ranma felt happy to see she was improving.



“What I’m about to tell you is just between you and me, Ranma,” Lee said
while seated on one of the rooftop benches. “Tell no one else.”



“All right.” The pigtailed boy sat on another bench and listened.



“Many years ago, when I was a small boy, I became an orphan. My parents
died in a car crash in the mountains of western China, but I survived. I
was only five.” Lee looked up at the skies. “It was there that I met my
true master, not the name I gave in stories I told in the Arena.”



Ranma looked at his master in puzzlement. “Who was it?”



“A fugitive from the Empire,” Lee replied. “One of the most wanted men in
the Empire at the time, actually.” There was a brief pause. “My true master
was Wong Fei-Hung.”



“But-” Ramna started to say and then stopped. In those other worlds he
knew, Wong Fei-Hung died years before Jun Fan Lee was even born. On Ranma’s
world, the man had been a persistent thorn in the side of the Empire’s
efforts to conquer China, with a reward for his capture that many had tried
to collect. He instead said, “He would have been almost a century old.”



“He was very old.” Lee looked over at him. “He finally passed away when I
was seventeen. I took everything he taught me and went looking for my
fortune in the Arena the day after I buried him in those mountains he had
hidden in for so long.”



Ranma thought about that. He had been amazed to meet Master Lee, and now he
was even more amazed to realize that the man had been taught by such a
legendary figure. Wong Fei-Hung had defied the Empire of Japan for over two
decades before finally vanishing from sight. Nobody had ever heard from him
again.



“He taught you, and now you’re teaching me.” The pigtailed boy was feeling
awed again, like he had when first meeting Master Lee.



“Not if you can’t tell me what’s going on with you, Ranma,” Lee said
sternly, his gaze firm. “I want you to explain to me what happened to you
over the weekend, between the last time I saw you and Monday. And I want to
know how you learned the Anything-Goes style, a dead school that has been
lost to the world for generations.” He then said, more gently, “I meant
what I said, Ranma. A true sort of master-disciple relationship is one
built on trust. I can’t teach you properly, if you don’t think you can
trust me.”



Ranma took a deep breath and let it out slowly.



“All right.” The pigtailed boy sat down next to Lee. “This is going to be a
long story.”



Ranma began to relate his tale, beginning with his acquiring the
Anything-Goes School through the resonator from the memories of his
analogs, and confirming for the other man that Nabiki had learned her
abilities the same way. He went on for some time, trying to cover every
detail he could. He ended with his fall into the Jusenkyo water, which
prompted an explanation of what he knew of the cursed pools of that place.



Through it all, Lee sat calmly and listened. When Ranma was done, the older
man held up a hand.



“So, you turn into a girl?” he asked. “I would like you to show me this
other form.”



“Now?” Ranma asked, looking a little wide-eyed. After hearing about the
existence of other worlds, he was more interested in the fact that he could
turn into a girl?



“Yes, Ranma.” His expression was calm, but there was a faint twinkle of
amusement there. “Now.”



They went down to the faculty restroom in the same structure where the
training with Tiger had once taken place for the rematch against Utena.
There was only one door in and out, allowing even more security. While
Master Lee waited, Ranma went into the shower stall and stripped off his
clothing. He took a deep breath and stepped under the spray of cold water,
watching himself and counting seconds in his mind. After a count of a
hundred and forty, foam suddenly appeared on his skin when the waterproof
soap finally failed, and the transformation occurred moments later.



After toweling off, Ranma-chan put back on her Chinese-style shirt and gi
pants and stepped out of the shower stall. Master Lee gave her a
speculative look and nodded.



“You become a more interesting student the longer I come to know you, Ranma
Saotome. I will keep your secret, and I trust you will keep mine. You have
my word I will tell no one else about your problem. Now come along... girl.
I’ve seen how strong your yang aspect is. Let’s see how strong your yin
aspect is.”



With that, Master Lee strode out of the room, and Ranma-chan trailed behind
him after a few moments. They ended up in the same training hall where
Ranma had done his training with Tiger. The damage from his battles with
the catgirl had been cleaned up, the room repainted. It was very quiet.



“Now, let us see how you do as a girl, my young disciple,” Lee said with an
amused look.



Ranma-chan was a little irritated that this all seemed to be so funny to
the man. She attacked with a fury, and Lee accepted her intense efforts
against his seemingly unbreakable defenses and even maintained a running
commentary as he fended her off.



“Your speed is improved, but your reach is a bit shorter than your male
form’s and your impact power is slightly less,” the older man said with a
very slight smile. “Your flexibility and range of motion seems to be
relatively unchanged from your male aspect, but your center of gravity is a
bit lower. Be wary of that, as well as the change in reach. Such things
could be critical in a fight if you aren’t fully prepared for them and were
to change in mid-battle. Don’t count on the waterproof soap to protect you
for an entire battle.”



It went on for quite a while in such a fashion. At the end, when the
pigtailed girl was finally winded and stood there panting hard and
rebuilding her endurance, she was gratified to see that Master Lee actually
looked a bit winded as well. However, instead of looking tired, he kept
nodding and looking at her with an invigorated manner about him.



“This is good, Ranma,” said the older man, sounding a bit intrigued at the
possibilities. “This is actually a very good thing. Each of your aspects
brings different but relatively equal strengths and weaknesses to the
table. By training you in both forms, I can use them to compare their
relative progress. That will allow me to train you even better and faster,
to find and eliminate any flaws you have. Some of the most advanced
techniques I know will be somewhat easier for you to learn as a female,
kicking techniques for example, while others will be easier when you are
male.”



Then he said something that surprised her.



“You remind me of someone I once knew when I was younger, who had the
opposite curse to yours.”



Ranma-chan blinked. “Uh, what was her name?”



“Yumi Kuonji,” he said with a smile. “She was quite a woman.” He paused and
considered. “And man, for that matter.”



“Funny you should mention her...” Ranma-chan said after a moment.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Godai checked his watch for the fifteenth time as he waited outside the
gates of Furinkan. Kasumi had called to say she was running a little late
but would be there soon. He smoothed his hair once more, wondering why he
felt so nervous. It wasn’t a date, just two prospective friends having a
get together. One of those people happened to be a beautiful woman of
grace, but that was beside the point.



A car pulled up, screeching to a stop in front of him, a sensible but
stylish vehicle in dark blue with Security Directorate plates. The window
rolled down, revealing Kasumi in uniform. She tipped down her mirrored
sunglasses and gave him a smile.



“Sorry I’m late, Godai-san,” she said with a nod.



He got in and buckled his seatbelt, and a moment later the car was off,
weaving its way into traffic as Kasumi worked the clutch and shift like a
master. Godai saw his life flash before his eyes for a moment as she
maneuvered in between cars, sometimes close enough that only another
millimeter closer would have had her touching another vehicle’s metal.



Thankfully, the ride was short, and they arrived at ABCB in one piece.
Godai got out on somewhat shaky legs, feeling like he had aged at least a
year or two from her daredevil driving. He smiled to know he was still
alive.



“I’m starved, Godai-san,” Kasumi said with a gentle smile, removing her
sunglasses as she got out of the car. “I missed lunch.”



Kyoko had made him his lunch, but he did not think that was something he
should mention to Kasumi. He just nodded and walked around the car to head
with her into the restaurant. By that time, he regained enough of his
senses to open the door for her.



Dinner was excellent, and Godai could not remember the last time he had
eaten such a delicious steak. Kasumi was able to finish a fairly large
plate of food herself, which surprised him until he recalled that this
wasn’t a date, just two friends getting together. She didn’t need to
restrain her appetite as most women Godai knew would do on a first date.



Throughout the meal, Kasumi engaged him in pleasant conversation, and he
was happy to learn that she was well read in matters of military history,
not that it was a surprise due to what he knew of her family’s history. The
two of them talked about some of the Empire’s generals of the past, but all
Godai could later recall of the conversation was how beautiful her eyes
were.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



After Master Lee called and informed Nodoka that training was running late
for Ranma that evening, Ranma-chan and the man arrived outside the Yu-chan
just as the dinner crowd was getting heavier. They went inside, following a
pair of salarymen. As the door closed, Yumi and Master Lee caught each
other’s gaze.



A couple of seconds later, there was a sudden, brief commotion inside and
then Yumi came sailing straight out through the door without it being
opened first in an explosion of wood and glass. Master Lee came bounding
out right behind her, catching up just as she landed on her feet on the
pavement.



The two of them began a furious melee, exchanging punches and kicks in a
fierce battle. Several patrons came out to watch, some even still holding
their plates with steaming okonomiyaki upon them. They began to eat as the
struggle on the street continued and got even fiercer. But what was odd was
that both combatants were smiling and looking like they were having the
time of their lives.



“I see you’ve gotten better, old man,” Yumi commented to him as the two of
them changed tactics and grappled with each other.



