Memories (a Ranma 1/2-with-cameos! fanfic)
by Nikholas "Mayhem" F. Toledo 


	The Ranma 1/2 Universe was created and therefore owned by Rumiko 
Takahashi, Viz Communications and Shogakukan. If you do own Ranma and I 
have failed to mention you, that is because I am not worthy to even write 
your name since you are really incredible people and earn a million 
dollars just to write up the characters in the Ranma 1/2 title.  I would 
also declare that I will not get a single cent from this work and that I 
am only doing this to pass away time and for my own personal artistic 
fulfillment.


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|Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!Mayhem!|
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Chapter Six
Cast Iron Stomach

	Nodoka Saotome carefully set the stray locks of hair back to its 
usual coif as she waited patiently for the tea to boil. She smiled, 
looking at the young woman also waiting for the tea. Nodoka let her 
thoughts float freely like the steam bubbles in the kettle.
	A sudden surge of memories came forth unbidden and, for a while, 
Nodoka saw someone else's face, waiting for tea. 
	There was so much of Kimiko in Kasumi, her gentleness and 
compassion. Both of them had that aura of calm that filled any room that 
they were in. 
	Her death was a tremendous blow to everyone. For them, it was as if 
everything that was good in the world suddenly vanished, the universe 
knocked off kilter. She missed the afternoon chats over tea, buying 
groceries for their then young families, and everything else newlywed 
housewives would do. After her death, everyone was at a loss. 
	However, with the passage of years, Kasumi's caring ways touched 
everyone's hearts and stabilized the twisting and churning universe with 
her calm and gentleness. Kasumi was almost the way Kimiko was, and, 
subconsciously, Nodoka felt that it was as if Kimiko had come back for 
them. Equilibrium was reached, although someone else was maintaining it.
	"But Kasumi's different..." Her thoughts tried to halt this flow of 
logic - Kasumi had her own life. People should not be thought of as 
replacements for other people. It was already hard for Kasumi to take on 
the role of her mother - they should not expect her to *become* her 
mother. 
	She can still have time to discover who she is. She was still young 
and full of promise. Nodoka silently thought, "just like her mom."
	The tea was ready and Nodoka took it into the living room. Kasumi 
stood up to help her, but was shooed down. "You're the guest, Kasumi." 
She set down the tray and sat in front of her.
	"Auntie Saotome, you don't have to do this. I came to borrow some 
of your cooking recipes. I have to back home soon, to cook lunch."
	"Nonsense. I have known your father long enough to know that he 
would rather go hungry than eat someone else's cooking, given a choice. 
Unlike my foolish husband, who would eat anything, if it was for free... 
Kasumi, dear, please sit down and keep this lonely woman company, even 
for just a while."
	Kasumi looked around, as if looking for an excuse to leave, but she 
smiled and decided to stay. She cheerfully took the proffered tea and 
sipped contentedly.
	"I was on my way to your dojo to visit, but I guess I don't have 
to, now." Nodoka waited for a while for the tea to cool down. She felt 
that there was something wrong in the air, but she couldn't put her 
finger on it. "Is there any news of my husband and my son? Is Ranma 
growing up to become a man among men? Is he taking care of his fianc�e 
well?"
	If there were conflicting thoughts inside Kasumi's head, she made 
no move to show them. "They aren't at home right now. But they said that 
they will come back soon. And Ranma's growing up pretty well, for his 
age. And he and Akane," she hesitated for a while, "they still have their 
problems now and then, but still..." Kasumi looked downwards. "I'm sorry, 
there are times when the two of them argue over needless things and they 
end up hurt even more than the other one -"
	Nodoka put a hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "It's not your fault. They 
need to take their time."
	"But sometimes father and Uncle Saotome can be such a bother. They 
do all kinds of things to push them together and they always mess things 
up-" Kasumi added, "that is, when they visit."
	Nodoka finally knew what was bothering Kasumi. The subtle movements 
of Kasumi's hands, the intonation of her words, and other such factors, 
combined with the mysterious women's intuition and a mother's common 
sense led her to the following conclusion:
	"Is there anything wrong between you and your father?"
	If Nodoka was talking to anyone else, that particular person would 
have either jumped up in surprise and asked if she was a mind reader or 
simply stared in shock. But Kasumi (being a woman herself, thus 
possessing her same intuition, and her also being almost a mother) simply 
smiled. She said, "How did you know, Auntie?"
	Nodoka couldn't help but smile. "I know things..." Then Nodoka's 
face furrowed in a look of concern. "Kasumi, I know something is wrong. 
Please tell me. If you keep inside, it will hurt more and more. I-" she 
thought if it were wise to bring up the topic, "I made a promise to your 
mother." 
	Memories sprang to her, unbidden, but she forced them back. "I told 
her that I would be a mother to you when she was gone, and I know I 
haven't kept that promise to the best of my ability." She took Kasumi's 
hands in hers. "You can always talk to me - anytime."
	"Father also made a promise, too." Kasumi looked down and a dark 
shadow was cast over her eyes. "He promised mother that he would look for 
good husbands for us. I know what he wants is good, but something tells 
me that somehow- It's just that -"
	A figure sat next to Kasumi, and the latter placed her head on 
Nodoka's shoulder. "It's all right for you to cry, Kasumi." She stroked a 
hand through her hair. "Go ahead and cry. Go on. After you cry, it would 
be easy for you to smile again." 
	She smiled. "You know, your mother came to me with the same problem 
long ago - but let's not bother about the past. Do you feel better now?" 
	"Thank you, Auntie." She sat up straight again and fixed her hair. 
If there were tears before, her face showed no trace of them. "That was 
something he would have said."
	Nodoka asked, "He?" Kasumi smiled, ending the topic rather quickly.  
	"Still, I can see what your father had in mind. You're still too 
young to choose the person you would be with for the rest of your life. 
(I know that Ranma and Akane are exceptions to this rule, but it is of 
their own choice.) Remember that what may seem right to you would not be 
the right thing to do. However, listen to your heart very carefully. You 
should not let anyone else decide for you. (Again, Ranma and Akane are 
exceptions, but given time, they will choose each other. Believe me, I 
know.)"
	"I know it sounds funny, but I have been giving the same advice to 
Ukyo and Shampoo, Ranma's friends. I guess you best understand your 
advice when someone else advises you." 
	Kasumi gathered up the scattered cookbooks into a neat stack. "I'm 
sorry to have taken so much of your time, auntie. I have to go now." She 
gave Nodoka a smile of great gratitude. "Thank you so much, auntie. Thank 
you."
	"Come back anytime, Kasumi."
	Kasumi would have given Nodoka a hug if not a strange sound tore 
through the air.

	It could be said that two people sneezed at this point in time, but 
let us not concern ourselves with the details, for now.

