---

It's not easy being obsessed. And, if the truth be told, obsession is
a 
fairly rare affliction. There aren't many people who can become
utterly 
fixated on one person, to the exclusion of all else. And so, the sheer

number of residents of Nerima who are so obsessed is quite a
statistical 
anomaly. One would suspect something in the water... if so many of the

afflicted weren't immigrants.

One of those immigrants was humming softly to herself as she engaged
in 
her second-favorite pastime, cooking. Her favorite pastime, of course,

was chasing after Ranma. As she expertly mixed the ingredients for a 
perfect dish, her thoughts drifted back to an earlier time, when
things 
were simpler.

She'd been but a child, but the deep and selfless love she felt for 
Ranma had been present even then. He was everything to her...
confidant, 
best friend, future husband. She smiled as she remembered how cute
he'd 
been as a little boy. So full of energy, as he was today, but he
turned 
that energy towards childish pursuits. Endless games of tag, play-
wrestling, climbing the highest hills... he was honing the skills that

today made him a champion martial artist. She fell in love with him 
almost the first time she saw him.

Her father, caring and sensitive, had seen how she felt about him. He 
understood. He saw the happiness radiating in his daughter's face
every 
time she was near Ranma. And she remembered how she'd nearly died with

joy the day her father told her he'd arranged an engagement for her.
Her 
dream of a lifetime with Ranma was to be fulfilled.

And then, joy had turned to bitter tears, the day that Ranma's father 
had carried him away from her. Not only had he stolen her heart, he'd 
stolen her father's yatai. That yatai was all that they had in the 
world, and its loss left her father a broken man. And, to add insult
to 
a deep, deep, injury, she'd been taunted by all the girls at school,
for 
the loss of the boy she'd thought would become her husband. Her life
had 
never, never been the same.

Her love had turned to burning hatred then. Ranma and his father had 
built up her dreams and put her on a pedestal of joy, only to smash
her 
to the ground in one callous gesture. They'd destroyed her life. And 
she'd vowed to make them pay. She'd turned to the cooking martial
arts, 
with the goal of becoming good enough to punish Ranma and his father.

She remembered the first time she saw him, after that. At the sight of

the boy she'd loved grown to near manhood, her heart had broken anew. 
Throughout the years of training, she'd thought that she'd managed to 
eliminate the last vestige of her love, but she'd been wrong. She'd 
challenged him, but all the while her heart had been throbbing
painfully 
in his presence.

And it had turned out to all be a big misunderstanding. Ranma's father

was the cruel cad who had victimized her father, but Ranma himself was

innocent. He hadn't known of the engagement... in fact, he hadn't even

known she was a female. Her cheeks burned with that memory. All that 
time, she'd thought her love for Ranma was reciprocated, but Ranma 
hadn't even known her gender.

But once she'd realized that Ranma had never meant to hurt her, her
old 
love bloomed anew, full strength. Everything she'd loved him for as a 
boy was still there... and so was a new adult confidence that made him

seem invincible. As a boy, he'd been so nice to her, and he was even 
nicer now. When she was feeling down, he called her "cute". As a
friend, 
he was always there for her. A girl couldn't ask for a better husband.

And yet there was one problem. Her rival.

Ukyo snorted, as she poured her batter onto the hot griddle. What does

Akane have that I don't have? She's a klutz. She's violent. She's
always 
pounding on Ranma with that stupid mallet. Her cooking could kill a 
horse at 200 meters. She's *certainly* not as cute as I am... Ranma
even 
says so. What right does she have to be my Ran-chan's fiancee?

Akane, she knew, was her only true rival. Kodachi Kuno was insane, and

Ukyo'd never seen Ranma slow even a tiny bit of affection for her. 
Shampoo was more formidable... but she and her grandmother had tried
too 
many dirty, underhanded tricks for Ranma ever to trust her. Ukyo was
the 
only one that Ranma was ever nice to. 

If only Ranma would *look* at me, she thought. He's not really engaged

to Akane. Both of them say it all the time. It's just a stupid 
arrangement their fathers made. So why couldn't he at least take me on
a 
date? If we got a chance to be alone, I'm sure I could convince him
that 
I'm the only one for him.