“And you’ve gotten even more impressive, Yumi-chan,” Lee replied as they
struggled with each other. Breaking her hold on his arm suddenly, he lashed
out with a kick to her stomach that she quickly deflected.



Off to one side, Ranma-chan and Ukyo were also watching as the two adults
unleashed the full measure of their skills, almost, but not quite, hitting
each other with full force. Ukyo gently nudged the pigtailed girl, who
looked back to see her smiling. Ranma-chan didn’t quite understand what
Ukyo wanted until she threw an obvious punch.



“Oh, so you want to play too?” And, with that, the two teenage girls held
their own impromptu sparring match together, both of them smiling as they
began testing each other’s skills intensely. The other people on the street
cheered as they watched the two duos merge into a foursome in the center of
the street and go at it together as if the whole thing was choreographed,
Yumi and Ukyo eventually teaming up against Ranma-chan and Jun Fan Lee.
Everyone was treating it like a floor show for their meals. The patrons of
other restaurants came out on the street to watch as well.



A while later, Master Lee was holding an ice bag up against a blackened eye
as he sat across a table from Yumi, who was holding another ice bag to her
jaw. “I see you play as rough as ever, Jun-kun,” she said to him with a
tired smile, her tone teasing. “It’s nice to see that a man your age is
still so... vigorous.”



In the background, Ranma-chan and Ukyo were fixing the damaged door. Yumi
looked over at their efforts and then gave the Chinese man a look with a
raised eyebrow. “You are going to pay to fix that, right?”



Master Lee nodded, reaching into a pocket and dropping a wad of yen notes
on the table. “This should cover the damages, Yumi-chan.” He gave her a
smile. “Nice fight. I see you still lead with your right though, and your
guard could use some work.”



Yumi laughed and then grimaced at the sudden pain from her sore ribs.
“Don’t make me laugh,” she complained. “It hurts.” There was a pause. “So,
what are you doing here with my daughter?”



He nodded in apparent understanding. “I met her on the street when I was
looking for you.” He chuckled. “The rude girl didn’t even tell me her name.”



“Oh, it’s Ranko Kuonji,” said Yumi with a wink. She looked over at the two
teens discussing how best to remove the pieces of the old door and replace
it with a new one. “You two kids keep working on that door. This old man
and I are going to go do some drinking. Don’t wait up.”



Yumi and Master Lee got up from their table and left the ice bags there.
The two teens went back to working on the door after they left. Ukyo nudged
Ranma-chan and grinned.



“You’re a really good fighter, Ranko,” said Ukyo. “That was a lot of fun.”



The pigtailed girl considered the matter, her second sparring match against
Ukyo while in girl form. She nodded and snorted once. “Yeah, I guess it was
pretty fun.”



“Thanks for coming by again so soon,” Ukyo said with a smile. “It’s nice to
have someone my own age to talk to.”



“Uh, I heard you have a boyfriend,” Ranma-chan said, trying to be casual
about it. “Don’t you talk to him?”



“Well, I guess I feel a little more comfortable talking with you.” Ukyo
shrugged her shoulders. “Ranma’s a great guy, but I don’t have any girl
friends here, other than you.”



Ranma-chan beamed to hear what Ukyo thought of her male aspect. “What about
some of the girls in your school?”



“They all thought I was a boy, until recently,” Ukyo replied, sounding a
bit irritated about it. “They still would, if it wasn’t for that horrible
bitch, Nabiki Tendo. You beat her up once, remember?”



Ranma-chan had been still trying to digest the ‘great guy’ concept and
didn’t quite hear everything Ukyo had just said. She said in surprise,
“Waitasec. I did what?”



“Oh yeah, you put her down pretty brutally. It was quite a fight. I was
watching, in case you needed any help. You knocked out her friend Yohko
too.”



The pigtailed girl filed that away. It must have happened while she was out
of her head after the dip in the tank. Keeping the Jusenkyo curse a secret
was looking like a very wise thing now. There was no telling how Nabiki
would react to knowing it was her fiancé’s cursed form that had beaten her
up. Ranma-chan didn’t really count it as a victory since she had no memory
at all of doing it. She felt bad about beating up Yohko though, the other
girl having never done anything bad to her. Maybe when things had cooled
off a bit, she would apologize to Yohko and try to make some sort of
reparations.



“Speaking of guys,” Ukyo said as she helped Ranma-chan set the new door
into place. “Do you have a boyfriend, Ranko?”



Startled at the question, the pigtailed girl blinked. “Uh, no,” she finally
said after a moment.



“Well, I’d suggest my friend Ryoga-”



Ranma-chan immediately waved her hands in negation. “No, no, that’s okay!
I’m not looking for a boyfriend right now.”



“He’s really a sweetheart when you get to know him,” Ukyo continued,
pressing on despite Ranma-chan’s increasing agitation. “And when he smiles,
he can be really cute.”



Ranma-chan was not really thrilled to hear Ukyo praising Ryoga like this.
She tried to interrupt with a question. “Uh, did you ever tell him that?”



“O-of course not!” Ukyo replied, blushing and looking down. “He’s just a
friend! And I was supposed to be acting like a boy! Boys don’t say things
like that to other boys!”



The pigtailed girl said nothing, just eyed Ukyo as she blushed and
stammered. Her hands slowly curled into fists at her sides as she listened,
irritated suddenly about Ryoga, realizing that Ukyo had feelings for the
Lost Boy. She was surprised to feel a surge of jealousy over that.



Ryoga was proving himself to be quite a ladies man, Ranma-chan decided
sourly. He first showed up with Ryoko in tow. He had a past with Ukyo. He
was pretending to be Kodachi’s pet pig, and he had been suspiciously nice
towards Nabiki. The combination was all very suspect when he thought about
it a bit. Maybe this version of Ryoga wasn’t quite the painfully shy with
girls, muscle-bound oaf his analogs were.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



On Friday night, Ranma sat with his family at the shrine near their house.
Across the table, Ryoko and her parents sat across from them. He felt
tense, and it worried him that the Masaki girl kept looking shyly away from
him and blushing. That was a bad sign.



The sparring match before dinner had been pretty intense. Ryoko was an
excellent fighter, probably on a par with Nabiki and himself due to her
incredible strength and endurance. Her skill was only a bit less than his
new level of ability, which made her a challenging opponent.



However, he had nearly lost when she had done something amazing. She gave
him a grin in the middle of the match and then a second Ryoko had suddenly
appeared. The two of them came at him as a pair, and he had a hard time of
it for a while. Fortunately, the two of them were not a perfect team, and
he was able to defeat them eventually.



Now dinner was completed, and the actual omiai was in progress. The two
mothers were doing most of the talking. Ryoko’s father was a pretty quiet
man, and Genma was being quiet as well, the two of them drinking cups of
sake.



“So I see no reason why an engagement cannot take place between our two
children, Nodoka,” said Achika, pleased that Ranma had been able to defeat
her daughter. When Ryoko had brought forth her twin self, she had been
certain Ranma was going to lose. No one had ever before beaten her daughter
when she fought in an array like that, but the boy had rallied with great
skill and ended the match with a victory.



“I agree,” Nodoka replied, happy with how the evening was turning out. “And
as there are no engagement agreements already in place, Ryoko will be
Ranma’s first wife.”



Ranma started to speak, but then Genma suddenly said, “The first wife will
be Nabiki. There is already an engagement agreement in place with the Tendo
family.”



Ryoko’s right eyelid twitched for a few moments at that, and her enmity for
the middle Tendo daughter suddenly surged to new heights. The edge of the
table gripped in her hands began to powder.



Achika turned a suddenly wrathful gaze at Genma. Her dream of finally
getting her stubborn, wayward daughter safely wed to her best friend’s son
was crumbling right before her eyes. Fury filled her gaze.



“Wh-what?” Nodoka exclaimed. Shocking everyone, she suddenly turned and
abandoned her previous poise, grabbing Genma by the collar and hauling him
close to her face, her eyes blazing. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”



Genma began babbling in terror at the sight, confessing to the three
engagements he had put into place with the other fathers. Achika handed
Nodoka a bokken when she held out her hand, as if they had practiced such a
move together. The scene that followed was one of simply amazing brutality.



“Ranma,” said Ryoko, addressing him suddenly. “Do you want to be engaged to
Nabiki Tendo?” Her hair seemed to be floating in the air around her head a
bit from the sheer power of her battle aura, her gaze particularly intense,
as was her tone. “Perhaps I can help get you out of it.”



While Genma continued to yelp in the background as Nodoka beat him with her
weapon, Achika slid over and said smoothly, “Why yes, Ranma. A girl like
Ryoko would be a far better choice for you as your first wife than someone
like Nabiki Tendo.”



Ranma was still absorbing the fact that Ukyo was his fiancée and not really
paying attention. He wondered if she knew. He noticed the pair looking
intently at him.