	The weird sound continued as a strange procession (if it could be 
called a procession, since it was moving at a very high speed) worked its 
way throughout town. 
	Witnessess who managed to gaze at the monstrosity (yes, it was 
described that way) said that it was composed of a large vehicle in front 
with four figures riding it. Two men and a panda inside, with a daredevil 
riding the van's front, most probably a martial artist. All four were 
screaming something intelligible, perhaps a warning for people to get out 
of the way, for what followed next was the main characteristic that gave 
the parade the term "monstrosity." 
	There was a young female on rollerblades dragging 56 cute bunny 
rabbits, 23 assorted hippopotami covered with pink paint, 12 Tibetan 
llamas, 6 penguins, 2 elephants and a partridge in a pear tree (called 
Georgette and Michelle respectively). How she managed to drag all of that 
with just rollerblades at the same speed as the vehicle, the authorities 
had no explanation.
	The motorcade spread mischief and mayhem, causing lots of property 
damage. What the van managed to beat to within an inch of a building's 
life as a safe structure, the rampaging kawaii kidnapper's loot served as 
an overkill. The local police was about to call in the National Guard to 
stop the rampage but the van managed to crash into a public bath, and 
there was no further movement from the hideous beast (it was also 
described that way). 
	The survivors formed a small circle around the wreckage, not daring 
to go closer. Water fountains drenched the remains, and the loud 
trumpeting of the elephants and the roar of the other animals serve to 
freeze the courage to those daring enough to enter.
	Except for two people, one who would simply smile even in the face 
of danger, and another with a large katana, for obvious reasons.

	Ranma's footsteps echoed away in the now empty corridor, and the 
brief moment of intense sadness was replaced by that of an intense, if 
not burning, rage. 
	"FINE, RANMA! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME, 
THAT'S FINE!" She grabbed her lunchbox and dashed outside, wanting to 
pummel even more verbal insults, maybe even a mallet. 
	"IT'S ALL FINE-" she ran out, but Ranma had disappeared, "-by me." 
Her voice suddenly became smaller and she couldn't find the strength to 
shout anymore. 
	But she couldn't let sadness take her - no. That would be a sign of 
weakness and she couldn't let Ranma take advantage of that, no way. 
	Feeling anger coursing through her veins once again, she put on a 
face of pure rage and turned to her friends who were waiting for her. 
"Come on, there's no use standing here. Let's go!" 
	She stomped on ahead, leaving the two to stare after her, with 
bigger than average bigsweats. 
	Yuka stared at the rapidly disappearing Akane. "Wow, I guess that 
was a pretty bad fight they had." They followed, but at a lesser pace. 
	Sayuri added after a brief pause, "And the strange thing was, Ranma 
didn't do anything at all."

	Nabiki walked to the courtyard, where she knew Nanami was waiting. 
A small crowd was gathered around the fallen helicopter and the giant 
bread loaf. The canteen personnel were valiantly trying to defeat the 
bakery product and to reduce it to processed sandwiches in the school 
kitchen, but to no avail. 
	She smirked - already, she could see a way to make things better, 
and get rich in the process. She took a moment to speak with the 
cafeteria people before she approached her original goal. 
	Nanami was absent-mindedly toying with the camera when her "old 
rival" arrived with the blue intimidation aura on full. The crowd that 
had gathered around the aircraft moved back to a certain radius where 
their fear of being involved in what they knew to be a brawl and their 
curiosity about what was to happen were balanced out. 
	Furinkan High had a strange appetite to watch martial artists doing 
their stuff, it possessing some strange entertainment value. 
	For this reason, Nabiki had a stable source of income. 
	For this reason, she knew she would win the upcoming battle.
	When Nanami saw Nabiki go towards her, she also activated her aura 
to an intensity equal to that of Nabiki. Onlookers gasped as the great 
battle of wills took place before them. 
	Nanami's two companions, not seeing this side of her, or any other 
big martial arts battle for that matter, them not having Neriman 
citizenship, ran for cover. Two girls called out to them, and they dived 
behind several wooden crates. 
	Meanwhile, the churning storm continued on, and no one knew who 
would be the winner.
	"Well, Nabiki," Nanami was the first to speak, and the aura pulsed 
in response. "Shall we go about it the old way once again? I know it has 
been a long time, two years in fact. I didn't know that we would meet 
this early, but don't think that I did not come prepared to win. After 
all, I lost to you the last time." 
	With this last statement, the aura grew even stronger, as if that 
loss served to strengthen her even more. "That was an underhanded trick 
that you did, using Kuno as a way to beat me. I will be ready for you 
this time." 
	Rumor began to spread its tentacular fingers.
	"Come now," Nabiki's aura grew to match Nanami's own. "Two years, 
and that's how you greet an old friend. I thought that you were that kind 
of person who doesn't keep grudges." She grinned sardonically, "if I had 
known that you wanted Kuno for yourself, I would have given him to you 
free of charge." 
	A really loud whisper tore through the crowd, just as she had 
predicted. "Well, then, I, too, have prepared for this moment. You still 
remember the terms of the battle, don't you?" Nanami nodded. "I knew you 
wouldn't forget. Shall it be a friendly fight, then?" She extended her 
hand, blazing with all the intimidation strength she could muster.
	Nanami stood up. She, too, was blazing now. "Sure, Nabiki - for old 
times sake." She also extended her hand. "But I assure you, I would win 
Kuno this time." 
	The handshake was made in an explosion of cerulean flame, which 
cast shadows upon the ground and even rivaled the sun in its intensity. 
With a sudden audible whoosh, it was gone, leaving the audience with a 
vision of the awesome power that the Queens of Capitalism possessed. 
	Nabiki took her leave, feeling a bit exhausted. "Wow, she has 
gotten better at this." She walked away, but chose to leave a parting 
shot. 
	Auras shone once more. "By the way, Nanami. I guess it won't hurt 
to tell you that with this recent exchange, I took the liberty of making 
deals with some of the people around here. 
	"First, I talked to the cafeteria staff about the best way to deal 
with the giant bread loaf over there." She indicated with her hand, where 
a small booth was erected and a growing line of sandwich-hungry students 
formed in front of it. "I told them that if they couldn't take the bread 
in to the cafeteria, take the cafeteria to the bread. Of course, this 
consultation had certain fees that they were only too willing to pay.
	"Secondly, I made an arrangement with my friends (and using up to 
three associates are legal in our terms) to rent the hiding space your 
two friends are currently located, for a small sum." She gestured where 
both the pilot and the cameraman emerged sheepishly from behind the 
wooden crates. "They, too, have also paid willingly."
	"And, thirdly," she smiled, with a look of a cat seizing her prey, 
"I have some insurance measures to fall back on in case of trouble, which 
I can arrange within the hour, as per part of the terms we have agreed 
upon."
	She smirked, "Right now, I have a 15,000 yen advantage over you. I 
don't know the exact amount, but my associates will be willing to show 
them to you later, when we return in about ten minutes to deal with the 
paperwork. But, still," she turned around, not bothering to see the look 
on Nanami's face, "you're going to have a hard fight." 
	She finally shut closed down the aura and, to all appearances, she 
looked like a normal girl going out to lunch.
	Nanami slumped down inside the chopper, feeling tired. In a strange 
way, she felt punctured.