Ukyo paused to flip the okonomiyaki over. It was a perfect golden
brown, 
and Ukyo picked up a brush to write "I love you Ran-chan" on it in 
sauce. Ukyo's sauce was custom-blended, and was justly famous
throughout 
Tokyo. She had a secret blend of spices she used to give it just the 
right kick. She'd even been known to subtly alter her recipe for 
individual customers, to suit what she suspected were their tastes.
That 
blend of spices was a closely-guarded secret, passed on to her by her 
father, as one of the only things he could give her after his beloved 
yatai was stolen.

Her crusts were always crispy on the outside, with an inner layer that

was softer and chewier, once you bit through to it. This particular 
okonomiyaki was her super-deluxe special, Ranma's favorite. Three
kinds 
of meat were blended into the batter, along with just the right 
assortment of colorful vegetables. He loved them. And this one was
being 
made to serve a special purpose.

If she were Shampoo, she might have slipped some sort of aphrodisiac 
into the food. But Ukyo didn't do that sort of thing. She wanted Ranma

to love her for herself, not because of some weird drug. She had
enough 
self-confidence to know that she could offer Ranma anything he needed,

without chemical assistance.

With one well-practiced twitch of her spatula, Ukyo sent the
okonomiyaki 
spinning into the air. It flew like a Frisbee, coming to rest on a
plate 
Ukyo slid under it. She quickly packaged it in a box, then flipped her

sign to "Closed". It was nearly dinner time, and she knew Ranma would
be 
getting hungry. This special treat she'd made just for him would be
sure 
to win his heart. She jogged cheerfully towards the Tendo dojo.

She was met at the door by Akane. Akane's eyes narrowed dangerously as

she saw Ukyo approaching. "What do *you* want?" she demanded, blocking

Ukyo's entrance.

Ukyo craned her neck, trying to see around Akane. "Is Ran-chan home?"

"Yeah, he's home. So what?"

"I'm here to give him this!" Ukyo opened the box, showing the 
okonomiyaki to Akane. She knew this would upset Akane in two ways: it 
would remind her that Ukyo was and always would be the better cook,
and 
the "I love you Ran-chan" written on it would remind her that she was 
not alone in Ranma's affections.

Akane glared at the okonomiyaki. "He doesn't need that. I've already 
started making dinner tonight."

Ukyo's hand went to her mouth in shock that looked mock, but wasn't. 
"Oh, thank goodness! I'm so glad I'll be able to save him!"

Akane bared her teeth. "Why are you always giving him stuff like that,

anyway? 'I love you Ran-chan?' Honestly!"

Ukyo looked straight into Akane's eyes. "So why do *you* care?"

Akane looked back. "Huh?"

"Why do *you* care?" Ukyo repeated. "You're always saying that he's
not 
really your fiancee. Every chance you get, you badmouth him to anyone 
who'll listen. You call him a jerk and a pervert. You *hit* him all
the 
time. Why do you care what I give him?"

Akane looked blank. "But I..."

"And here's another thing," Ukyo said, pressing her advantage. "He 
obviously doesn't want *you* either. He's always insulting you. And he

always tells people *you're* not really *his* fiance, either. He hates

being engaged to you. You're making his life miserable. What gives you

the right to tell me that I can't give him whatever I want to? Maybe I

can make him happier than you've made him."

Akane's mind was awhirl. She tried to come up with a snappy comeback, 
but couldn't.

Ukyo noted Akane's muteness, and realized she'd won. "And I'll tell
you 
something else, Akane. I'm going to give him this okonomiyaki, and I'm

going to do something that you never would."

Akane snapped out of her thoughts enough to ask, "What's that?"

Ukyo smiled wickedly. "I'm going to kiss him."

*That* got Akane's attention. "You're going to WHAT?"

"You heard me. I love him. I love him like you never will. I'd never 
beat him up, or call him a pervert, or kick him out of my window to
land 
in a pond. And I'm going to go to his room, and give him this 
okonomiyaki. And then, I'll ask him to kiss me. It will be beautiful."

Ukyo sighed.

"You can't do that! He's *my* fiance."

Ukyo gave her a cold, steady look. "So? I don't care about that. You
say 
all the time that he's not really your fiance. You just said it this 
morning, at school. It's none of your business what I do with him. 
You've got no right to care." And with that, Ukyo swept past a stunned

Akane, into the house, towards Ranma's room.