“Uh, that’s okay,” he said suddenly. He bowed to the two of them as the
carnage finally came to an end. “Thank you for the match, Ryoko. Maybe we
can do it again sometime.”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Later, after the Saotomes had gone home for the evening, Nodoka helping
Ranma guide a bruised, battered and insensate Genma, Achika sat alone in
the main area of the temple with only the moon for her light. An empty
bottle of sake rested next to her, and she was filling her cup from a
second bottle. Her husband had already gone home, and Ryoko was off
somewhere sulking. Achika couldn’t blame her. The whole experience was
humiliating.



>From the grave, her old enemy Kimiko had achieved one final, galling
victory over her, keeping her only daughter apart from Nodoka’s only son.
She took a sip of sake, feeling it burn down her throat as she remembered
how much she had once hated that smug soldier girl. Nodoka had told her who
Nabiki’s mother was shortly after the omiai with them.



Belldandy came into the room, and Achika acknowledged her presence with a
nod, taking another sip. The girl was supposed to be a goddess, but Achika
had her doubts. The foreigner had absented herself while the now-failed
omiai had occurred.



“You are troubled,” Belldandy observed gently. She sat down next to Achika.
“You wanted Ryoko to marry Ranma.”



“The girl needs a strong husband,” Achika said grimly, taking another sip
of sake. “But the boy is already taken by another.” Her lip curled. “He is
claimed by the daughter of an old enemy.”



Belldandy looked at the open doorway to the outside, listening to the
cicadas cry. She found it a soothing sound. “Nabiki has done nothing wrong
in this. She is strong too, and she needs a strong man as well.”



A grunt of annoyance from Achika was the only reply to that.



Ryoko suddenly appeared, flipping into the room, having apparently been on
the roof thinking. She immediately kowtowed to Achika. “Mother, I’ve
thought about this long and hard. Do I have your permission to make a
challenge to Nabiki Tendo for Ranma’s hand?” She burned inside at the
chance to avenge herself on the other girl, who had treated her so rudely
at their first meeting and now laid claim to the boy she liked.



Sitting tall and looking like a feudal lord, Achika nodded. “You do.”



“Nabiki is very strong,” Belldandy observed. “Will a duel really solve
anything?” She did not like the idea of violence.



“I can beat her.” Ryoko’s tone was fierce. One of her hands closed into a
fist. “I will crush her.”



Belldandy frowned. All this talk of violence would not end well, but it was
not her place to interfere, only to observe and give advice until the
proper time.



Only then had she been given permission to act.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Ranma found himself within the walls of the Tendo Dojo, dressed in his
usual red, Chinese-style shirt and black gi pants. From somewhere else
nearby, he heard the sounds of feminine laughter. It seemed to be coming
from the house. He stood up from where he had found himself sitting. After
so many previous experiences, he knew he was dreaming.



He slid open the main room of the house, and a bacchanal revelry was
occurring. He could not identify the music that was playing, but it had a
good sound to it. In the center of the room was his mirror image wearing a
big smile, dressed in feudal-era finery like a samurai lord and holding a
cup of sake.



“Come on in, bookworm!” said his doppelganger, waving at him to enter.
“It’s a party!”



Draped on the other Ranma was a familiar pair of girls, dressed in rather
revealing costumes. One was Nabiki, giving him a sultry grin, her tight
yellow dress exposing quite a bit of skin. On the other side was Shampoo,
in a white cheongsam that hugged her body in all the right places and
exposed long legs currently curled underneath her. The other Ranma had his
arms around both girls; one hand idly fondled Shampoo’s bottom, and his
welcome had spilled some of his sake on Nabiki.



Arrayed around the room were more girls. Ukyo was over to one side,
drinking and looking lovingly at the other Ranma. Her outfit left no
question of her gender, exposing generous portions of her bust and thighs.
Akane was another, dressed like a dancer and unsteadily weaving in place as
if drunk, Kodachi sat next to her dressed in a gymnastics leotard. Utena
smiled at him from her place at the other Ranma’s knee.



“I know you,” said Ranma. “Don’t I?”



His double grinned. “Of course you do, bookworm. I’m another vision of what
might have been for you.” He turned and gave Nabiki a deep kiss before
speaking again. “I’m Ranma Saotome...”



“Of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts,” Ranma finished and then
looked puzzled. “I haven’t used the resonator for a while. I thought I’d
assimilated the last of those other lives.”



“Not me, bookworm!” The other Ranma got up from his position where he was
surrounded by girls. “I’m the last one, but I’m not the Ghost of Christmas
Future, not by a long shot.” He reached down with one hand and lifted Utena
up before giving her a deep kiss. His gaze turned to Ranma as he kissed the
girl. There was a moaning sound coming from the Ohtori cadet after a few
moments.



The doppelganger broke the kiss and came over to put his arm around Ranma.
His appearance now seemed a little fuzzy around the edges. “When you wake
up, it’s going to be a whole new world for you, bookworm. I may be a
martial artist like those other Ranmas, but I’m not socially retarded and
sexually stunted like them. I know what girls are good for. You can thank
Sakura-chan and Madoka-chan for that.”



Versions of the Furinkan cadet and Ranma’s dance teacher appeared suddenly,
gazing at the other Ranma adoringly and dressed in risqué clothes like the
other girls. The other Ranma gave them each a kiss. He turned and smiled at
Ranma.



“My memories were sleeping inside you while you dealt with the more
socially awkward versions of us, not to mention that redheaded tomboy. But
seeing sweet Sakura-chan and dancing with Madoka-chan woke me back up. I
had a date with Madoka-chan, and I think she’s sweet on us now.”



The girls suddenly vanished, and the other Ranma looked a little more faded
and tattered in his image. He looked down at himself and frowned.



“I guess my time’s about up, bookworm. I’m not sure how much of me is going
to continue on in you, since you’ve got quite a lot filling your head
already, but try and remember me.” He leaned in closer to whisper, “And
kiss a few of the girls already, will you? Tough little Ukyo and sweet,
dreamy-eyed Kodachi are waiting for you to be a man with them, not to
mention Nabiki. Show that Tendo girl who’s the man between you two, okay?
Heck, speaking of Tendo girls, even that psycho Akane chick might be a lot
of fun in the right circumstances. And if you ever run into Shampoo on your
world, don’t screw it up, okay? She’s been a good wife to me, and she’s
just incredible in the sack. Take it from me, I never had better.”



The other Ranma faded even more as he flashed a thumb up and grinned.



“Now go be a man, bookworm.”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Ranma woke up, blinking at the sunlight coming in his window. After all the
waiting, after all his preparations for the dance, it was finally Saturday
morning, the day of the Spring Formal at Ohtori. He had a lot to do today
to get ready.



His mother was seated at the table when he came down to breakfast, but
Genma wasn’t present, likely still recovering from his beating. Nodoka
still looked upset about last night, and Ranma decided to let her be. He
ate his breakfast at a more leisurely pace to avoid rousing her ire.



“I noticed the tuxedo in your closet yesterday, Ranma dear,” his mother
said suddenly. “Did Kodachi invite you to something formal?”



Ranma swallowed his food. “Utena invited me to a big dance at Ohtori
tonight. I told you last week.”



“Oh, that’s right.” She smiled at him and got up for a few minutes. She
came back with a small stack of yen notes and set them in front of him.
“You show Utena a good time tonight.”



“Thanks, Mom.” Ranma went back to eating his breakfast. “Uh, I guess last
night was a surprise. It was for me.”



“Yes, it’s most uncharacteristic of your father to do something so
impulsive and then not tell me.” She looked at him. “Ranma, I’ll forgive
your father about this eventually, but things are going to be tense in the
household for a while.” She sipped her tea for a moment. “Try not to
mention anything about the engagement agreements to the girls until I’ve
had some time to think about it, all right? If it was a shock for you,
imagine how they’ll feel about it. They might start competing for your
attention, or fighting with each other. We don’t want that.”



He nodded, not wanting to tell her that it was already far too late for
that. She smiled at him again. “Don’t look so worried, Ranma dear. This
will all work out somehow.”



“Okay, I gotta go now, Mom,” he said, pocketing the money and giving her a
kiss on the cheek. Things would all be fixed soon, he assured himself. Once
his real father had the beacon completed, he was ready to open the gateway
to finally bring him back home.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“So, Ranma, what do you think about this hot redhead all the guys are
talking about?”



Ranma coughed, some of his meat cutlet sandwich going down the wrong way at
the sudden question. He looked up in surprise at Daisuke and Hiroshi, the
pair currently standing near where he had been eating lunch on one of the
rooftop benches with Kyosuke. The esper boy whacked him a few times on the
back to help him.



“R-redhead?” Ranma finally managed to get out. Memories of other worlds
floated across his mind as he took a breath, a similar version of this
questioning taking place. “What redhead? Minami?”



“Not her. The other one. Try and keep up, Saotome.” Hiroshi wondered how
observant the pigtailed boy really was. After all, he had been eating lunch
with a disguised girl for a while now without ever even appearing to
realize it.