	The animal catcher's van crashed through the glass door of the 
public baths, luckily stopping before it fell into one of the pools. 
There was a moment of silence before shouts emerged from the vehicle 
where four people struggled to get away very fast.
	Ryoga pried himself of the front of the van and tried to run away, 
but was splashed with some cold water - which was a good thing. Wet pigs 
frequently don't do that much damage to people and to properties, and 
thus suspicion would be instantly removed. 
	P-chan took a moment to relax before he went on his journey. He was 
feeling hungry now, but that could be easily handled later.
	Genma-panda struggled to get out of the van as fast as he could. He 
crashed through the front windshield and managed to crawl to the hot 
water pool. The transformation quieted his tortured soul. "At last! I'm a 
man again! Now I don't have to be afraid anymore! That foolish girl would 
not think of me to be her beloved Oscar now! I'm free! Free!" 
	The two animal catchers ran away to the exit. "If we get caught, 
how the heck are we going to pay for all the damages! How can I buy 
Kyoko's birthday gift now?" The man began to sob, tearing his brown hair. 
	"Shut up, Godai!" the other man said, dragging him by the scruff of 
his shirt. "Let's just get out of here before anything happens!"
	"It's all your fault, Mitaka! It would have been okay if you pulled 
that stunt with your car to impress Kyoko all by yourself. But no! You 
had to involve me as well! We were almost finished with the civil service 
sentence the judge passed on to us, but you had to capture that panda!"
	"Will you just shut up now?! Look, I think the police aren't here. 
We can still get out, if we hurry." The two began to relax. "I told you 
that we could get out of this scot-free."
	Whatever relaxation they had managed to find was shattered with 
three screams.
	For P-chan, it was a high pitched scream. "OSCAR! WHERE ARE YOU!"
	For Genma, it was a loud female voice. "Is everyone okay inside?"
	For the two animal catchers, it was a booming male voice. "This is 
the police! Come out with your hands up!"
	Murphy's law states: If anything can go wrong, it will. 
	However, in Nerima: Everything goes wrong all at the same time.

	Shampoo rushed to Furinkan High where she knew Mousse would be, 
judging from the way she slugged him into the atmosphere that morning. 
	"Mousse! Wait for Shampoo!" 
	The bicycle screamed as it was exposed to speeds it was never 
designed for in the first place. Shampoo's hair was tousled in the wind 
shear, but she did not care. "Shampoo give Mousse the kiss he long 
deserve now! I no care what grandmother and honorable ancestors think. 
Shampoo love Mousse alone!" 
	It was as if she had loved Mousse all throughout her life, and 
Ranma was a dim memory. Her heart screamed with joy for finally she knew. 
After all this time of hiding away from the truth, after all this time. 
	"Shampoo love Mousse alone!" 
	The bicycle screeched to a halt in front of Furinkan High. She ran, 
not caring about anything else in the world. "Mousse, Shampoo here for 
you. Where are you, stupid duck brain?" Suddenly, those words had a new 
meaning to her, a term of endearment for her beloved. 
	"SHAMPOO!" 
	Her heart seemed to leap in her chest. "MOUSSE, SHAMPOO COMING 
NOW!" 
	She ran around to the right wing of the school. She bowled over the 
crowd that was gathered around where Mousse's voice was coming from. 
"Shampoo sorry that she hurt you many times. Shampoo tell you now, Wo ai 
n-" 
	She stopped and stared. What she saw shocked her numb.
	A cold wind began to blow.

	Ukyo prepared the ingredients and set out to work. 
	"I'll be the one to feed Ranchan today." 
	She concentrated, focusing her ki inwards, for what she was about 
to prepare was going to be the best okonomiyaki she has ever produced in 
her entire life. 
	She breathed in and out, smoothing the line of her thought, 
thinking only of Ranma and of the okonomiyaki she was about to make. This 
went on for a few minutes. 
	A small glow began to fill the room.
	And, as she was about to finish her meditation, a flutter of 
movement was registered in the corner of her eye. The aura disappeared 
and Ukyo found herself back to where she was before. 
	"Arrgghh! I have to do it all over again!" She looked at the source 
of movement and found that it was Ryoga's bandanna caught in a draft. 
"Even here, you mess up my day! Ryoga, you jackass!" 
	She grabbed the offending piece of cloth and placed it inside her 
pocket, where she knew it couldn't do any further harm. "You can't take 
my Ranchan away from me!" 
	If that statement sounded weird, she took no notice of it. Fixing 
her apron, she began to meditate once more.

	Dr. Tofu placed the "The doctor is out" sign on the outside door of 
his clinic. 
	The overwhelming feeling of impending doom that he first felt when 
Mr. Tendo looked at him that strange way never left him. It served to 
keep him awake but prevented the return of his peace of mind. 
	He found out that he couldn't cook his own lunch that day so he 
decided to go out and have someone else who probably doesn't have too 
much on their minds cook for him. A corner of his mind told him that a 
quick lunch visit to the Tendo Dojo would be in order (if he could manage 
to keep his cool until after the meal, however unlikely) but reason told 
him to keep out of Mr. Tendo's way until such time as circumstances would 
allow.
	He took his time, greeting patients and other regular visitors to 
the clinic, he on the street and them at windowsills, as there was rumor 
of wild animals roaming about town. There was small talk about how the 
pain was subsiding, or how was someone's wife/husband/child/close 
relative was doing, appointments, the wild animals and so-so. But he 
continued on relentlessly to his goal to become one with his stomach.
	There were many restaurants in Nerima but, as a martial artist, he 
frequented those frequented by other martial artists. Since the Ucchan's 
was nearer, the good doctor chose to have good okonomiyaki today. 
However, a strange glow emanated from the interior and he felt that 
Chinese food would be better.
	Dr. Tofu turned and smashed into the no-left turn sign that wasn't 
there a while ago. "Why, hello, Tsubasa. It's been a while since you've 
been in my clinic." He reached out and pulled the transvestite to his 
feet.
	Tsubasa discarded the remnants of the no-left turn sign and put on 
a small dining table costume. "Well, sir, I've been busy. Excuse me, I 
have to go to my darling Ucchan so I could help her." 
	Dr. Tofu tried to stop him, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you," 
but Tsubasa ignored him.
	The table crept silently, entered the shop and exited with a large 
bang. "DON'T BOTHER ME AGAIN, IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE, JACKASS!" Tsubasa's 
darling Ucchan cried, throwing out a few tables and shut the door with a 
bang. 
	"I guess you were long overdue for a check-up." He approached the 
small garbage heap in front of the restaurant, having a little difficulty 
picking him out from among the tables. "Wow, that's a pretty hard wallop 
she gave you." He reset Tsubasa's bone structure and once again helped 
him to his feet. 
	Tsubasa was crying now. "What did--<sob> I-- <sob> Ucchan--<growl> 
HUNGRY!" He broke down, "WAHHH!!!!"
	Dr. Tofu decided to take on, once again, the role of counselor. He 
thought that he should get him out of the streets first. "Come now, don't 
cry. Listen here, if you stop crying, I'll treat you to lunch." 
	"Really?" Tsubasa asked through tear-filled sobs. "But I can only 
eat Ucchan's-"
	"Well, I guess you don't have a choice," he pointed inside where 
the strange glow started once again. "If I were you, I won't argue with a 
woman when she's in a dark mood. Come on, let's go." Tsubasa reluctantly 
followed.
	The doctor and the transvestite went on their way to dine in the 
Chinese Amazon's restaurant. 