Akane stood, speechless, in the doorway. She heard a knock, and she 
heard Ranma's door slide open. Ukyo's voice carried to her...
"Ran-chan, 
can I come in? I've got something for her." And then she heard the
door 
slide closed again.

Akane waited a few more seconds, then raced into the house, towards 
Ranma's room. She stopped in the kitchen to pick up an empty glass. 
Carefully, she set the glass against Ranma's door, and listened to the

conversation within.

"Thank you, Uc-chan, that was delicious." She recognized Ranma's
voice. 
Her features deepened into a scowl at Ranma's next words: "And you
saved 
me from having to eat Akane's toxic cooking tonight."

"Anything for you, Ran-chan." Ukyo's voice seemed softer and quieter 
than usual. "Ran-chan... can I ask you something?"

"Hmm? Sure, Uc-chan, what is it?"

"How do you feel about Akane?"

There was a long pause, which seemed to Akane to stretch out forever. 
Finally, Ranma asked, "What do you mean?"

"Do you love her?"

There was another pause, then an uncomfortable laugh. "Love her? Who 
could love such an uncute, macho, sexless tomboy?" Akane flinched.
Every 
word was like a dagger in her heart.

"Then would you do something for me?"

"Eh? What's that, Uc-chan?"

Once more, there was a pause inside the room. Even from outside, Akane

could feel the tension building. Then Ukyo's voice again: "Would you 
kiss me?"

Even though she knew this was coming, Akane nearly dropped the glass. 
Ukyo's voice reverberated through her head: "You call him a jerk and a

pervert. He *hates* being engaged to you. He obviously doesn't want
you. 
You have no right to care. Ran-chan, would you kiss me? Would you kiss

me? Would you kiss me?"

But I do care, she realized. Even if I have no right to. She had a 
mental image of Ranma holding Ukyo, his lips glued to hers, and her 
world spun around her and went dark. It was painful even to think
about 
it.

Ukyo's soft voice again: "Are you thinking about Akane? You don't love

her... you just said so yourself. She's always insulting you and
hitting 
you. The whole engagement thing was a joke... you both know that. And
I 
love you. I *really* love you. Let me make you happy. Please,
Ran-chan."

Akane nearly sobbed. Every word was true. She'd lost Ranma, she knew. 
She'd never told him anything about how she felt, and he might very
well 
believe she hated him. And now Ukyo was in there, seducing him,
offering 
herself to him. He had no reason to refuse. She listened desperately 
though her glass for the telltale sounds of the kiss. She didn't want
to 
hear, but she couldn't turn away.

Seconds ticked by, each one with agony. She strained to listen, but 
heard nothing but silence. All she had was her imagination to tell her

what was going on in there. She pictured Ranma smiling his dazzling 
smile at Ukyo, and moving in close to her, taking her in his arms. Her

mind's eye showed her Ranma lightly brushing Ukyo's bangs out of the 
way, and stroking her cheek. She saw Ukyo's eyes filled with love as 
Ranma lowered his face to hers. She saw Ukyo close her eyes and part
her 
lips, looking cute and desirable. Irresistable. And then... and
then... 
and then...

And then she heard Ranma's voice, so soft that she could barely hear
it. 
"I'm sorry, Uc-chan. I can't."

"W-what? Why not?" Ukyo sounded hurt and confused.

"I just can't." And then, even more softly, "You'd better go."

A muffled sob came from the room. Hearing slow footsteps coming
towards 
her, Akane scurried out of the way and hid in the kitchen. Seconds 
later, a weeping Ukyo ran out of Ranma's room, and out the front door.

Akane peeked around the corner. Ranma himself was standing in his 
doorway, leaning against the frame, looking sad. Then he sighed, and 
slid the door shut.

Now that it was over, relief poured over Akane like a waterfall. He 
didn't do it! Alone in his room with Ukyo, with Ukyo asking, no, 
*pleading* for him to kiss her... and he didn't do it. Akane didn't
know 
why he'd refused her advances, but she wasn't going to question it.
She 
still didn't know why she cared so much... but she did care, there was

no denying that. If she didn't care, she wouldn't feel nearly as weak-
kneed with relief as she did now. She sighed happily as she replayed
the 
whole incident in her mind.

A sudden acrid odor snapped her out of her reverie. Oh no... her
dinner! 
She threw open the oven and was greeted by a cloud of noxious black 
smoke. She had never made this particular casserole before, but she
was 
quite sure it wasn't supposed to be that strange color.