“I heard her name was Ranko Kuonji.” That comment came from Daisuke. “I
thought you might know her since you were friends with Ukyo.”



“Why ask me about her?” Ranma wondered. “I’ve got enough troubles with
girls.”



“Yes, we all feel so sorry for you, Saotome,” Daisuke said in sarcastic
tones. “You’ve got Nabiki Tendo and that Kodachi Kuno cutie in your
training class, and you’re good friends with Ukyo Kuonji, who turns out to
be a cute girl. There’s even a rumor going around that you slept with that
cadet from Ohtori.”



“I didn’t sleep with her!” Ranma took a big bite of his sandwich and washed
it down with some apple juice. “Jeesh! Don’t people have anything better to
do than make up stupid rumors? Anyway, I don’t know anything about this
girl you’re asking about.”



“What are you two idiots doing?” Sayuri blared at them, as she and Yuka
came over and Yuka grabbed Daisuke by the ear. She started dragging him off
as he yelped. “You were going to eat with us for lunch,” Sayuri  reminded
them, suddenly slapping Hiroshi when he mistakenly muttered “so noisy” at
all the fuss.



“Those two are going to be controlled when they get married,” Ranma mused
about the two boys.



“Yeah, like that would ever happen to a couple of guys like us,” said
Kyosuke with a chuckle. “Yohko’s certainly not that way with me.”



Ranma took another bite of his sandwich. “I wish I could say the same thing
about Nabiki,” he said sourly. He sipped some more of his juice, thinking
about the Tendo girl. Either it was coming from the download of memories
from a half-male version of her, or something she already was, she seemed
really intent on being the man in their relationship.



“Yohko told me that Nabiki’s pretty mad about getting beaten up by her.”
Kyosuke took a bite of his own sandwich.



Ranma nodded. It was just his luck that Nabiki was now going to be after
both his male side and female side.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



When Nabiki got to her locker to pick up her shoes for the day to head
home, she was startled to find a letter in it. It was simply addressed on
the outside to “Nabiki Tendo” and no other markings. She didn’t get love
letters from boys like her female peers, so she wasn’t sure what it was.



She ripped it open, and a smirk appeared on her face. It was a formal
letter of challenge from Ryoko Masaki. She snorted and put it away in her
bag. She’d take care of Goblin Girl easily enough in a day or two. Right
now, she had more important things to do, like getting home and preparing
for the dance. Touga had notified her that he was going to be coming by
limo to pick her up at four to take her to dinner before the dance.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Kodachi got into her family’s limo and settled herself into the seat as the
car headed towards Whitehall. Thoughts of Miki were making her smile. She
had finally decided on the perfect dress, and she was eager to spend a
wonderful evening with him.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Kuno’s thoughts were on the four women he yearned for as he stood waiting
for his ride home. A smile lit his face at the thought of them, four such
strong women. He was looking forward to his evening.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Captain Shun Mitaka pulled his car to a halt outside the walls of the Tendo
household and contemplated the place. He had gotten the address from the
school registrar. A pair of tennis rackets was in the trunk. He had heard
from one of the other instructors that Godai liked to play. He thought a
game or two of tennis would give him an opportunity to get some more
information on that beautiful redhead who drove the lieutenant to work each
morning.



There was a woman sweeping the walkway when he entered the grounds. He
approached her and doffed his hat, running his hand once through his short
hair as he did so. “Excuse me, Miss?”



Kyoko turned around and beheld Captain Mitaka, and she felt her heart seem
to skip a beat at seeing the uniformed man, startling her. She bowed to him
in greeting, receiving one in reply. “Uh, yes? Can I help you?”



“Uh, I was looking for Lt. Yusaku Godai, and I was told he lived here. Is
he at home?” He could not seem to look away from her face, noting her push
back a lock of long hair from her face with one hand. He felt very envious
of Godai for knowing two such beautiful women.



Then Kasumi emerged from the house and walked past them, having stopped by
to have a late lunch with her father. She gave a polite bow to the pair and
continued on her way. Mitaka felt like his neck was going to break at
resisting the urge to turn to look. He kept his eyes on Kyoko and let loose
with a dazzling smile. He corrected his previous inner statement, now very
envious of Godai for knowing three such beautiful women.



“Lt. Godai isn’t here right now,” Kyoko said finally, feeling a hint of
irritation inside her at the thought of where he was and who he was with.
“I believe he’s out with a woman right now.”



“Ayaka Kisaragi?” Mitaka was taking a guess, but he realized he had guessed
right when he saw Kyoko’s hands tightening on the broom handle she was
holding.



“Yes.” Kyoko’s voice was tight. She could only imagine what sort of sordid
things the Kisaragi woman was enticing Godai into. She hoped he was
strong-willed enough to resist.



“Well, since he’s not here, could I interest you in an afternoon out
playing tennis and maybe an early dinner?” He gave her a dazzling smile as
cherry blossoms seemed to swirl in the air around them.



Kyoko, startled, looked at him for several moments and then nodded.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Despite intentions to moderate his alcohol intake on his get-together with
Ayaka, Godai already had a glass of Bacardi rum in front of him, actually
his second for the afternoon. It had been a fun time with the redheaded
Institute agent so far, a good meal already in him, almost feeling like it
was a real date to him. He took a sip of his drink, starting to relax from
the stresses of his week.



Ayaka was feeling mellow as she finished her second glass of rum. She was
having a great time chatting and drinking with Godai. She wondered if he
might like to go and do some karaoke with her, but she knew she needed to
be a bit more inebriated to have a good time at that. It just wasn’t as
much fun when sober.



“So, Godai-kun,” Ayaka said suddenly as she looked at him. “Are you seeing
anyone right now? Got a girlfriend?”



Godai coughed a bit, feeling rum searing his throat, startled at being
asked such a direct question by a woman. “A-am I s-seeing anyone? A
g-girlfriend?” His thoughts drifted to Kasumi and the wish he had made that
night, but she was a married woman and just wanted a friend. He shook his
head, feeling suddenly depressed. “No, I’m n-not seeing anyone.”



“Well, you’re a great guy. There are lots of women who’d like a guy like
you.” Ayaka swallowed some of her rum and grinned at him. She moved a
little closer, her leg touching his as she gazed at him. “Take me, for
example. I like you.”



“Y-you do?” Godai’s eyes widened a little in shock, and he took a drink to
calm himself.



Ayaka clinked her glass to his when he set it down, and she nodded. “So,
maybe this could be considered a date, Godai-kun. What do you think about
that?”



“D-date?” Godai said with a gulp. Ayaka wanted to date him? He was
surprised. “Y-you don’t have a boyfriend?”



Ayaka frowned. “Boyfriend?” She took another drink of her rum. “The last
guy I was with was a jerk. No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” She took one more
drink and looked steadily at him. “I haven’t had good luck with men. My
boss says I need someone steadier and more reliable. No more playboy types.”



“Uh, steady and reliable?” That was the first time a woman had ever said
something like that to him. He took another drink.



Ayaka snuggled a little closer to him and took another sip of her drink.
“Uh huh.” She turned and gazed into his eyes, the two of them very close
now. “Are you a steady and reliable sort of guy?”



Feeling her hip touching his and seeing the full swell of her bosom when he
looked down, Godai could only nod helplessly.



“Good,” Ayaka said with a grin. She took another sip from her glass and
encouraged her companion to drink more.



She was looking forward to the rest of their evening together.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Yohko smiled as she sat with Kyosuke in the very back of the movie theater,
his arm around her, and her fingers entwined with his as they held hands
and watched the film. She leaned her head on his shoulder and gave out a
very quiet sigh of contentment. She felt so lucky to have a boyfriend like
him in her life, finally feeling free of her past bad luck with men. They
had been dating for a few months now, without him becoming possessed,
seeing something ‘Man Was Not Meant To Know’ and going totally insane, or
dying in some bloody, horrible fashion. Before Kyosuke, she had started to
lose hope about ever having a successful relationship.



Unfortunately, the Institute cadet was proving to be almost painfully shy
with her, despite _numerous_ hints on her part that he could be more
aggressive. Make that much more aggressive. After all, they were involved
together in a long-term, steady relationship, which meant certain things
were supposed to be happening between them. But they weren’t happening. The
most intense activities that seemed to occur between them was either some
snuggling like this or maybe a little kissing. It was starting to make her
afraid maybe he didn’t find her attractive enough to try something more
with her, or maybe her being a Devil Hunter made her seem unfeminine.



Even when she had invited him over to her house on Monday to study with
her, the two of them all alone while her grandmother was away for the
night, Kyosuke remained a gentleman with her. And she had even worn a
low-cut blouse and a tight pair of cutoff shorts for his benefit. Maybe she
just wasn’t being obvious enough to him in her attempts to take their
relationship to the next level. Or maybe he was afraid of being rejected if
he came on too strong.