	The definition of being caught between a rock and a hard place took 
new meaning inside the public baths. 
	For Yusaku Godai and Shun Mitaka, they were to decide to either 
become fugitives of the law or lose their dignity and Kyoko, who would 
never talk to them after this. 
	For Ryoga, all he had to do to get away from Azusa was to go to the 
hot water pool, if he only knew where it was.
	And, for Genma... Well, it was pretty obvious what kind of trouble 
he was mired in.
	For the two lover boys, the choice was easy. They crept to the back 
door where they knew no one was guarding at the moment and they could 
make a clean getaway. They were almost free when two strong hands grabbed 
them by the shirt collars. They cringed thinking it was the police, but 
it was far worse than that.
	"Where did you take my Oscar, you bad men!" Azusa looked at them 
with menacing eyes. She took the taser gun and began smashing it on them. 
	"Give me back my Oscar!" she cried, 20,000 volts of electricity 
having no effect on her. However, it had a noticeable effect on the ones 
being pummeled to the ground. 
	"HHEEELLPPP!! *<Kzzt>* help us, please!"
	The dark silhouette of a person holding a katana began to go near 
where Genma was. His train of thought branched this way:
	Azusa--lifetime exposure to horrible cute stuff, with little chance 
of escape. 
	Nodoka--death. 
	Azusa--free food. 
	Nodoka--death.
	He decided to risk it as a panda, so he jumped up and fell in to 
another hot water pool. He ran and jumped into another hot water pool. 
"Oh no!" The dark shadow of death began to run in response to the pleas 
of help of the animal catchers. "Only one more pool!" 
	He jumped and ran for his life into the last pool, which was, by 
the way, the cold water pool, which was, by the way, empty. And, to add 
to the current state of emergency, Nodoka appeared like a dark angel, 
parting the steam with her katana. It was a good thing that the pool was 
deep enough to hide in, and there was a small crack where he could see 
the rest of the bathhouse. 
	Nodoka approached Azusa, the katana drawn, making even her keep 
quiet. Godai and Mitaka ran behind her, seeking to hide behind the 
powerful blade. 
	"Help us, ma'am! That girl's trying to kill us!" 
	"Don't worry now, I'll take care of you." 
	The two women began a showdown.
	Genma judged from his position that the cold water faucets were on 
the other side of Nodoka and Azusa. "There must be some way to distract 
them." There was a small movement at the corner of his eye.
	Poor P-chan chose that particular moment to pass through.	

	"SHAMPOO!" 
	A semi-blind Mousse struggled to keep his hold on the person she 
knew to be his beloved. The figure was squirming, trying hard to get 
away. 
	"Shampoo, finally I kissed you." He kissed her again, and again and 
again. "I love you, Shampoo." 
	She stopped, and began to return the kiss. "Wow, this feels great. 
Shampoo, you're mine at last." 
	Mousse was in heaven. He did not care that a small crowd was 
watching them now - he waited all his life and, finally, his dream was 
coming true.
	He was brought down to earth when someone tapped him in the back. 
	"Mousse, here your glasses now." 
	"Thanks, Shamp- Huh?" He hurriedly put on his glasses. 
	He saw Shampoo standing next to him. "If you're here, then who?" 
	Arms wrapped around him, pulling him back on the ground. 
	"Mousse, darling. I never expected you could kiss so well." 
	"KODA-mmph!" 
	Kodachi forced himself once again on her prey, initiating a long, 
passionate, and really messy, kiss. When they parted, Mousse's glasses 
were frosted over, more from shock. 
	Kodachi stood up. "You're a really good kisser, Mousse." She fixed 
her hair and departed with a blast of black petals. "But I'm already 
taken. Still, you kiss very well! I will return! HO-HO-HO-HO!"
	Mousse jumped to his feet. His mouth had difficulty functioning. 
"S-S-Shampoo," he stuttered, his face full of lipstick marks, "I-I c-c-
can e-ex-exp-"
	"No need for explanations, Mousse," Shampoo interrupted. "No need 
for Mousse to explain what he did to Shampoo." She turned around and 
began to walk away. 
	Mousse ran and placed his hands on her shoulder. "S-Shampoo, I -"
	*<Bright light>* *SLAP* *KABOOM*
	There was a bright flash of light that blinded everyone 
temporarily. When it was gone, Mousse was imprinted on the wall of the 
school building, with his cheek still smoking from the obviously powerful 
slap Shampoo gave to him, really beaten up. 
	She screamed at the figure on the wall. "People who play with 
women's hearts go to very bad place!" She splashed him with cold water 
for good measure and walked away with whatever shred of dignity left 
within her soul. 
	"Shampoo have nothing to do with you anymore, Mousse. Shampoo say, 
goodbye."
	Shampoo managed to pass through the front gate of Furinkan High 
instead of through the wall. 

	Genma took a deep breath and began his attack. "Here goes!" 
	He grabbed P-chan by his bandanna and threw him over the side of 
the pool to the right. 
	The squealing projectile attracted Azusa's attention. "CHARLOTTE!" 
She ran, trying to catch him. Nodoka and the two animal catchers looked 
on with bigsweats to Genma's right. 
	Using the distraction, he ran towards his left, going around 
Nodoka's left flank (who was looking away), and splashed himself with 
some cold water from the faucets on the other side. 
	"GROWL!" <Victory!> 
	He was about to jump for joy before Azusa squeezed all the air out 
of him. "OSCAR!" She let go of the pig attached to herself to Genma-
panda's back. 
	<Help me!> he scribbled frantically.
	Nodoka ran to Genma-panda's side. "Get off Ranko's panda now!" 
	The sentence sounded like an order and Azusa reluctantly let go. 
	It took five policemen to drag her away. "I'll come back for you, 
Oscar! Just you wait!" 
	The police were about to drag off the two animal catchers but 
Nodoka managed to explain (with a little help from the katana) that it 
was all just an accident and these two men were simply trying to get away 
from that horrible girl.
	"Are you okay, Mr. Panda?" Nodoka asked as the policemen left them 
alone. 
	<I think so.> 
	"Well, then, would you like to have lunch with us?" she asked all 
of them. 
	"YES, MA'AM!" Yusaku and Mitaka nodded gratefully.
	<I think so...> Genma-panda nodded apprehensively.