Oh well. She'd scrape off the burnt top layer, and it would be as good

as new. She knew Ranma's appetite, and knew one okonomiyaki wouldn't 
satisfy it. And she'd worked so *hard* on this dish, that she was just

*sure* he'd enjoy it.

Humming softly to herself as she used a hammer and chisel to scrape
away 
the carbonized casserole, Akane did her best not to feel any sympathy 
for Ukyo. She wasn't totally successful.


---


The next morning. Once again, Nabiki walked to school alone. She felt 
none of the tension she'd felt yesterday... she'd told Kuno that there

would be no wedding, and that was the end of that. In fact, she would 
have walked to school with Ranma and Akane today, but they were
running 
late. Ranma had refused to get out of bed, claiming an acute 
stomachache, and Akane was trying to force him up. Nabiki had seen a 
casserole pan caked with a strange glowing substance among the dinner 
dishes, and she doubted that Ranma would rise anytime soon. So she 
decided to go on ahead.

Once again, she was met at school by Kuno. She tried to ignore him and

go around him, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She 
looked up at him and said, annoyed, "What do you want, Kuno-chan?"

Kuno's face was strangely pained. He handed her a large manila
envelope 
and said, "For you, Nabiki Tendo. My father asked me to give you
this."

Nabiki opened it. It seemed to contain copies of legal documents of
some 
kind. As she read them, Kuno said, "I want you to know, Nabiki, that I

had no part in this. It was all my father's idea."

She was confused. She looked at the documents, then said, "I don't get

it. This is a copy of the deed to Dr. Tofu's chiropractic clinic."

"Indeed it is, Nabiki Tendo. My father has purchased the building from

its owner. He wishes you to know that if you persist in your refusal
to 
assent to the marriage, he will terminate Dr. Tofu's lease, and have
him 
evicted. He also wishes you to know that he will purchase any building

Tofu attempts to lease, and evict him from there as well. He will
drive 
Tofu out of business, and into starvation."

Nabiki was baffled, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard.
"But... 
why?"

Kuno sighed. He sounded like he was repeated words memorized by rote. 
"He understands that your sister Kasumi has something of a
relationship 
with the doctor. If he hurts the doctor, he hurts Kasumi... and
through 
her, you."

Bafflement turned to rage. "He... he can't do that!"

"I'm afraid he can, Nabiki. Furthermore, he also wishes you to know
that 
if this does not persuade you, he is prepared to undertake still more 
drastic measures. He hopes he will not be required to do so."

Nabiki trembled. "This is an outrage!"

Kuno nodded. "I did warn you, Nabiki Tendo."

Nabiki shoved past Kuno and stormed towards the school. She heard
Kuno's 
voice raised behind her: "Nabiki, my father requires an answer by 
tomorrow."

She stopped, turned around, and shouted, "You bastard!" Fuming, she
went 
in to class.

---


"HYAAAH!" shouted Akane, as her fist flew towards Ranma's face. Ranma 
dodged the punch easily, then ducked under the kick which followed it.

Akane yelled and followed up with a quick combination, two punches at 
his face then a kick to his midsection. With his superior speed, Ranma

was able to keep out of the way of her attacks, but a lesser opponent 
would have been devastated. Not letting up at all, Akane launched into
a 
powerful jumping kick, with a final kendo cry. At the last minute,
Ranma 
leaped up over her, and her foot struck the dojo wall, cracking it. 
Ranma landed behind her, touching a finger to the back of her neck.

"Not bad, Akane," Ranma said. "You're really improving."

"Thank you," Akane replied, breathing heavily. "Thanks for helping me 
spar." As was usual after her sparring sessions with Ranma, she was 
bathed with sweat. What was unusual was that *Ranma* was breathing a 
little harder, and had broken a sweat of his own. Her skill was 
definitely increasing.

As they stood in the dojo relaxing, coming down from the workout, they

were interrupted by a loud cry from outside. "AKANE! TENDO AKANE! COME

OUT HERE!" The voice was deep, sultry, and determined. It sounded 
familiar, but it was hard to recognize from outside the house. "TENDO 
AKANE! I CHALLENGE YOU!"

Akane looked at Ranma with a puzzled look. "Who could that be?"

"Gee, Akane, who would challenge you?" said Ranma sarcastically.
"You've 
only got about six people holding serious grudges against you."