She was about to lean up and start kissing him along the underside of his
jawline when there was a sudden noisy commotion from the front area of the
theater. Several people were running, scrambling away as best they could
and screaming as a large ball of energy materialized right in front of the
screen and quickly transformed itself into a four-armed demon with leprous
skin and a pretty serious set of dental work. And the less said about his
other accoutrements, the better. What was it that made most demons perverts
too? Didn’t they get enough satisfaction ripping people’s intestines out
through their nostrils?



“FOOLISH MORTALS! RUNNING SHALL DO YOU NO GOOD! FOR I AM THE DEMON LORD
PAIN-INNA-REER, AND I COME TO FEAST UPON YOUR BLOOD AND SOULS!”



Yohko growled deeply, and her gaze narrowed lethally as it focused on the
unwelcome intrusion upon her date with her boyfriend. Something like this
always seemed to happen whenever they were out together in public, since
Nerima seemed to have the most serious infestations of spirit entities in
all of Tokyo. With a grimace, she broke away from her embrace with Kyosuke
and got out of her seat, stalking her way down towards the creature, intent
on doing some serious demon butt-kicking in the next few moments. At least
that would help her work out some of her feelings of frustration, even if
it was not at all how she had planned for her date with her boyfriend to go.



“AH! A HUMAN FEMALE COMES TO OFFER HERSELF TO ME IN A HOPE FOR MERCY!
SPLENDID!
I SHALL AVAIL MYSELF OF YOUR NUBILE YOUNG FLESH, BEFORE I- ACK!” There was
a disturbing sound of bones breaking like kindling wood and then some teeth
as well. “AHHH!!! CAN’T WE TALK ABOUT THIS?” The sound of more bones
breaking was heard and then an almost effeminate squeal. “AIYEE!!! IT
HURTS! OH GODS! MERCY!”



Kyosuke winced and turned his face away from the gruesome spectacle,
resisting the urge to clutch himself in sympathy for where Yohko had just
brutalized the demon. Then the Devil Hunter girl started to really get
serious, and she had not even bothered to transform yet. Punches, kicks and
other techniques from her martial arts arsenal were unleashed almost with
abandon on the creature.



He decided to let her be while she worked out her issues. Ever since her
shopping trip with Nabiki, she had been rather edgy and tense and maybe
this would help. He was extremely glad her present wrath wasn’t being aimed
at him though. He winced again as Yohko did something unmentionable to the
demon, and another rather high-pitched squealing was heard and then more
begging. He quickly resolved to buy her a large bouquet of flowers and a
very big box of expensive chocolates later on, just to be safe.



Since Ranma was now involved with Nabiki, sort of, he would have to ask him
how he handled their relationship. After all, the two hadn’t been seen
brawling with each other outside of their training class for a while, so
maybe they were getting along a bit better now. The pigtailed boy was
probably his best source of advice for handling moody, highly
combat-capable girls.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Ranma considered his reflection in the mirror, decked out in a black
tuxedo. He was striking poses and examining the results. He smiled. Tonight
was going to be an opportunity to get away from most of his problems for a
while. All he had to worry about was having a good evening with Utena and
keeping an eye on Kodachi.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Utena turned around slowly in front of the mirror in her room and
contemplated her appearance one more time in the light blue dress she was
now wearing. Slender straps held the silk cloth of the gathered décolletage
up over her breasts, exposing only the tops of their swell and a bit of
cleavage, even while it plunged low in the back, almost to her derriere.
The skirt region fell well below her knees, and it showed off the calves of
her long, coltish legs rather nicely. A matching pair of high-heeled shoes
completed the ensemble.



Anthy and Wakaba sat on the bed and both smiled at the sight of her. Ranma
was coming to pick Utena up for dinner before the dance, so she was getting
ready a bit early. She didn’t want him to have to wait.



“This Ranma guy’s not going to know what hit him,” Wakaba commented. “He’ll
love seeing you in it.” Her tones then dropped to a dark mutter. “And I’m
sure he’ll try getting you out of it.”



“What was that?” Utena said, turning to look at her friend with a puzzled
smile.



“Nothing,” said Wakaba quickly. She smiled, planning to keep a very close
eye on Utena’s date.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Miki Kaoru waited in the sitting room while Kodachi completed her
preparation for their date. His stopwatch was currently accumulating
minutes and seconds as he waited, resisting the urge to pace. When she
stepped into view, his thumb absently pushed the button, stopping it. He
arose from his seat, a sense of wonder filling him at the sight of her.



Kodachi paused in the doorway, suddenly feeling a bit shy, dressed in a
fine silk dress in light green. She had decided in the end to go for
something more risqué than demure. The dress was backless, dipping down to
her derriere. The front was held to her by a tie that went behind her neck
and plunged down low in the middle to expose her cleavage. The skirt went
down to her calves, but it was slit up high on one side, exposing
tantalizing glimpses of her thigh. She wore long gloves that matched to the
dress and reached to her upper arms.



Coming over to her, Miki swept down low in a courtly bow and took her hand
in his. He felt tempted to give it a kiss but held back, not trusting
himself to stop there. Not letting go of her hand, he stood back up
straight and gazed into her eyes.



“You will be the loveliest woman there,” he said sincerely, not letting go
of her hand. He inhaled her delicate perfume, feeling his body seem to
tingle in response to her nearness. “Sh-shall we go?” he finally managed to
get out.



Kodachi nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was fighting down an
urge to skip the dance completely and just take Miki back to her room. She
was shocked to have such a shameless, animalistic urge, betraying her
feelings for Ranma and likely harming her reaffirmed friendship with Miki
if she gave into it. She blamed Sukeban-Kodachi, suddenly imagining she
could hear the girl’s mocking laughter in the back of her mind.



Miki offered his arm, and the pair went to his waiting limousine.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



When Touga Kiryu arrived at the Tendos' home, he bade his driver wait for
him as he exited the vehicle. He seemed to gleam in the late afternoon
sunlight with a supreme level of handsomeness, every hair falling into
perfect place with any sort of movements he made with his head. His fine
white suit was perfect, without a single piece of lint or blemish of any
kind on it.



When he approached the house, he was greeted by Nabiki Tendo at the door,
already prepared for his arrival. He was pleased at her apparent eagerness
to be off on their date. He took a moment to admire the black dress she
wore, pleased to see that his gift fit her so perfectly, and the heels he
had included accentuated well the athletic loveliness of her long legs. She
looked womanly in such an outfit, and it caused an unexpected ache in his
heart when he saw her.



That sensation actually shocked him. When she drew nearer, there was an
even more powerful response to her presence than he had felt before with
her. He realized after a moment that he had forgotten his manners in his
distraction and reached out for her hand after she had begun to offer it.



“Nabiki Tendo, he said warmly, touching her gloved hand with his lips in a
light kiss before looking up at her eyes. “You look most lovely this
evening. I am honored that you will be joining me for this little soiree at
Ohtori.”



“A pleasure, Kiryuu-kun,” Nabiki replied, trying to project calm and grace.
She glanced back at the house once, enjoying with a corner of her
perceptions the pleasant upwelling of sensations Touga was arousing within
her, hoping to get away before the false Soun noticed her departure. It was
only the two of them in the house right now. Kyoko had decided to take some
time off and left on a date of her own earlier, and Akane was off somewhere
with her new friend, Sakura.



She didn’t know how Ranma put up with the fake Genma, but having the false
Soun around was gradually fraying her nerves as she covered for him at
home. He kept watching her and sometimes even making babbling comments on
how pleased he was to see her marrying Ranma. He was not quite stupid
enough to talk openly about that in front of Akane, but it was only a
matter of time before he caused that situation to explode in Nabiki’s face.



He also sometimes talked to her about how her training class was going. It
was probably only a matter of time before he put up a shingle and began
advertising for students for the Anything-Goes School. Nabiki had suspected
it was coming and had tried to not burden Ranma with what it was like for
her at home, but they were running out of time.



Back in the house was a letter that had arrived just today, an official
notice delivered by courier pouch from the Imperial Court. Soun Tendo had
been selected to be the next Minister of Security for the Empire. As part
of his ascension to that post, he would be required to submit to a
telepathic scan by someone from the Mobius Institute to ensure his loyalty
to the Emperor. While she was confident her real father would pass, the
false Soun would likely be found out. Her father had worked too long and
hard, sacrificed too much, to get this far in his career.



“Nabiki!” shouted Soun from within the house. “Where are you at, daughter?”



“We should go now.” Nabiki turned and hurried Touga away from the house.



Touga was confused. “Perhaps I should meet your father before we go. It
would be rude to just leave.”



“Kiryuu-kun,” she said in suddenly coquettish tones, taking his arm more
warmly in hers and pressing her breast against his limb. “Wouldn’t you
prefer to spend every moment possible with me tonight, and not my father?”



Almost overcome by his desires for her, Touga smiled. Perhaps the gift of
the dress had been more a potent aphrodisiac than he realized. She seemed
quite eager to spend time with him, and who was he to deny her?