	There were plenty of rumors going around Furinkan at this point in 
time, mostly concerning the way Nabiki and the newly arrived news 
reporter were acting towards each other. The most prevalent was that they 
knew each other once and that they were fighting over Kuno, which was 
supported by the events (or rather, their interpretation of the events) 
that happened in the Furinkan Infirmary. 
	But what really happened between this troubling threesome? A 
flashback is in order.
	And one such character was Kuno, who was eating his lunch in the 
shade of a large tree. The table that his manservant had set for him was 
full of classy European food, which was the usual lunch of other Blue 
Thunder-esque people. Kuno munched on a piece of tender meat while Sasuke 
groveled at his feet.
	"Master, I sense that people are talking about you." Sasuke noticed 
that people were whispering and pointing to Kuno. He took his leave and 
it took a brief moment of investigation (due to a ninja's skill in 
espionage) and the story in its entirety fell upon his ears. 
	"Master Kuno, they seem to be spreading word that you are being 
fought over by women other than the blessed pig-tailed girl and the 
divine Akane Tendo. Shall I go and order them to cease spreading such 
vile rumors about you?" 
	Kuno choked on what he was eating and grabbed a glass of water. 
"Zounds! Is that vile temptress Nanami Jinnai still here?! And 'tis even 
I, Tatewaki Kuno, thought that she had left with that whirlybird of hers 
to wherever she had come from?" 
	He visibly tensed up. "It seems that the honored grounds of 
Furinkan High shall bear witness to the clash of the Queens of 
Capitalism! I best be prepared. The last time, I was caught unawares and 
the honored name of the Kuno clan was tarnished."
	"Master, if I may ask, what happened so, that the recollection 
bothers you?"
	Kuno slumped back on his chair. "Very well, then. It always does 
good to enlighten ignorants. The dullness of the fool is the whetstone of 
the wits. I shall spare a moment of time to educate you in the past of 
your great master, Tatewaki Kuno.
	"It was a clear day nearly two summers ago, when your great master 
was still called the Roaring Lion on his way to his second year of 
education in Furinkan High... I remember it clearly, for it was the day 
that I first met the divine Akane Tendo." 
	Images flooded Kuno's mind, a bit exaggerated for his exaggerated 
piece of mind. "I had been called to our beloved capital to attend this 
gathering of literary greats. I came there so that I, too, could 
enlighten the ignorant masses on the great virtue of reading the classics 
by my talent for prose. The fair Nabiki Tendo was there, hired by the now 
disbanded Furinkan Book Club for her monetary skills.
	"The blessed Nabiki Tendo gave the Book Club their time in the 
light of the sun, giving the written works of Shakespeare and Homer their 
true worth, and made a great profit in the process. The earnings of the 
Book Club soared as high as the spire of Tokyo Tower."
	The Blue Thunder then began to frown. "But there, too, was another 
like Nabiki Tendo - for, among the rest, rose the devilish Nanami Jinnai, 
member of the Shinnonome High Journalism Club, hired, too, for her 
monetary skills. Gah! My tongue stings whenever I should say her name, 
she be possessing of connivingness equal to that of Nabiki, however more 
directed towards evil. 
	"As the battle of titans long ago, the stage was cleared for the 
first great honorable battle between the Queens of Capitalism, as many of 
those who remained called it. The devious Nanami Jinnai and cunning 
Nabiki Tendo signed a pact, that whoever earns the most money in an hour 
shall be called the better of the two, and that the victor shall partake 
of the all the spoils of victory.
	"Even I, Tatewaki Kuno, cannot recall an even greater battle. I 
tell you, it was incredible, the blue aura of intimidation emanating from 
every pore of their bodies, their azure flame lighting the night sky as 
if it were day. Their earnings rivaled even the great fortune of the Kuno 
clan, which is greater than all the other clans of our noble country. The 
contest, although only for an hour, lasted as if several lifetimes.
	"And, when all was taken," Kuno's forehead furrowed in anger, "they 
set their sights upon the richest of the lot. I, Tatewaki Kuno, the then 
Roaring Lion and now called the Blue Thunder. I, Tatewaki Kuno, heir to 
the greatest fortune in all the land, the only nobleman in the land of 
peasants." Kuno paused to catch his breath.
	"Little did I know that the demon girl Nanami had a talent for 
writing love letters in her Creative Writing Class. Quickly, but 
silently, she spread her tentacular lines of desire around me. I 
valiantly resisted, but still she came. I knew that she was to drain me 
of whatever monetary funds I had on my person, but I could not resist her 
tempting allure. The great Roaring Lion lay helpless against her."
	Kuno was wildly gesticulating by now. "Then, when I thought that 
the end had come, a strange vision filled me with a sudden surge of 
energy. Ah! It was a picture of Akane Tendo, blessed as the light, 
shining like the sun! It was a beauty I had never seen before. I thought 
that I was dreaming, that I was dead, for such a creature could not 
contain such beauty within a frail human body. 
	"Strength returned to my limbs. Akane Tendo helped me against the 
she-devil, her image I carried within my noble heart as I smote her with 
a convenient rolled up newspaper, for my legendary bokken was 
unavailable, and I, Tatewaki Kuno, emerged the victor!"
	As you could imagine, Sasuke did not believe a word that his master 
said. However, he wanted to find out what happened next.
	Kuno was only too happy to comply. "And now, Nabiki Tendo owes a 
lot upon me, for it is I who helped her win that battle so long ago. This 
is why I let her honor me with her presence, and shower upon me pictures 
of my two loves." He reached into his kimono and the uniform beneath. "I 
still have that picture, that *first* picture, that Nabiki had given to 
me. I always keep it near my heart, for such is the place for her." 
	The picture flew through the air and Sasuke caught it with his 
superior martial arts reflexes. "Consider it an honor, for you are 
touching that which I consider most precious in all the world."
	The picture was like any other picture of Akane, except that her 
hair was longer than it was now. Sasuke, with all the masterful adoration 
a ninja could give, said, "Master, she is divine as you said. Now I 
cannot see who can defeat the great Blue Thunder as long as both she and 
the pig-tailed girl are yours." 
	He turned the picture. "Wait, there's some writing in the back. 
Hmm. Let's see." His eyes bulged out. "Sold to Tatewaki Kuno for 50,000 
yen. Master, are you sure that Nabiki Tendo gave this to you?"
	Kuno knocked him with his bokken. "Silence, fool! Did not I tell 
you that that picture is worth more than all the world?!? I am willing to 
pay anything, so that Akane Tendo (and the pig-tailed girl) be mine, even 
my life. I should wring your tongue!"
	"I'm sorry, master!" The ninja groveled on the ground once more, in 
all obedience. But, in a small part of his mind, he felt more pity for 
his master than for himself.