"You're one to talk," scowled Akane. "It seems like all of Nerima has 
tried to kill *you*."

"I guess that's true," said Ranma with a grimace. "But this time, the 
challenge is for you. Wanna go see who it is?"

Akane shrugged. "I guess we'd better." As she'd just been working out,

she was still clad in her gi, so she had the perfect attire to answer
a 
challenge. If you gotta do it, might as well do it with style. She and

Ranma headed for the front door of the house.

When they slid open the front door, at first it seemed as though the 
leaves were falling. Then they realized that the objects being swirled

around outside and blown through their door weren't leaves. They were 
petals. Black rose petals. Akane and Ranma let out a simultaneous
groan 
as it became apparent who their visitor was.

When the blizzard had died down, Kodachi stood in the front lawn, her 
head thrown back and her mouth smiling, laughing her trademark laugh. 
Kodachi's laugh was hard to classify. It wasn't exactly a giggle, or a

chuckle, or even a cackle, but it was definitely distinctive. It was 
instantly recognizable as Kodachi's own laugh, and once you heard it, 
you never forgot it.

Kodachi was twirling her ribbon in front of her, and this was creating
a 
wind blowing directly towards Akane. The breeze fluttered Akane's hair

and made her look especially majestic in her gi. Kodachi clearly had
her 
brother's flair for the dramatic. She was wearing a different leotard 
than she usually wore... this one was black, with lightning streaks of

silver sequins. Her hair was out of its ponytail, and flared around
her 
shoulders like a lion's mane. She wore shiny silver bands on her
wrists 
and ankles. With a flourish, she stopped twirling the ribbon and
snapped 
it between her fingers. "Tendo Akane! I challenge you!"

Akane was flabbergasted. "Why? What for?"

Kodachi pointed her ribbon at Akane, snapping it like a whip. "For 
Ranma! I will fight you... and if you lose, you give up my darling 
Ranma-sama!"

Akane blinked. "You what?"

Kodachi's malicious grin grew broader. "You heard me! Fight me, Tendo 
Akane! Or are you a coward?"

Akane darkened. "I am not a coward!"

Kodachi laughed. "Then fight me! Come on!"

Akane grit her teeth and pulled her lips back in a snarl. So that's
the 
way she wants it, is it? She took a step forward and got into a 
defensive crouch.

But Kodachi didn't attack. Instead, she relaxed her guard and said, 
"First, say it."

Akane was puzzled. "Say what?"

"Say that if you lose, you'll give up Ranma, of course. That *is* what
I 
challenged for. If you lose, Ranma-sama is mine... and I want to hear 
you say it."

"You've got to be kidding!"

"I'm not kidding, Tendo Akane. If you win, you have nothing to worry 
about, right? Or are you afraid you'll lose?"

Akane snarled. "Fine! Have it your way! If you win, he's yours! I'll 
gift wrap him for you. Now DIE!"

At this, Ranma stepped forward. "Hey, wait a minute. I'm not..."

"You stay out of this, Ranma!" snapped Akane. And with that, she 
launched a flying kick at Kodachi's head.

Only Kodachi's head wasn't there. She easily dodged out of the way,
and 
snagged Akane's foot with her ribbon. "She's gotten faster," was all 
Akane had time to think before she hit the ground, hard. As she sat
up, 
she was struck full in the face by a thrown gymnastics rubber ball.

"Akane!" shouted Ranma, and leaped forward. Akane spared him a glance.

"You stay out of this, Ranma!" she snapped at him. "I can handle
this!"

Kodachi laughed, long and loud. "No, you cannot, Tendo Akane! Ranma-
sama! Soon you shall be mine!" And with that, she launched her attack.

Ranma ground his teeth. That *idiot!* He could tell, the minute he saw

Kodachi, that she had been training. *Really* training. Her stance,
her 
ribbon work, her confidence all spoke volumes. She'd gotten *good*. 
She'd probably been practicing for this very moment. And Akane...
she'd 
just had a tough workout. She'd pushed herself to the limit against
him, 
and she'd be worn out. This would *not* be an easy victory. And if she

lost... Ranma shuddered at the thought of a date with a Kuno. He'd
heard 
that poor Nabiki was going to be marrying the other half of the insane

brother-sister duo, and he wanted no part of that family.

[INSERT: Big Fight Scene (tm).]

---