“Your carriage awaits to take you to the ball, Nabiki Tendo,” he said
gallantly.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



When Ranma finally arrived at the door to Utena’s room, he felt a sudden
surge of nervousness strike him. Other than going to the movies once with
Ukyo, he hadn’t been on a real date before. What would they talk about?
Would he remember how to dance? He popped a breath mint into his mouth from
a package he’d picked up somewhere, just in case. He smoothed his hair and
tried to calm himself. He wanted to run away, and he wasn’t sure why.



He mustered his courage and rang the doorbell. He took a few deep breaths
to calm himself while he waited. Then he almost jumped back when the door
was opened very suddenly, his martial artist reflexes expecting some kind
of attack coming.



Utena stood there in the doorway, and he swallowed down a suddenly dry
throat at the sight of her. He could not seem to stop himself as his eyes
traversed her body, pausing ever so briefly at the swell of her breasts
revealed in her décolletage, down her sleekly womanly figure to finally
reach her coltish legs in high heels. And then he returned his gaze to her
face, seeing her blue eyes, clear skin and her pink hair gathered into a
beautiful hairstyle. He smelled her delicate perfume and felt a pleasant
tingling along his nerves.



When the doorbell rang, Utena had practically run to answer it, Anthy and
Wakaba trailing behind her, both of them amused by her antics. She had
checked herself one last time, slipped on her shoes and laced the straps
around her ankles and then she had taken several deep breaths. Anthy handed
her a breath mint, and she popped it into her mouth as the other two girls
went to hide back out of sight. Fearing she had made her date wait too
long, she opened the door quickly before she ran away and hid in her room.
She was surprised to feel that way. No other boy had ever made her feel
that timid before.



Ranma stood there in the hallway before her door, and she swallowed down a
suddenly dry throat at the sight of him. He was so handsome in his tuxedo;
it almost made her heart seem to stop in her chest. Her thoughts flickered
back to their first meetings, their battles together and then that night
staying over at his house. She recalled the kiss she had given him on the
cheek when she left.



They stood there just staring at each other for several moments. Both of
them were suddenly aware that this moment was real, that they were a boy
and girl who were about to go out on a serious date. Utena blushed, and
Ranma put his hand behind his head and looked a bit nervous.



Wakaba was chewing on the handkerchief she held in her hands, able to feel
the tension even from back where she was. Anthy was a calmer presence
beside her, but she was tense too. The two girls waited for one of the pair
to speak, or at least do something other than look like a pair of
mannequins.



“Y-you look really good, U-Utena,” Ranma managed to stutter out. He was
feeling awkward, half-hoping someone attacked him because then at least he
would feel more confident in what to do.



“Th-thank you. So do you.” Utena felt her heart pounding in her chest,
unable to stop looking at him. It had been like this when she had first met
him and every time since then.



Seeing her regard, feeling his own attraction towards her, recognizing on a
visceral level that she was a beautiful girl who was attracted to him,
something seemed to click inside Ranma, like a missing piece suddenly
snapping into place. He felt his posture change, grow more confident, and
he smiled warmly at Utena. He reached out and gently took her hand.



“I have reservations for dinner at one of the restaurants near Ohtori,” he
said as he met her gaze. “I am honored that you will be joining me for this
evening. I’ll do my best to make it a memorable one for you.”



Wakaba dropped her jaw. The guy had gone from nervous and shy to this
suavely smooth young man in a single moment of time. She remembered how he
had seemed to her before, cute but not really confident with girls. Now he
seemed to be radiating self-assurance. Not quite up there with the likes of
Touga Kiryuu, but not too far behind it either.



“I’ve been looking forward to dinner and tonight’s dance, Ranma,” said
Utena, his poise helping her restore hers. She grabbed her purse and headed
out the door with him.



After the door closed behind the couple, Anthy murmured, “Maybe he is her
prince, after all.”



Wakaba frowned. “Maybe.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Come on. We need to
get ready for the dance too.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Nabiki walked next to Touga as they arrived at the hall where Ohtori was
holding the Spring Formal. Roses were everywhere, from petals strewn on the
ground to baskets containing numerous bouquets. It was like a fairy tale
scene as well-dressed young men and women walked in arm-in-arm. She felt
like a princess in her dress and heels.



Standing tall next to Nabiki, Touga felt her arm on his. Dinner had been an
enjoyable affair, but his desires had not been for the food. He could not
seem to take his eyes off of his lovely companion. At his urging, they had
shared a bottle of wine with dinner. By his estimate, they had split the
bottle evenly between them by the end of the meal.



Through another door arrived Kodachi and Miki, her holding on to his arm as
they entered. Dinner had been a wonderful experience, talking and laughing
with her handsome friend, and they had even had a fine wine with their
meal. Her enhanced metabolism had mostly burned it off by now, but the
remnants were leaving a pleasant little glow within her. The alcohol had
eased her nervousness at dinner. She felt so much closer to Miki now. He
was truly a good friend.



Mikado, Kuno and their dates arrived through a third door. Juri and Nanami
were eyeing each other as the foursome walked in, the younger girl with
irritation at the presence of the older girl, one she felt frequently
whenever they were together. For her part, Juri was mostly ignoring the
Kiryuu girl’s dark looks, as usual finding her to be beneath notice.



The Kuno heir was in high spirits, and his meal and dinner conversation
with his lovely companion had been stimulating to him. He was enjoying his
evening quite well so far. He patted Juri’s hand on his arm as he surveyed
the room like a general come to conquer, receiving a genuine smile from her
in return.



At her date’s side, Juri was feeling quite contented, which surprised her a
bit. The two of them had discussed swordsmanship at dinner as well as less
martial topics, and she had been delighted to discover that her initial
impression of him had been correct. She liked him quite well, and his
feudal-era manners were charming. His knowledge of the different schools of
Kenjutsu had been surprisingly vast as well. He had promised her a duel at
their earliest convenience, and she was looking forward to it. But right
now she was enjoying his presence and hoping they could dance together
tonight.



Having endured a couple of hours already with the little shrew he was
escorting, Mikado was in a less than jovial mood. While Nanami Kiryuu was
quite pleasing to look upon, in spirit she reminded him of the White Lily
all too much, filled with a malicious will. The wine they had consumed with
dinner had dulled her sharp tongue, but it had the unwelcome (to him) side
effect of unlocking her libido a bit too much more than he cared for.



Nanami held on tightly to Mikado’s arm, feeling a pleasant tingling run
through her body and enjoying the smell of his musky cologne. She had never
imagined any other boy but her brother arousing her like this. She could
admit to herself that she had been most ill-mannered to him at their meal
together, but she intended to make it up to him now. She turned her gaze to
him, and the flower petals blowing in the air seemed to briefly form a halo
over his head, causing her breath to catch in her throat.



As if on cue, the final actors for tonight arrived on scene as Ranma and
Utena straight-armed the doors open together like a pair of heroes returned
from battle as they entered by the fourth set of double doors, each of them
smiling and laughing as they appeared. The pigtailed boy felt fortunate
tonight at his travels in Europe with his father, and he had impressed his
date with his knowledge of French cuisine at the little bistro where they
had shared dinner together earlier that evening. He gazed out at the room,
looking forward to dancing with Utena.



Clinging a bit tightly to his arm, feeling it touching the side of her
breast, Utena was already having a wonderful time. She had enjoyed talking
with Ranma at dinner, finding herself unable to look away from him as he
told her tales of places he had been, and she had shared a few stories of
her own. A pleasant tingling ran through her body at his nearness, and she
was idly wondering if he might like to spend the night in her room, if
things went late tonight. She justified that in her mind as repayment for
her being allowed to stay at his home weeks ago. That was all it was.
Really.



Nabiki caught sight of Ranma first, followed quickly in turn by the others
noticing everyone else who had arrived, except for Juri, Kuno, Nanami and
Utena, who were all too pre-occupied with their dates to look at anyone
else. Frowns began appearing on faces. Fists began clenching at sides.



Seeing her fiancé defying her will (and very clear instructions) one more
time, his unexpected appearance with the Tenjou girl caused Nabiki’s right
eyebrow to twitch and a vein suddenly popped up on her forehead. Absently
realizing that her situation appeared bad as well in comparison, she held
her place and seethed silently instead. Her grip on Touga’s arm tightened a
slight amount. Her gaze shifted over to see that her debutante rival was
taking this about as well as she was, paradoxically making her feel a
little better.



Kodachi’s gaze focused upon the sight of the commoner harlot currently
standing there with her fiancé. The dress the other girl was wearing,
clearly one bought off the rack from an ordinary boutique, left little
doubt to her eyes that the unworthy girl was trying to seduce Ranma. She
clutched more tightly at Miki’s arm and happened to glance over and saw
Nabiki standing with Touga. What was left of her previous good mood
promptly evaporated.