	A room!
	It was the small room in the Kendo Club Dojo where a few minutes 
ago the great leaders of Furinkan High staged a meeting to bring back the 
coveted Akane Tendo. Here, they united underneath the banner of the 
Cappuccino Consortium and laid down the plans of how to best deal with 
the demon Ranma Saotome, to use his weakness to their advantage. They 
realized that they could no longer be inflamed by their individual 
desires and set aside by their petty differences in the face of their 
common interest. In the Consortium, no club was above the other, and when 
the cur shall finally be pummeled into the ground, the everyone shall 
have an equal share of victory.
	And it all happened in a small room!
	And this room was not only small, it was also empty, except for two 
people who, for a lack of a better word, were more equal, for they were 
the brains behind the brawn, the same two people who detected Ranma's 
inherent weakness, the same two people who will be in command of the 
forthcoming battle.
	The person who ate his lunch on the small table around which the 
other clubs pledged their assistance was not only the Organizer of the 
consortium, he was also the president of the Chem club, three-time winner 
of such-and-such contest, and other such sweet sounding titles. He knew 
that he would be voted as Organizer, instead of that fool Kuno, and he 
continued eating the Ramen-in-a-cup (tm) that served to be his lunch. 
	The other person was the vice-president of the Chem club and he 
carried no other official title in the Consortium, to maintain the 
appearance of equality. Unofficially, however, he had a higher position 
than the Organizer, for he was the one person whose advice he could 
trust. He thought of himself as an Adviser, and only to himself. 
	He waited patiently for the other to finish his meal (for he had 
already eaten) and cleared his throat to catch his attention.
	"Sir," he began, "I would like to go over the battle plan we laid 
down before we broke up for lunch." He looked over the thick pad. "It 
appears that you have given Tatewaki Kuno a very pivotal role in the 
attack. Are you sure that this is wise, sir?"
	He cleaned his glasses. "I know that seems to be, uh, 
unstrategical, but Kuno has the deepest grudge among us with Ranma. Man, 
that guy carries it around like some kind of trophy. I wouldn't be 
surprised if he dreamt of smiting 'the evil magician' every night."
	"But, sir, I think that he would be the one to deliver the final 
blow, even against the plan, and he would cart off, in his head, all the 
honor due us. I say again, sir: do you think that's wise?"
	"Let that Kuno think whatever he thinks in that twisted head of 
his. If it makes him finally shut up, good for him. But if it serves to 
make him louder, he can count on the combined might of the Consortium 
turned against him. For now, he is a very loyal ally."
	"But, should Ranma change into a girl..."
	The Organizer's eyes bulged out. He regained his composure and 
began to clean his glasses again. "What about him changing into a girl?"
	"Well, sir, if Ranma changes into a girl, we would still pummel him 
into the ground, since he cannot use his transformation as a disguise. 
However, Kuno-" The Adviser paused and stood up. He looked at the Nerima 
district map on the wall, breathing evenly. 
	"It matters what Kuno thinks, for he would see that who we are 
attacking is none other than his pig-tailed goddess. He would turn 
against us when we least expect it and there is a chance that he might 
smite us all or at least provide a distraction long enough for Ranma to 
escape. I say again, do you think that that is wise?" He unconsciously 
left out his title.
	 "W-what do you think we should do?" the Organizer was stammering 
now, all of his orating skills forgotten.
	"I think we should prevent Kuno from participating in the coming 
battle. Legal restraints would not work for, as you said, he would 
attack, even though it was against the Plan. We must keep him, shall we 
say, out of the way, using non-legal, maybe even illegal methods. We must 
strike him soon, hard and fast, before he is aware of what is happening."
	"But that's against the Consortium charter and -"
	The Adviser, the one true leader of the Cappuccino Consortium, 
silenced him. "That is why we shall use measures outside of the 
Consortium. The appearance of an attack from the outside would sever any 
link to the inside and, if it was to be discovered, there are reasonable 
back-up plans to fall back upon." 
	He smiled. "I have already taken the liberty of arranging matters, 
*sir*." 
	
	P-chan ran for his life from the unnerving maw of death that was 
Azusa. He did not care where he ran, just as long as the direction was 
diametrically away from the monster. 
	He found the exit after a few minutes of searching. Before he could 
bwee for joy, a hand clamped over his bandanna. He struggled and 
squirmed, but the hand held him in an iron grip. He screamed (in his own 
pig way) in terror.
	"Hello there! What are you doing here, P-chan? Akane has been 
looking all over for you." Kasumi stroked the pig's forehead. "Don't 
worry, I'll take you home with me..."

	It was lunchtime aboard the USS Eisenhower and all the deck hands 
who weren't on duty reported for one of the better parts of the day. For 
the first time in a long time, they knew what kind of meal would be 
waiting for them, for they had spent the better part of the morning 
trying to catch it. The crew sighed a contented sigh as they partook of 
the special meal that they had worked so hard for.
	Max Sterling sat in front of Rick Hunter, carrying his portion of 
poultry by-products. "Heard that you had a bad flight today. Almost 
gotten yourself killed by some kind of monster."
	"Don't want to talk about it - it was a horrifying experience -"
	"For both you and Lisa Hayes?" Max interrupted. "Come on, you can 
tell me."
	"Don't want to talk about it," Rick said, pointing behind Max.
	"Yeah, you don't want to talk about it," he continued relentlessly, 
not noticing Rick's gestures. "How about the time in the Gulf where I 
found you kissing her inside an Iraqi bunker where you were supposed to 
be prisoners? Or the time -"
	"I said that I don't want to talk about it," Rick hissed through 
his teeth, still pointing behind Max's back.
	"Yeah, right, you don't want to talk about it now. But you have to 
soon, with Minmei. If you keep on cheating like this, behind her back, 
both of you are going to get hurt." 
	Rick's gesture finally made its way to his brain. "You want a 
banana?" he asked, taking a banana from his tray. 
	"No. Look behind you."
	Max turned and came face to face with the Admiral. The banana fell 
to the floor. "Sir! It's a surprise finding you here! What can we do for 
you?"
	The admiral smiled. "Thank you, Max. You have given me more 
background information on Rick Hunter than his files." Rick groaned. 
"Still, I came to talk to Lt. Rick Hunter for a while - no, not now. Take 
your time, we have the whole afternoon. Just come up to my office as soon 
as you can. See you later." The Admiral turned and was soon gone.
	The suddenly quiet cafeteria returned to its normal noise volume. 
"Wow," Max said, regaining his composure. "The admiral coming here just 
to see you? And take your time? I think you're going to be promoted."
	Rick suddenly felt tired. "I don't know. But I bet your banana that 
it's about something else." He wished that he had stayed in bed that day.

	As long as it wasn't raining, Akane, Sayuri and Yuka were always to 
be found eating lunch at the foot of a certain tree. After eating (maybe 
even during), it was more than certain that they would be exchanging 
among themselves the news that they had about other people (i.e. gossip). 
	Most probably, the flow of the conversation would start about this 
person becoming too close to this other person that the bounds of simple 
friendship would allow, which would lead to the discussion about the 
current couples in Furinkan, and how long they would stay together, which 
would lead to a short philosophical debate about the pros and cons of 
long and/or arranged engagements, *and*, finally, that would lead to a 
short question and answer portion on the current state of affairs between 
the only couple (or so Sayuri and Yuka would say) who had all 
characteristics stated above: Akane and Ranma.
	To which Akane would often reply with a mad and well-vented rage, 
or sometimes with a curt "I don't care. Why don't you ask him. <End of 
discussion>" There were also extremely rare times that Akane would simply 
smile and say nothing at all. 
	But during today's news conference, Akane kept as quiet as a stone. 
Whatever rage or anger she had left, it dissipated rather quickly, too 
quickly to shatter any semblance of regularity. 
	Akane's sudden state of silence was contagious and, for the first 
time that year, not a word was uttered between the three.
	Yuka was the first to break down. She shook Akane, as if trying to 
wake her up. "I can't take the silence anymore. Akane, what happened 
between you and Ranma?!? Please tell me... Akane?"
	Akane looked away and shrugged. Her eyes glistened in the noontime 
sun. "I honestly don't know. As far as I know, I haven't done anything 
that bad, to -" She shook her head. "No. It's not my fault. If he doesn't 
want to talk to me, it's his problem. Let him rot, for all I care."
	Sayuri took Akane's hands in hers. "That's the spirit, Akane. If a 
guy pointedly ignores you for no reason at all, you should ignore him, 
too."
	"Yeah, an eye for an eye. Ranma's not worth it."
	Akane thought, "But I don't want -" 
	"Uh... Thanks you two," she said finally.
	"Hey, Akane!" Nabiki called out to them. "Have you seen Ranma 
anywhere?"
	"Don't ask me where he is. Do I look like some kind of personal 
assistant to you?" Anger was finally coming back and, inwardly, Akane 
sighed in relief.
	Nabiki waved her goodbye and continued asking other people. As 
three resumed their interrupted meal, Akane managed to think, "Where was 
Ranma, anyhow?" 
	
	Gosunkugi crept silently up the steps to the rooftop where he knew 
he would be conveniently left alone. No one came to this part of school 
at this time, since everyone else was either busy watching the scheduled 
brawls or trapped in the mosh pit where the cafeteria served sandwiches. 
	"How come these spleens didn't blow up?" The question nagged his 
mind to the point of generating a small headache. Deciding that further 
thought would be futile, he began to eat his lunch.
	However, footsteps echoed in the stairwell and Gosunkugi ran to the 
nearest available hiding place. He peered behind the side of the 
maintenance shack, trying to see who it was who would dare transgress his 
holy ground (as if he could do anything about it).
	Just as he feared, it was a very angry Ranma, going to beat him up 
to a pulp for the spleen episode. Gosunkugi prayed that the spleens would 
work and at least he would have a fighting chance - 
	No. Ranma wasn't looking for him. He was just standing here looking 
around to see if anyone else was there. Gosunkugi pressed himself to the 
wall, hoping that he could pass through it. 
	Suddenly, he cringed as Ranma set an insane amount of what seemed 
to be oaths into the atmosphere. Ranma jumped around, fists flailing out 
as if trying to catch the air, making a complete fool out of himself. 
	After a few minutes of this bizarre behavioral pattern, Ranma 
tripped over his own feet, giving a loud shout that Gosunkugi was sure to 
be a real curse. Then, in a flash, he disappeared in the shadows of the 
stairwell.
	Gosunkugi stepped out into the open once more. "What the?!? Oh." 
Gosunkugi's mind was a little bit clogged, but he finally realized that 
what he first recognized as swear words were actually the names of 
Ranma's special techniques. 
	Conflicting thoughts were processed in his brain. "But if those 
were the names of his special techniques, why wasn't anything happening? 
Why did he look like some kind of idiotic fool? And, most important, why 
didn't he react when I slammed him with this spleen a while back." 
	There was only one explanation of the matter, but he knew that it 
was impossible. "Surely, it can't- No, it couldn't be- But, it must, or 
he wouldn't have- That means that I could- GAH!" 
	He was deep in thought that someone managed to sneak up to him and 
slap him on the back.

	"IT'S FINISHED!" 
	Ukyo placed the Ultimate Okonomiyaki into the small delivery box. 
She had actually managed to do it. 
	"RANCHAN, I'M COMING FOR YOU! You have to eat it even if it's the 
last thing-" she sighed, remembering the other plan she had already 
cooked up, "- you and I do."
	She went outside into the noontime sunlight, forgetting that the 
front door was still broken.

	Like any restaurant, the Cat Cafe had a small kitchen and counter 
staff who were very efficient in the division of labor. On a regular day, 
Shampoo would serve to be the cute waitress taking everyone's orders. 
Mousse would be miscellaneous jobs, such as sweeping the floor and 
washing dishes (the water was warm enough as not to cause 
transformation), and Cologne would be cooking inside the kitchen, where 
she could not scare off customers. 
	But today, Shampoo and Mousse were in Furinkan and Cologne found 
herself a one-woman restaurant staff. She cooked the meals, mopped the 
floor, and took everyone's order. However, her superior martial arts 
skills and the fact that the zoo-break (or animal jail-break) served to 
frighten most of the people from leaving their homes so the task was a 
lot easier. 
	The only familiar face among the four (no, five) diners were Dr. 
Tofu and the wastebasket (oh, that was Tsubasa). The other three were 
animal catchers taking a break, as they were the only other people 
courageous enough, roaming around that part of town. She took their 
orders and disappeared into the kitchen amid stares from the animal 
catchers who thought that she was some kind of old monkey. 
	Dr. Tofu was silent as Tsubasa prattled on about how he was once 
part of a band that featured him coming out of some kind of furniture 
whenever they played at Kuonji's Okonomiyaki (that was the name of Ukyo's 
first restaurant) and how he thought Ukyo was a guy and that the cute 
girl he rarely saw was her (or his, at the time) sister once until he had 
learned of her secret when he sneaked inside her old apartment... 
	The rest of the conversation was lost to the doctor's ears, who was 
carefully sorting his own problems with Mr. Tendo and Kasumi- no, stop 
the bubbling. Tsubasa was at the good part, where the two of them talked 
in the park and noticed that the doctor wasn't listening. "How come no 
one wants to listen to my story? I guess that's life."
	Cologne arrived with the large bowls of ramen, the two nodded their 
thanks and began to dig in. They were halfway through the meal when the 
doctor started the conversation. "So, how is it going with you and Ukyo?"
	"Darn. The doctor wasn't listening at all," he thought. Loudly, he 
whimpered, "I can't seem to get through to her. No matter what I did, 
Ucchan always smashed me away. It has been weeks since I last talked to 
her. You know how hard that is?"
	Dr. Tofu thought of all the conversations he had with Kasumi, how 
all these years he has never even talked to her in a way befitting that 
of normal individuals. And, now - 
	"Go on..." he said, staring into the soup.
	Tsubasa tried to hold back tears. "Now I don't know what to do 
next. The reason I have been away is to give myself some time alone to 
think of ways to make her fall for me. But I've come up with a blank." He 
gazed expectantly at the doctor. "Can you think of something else?"
	Dr. Tofu began to think of the fiasco he had with Mr. Tendo. Things 
started to fall in place. 
	"Do you know how Ranma was promised to Ukyo?" Tsubasa shook his 
head. "As far as I know, Mr. Saotome sold Ranma to Ukyo's father for a 
cartful of okonomiyaki. But that's not the point." 
	He looked at the transvestite, trying to drive the thought home. 
"The point is, Mr. Kuonji expects Ukyo to get Ranma even after all these 
years. Do you think that Ukyo has put up with Ranma, trying very hard to 
make him fall for her, even though he treats her as just a friend and 
most probably never more than that all these years, out of her own 
volition? I guess you have to get to know both Ukyo *and* her father. Do 
you get the idea?"
	Tsubasa was staring outside, not listening. "Drat. How come he 
never listens to my advice? I guess that's life," the doctor thought, and 
continued to fill his stomach.