His attention split, Mikado glanced back and forth between Kodachi and
Ranma. His gaze was dark and filled with loathing as he looked at the
pigtailed boy. After only a short time under Nanashi’s training, he was
already better than he had been since his last encounter with his rival,
but he still felt he needed an edge if he tried something tonight. Feeling
the flask of rum in his jacket, one he had decided to bring if the date
with the Kiryuu girl grew too agonizing to take without something to dull
the pain, an idea occurred to him.



Miki eyed Ranma in an unfriendly fashion, and he felt Kodachi’s grip
suddenly tighten on him. He absently patted her hand to comfort her. He
felt the flask in his jacket under his other arm, one filled with a sweet
but potent liqueur. He and Touga would be there to rescue their dates when
the Saotome boy made an asinine fool of himself after he drank a few cups
of spiked punch. He smiled in anticipation of Kodachi’s gratitude.



Standing at Nabiki’s side and enjoying her nearness, Touga spotted his
nemesis across the room as he arrived grinning like an idiot next to the
delightsome beauty that was the Tenjou girl, inwardly appalled a bit that
the other was apparently more in Utena’s favor than he was. He noted his
lovely companion tightening her grip on his arm and could feel the tension
radiating from her. It annoyed him that a near-peasant like Ranma was even
a rival for the heart of an intriguing girl like Nabiki. He smiled coolly,
looking forward to ending that rivalry, his hand briefly touching the flask
at his hip, concealed by his jacket.



Ranma was startled to see both Kodachi and Nabiki at the dance, and his
laughter at Utena’s last joke came to a stuttering halt. He looked from one
fiancée to the other, frowning. After a moment, he turned to look at Utena,
his smile returning at the sight of her face. He had come here to be with
her, and he was not going to ruin her evening by getting pulled into
something stupid like his analogs would have been at seeing this setup.



“Shall we dance, Utena?” he asked gently. He received a smile and nod in
return.



Seeing the pigtailed boy heading to the dance floor, Miki, Touga and Mikado
immediately did the same. Seeing his good friend going to the dance floor,
Kuno turned to look at Juri.



“’Twould be an honor if you would dance with me, my lady,” he said to her.



“I accept,” she replied with a smile. Deciding on having a little more
privacy, the two went out on one of the verandas to dance, since it was far
less crowded.



On the main dance floor, the other three boys made it a point to pass
nearby Ranma now and then as he danced quite ably with Utena. The pigtailed
boy felt more than one solid elbow strike hitting him in the back of his
ribcage as he danced. He growled under his breath after the fourth such
impact, Mikado having come around for a second pass.



During occasional breaks, Ranma went over to have punch with Utena at the
snack table, as well as sampling the food. It was all quite good, he mused
as he set his cup behind him. When he took another drink, it was fuller
than he remembered, but he shrugged and swallowed it down, thirsty from the
dancing.



After his third cup of punch, he decided to give Utena a break and she went
off to chat with her two friends: Anthy and Wakaba. Seeing Miki dancing
with Kodachi, he walked over and tapped the other boy on the shoulder. “May
I cut in?”



“Of course,” Miki replied with a smile, stepping back as Ranma took his
place. His smile promptly vanished as he reached into a pocket and clicked
his stopwatch before going back to the table he and Kodachi were using,
sitting down to rest. He eyed the dancing couple darkly. The flask in his
jacket was much emptier now.



“Funny seeing you here at the dance, Kodachi,” Ranma said mildly in reproof
as he moved gracefully on the dance floor with her. “Is that guy a friend
of yours?”



Kodachi looked peeved but maintained her poise. “Miki Kaoru is a dear
childhood friend of mine, Saotome-kun,” she said with a frown, her body
moving with his as the music filled the air and other dancers flowed around
them. “What about you and that girl you’re with? You two have been very
friendly with each other.”



“Utena invited me,” Ranma declared defensively, dropping Kodachi into a
dip. “And I thought it might be fun to go dancing.”



Her body unconsciously slipping up close to his as they continued to move
together to the music, their dancing became more intimate. Kodachi felt
hurt and annoyed by his words. “You could have simply asked me,
Saotome-kun. I love to dance. By the way, not that it matters, but you’re a
very good dancer.” There was a pause. “I would not be opposed to going
dancing with you someday.”



“Maybe I’ll take you dancing someday then,” he said in mild challenge,
dipping her again, her leg rising high and straight behind him as they
moved together in harmony. “What do you think about that?”



“As you are my fiancé, I have no choice but to accept,” she said with a
briefly coquettish look, her annoyance a bit faded as they continued moving
together on the dance floor. She felt aroused by his nearness and the
skillful way he moved with her to the music. She had never suspected he was
such a good dancer.



When the music stopped, Miki came to gather Kodachi away, and Ranma went
back over to the punch bowl. He watched Miki and Kodachi dancing with a
frown, reaching behind himself to grab three more cups of punch, one right
after the other, and draining them dry. He was starting to feel a warm
burning inside. Nabiki walked by, apparently trying to ignore him, and he
grabbed her hand.



“Come and dance with me?” he asked her.



“If you insist,” Nabiki replied with a shrug, letting him guide her to the
dance floor.



Behind them, Touga replaced the flask to his hip. It was a bit over
half-empty now.



“So, you and that Touga guy, are you two childhood friends?” Ranma pulled
Nabiki closer as music for a tango began. They began moving together to the
latin rhythms.



“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” Nabiki said softly into his ear.
“What about you and the Prince of Ohtori? You had never even met her before
the challenge match you two had, and now you two look like a dating couple.
You’ve never even taken me on a single date, and we’re engaged, Ranma
Saotome.” A hint of hurt was in her tones, escaping her usual iron control
of her emotions.



The two of them began moving more intimately together as the tango reached
the mid-point of the music. Ranma dipped her, feeling her leg partially
wrapped around him as he gazed into her eyes. He didn’t respond to her
words immediately.



“So, what are you saying?” he asked her suddenly when they were both back
upright, her body pressed against his tightly. He pulled back to look at
her face. “You want to treat the agreement those two fakes made as a real
engagement?”



“Would that be so bad?” Nabiki slid her body around his as the tango
continued. “Like it or not, Ranma-kun, we’re kind of stuck with each other
because of those two fakes.” She trailed her fingers along his jawline as
she returned to his front, strutting a bit as she moved around him.



“I finished the device.” Ranma spun Nabiki outward and then pulled her back
into a tight embrace. “As soon as my father completes the beacon, we can
bring our real fathers home and send those two idiots back.”



She ran her hand up to his shoulder and gazed into his eyes. She nodded.
“The sooner the better.”



“Agreed.” The music finally reached its climax, the two of them sharing an
intimate moment as they moved together and then stopped, gazing intently
into each other’s eyes as they caught their breaths, neither quite knowing
what to say. When it was over, Touga came to claim Nabiki and moved off
with her in another dance. Ranma stalked over to the table where the punch
was and stood with his back to it. He grabbed a cup and drank it quickly,
feeling it burning down his throat.



Burning? He glanced at the cup, suddenly confused. He felt a bit unsteady,
and the room was moving as he weaved a bit.



“Had a bit too much punch to drink, Saotome?” said a familiar voice behind
him.



Ranma turned to see Mikado standing there, looking at him with a wicked
smile on his lips. The other boy waggled a flask and then put it back into
his jacket. While he was standing there, suddenly seeing two of Mikado for
a moment, the other boy attacked.



The dance music shifted to a more lively tempo, a heavy techno beat, as the
pigtailed boy shot off the edge of a balcony to land in one of the many
courtyards, his feet skidding back a little, propelled there by the other
boy’s kick. Mikado came down to land near him at the end of a long leap.



Charging at Ranma with a snarl of hatred, their fight began.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“You sure look like you’re having a good time, Utena,” Wakaba said with a
smile as the three girls walked around to cool off. Each of them had cups
of sweet punch in their hands. “I have to admit, that Saotome guy is a
really good dancer.”



Utena smiled. She felt wonderful. She hoped Ranma was enjoying his evening
as much as she was.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Ranma’s head snapped to one side from Mikado’s punch, one of several blows
he had taken so far during the fight. He lashed out with a punch and kick
of his own, but he missed. Mikado seemed to be moving faster and better
than he had before, which was confusing.



“What’s the matter, Saotome?” the other boy taunted, driving his knee
upwards into Ranma’s ribcage and knocking him over to land on his back, a
Muay Thai maneuver that Nanashi had taught him. “No smart remarks to make
this time?” Before Ranma could stand, Mikado hit him in the face with
another hard punch.



Things were going much better than Mikado had hoped. He had noticed the two
Ohtori cadets giving spiked cups of punch to Ranma earlier that evening.
The rum he had given the pigtailed boy straight up seemed to have finished
the job. He hit Ranma several more times in succession, bloodying his face.
It felt good to expend his energies this way, and he drove another savage
blow into the other boy’s gut.