	Gosunkugi gasped as the unseen person grabbed his shoulder. 
Screaming, he took out a nail and a hammer from his pocket and tried to 
impale the person, but whoever it was, she was too quick for her. 
	"She?" Gosunkugi looked up and saw Nanami smiling at him. 
	"Surpised? I'm Nanami Jinnai - sorry about scaring you like that."
	Gosunkugi managed to start breathing evenly. "W-what are you doing 
here?"
	Nanami looked into his face. "Hey, aren't you the one with the 
spleens a while back?"
	Gosunkugi was sweating. Nanami was too close, enough to him to send 
proximity overload warnings in his head. He tried not to look somewhere 
not- Uh oh. Too late. "Uhhh... Yeah."
	"Well..."
	"Well, what?"
	"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
	Gulp. "Uh... I'm Hikaru Gosunkugi, but people call me Gosunkugi." 
He sweated as he shook the proffered hand. "By the way, what are you 
doing here?"
	"My helicopter crashed and I -"
	"No, w-what are you doing here," Gosunkugi stammered as Nanami drew 
even closer. 
	He managed to breathe out when she looked away. "I was looking for 
a place where I could set up a plan in motion. What plan, you ask? Then 
you weren't there when Nabiki and I faced off in the courtyard. You see, 
we go way back and there's a friendly rivalry that happens whenever we 
meet that the person who earns the most amount of money will be the 
winner. But this time, Nabiki has the home-court advantage. I was 
planning to set up a studio -"
	She looked at him, and Gosunkugi felt like melting. "I have an 
idea. Would you like to help me out? You will have a share of the 
profits." She gazed at her with those cute little eyes.
	Gosunkugi was sweating real hard now. "D-do I have a choice?"
	Nanami chuckled. "I knew that you would say yes." She squeezed his 
cheek. "Meet me at the helicopter in a few minutes. Nabiki and her 
friends are coming back to do the legal work and I need someone to show 
me the ropes around this place. See you later, Hikaru." She turned and 
disappeared into the stairwell. 
	"S-she called me H-Hikaru. Aahh..." Gosunkugi promptly fainted.

	Rick Hunter crept up to the Admiral's room, as that befitted the 
conditions set to him that he take his time. He stood for a few minutes 
outside the door, trying to think of the reason that he had been treated 
in such a way. 
	"I guess I better go inside and do it..." He was taken aback by 
what he saw.
	There was soft music inside and the admiral was playing on the 
guitar. He looked at the new arrival and continued playing. "Good 
afternoon, Rick. Sit down; we have to wait for someone else before we 
begin."
	Rick sat down and looked around the moderately furnished room. 
There were soft lights that made it seem that it was someone's living 
room and not the Admiral's office. There were books on the shelf and 
there was a picture Rick thought was of the admiral as a young boy. 
	It was a winter scene and the boy was skating in a frozen pond. He 
knew that the Admiral was from New York State and he judged that this 
must be one of the ponds that froze during winter. 
	The guitar strumming halted suddenly as the admiral sneezed. "Rick, 
be a good chap and get that box of tissue? I think I must be catching a 
cold." Rick complied. 
	The admiral continued, "Have to take some of them along when we go 
to shore -"
	"Shore, sir?" 
	"Yes, I was going to tell you later when our other travelling 
companion arrived. I would like you to come with us when we go to Nerima 
(that's in Tokyo) this afternoon."
	"Why-" Rick was interrupted with a knock on the door. "I guess he's 
here," the admiral said and called out, "come in."
	A simple teenager came inside, but he carried about him an air of 
superiority. Rick and the admiral stood up to acknowledge him. "Rick 
Hunter, I would like to introduce you to -"
	"Tom Swift." The youth shook the hand Rick raised up in surprise.

	Nabiki called out to her friends. "Meet me at the helicopter, I 
have to do a few things first." She waved her goodbye and walked over the 
loudest spot in all of Furinkan.
	Sasuke bowed to his master. "Master Kuno, Nabiki Tendo asks to 
speak to you for a little while."
	"Come, Sasuke, let her pass." The ninja bowed and Nabiki stepped up 
to the table where Kuno was still busy eating lunch. "Well, if it isn't 
the fair sister of Akane Tendo. I pray to your good nature that you have 
come to warn me of that temptress, Nanami Jinnai - but fear not, for I, 
the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, hath no reason to fear anymore the 
likes of her."
	Nabiki said, after a period of silence, "I didn't come here today 
to warn you. I came to offer you a deal." She paused again for an even 
longer period of time. 
	She said finally, "How much would you pay to make the pig-tailed 
goddess kiss you?"


To be continued...

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Ah, I hate myself.  I promised that I would have done at least three 
chapters by the middle of November and I had done only one.  Gah!  My 
computer did the flip-flop and it was only a few days ago that I managed 
to get it working again.

Anyways, there would be those amongst you that would say that Mrs. 
Saotome, Tsubasa and Dr. Tofu have never met in the manga.  Tsubasa and 
Dr. Tofu's familiarity with one another can be explained with the fact 
that Tsubasa keeps getting smashed into the ground by Ukyo.  Who repairs 
his skeletal structure then?  It had to be Dr. Tofu.  In Nodoka's case, 
it's a little bit harder but one can say that a friend's friend is a 
friend and since Dr. Tofu is a family friend (before the Tendo Dojo 
fiasco, as Dr. Tofu himself described it) and Nodoka is, too, it would 
mean that in the course of their lives, they would have met. 

Speaking of Tsubasa, if you haven't found the slightly hidden plug-in to 
another fic, then let me tell you.  It's Park Life, the story of Tsubasa 

and Ukyo, side story to the majestic (and really large) Switch: Herbs and 
Spices.  Switch and I have been talking about a proposal to have an 
interfic references among members of the NFT and no one as far as I know 
had created a Tsubasa origin so I put it in here.

Thanks to all those who have given me C&C's in the past and the present 
and hope even more to come in the future.  If you read this, you don't 
have to react, just mail us and say that you have read Memories.  That's 
all I want.  Thanks for all those who have helped iRL who had to put up 
with my bickering.

Oh, yeah.  If you have missed the earlier chapters (and Park Life now 
that you mentioned it) they are available in the Nikholas F. Toledo site 
if you dare travel the tubular tunnels of Mayhem's toilet bowl.  I hope 
to finish Chapter 7 (Toxic Waste Souffl�) before the end of the month, 
hopefully.  Just keep on waiting and send those C&C's a-coming.

<STANDARD DISCLAMER FOR ALL CHARACTERS>

November 6, 1997

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