Rallying, Ranma managed to block the next couple of strikes and got a solid
hit upwards in an explosive uppercut to Mikado’s jaw. He felt woozy on his
feet and staggered a bit, angry that he was losing because of dishonorable
cheating on the other boy’s part. He launched himself in a flying kick that
gave him the satisfaction of hearing a solid impact into Mikado’s shoulder.



“Damn you, Saotome!” Mikado, his lip split from the uppercut, got a firm
hold of Ranma’s jacket and slammed him down face first into the pavement.
“Still got some fight in you? This should take care of that.” He rolled the
pigtailed boy over and forced his jaw open before pouring more of the flask
down his throat.



Ranma felt the rum hit the back of his throat and gagged and sputtered,
swallowing some more of it, feeling it burning all the way down his gullet.
“Get off me!” He kicked Mikado away in a sudden spasm of movement, spilling
some more of the rum on himself. He got back to his feet and weaved in
place slightly. There was something tickling the back of his brain and
trying to get his attention, about alcohol and fighting that he should know.



That was it, the memory suddenly clicking into place inside him. He had
learned it for one of his first movie roles, wanting to be authentic on
camera. Or rather, his actor analog had done so.



Spotting the flask laying on the ground, Ranma grabbed it up and poured
some more in his mouth. He swallowed it. Mikado was looking at him in
puzzlement.



“Never figured you for a drinker, Saotome,” the other boy mocked him. He
paused in his attacks, deciding to let his nemesis have one last drink
before he put him down, if Ranma so chose.



Ranma drained the last of the rum down his throat where it burned warmly
inside him. He tossed the empty flask away and then hiccupped once. He took
up a stance, his hands out in front of him as if they held cups, weaving in
place. He gave a taunting smile to Mikado.



“Come and (hic) get me, Sanzenin.”



“When I’m through with you, they’re going to need a stretcher to carry you
home!” Mikado charged again, infuriated, another punch aimed at Ranma’s
head. To his surprise, the other boy jerked suddenly to one side and a
powerful punch hit Mikado in the side of the head, knocking him to the
ground. He lashed out with a kick, and Ranma dodged aside again, rolling
over his limb and striking down with an elbow.



Again and again, Mikado tried to attack, and each attack was thrown back in
his face or dodged when Ranma seemed to spasm suddenly and apparently at
random. He punched and missed, receiving an elbow to the face for his
efforts. He kicked and was blocked, and the other boy slammed a kick into
his face in reply.



After a time, Ranma’s metabolism began clearing the alcohol from his body.
He realized he was sitting on an unconscious Mikado by one of the
fountains, not quite sure how he had won the fight. He got up, his body
aching in places. He had fought and won, that much he could recall, but the
details were hazy.



“There you are,” said Utena, and he turned to see her coming his way. When
she saw his bruised and battered face, the rips in his tuxedo and the
unconscious boy bleeding from his nose and mouth into the pavement, she
felt her previous annoyance at his unexplained absence vanish. He had
clearly been in a fight. She took out her handkerchief and dipped it into
the water in the fountain before cleaning some of the blood from his face.
“Are you all right, Ranma?”



“Yeah, it looks worse than it is,” he said with a grimace of pain when she
dabbed under his nose. “The last thing I remember clearly is this jerk
attacking me.” He sighed and looked sad. “Sorry about ruining our date.”



“Oh, I had a great time up until now,” she reassured him. “So don’t you
worry about that.” She gave him a smile, glad to know he was all right.
“You and I sure do seem to attract violent jerks, don’t we?”



Ranma chuckled at that one and then grimaced again, his ribs aching. With
Utena’s help, he stood up. Eyeing the fountain as if the water might reach
out and attack him, he started walking away from it, Utena helping hold him
up.



“We’ll go back to my room, and you can rest there tonight,” she said
suddenly. “You shouldn’t try to travel without some rest first. I can call
your mother and let her know you’re staying over.”



Ranma nodded tiredly at first, wanting to find some place to lie down and
rest for a while. Then her words seemed to percolate up into his awareness.
His half-open eyes snapped open fully.



“Uh, that’s okay, Utena. I wouldn’t want to impose.”



At that moment, others arrived.



Nabiki and Kodachi saw Ranma’s beaten appearance and took in Mikado’s
unconscious form by the fountain. They shared a look and then came over to
Utena.



“We’ll take him from here, Tenjou,” said Nabiki, moving to take over
holding the pigtailed boy up. She smelled alcohol on his breath and clothes
and noticed the open flask lying to one side on the ground. She had felt
the hip flask under Touga’s jacket while they were dancing but had thought
little of it at the time. Now she wasn’t so certain.



Mikado wasn’t good enough to hurt Ranma this badly, she was certain of
that. But if someone had gone to the trouble of spiking all the punch she
had seen him drinking during the night, it might be possible. She recalled
seeing either Miki or Touga at the snack table whenever Ranma was there.
That was suspicious, but she had no proof of any wrongdoing on their parts.



“No need to trouble yourself about this guy anymore, Tenjou. Kuno-dono and
I can take care of everything from here.” Behind Nabiki’s fake smile, her
unspoken message from their last encounter was repeated: ‘Don’t ever come
near him again.’



“Yes, we shall take care of his injuries and see him safely home.” Kodachi
put herself under Ranma’s other arm. Her rivalry with Nabiki was set aside
in the face of a common threat from an outsider.



Standing off to one side, Miki and Touga both glowered a bit at the
pigtailed boy getting attention from three attractive girls. When the girls
looked their way, they brightened as if nothing at all was the matter.


“You can use my limousine to get him home, Nabiki,” said Touga with a smile.



“And we can carry your friend, Kodachi,” Miki exclaimed. “I wouldn’t want
to see you stain your lovely dress.”



Kodachi smiled at Miki. “You’re very kind to do so, Kaoru-kun.” It was
clear to her that the treacherous Sanzenin animal had attacked Ranma. She
would have kicked him, but she was too far away and also didn’t want to
shock Miki by committing such an unladylike act in his view.



While they stood there, Nanami suddenly rushed past them all, even her
brother, to attend to the fallen Sanzenin boy. She gave Ranma a brief,
extremely malicious look as she wet her handkerchief and began cleaning
Mikado’s face.



Touga was a little startled to see this, but he hid it well, only raising
one eyebrow. He shifted Nabiki’s share of Ranma to himself, disappointed
that his plan had been derailed. No matter. A victory after a few setbacks
would only make the final conquest all the sweeter.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Meanwhile, on one of the verandas, Kuno and Juri Arisugawa were taking a
break from dancing. They stood close together and watched the stars. No
words were spoken between them, but he was holding her hand as they stood
at the railing.



Juri was smiling and feeling warm inside.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



“It was an entertaining evening, Nabiki Tendo,” said Touga with a smile
after helping put Ranma in the car. “I look forward to seeing what our next
time together holds.” He gave her a kiss on her hand.



“It might be fun at that,” Nabiki replied, smiling. She had been a little
concerned that the nobleman might try something, based on his reputation,
but he had been a perfect gentleman with her all evening. She would
continue to explore a friendship with him. She could always correct him if
things got too serious between them.



On the other side of the car, Miki and Kodachi stood together. “I had a
good time with you, Kaoru-kun.” She leaned closer to him, and Miki thought
she was going to kiss his cheek. “Because of this evening, I think
Saotome-kun and I will have a better relationship,” she whispered into his
ear. “Thank you for your help.” She then gave him a kiss on the cheek.



“No problem,” Miki said calmly, his fist clenching at his side as he
feigned happiness for her. When she was inside the car, he glared at the
semi-conscious pigtailed boy. He wanted to scream and rage at the
unfairness of it all. Why did Ranma have Kodachi’s warmest regards, and he
was just seen as a friend?



Utena approached him after saying her goodbyes to Ranma. She had been
hustled out of the car a little rudely by the Tendo girl, but she didn’t
want to damage her dress by starting a fight, tempting as it was to smash
the other girl for her impertinence.



“Thank you for your help, Miki,” she said with a smile. “Can I count on
your help with Ranma in the future?”



Miki blinked. He turned to face her. “What do you mean?”



“I noticed that you and Kodachi Kuno are good friends. Knowing her, do you
think she’s right for someone like Ranma?”



“No.” His tone was certain as he watched the limousine driving away.



She turned to face Touga. “Do you think Nabiki Tendo is right for him?”



“I think such a girl is wasted on one like him,” the nobleman said with a
smile.



“Can I count on your assistance in getting Ranma away from them?” She
smiled at the pair. “I mean, since they aren’t right for him.”



Miki and Touga looked briefly at each other and suddenly both boys wore
matching smiles. They nodded to each other in silent agreement.



“In speaking for Miki and myself, we’d be quite happy to assist you in
getting them apart, Utena my dear.”



Utena nodded, grateful for their promised aid. She turned to watch the
limousine carrying Ranma fade off into the night.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



To be continued next chapter: The Chinese Amazon Connection
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